TGDHC Chapter 58

Chapter 58 – The Grand Duchess’s Visit

That child—it was the same one whose runny nose I wiped at Marie’s inn.

As the child tried to run toward me, a young man standing behind quickly grabbed him.

“Artis, you have to stay still.”

“No! I wanna go!”

The child squirmed, trying to break free.

“It’s okay. Come here.”

I crouched down and gestured with my hand. The child immediately ran over and hugged me tightly.

“Goddess!”

“I told you, I’m not a goddess. I’m the Grand Duchess.”

I gently tapped his now dry nose, smiling.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

When the other children saw him hugging me, they all rushed over and grabbed at my skirt.

“Me too! I wanna hug too!”

“I wanna touch her!”

“Wow! This sparkles!”

Maybe it was because the orphanage only ran thanks to the Duke’s support. The children weren’t used to seeing nobles, so they treated me without any fear or hesitation.

“You kids! You can’t do that! How dare you—She’s Her Grace, the Grand Duchess…!”

The orphanage director came rushing over, clearly panicked. I raised my hand to stop him.

“It’s fine.”

He looked nervous, but I was happy the children were so open with me. I patted their heads and gave them hugs.

“I brought a lot of fun things just for you today. Don’t you want to see?”

When I pointed to the carriage, the children squealed with excitement.

“Shall we go inside and take a look, Cecilia?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Cecilia, quick to catch on, gave instructions to the orphanage director.

Soon, workers began unloading items from the carriages one by one.

Older children and teachers helped carry the boxes, and I even saw some of the knights lending a hand.

Seeing the director greet Tiern with such friendliness confirmed that he really had been visiting the orphanage often, just as he’d said.

I had a few of the smaller boxes brought into the playroom so the children could open them themselves.

“Go ahead and see if there’s something you like.”

The children excitedly tore into the packages.

Inside were carefully chosen storybooks and colorful toys.

“Wow! Look at this!”

“It’s a toy! And a doll!”

“This one’s mine!”

As the children played happily with the toys, I looked around the room.

It was a bit plain—only a few hand-carved wooden toys were scattered around—but it was clean and well-maintained.

“What do you usually do here?”

I asked the children. Their innocent faces lit up as they answered.

“We eat snacks!”

“Marie gives us pudding!”

“What else? Do you read storybooks or play ball?”

One child just fidgeted, not sure how to answer.

Then a little girl with pigtails shyly spoke up.

“We read books.”

“Really?”

“Jerome reads to us every night.”

Another child popped up.

“He’s so smart, he can make up stories even without books!”

“He makes toys too!”

“Is Jerome a teacher?”

“Nope! He’s just the oldest out of all of us!”

It seemed one of the older orphans took good care of the younger ones.

“Where is Jerome?”

A child pointed to the tall figure carrying boxes outside the window.

It was the same young man who had held Artis back earlier.

“That’s wonderful. Must be nice to have Jerome around. Now, let’s open this one too.”

The children soon lost themselves in their new toys, giggling and playing together.

***

Later…

“But Your Grace, I really have been doing my best for the children…”

“I’m not saying you haven’t.”

I sighed inwardly at the orphanage director’s repeated defense.

“I just think the budget seems a little off-balance. The children also need emotional development.”

The children looked well-dressed, well-fed, and the facilities were impressively clean—definitely up to the standards of something supported by the Duke.

But they seemed to be left to themselves for long periods, and that was the problem.

“There needs to be time for drawing, reading stories, and proper playtime.”

When I said that children needed more than just food and shelter, the director clammed up, his lips pressed tightly like a closed seashell.

He gave me a look like I had no idea how the real world worked.

‘Is this really the same person who wrote me those letters?’

I swallowed my frustration.

He must’ve worked hard to feed and clothe the children.

Having the Grand Duchess suddenly show up and criticize him for “neglecting” the kids probably felt incredibly unfair.

And honestly, I could understand that too.

“I’ve brought all the school supplies you asked for. Make good use of them.”

I didn’t say anything more and started wrapping things up.

“Then, I’ll go call Lady Annette’s carriage!”

The head of the orphanage quickly offered to get my carriage — maybe wanting me to leave as soon as possible.

When Cecilia and I stepped outside, we heard laughter coming from somewhere.

As we walked to the orphanage’s backyard, we saw something unexpected — the knights were playing with the children.

“Take this sword!”

The kids were swinging the toy swords and shields I gave them, pretending to attack the knights.

‘So the knights are playing the role of monsters?’

“Graaaah!”

The knights were acting out their parts very seriously, almost embarrassingly so.

Tiern even had kids hanging all over his arms and legs as he walked around the backyard.

‘Wow… seeing him play with kids like that…’

He actually looked kind of warm and human.

I was watching the scene with a small smile when I felt something tugging at my dress.

Looking down, I saw the same little girl from before — the one with the braided hair — pulling at my skirt.

“What is it?”

“This.”

She shyly held out a small white stone.

“It’s a pretty rock.”

“Oh, thank you.”

I gently took it from her, and the girl blushed and went back to looking for more pretty stones nearby.

“Now that I look… there are no trees here.”

The orphanage backyard didn’t even have grass — just a stone floor without any dirt.

I stared at the small stone in my hand.

Normally, in stories, a child might offer a lady a pretty flower.

‘But of course, the North is a bit harsh… a stone instead of a flower.’

Even the orphanage felt very “northern.” I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.

“Lady Annette, the carriage is ready.”

A gentle voice spoke.

When I turned, I saw the young man the children had mentioned earlier — Jerome.

Up close, he looked quite decent.

He wasn’t as strikingly handsome as the Grand Duke, but his soft features and fair skin made him look pleasant and likable.

“You’re Jerome, right?”

When I addressed him, his cheeks turned red.

“H-how do you know my name…?”

“The kids talk about you a lot.”

At my reply, Jerome gave a shy smile.

“I’m honored that Lady Annette knows my name.”

‘What a sweet way of speaking.’

“Should I go let the knights know?” Cecilia asked, glancing toward where the knights were playing.

She was asking if she should tell them we’re ready to leave.

“Let’s wait a bit. The children are having so much fun.”

I didn’t want to interrupt the happy moment just yet.

Since I stood still, Jerome didn’t move either and stayed awkwardly in place.

Wait.

A thought suddenly came to me.

“The supply list you sent me…”

I turned to Jerome and smiled.

“Did you make that?”

Jerome’s lashes fluttered nervously, surprised.

“It was you, wasn’t it?”

“Well…”

Even though I seemed to have figured it out, Jerome hesitated to answer — maybe worried the headmaster would get in trouble.

“It’s okay. I’m not asking to blame the headmaster. I just thought whoever made it seemed to really understand the children. You spend a lot of time with them, don’t you?”

That seemed to relax Jerome a little, and he finally spoke.

“I just help the teachers out from time to time.”

“Where did you learn to make documents like that?”

“I didn’t really learn… I just copied what I saw here and there.”

I raised my eyebrows a bit at his answer.

“You’re very good at it.”

“Thank you, Lady Annette.”

All I did was ask what the kids needed, but he organized a list with priorities by age group. That kind of skill isn’t common.

It was clear he understood what kind of information is helpful for making decisions.

‘I feel like I’d have better conversations with him than the headmaster.’

“Do the kids usually play out here?”

I looked at the rough ground in the backyard and asked.

If someone fell, they’d definitely get hurt on that hard surface.

“They do spend some time here, but…”

Just then, a child almost tripped while running, and Jerome caught them as he continued.

“They usually go outside the orphanage. There are more interesting things around the shopping district.”

What a polite way to say the orphanage doesn’t have much for the kids to do.

“So there’s really nowhere fun nearby?”

“There’s a mountain beyond the nearby village, but it’s a bit far.”

He added that the road there is rough and it gets dark quickly, so the shopping area, which stays well-lit in the evening, is actually safer for the kids.

I looked at Jerome’s face as he quietly explained.

With his big build, I thought he might be older.

But now that I looked closely, his face still had a bit of a boyish charm.

“How old are you?”

“I’m… seventeen this year.”

When our eyes met, Jerome shyly scratched his neck.

He looked fresh and full of youthful energy.

Cecilia must’ve felt the same — she was grinning as she looked at him.