Chapter 14
“Amelia, there’s no need to save it. From now on, you’ll get to eat things even tastier than this.”
“Really?”
The question didn’t come from Amelia but from Edwin.
“Of course. As long as I’m here, you’ll never have to go hungry.”
I patted Edwin’s head as I spoke.
“I always keep my promises.”
“…It seems like you do.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
His voice was too soft for me to hear.
“It’s nothing.”
Amelia turned her head away with a pout. She didn’t seem like she was going to explain, so I decided to let it go. It probably wasn’t anything important.
“Now, hurry up and eat. I gave that to you, just for you, so make sure the other kids don’t see it.”
“Okay.”
I smiled, satisfied, as I watched Amelia finally take a bite of the cookie.
Just then—
“Lady Lucella, you’ve arrived!”
The orphanage director spotted me and approached.
“I should have been waiting for you, but the children suddenly started causing a commotion.”
“It’s fine. Kids grow up by making a fuss.”
“Shall we head inside, then? I have some matters about the orphanage’s management to discuss with you.”
“Right now?”
I turned to look at Lucian.
‘Can I really leave this little troublemaker alone?’
Lucian had changed, but that was only when I was with him. I had no idea how he would behave when left alone with kids his age.
‘But I can’t take him with me either.’
The discussion would likely involve punishments and embezzlement—topics not suitable for a child to hear.
“Go ahead.”
Amelia’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“This is important, right? Lucian can stay with us and play.”
“Are you sure?”
I shifted my gaze from Amelia to Lucian.
Ever since my collapse, Lucian had developed a sort of separation anxiety, always clinging to me.
Would he really be okay with this?
“Auntie, you’ll be back soon, right?”
“Yes, but…”
“Then go ahead.”
Surprisingly, Lucian nodded without hesitation.
“Like Amelia said, I’ll play with them while you’re gone.”
“Really?”
I couldn’t believe it and asked again.
“Yeah. Just don’t take too long, okay?”
“Alright. I’ll finish up quickly and be right back.”
My little one, you’ve grown so much in such a short time.
Feeling a wave of emotion, I followed the director inside, determined to wrap up the discussion as quickly as possible—for Lucian’s sake.
Left without Lucella, Lucian rolled his big eyes and stared at Amelia.
‘I’ve never seen anyone this pretty before.’
That was the first thought that crossed his mind.
He had expected that, because Auntie was so kind and beautiful, other kids would try to get close to her. Maybe, if he wasn’t careful, he would be pushed out of her circle of attention.
So he had clung tightly to Lucella, as if guarding her.
Deep down, he wanted to keep every other child away from her. But he knew he couldn’t do that.
If he caused trouble, Auntie would collapse again.
So Lucian had settled on glaring at anyone who approached her. That was his compromise.
But the moment he saw Amelia, all of that resolve disappeared.
Her golden hair gleamed like melted sunlight. Her bright green eyes reminded him of summer leaves. Her delicate features looked just like the dolls owned by the daughter of Count Brahms.
Without thinking, he grabbed her hand.
For a moment, he forgot that he was supposed to be wary of her.
Amelia, however, was too busy talking to Edwin to notice.
“Ria, I did great, right? Now you can eat all your cookies without worrying!”
“Edwin, you really have no sense of tact.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Never mind.”
Amelia turned away and took a bite of the chocolate cookie.
‘They must be really close.’
Lucian watched them chat and wanted to join in.
‘I want to call her Ria too.’
He wanted to talk to Amelia more.
“Amelia, Edwin.”
“Hm?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you guys beggars?”
That’s all he asked.
Just moments ago, Edwin had acted as if he had never eaten a chocolate cookie before. Amelia had said she hesitated to eat it because it was too precious.
If they treasured something as common as a cookie, then they must be poor.
‘If they’re beggars, I can share my cookies with them. Our house has tons of them, so I can invite them over.’
Lucian’s heart raced with excitement.
‘What will Amelia say?’
But the reaction he got was completely different from what he expected.
“…What?”
“Did you seriously just ask that?”
Lucian had intended to be friendly. If they were poor, he planned to invite them over.
But for some reason, Amelia’s expression turned sour.
Beside her, Edwin looked deflated.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
He hadn’t yelled or hit anyone like Auntie had warned against.
But Amelia had asked, so he had to answer.
“Uh…”
“Hah.”
Amelia let out a sharp laugh.
She was used to being looked down upon for being an orphan. But no one had ever straight-up asked if she was a beggar.
Anger surged through her as she glared at Lucian.
But then, she noticed something.
There was no malice in his face. No mockery.
In fact, he looked completely clueless. He didn’t seem to understand why she was upset at all.
‘Lucella brought him here.’
Lucella, who was kind and honest.
A child raised by someone like that couldn’t be truly mean-spirited.
Something was off.
Instead of getting mad, Amelia asked,
“Lucian, why did you ask that?”
“Huh?”
“Why did you ask if we’re beggars?”
Lucian suddenly had a bad feeling.
He had been in situations like this before, but he had never felt scared.
Usually, kids who got mad at him would cry if he threw a worm or a frog at them.
But this was Amelia.
Not only had Auntie warned him, but he also didn’t want to upset Amelia herself.
So, he confessed honestly.
“You talked about the cookie like you’d never had one before… I thought if you were beggars, I could invite you over to eat some… Our house has a lot.”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
He couldn’t meet Amelia’s eyes.
“You… really are a disaster when it comes to talking.”
“A disaster? What’s that?”
“It just means you’re really bad at it.”
Amelia sighed and pointed a finger at him.
“I’m telling you this because I don’t think you meant harm, but asking someone if they’re a beggar is extremely rude. It’s very offensive.”
“Why?”
“What do you think a beggar is?”
Lucian blinked, thinking.
“Someone with no home, no family, and no food?”
“Would people like that feel happy or sad?”
“They’d feel sad.”
“Then if we get asked that kind of question, would we feel happy or sad?”
“We’d feel sad.”
“So, is it okay to say something like that or not?”
“…It’s not okay.”
The last words came out as Lucian lowered his head. He finally realized the mistake he had made.
‘Auntie told me not to do things that make others sad.’
He had broken his promise to her again. If she found out, she might be so shocked that she’d collapse. Or worse—she might decide she didn’t need a bad child like him and leave him.
“I’m sorry…”
Just imagining his aunt leaving made his eyes well up with tears. On top of that, he had hurt Amelia, the person he wanted to impress the most.
“…Sigh.”
Seeing Lucian on the verge of tears, Amelia let out a deep sigh. Then, she lowered the finger she had been pointing at him.
“I’ll let it go this time.”
“Really…?”
“Yeah. But I won’t forgive you next time.”
Amelia placed her hands firmly on her hips.
“From now on, think carefully before you speak. If you don’t, I won’t be your friend.”
“So, if I start being careful, will you be my friend?”
“I’ll think about it.”
Lucian’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Amelia. Just moments ago, he had been about to cry, but now he was beaming.
“Amelia, you’re really kind.”
Other kids would have screamed and run to tell the adults. But Amelia had forgiven him. She must be an angel!
“Then make sure you behave.”
“Okay, I will!”
Lucian nodded so hard that his eyebrows seemed to fly up.
‘He looks just like a stray kitten who just met its savior.’
Amelia chuckled.
Maybe, just like his aunt, Lucian had a warm heart—he just didn’t know how to express it properly yet.
She glanced down at the chocolate cookie in her hand.
‘…She kept her promise.’
Lucella was different from the other adults. She wasn’t someone who made promises she couldn’t keep and then disappeared.
Not only that, but she had even gotten rid of the cruel headmistress and staff.
‘If it’s her…’
Amelia hesitated for a moment, then unwrapped the cookie and took a bite.
The sweet taste filled her mouth.
