Episode 62

“Miss, it’s me.”

The visitor was the butler.

‘Why is the butler here…?’

While I was puzzled, Tara opened the door.

“Good morning, Miss.”

The butler entered the room and politely greeted me before explaining his reason for coming.

“Miss, the Duke has requested that you join him for breakfast before you leave for the temple.”

“Ah, breakfast…?”

“Yes. It seems that Young Master Edwin and Master Joshua will also be joining.”

I widened my eyes at the sudden invitation.

‘Edwin is always diligent, so that’s understandable… but Joshua too?’

Seeing my confusion, the butler added.

“Should I inform him that you are still getting ready?”

“Hm? I’m all done!”

“Oh…”

He briefly looked me over with a hint of surprise before quickly guiding me downstairs.

“Then, let’s head downstairs.”

I tilted my head in curiosity and followed him.

 

“Welcome, Belze.”

As I entered the dining room with the butler, the Duke and his two sons greeted me warmly.

“Good morning.”

“Belze! You’re going to the temple today, right?”

Seeing them greet me made me feel very strange.

In my past life, we had very rarely eaten together.

But it was never in a friendly atmosphere.

And Joshua wasn’t even there back then…

Every time I experienced these differences from my past life, the morning anxiety that everything might just be a dream eased a bit.

“Good morning, Your Grace! Hello, Edwin! Hi, Josh!”

I ran cheerfully to the table with a bright smile.

The Duke scolded me as he saw me running.

“Hey. Don’t run.”

“Hehe, sorry.”

I just couldn’t help it, I was so happy.

“Up you go! Here you go, Miss.”

With the butler’s help, I sat down opposite Edwin and Joshua, and food was immediately brought in from the kitchen.

Before long, the table was laden with a feast.

‘Is today some special day?’

I looked at the table with wide eyes.

It was like a banquet, with a lavish spread of food from the very beginning of the day.

And almost all of it was my favorite!

‘The chef is the best!’

While I silently praised the chef, the Duke intoned.

“Let’s eat.”

And so, the meal began.

Given the presence of young children, the servants cut the food into small pieces and placed a variety of dishes on our plates without following a strict order.

Of course, this treatment was only for Joshua and me.

‘As expected, Edwin is a noble through and through.’

He skillfully used adult cutlery instead of the children’s utensils in front of me.

Watching the elegant and mature Edwin made my heart flutter and also feel a bit embarrassed.

Eating with such small and cute spoon and fork felt a bit childish.

‘It can’t be helped! I am a child. I am a child!’

After several rounds of self-affirmation, I energetically started eating.

‘Yum! Delicious!’

Once I started eating, my embarrassment vanished in an instant.

I ate heartily with my light fork and spoon.

At that moment, the Duke, sipping his coffee, looked at me.

“Your table manners are quite proper.”

‘Oh no!’

I realized too late that I had been acting too naturally.

For a commoner orphan who had just arrived at the Duke’s residence to know noble etiquette so well was contradictory.

‘W-What should I do?’

I nervously sucked on the end of my fork, glancing around cautiously.

Fortunately, the Duke chuckled.

“Did you learn this at the temple?”

“Y-Yes…”

“At least they’re doing something useful.”

The Duke casually disparaged the temple.

In other words, he meant that teaching table manners was their only useful deed.

I felt a bit embarrassed and muttered to myself.

‘Actually, I learned it from you, Duke.’

That was something I could never tell him.

Of course, in my previous life, I had no clue about table manners.

After being sponsored and having my first lunch with the Duke, I had no idea which utensils to use and made a mess of the meal.

In the orphanage or the temple, we only used one wooden spoon.

I didn’t know that each fork and spoon had a specific order and purpose, or that a servant would take away used utensils immediately.

So, when I used whatever was at hand, by the time I got to the main course, only the small dessert spoon was left.

“…When you’re unsure, use the ones on the outside first.”

“The smaller ones are usually for desserts. The ones with ridges and rounded edges are for fish dishes.”

Instead of scolding me, the Duke had explained patiently and summoned new utensils with a ring of the bell.

Although I learned more thoroughly from a private tutor later, that crash course saved me from being labeled a ‘beast-like commoner.’

Remembering that time, I stared nostalgically at the children’s cutlery.

“Joshua should learn soon too. When will he start acting more mature?”

The Duke sighed, looking at Joshua.

I glanced over and saw Joshua with his face buried in his plate, shoveling food with a spoon.

“Hmm?”

Sensing our gazes, Joshua lifted his head, cheeks puffed out with food.

“Ah, adorable!”

Clang, clatter—

I quickly dropped my spoon on the floor.

“I-I don’t know much either…”

I laughed awkwardly, subtly defending Joshua.

I didn’t want him to get scolded or feel discouraged because of me.

“They’re still young, so it’s understandable.”

Fortunately, the Duke didn’t scold me for my mistake.

He simply rang the bell again, summoning a new spoon.

“I’m finished! More, please!”

Joshua cheerfully called out, his plate already empty.

He seemed oblivious to my efforts to shield him from his father’s criticism.

‘Sigh… being a kid isn’t easy.’

I then ate more casually like Joshua.

As the meal progressed, the Duke finally revealed the reason for our early gathering.

“The reason we are all having breakfast together today is to support Belze.”

I felt dazed, as if hearing an unfamiliar word.

“S-Support…?”

“Yes.”

The Duke nodded.

“Today is quite important for you. The child who earns the most talents is chosen as the Holy Child.”

That reminded me of a fact I had almost forgotten.

‘…Right. That was part of the setting, too.’

Surprisingly, this novel’s world also had the concept of ‘talents.’

Just like in Korean church bazaars, except here, the talents were not fake paper money but real gold coins!

Talents held the same value as gold coins and could be exchanged at the temple like casino chips.

Nobles used these talents to buy items made by the orphans or to utilize their abilities.

The child with the most talents was chosen as the Holy Child, who would then keep all the talents received!

Of course, the temple would take everything from the other children.

‘Bunch of crooks…!’

In the original story, Diana usually won the title of Holy Child.

This year would be no different.

「Diana, who was still young and inexperienced, didn’t shine much in her first year.

But this year was different.

After experiencing many trials and errors at the Marquis’s house, she became adept at using her healing powers.

Nobles, eager to witness her miraculous abilities, rushed with talents in hand…」

Since this marks the official start of the novel, Diana naturally becomes the Holy Child this year.

However, unfortunately for her, I had no intention of yielding that position today.

‘Sorry, Diana.’

Maybe next year.

Originally, I hadn’t planned on aiming for the Holy Child this year.

I didn’t want to change the original story too much.

My plan was to make money gradually after successfully cultivating fairy herbs.

However, the pecan pie incident changed everything.

Moreover, old man Gordon succeeded in transplanting the fairy herbs much faster than expected.

How could I miss such a good opportunity?

‘Why did you have to provoke the sleeping Belze?’

I really tried to get along.

If unexpected situations that weren’t in the original story kept pushing me into the role of a villain…

‘Then I have no choice but to act unpredictably too!’

As I was having these thoughts, the Duke suddenly asked.

“Are you well-prepared for the volunteer work?”

“Yes!”

I nodded confidently.

The Duke smiled slightly.

“I heard you’re making something.”

“…Gasp!”

My heart skipped a beat.

‘How did he know?’

I planned to keep it a secret for a while longer!

‘Old man! I won’t let you get away with this!’

I was worried that the Duke might already know about the fairy herbs, so I cautiously opened my mouth.

“W-Well, Your Grace.”

“Hm?”

“I’m making something. I used some things from the Duke’s estate…”

Right.

It’s better to confess early.

I closed my eyes tightly and shouted.

“I-I’ll definitely pay for using them!”

“Haha.”

The Duke suddenly laughed.

“Do you think I’m the kind of petty person who would take money from a child?”

“N-No! That’s not it…”

“Whatever it is, if you’re even offering to pay, the profit must be significant.”

“…”

“I’m quite curious to see how much you’ll give me.”

His voice was laced with amusement, and my confidence shrank.

‘It’s probably just pocket change to him anyway…’

At least the good news was that the Duke had allowed the use of fairy herbs.

‘Phew. He doesn’t seem to know what they are yet.’

Finally, I could breathe a sigh of relief.

Although there were no specifics given, permission was permission!

‘No backing out later, Your Grace.’

Then, Edwin suddenly asked.

“Why not just use your healing powers?”

“Oh? Well, that’s because…”

I hesitated but decided to tell the truth.

“…Honestly, I’m not very confident in healing.”

“…”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you…”

I was sincere.

Unlike my past life, I now had healing abilities and could even heal Joshua.

However, I didn’t think my abilities could surpass Diana’s.

‘How could I be better than the protagonist?’

That was the unchanging truth of the original story.

Perhaps because of my answer, the dining room’s atmosphere turned somber.

Edwin frowned deeply and said.

“Why? What’s wrong with you?”

“Right! I know you’ll be great at it!”

Following Edwin, Joshua also lifted his head from his plate and joined in.

‘They’re so kind.’

Seeing them believe in me warmed my heart.

But I didn’t want to waste time and emotions on something impossible, like in my past life.

Besides, I wasn’t very interested in healing anyone other than the people of the Duke’s household.

“Thank you, Edwin. Josh. But it’s true that Diana is better at healing than I am…”

“I don’t like her!”

Joshua grumbled, his mouth smeared with sauce.

Ever since hearing about the pecan pie incident, Joshua disliked Diana even more.

It was a relief for me, but thinking about the original story made me a bit worried.

“Don’t worry about anything.”

At that moment, the Duke spoke as if he could read my mind.

Startled, I looked at him.

“I told Logan to exchange enough talents last night.”

“Eh?”

“That Holy Child thing or whatever, just buy it with money.”