Episode 103

Following my instructions, the carriage bypassed the temple’s main entrance and headed to the opposite side, near the orphanage.

Unless there was a major event, like the Goddess’s birthday celebration, there was no need to pass through the temple to reach the orphanage.

This time, I made sure to bring Gomgomdori, which I had forgotten last time.

Even though the place was full of children, there was no telling what might happen.

‘Of course. Bodyguards are meant to stay with you like your shadow.’

The carriage circled around the temple and stopped in front of the orphanage.

As if they had been informed in advance, a couple of people were waiting at the entrance.

“Hello, Belze.”

A young man greeted me warmly as I hopped off the carriage.

“I’m Magnus, the newly appointed head priest of the orphanage. We met briefly during the volunteer event last time, remember?”

“Ah…!”

His familiar face jogged my memory.

He was the priest who had assisted the Pope during the announcement of the Saintess candidates.

It seemed that after the previous headmistress and the priestesses were removed, their positions had been filled by new people.

“This is Priestess Celine, who will be in charge of the Lion Class, your former group.”

“Hello. Nice to meet you, Belze.”

Magnus introduced the woman standing next to him.

Her face was unfamiliar, but both of them seemed better than the previous administrators.

‘Still, I can’t let my guard down around anyone from the temple.’

Hiding my rising wariness, I greeted them politely.

“Hello!”

“So, you came to see your friends after a long time? Let’s head inside; the children are waiting for you.”

“Oh! I brought snacks!”

“Snacks?”

Just then, the coachman and Tara opened the luggage compartment of the carriage.

The eyes of the head priest and the priestess widened at the sight of the neatly wrapped boxes inside.

“Oh my, you didn’t have to bring so much…”

“Thank you, Belze. The children are going to love this.”

“Hehe.”

Smiling proudly at their praise, I helped carry the boxes inside.

“My lady, I’ll wait in the carriage! If anything happens, come get me immediately!”

After assisting with the heavy dessert boxes, Tara left the orphanage, casting a few worried glances back at me.

‘What’s there to worry about? I’m from the same background as these kids. Dragging a maid along would be ridiculous.’

Unlike Diana, I didn’t want to act like that.

In my previous life, Diana, who had been adopted by a marquess family early on, often visited the orphanage with plenty of delicious food.

Since I lived in the temple rather than the orphanage, I hardly ever got to eat any of it.

The priests, who disliked me, often didn’t bother passing my share along.

On the rare occasion when scraps came my way, I’d lick the plate clean like a dog.

Ironically, those fleeting moments of eating were the only happy times I had at the temple.

‘What a cruel twist of fate.’

To think there were moments when I felt happiness thanks to the food Diana brought, even though I despised and envied her.

And now, I had unintentionally stepped into Diana’s shoes.

As I carried the boxes into the Lion Class room, I saw the children sitting together in clusters.

“Everyone~ Look who’s here! It’s Belze, the Saintess candidate from last time, and she’s brought some delicious treats!”

Celine, the new priestess in charge, announced cheerfully to the children.

“Before we eat, how about we thank Belze first?”

“…Thank you, Belze!”

The children, who had been fidgeting nervously, began to speak one by one.

“Wow, Belze is amazing!”

“Belze must be way richer than Diana!”

Their innocent exclamations and the admiring looks they gave me made my shoulders relax unexpectedly.

‘I thought being in Diana’s position would feel great…’

But it wasn’t as satisfying as I’d imagined.

After all, they were just 4- or 5-year-olds, happy over a piece of chocolate.

Why did I envy Diana so much back then, seeing how the children looked at her?

Facing my old insecurities, I felt a twinge of embarrassment and self-reproach.

“Thank you, Goddess, for providing us with our daily bread!”

After a brief prayer, the children tore into the packaging and devoured the desserts eagerly.

Watching them, my hardened heart began to soften.

‘…At least I don’t regret bringing these.’

Despite being tied to the temple, the orphanage wasn’t better off than others.

Donations were limited to talents, and the budget was entirely at the discretion of the headmistress.

Even so-called volunteer work was often just an excuse to sell goods to nobles, like at the last event.

No one cared about providing what the children truly needed.

“Hey! That’s mine! Don’t take it!”

“Too bad! Eat faster next time!”

‘See what I mean?’

A stronger child was already taking food from a weaker one.

The priestess, too busy attending to the younger children, didn’t notice.

With the head priest and other staff delivering desserts to other groups, the Lion Class had been left unsupervised.

Sighing, I braced myself and shouted, “Hey!”

The children froze, turning to look at me in shock.

Scowling, I continued, “There’s plenty for everyone, so stop stealing! Anyone who takes someone else’s snack won’t even get soup! Got it?!”

My glare seemed to work; the offending child reluctantly returned the stolen treat.

From then on, the children shared the desserts peacefully.

“Ha-ha, thanks to Belze, I’m getting some rare rest today. Isn’t that right, kids?”

Perhaps to lighten the mood, Priestess Celine made a lighthearted joke.

“Yeah! It’s all thanks to Belze!”

“She used to be a little scary, but she’s really nice now!”

“So Belze is richer than Diana for real, right?”

The tension eased, and the children began chattering excitedly again.

Even though I had scolded them, most of their comments were about how great I was.

But that didn’t mean my old grudge was entirely gone.

They might forget these moments quickly, leaving them as just another fleeting memory.

But for me, the scars of those times had lasted a lifetime.

 

“Diana! Come play with me! Belze, go away! Bleh!”

“Diana! Let’s race to see who can climb up first!”

 

Even in my past life and now in this one, the children who once idolized Diana and helped ostracize me hadn’t changed.

And yet.

Even so, I decided to forgive the orphanage children.

‘It wasn’t the children’s fault.’

It was the headmistress and the priests who manipulated them that were to blame.

Children, as easily influenced as they are, could have their minds changed with just a few words from an adult, as Priestess Celine had just demonstrated.

I knew that now.

After visiting the Lion Class, I continued to make rounds to the other groups, receiving their thanks.

Hearing stories about Diana during my time at the temple, I’d always thought she was so impressive and amazing.

But now, after finishing with even the Giraffe Class, where the older kids aged 14 and above were, all I felt was embarrassment and exhaustion.

‘How did Diana manage to do this every single time she visited?’

Apparently, being a heroine wasn’t for everyone.

As I was shaking my head in disbelief, Magnus, the new head priest, smiled kindly and asked, “Belze, would you like to stay and play with the Lion Class some more?”

I shook my head.

“No.”

“Then are you leaving already?”

“Not exactly… There’s someone I’m looking for.”

I hadn’t trudged through all the groups just for show—I was looking for Ismail.

Of course, if I asked the head priest or one of the staff, they’d bring him to me immediately.

But knowing that he was pretending to be powerless and mute, I didn’t want to openly reveal my connection to him to these temple people.

‘And I wanted to make a grand entrance when I found him…’

I pouted in frustration.

Magnus tilted his head curiously and asked, “Who? I’ve already told the teachers to gather all the children in their groups to eat the desserts…”

As expected, the newly appointed head priest hadn’t yet noticed the bullying and violence happening within the orphanage.

‘Or maybe, like the former headmistress, he’s just choosing to ignore it.’

Smiling faintly, I replied, “I’ll find him myself! I think I know where he is!”

“Is that so?”

Fortunately, Magnus didn’t press the issue further and let it go easily.

As soon as he left, I dropped the smile and dashed through the hallway.

[Book Storage Area]

I ran past the library to the far end of the hallway, arriving at a side door.

Creak.

Thankfully, it wasn’t locked.

After checking that no one was around, I slipped outside without hesitation.

I sprinted down the narrow path leading to the garbage dump and arrived at the incinerator, where I finally found them.

“See? I told you, stealing Ismail’s stuff always tastes the best.”

“Hey, Tommy. Doesn’t your Baron send you anything like this?”

“Are you kidding? He dumped me in this orphanage, didn’t he?”

The three burly boys I’d seen on the volunteer day were laughing and joking loudly.

In the middle of them was a small, dirtied figure lying crumpled on the ground like a discarded piece of trash.

“Hey, I wonder—can a mute even taste food? Yo, Ismail, do you even know how this stuff tastes?”

The bullies, stuffing themselves with the desserts I had brought, suddenly dropped a tart they were holding.

Splat.

The tart landed cream-side down on Ismail’s ash-brown hair.

My vision went white with fury as I screamed,

“Teddy-teddy bear! Activate rage mode—NOW!”

 

 

 

 

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