Chapter 07
“Huh…?”
I looked at the Headmistress, who dumbly repeated my words, and spoke again.
“I came here for this reason. To check if the Busnie Orphanage is being run according to the reports.”
Of course, it was a lie.
The Duke of Bellomon had only allowed me to stay within the family’s protection; he had never granted me any special authority. There was no way he would assign me to inspect an orphanage.
Normally, I would be cautious, afraid that my lie might get exposed…
‘But if I don’t act now, my baby might die.’
For my beloved nephew, Lucian’s future, I would do anything.
But what bothered me even more was something else.
‘The state of this orphanage is worse than I expected.’
The doors and windows were broken, letting cold air seep in. It was no place for children to live. One side of the wall was covered in black mold, which was most likely the cause of the children’s skin diseases.
Instead of playing happily, the children were busy cleaning. They couldn’t even eat their already meager meals properly because they were too afraid of the Headmistress.
As an adult, I couldn’t just ignore this.
It wasn’t because I was particularly kind. It was simply the basic empathy and morality that any human being, any adult, should have.
‘And those awards…’
The awards displayed on the bookshelf in the Headmistress’s office had titles like ‘Best Orphanage for Children’ and ‘Orphanage of the Month’.
‘How could they say this place is good for children?’
It was obvious. The Headmistress must have used the embezzled money to bribe the higher-ups to get those awards. The nobles probably only heard about the “award-winning orphanage” and adopted children without looking deeper.
‘I can’t let this slide. The Headmistress is too shameless.’
The orphanage’s budget came entirely from the Duke of Bellomon’s funds. If the Duke ever questioned this, I could claim I stepped in to prevent his money from being wasted.
‘Besides, this is for the Duke’s son as well.’
Honestly, the Duke should be thanking me.
Thinking that, I pulled out the documents I had carefully stored in my handbag.
“According to last month’s report, 20 gold coins were spent on window repairs and playground maintenance. But…”
I trailed off, watching as the Headmistress swallowed hard.
“But the windows aren’t fixed, and the playground is still a mess. 20 gold isn’t a small amount.”
10 gold was enough for a commoner family to live on for a month. And this orphanage had taken twice that amount.
“I also heard that this orphanage received a top rating in the quarterly evaluation. But from what I see, even a fourth-tier rating would be too generous.”
A fourth-tier rating was the lowest possible score. Yet, this place had somehow won multiple awards.
“T-That’s because… uh, the winter winds are exceptionally strong this year! They must have ruined the repairs…”
“Oh, really?”
“Y-Yes! Absolutely!”
Thinking she had found an excuse, the headmistress nodded furiously.
“So you’re saying everything fell apart just one month after the repairs? Sounds like poor construction. Call the company that did the work immediately. The Duke of Bellomon will see to their punishment.”
“…….”
Did she think I was stupid enough to believe that nonsense?
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“I-I’m just trying to remember where I kept the related documents…”
“I’ll give you time to think while I visit the kitchen.”
“T-The kitchen? Why…?”
The headmistress looked at me with terrified eyes.
“I need to check if the children are being fed properly.”
Outside the window, Amelia peeked in, watching Lucella and the headmistress. She couldn’t hear what they were saying since the window was tightly shut.
She also couldn’t risk opening the window—it was old, and it would creak loudly if moved.
The only thing she could tell was that the headmistress didn’t look happy. Especially when Lucella pulled out a mysterious document, his face turned completely pale.
‘Whatever they’re talking about, she’s not here to adopt a child.’
Amelia let out a sigh of relief.
She still didn’t know what kind of person Lucella was, but if she could make the headmistress look that nervous, maybe she wasn’t so bad after all.
‘I’ve never seen the Headmistress make that face before.’
It was amusing to see her sweating like that.
“You lazy worms! Move faster! Can’t you see that pile of trash in the corner?!”
This was the same woman who constantly yelled at the children and treated them like servants.
Covering her mouth to hold back laughter, Amelia turned away from the headmistress’s office and headed toward the kitchen.
‘I promised to get Edwin some cookies.’
She had to steal them before Lucella and the headmistress finished their conversation.
Upon entering the kitchen, a foul stench immediately hit her nose. It was the smell of rotten food.
It was winter, so food shouldn’t spoil easily. Yet, somehow, the headmistress and staff had managed to let it rot.
‘Let’s see…’
Holding her nose with one hand, Amelia walked toward the drawers next to the stove. If her memory was correct, the cookies should be inside.
‘Found it.’
She quickly pulled out a paper bag from the drawer.
But her excitement faded instantly. The cookies had been gnawed on by rats—none of them were whole.
‘But I promised Edwin…’
Amelia hated lies more than anything.
Of course, she had lied to avoid being adopted, but still…
She didn’t want to break a promise to Edwin.
So she picked out one cookie and carefully cut off all the parts that had been bitten by the rats.
What was once a palm-sized cookie was now half its original size, but that was fine. A smaller piece would be easier to hide.
‘I have to get back before I get caught.’
Just as she wrapped the cookie in paper and put it in her pocket—
“Is this the kitchen?”
A voice rang out nearby, making Amelia freeze. Two sets of footsteps were getting closer.
‘Oh no!’
If they caught her sneaking into the kitchen, she might be punished by being forced to skip meals for an entire day.
‘What do I do?’
Frantically searching for a hiding spot, Amelia’s eyes landed on a large jar.
It was used to store roasted oatmeal and was big enough for a child to fit inside.
Without hesitation, she opened the lid, curled up her small body, and climbed inside.
Just as she closed the lid—
Lucella and the headmistress entered the kitchen.
‘Phew, that was close.’
Amelia let out a silent sigh of relief.
But then curiosity struck her.
‘Why did they come to the kitchen?’
And why was the headmistress trembling so much?
Amelia carefully lifted the lid of the jar, just enough to peek through the small gap and observe what was happening outside.
The first thing she saw was Lucella, frowning deeply and pinching her nose shut.
“What is this smell?”
“It’s from the food waste. The disposal days are different depending on the schedule,” the director explained.
“It’s the middle of winter, and yet the smell is this bad?”
Ignoring the director’s excuse, Lucella sniffed the air like a dog, moving around as if searching for the source of the stench.
It didn’t take long for her to find it.
“This food waste is stored very neatly,” she said sarcastically.
“……”
“If it weren’t rotten, you could almost cook it as it is.”
Her sharp words left the director speechless.
If Lucella hadn’t visited the orphanage today, all of this rotten food would have ended up in the children’s stomachs.
And that wasn’t the only problem.
“Why are the ingredients stored right next to the trash? That’s filthy.”
“The floor is covered in grime.”
“This is all the food available for twenty children? Are you trying to make them malnourished?”
Lucella went through every part of the kitchen, her expression as cold as ice—completely different from when she was playing with the children.
“What’s today’s snack?” she suddenly asked.
“S-Snack?”
There was no such thing, of course. At Busnie Orphanage, even getting three meals a day was a luxury.
But the director couldn’t admit that. Thinking quickly, she rushed to open a drawer.
“H-Here, we have butter cookies,” he stammered.
“…Are you joking?”
Lucella’s face twisted with anger the moment she opened the package.
“You were planning to feed the children these cookies—after rats have chewed on them?”
“I-I didn’t know! I swear, I had no idea the rats got to them!”
“How do you manage this place so badly that you can’t even check the food for a single day?”
Her sharp scolding made Amelia flinch and close her eyes for a moment.
“I don’t need to see any more,” Lucella declared. “Everything that happened today—I will report it directly to the Duke.”
“P-Please, my lady! I beg you! Anything but that…!”
“Oh? So you do realize you did something wrong?”
“Y-Yes! I have made a terrible mistake!”
“You knew it was wrong, yet you did nothing to fix it. That makes it even worse.”
“My lady, please…!”
Lucella looked down at the director with cold, unwavering eyes and spoke in a firm voice unlike anything Amelia had ever heard before.
“The director, along with every staff member of Busnie Orphanage—you are all fired.”
It was nothing short of a death sentence.
