“My lady, we’ve arrived.”
Lost in thought, I hadn’t realized the carriage had already reached its destination.
With the coachman helping me down, I stepped onto the ground.
The first thing that caught my eye was a large wooden sign bearing the words:
Busnier Orphanage.
Beyond it stretched a small patch of bare earth. Pebbles and crushed flower petals littered the ground, making it obvious that this miserable dirt lot served as the children’s playground.
“There isn’t even a single toy in this excuse for a playground?”
They could have at least bought the children a shovel for building sandcastles.
Clicking my tongue in disapproval, I crossed the dirt field masquerading as a playground. Ahead stood a tiny building—not even a quarter of a quarter the size of the duke’s estate.
“…This place is in even worse condition than I expected.”
Up close, it looked far shabbier than it had from a distance.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the exterior walls. Broken windows had been patched over with thick wooden boards, and one entire corner had lost every trace of paint.
It was a gloomy ruin that was difficult to believe was an orphanage at all.
“I suppose I should knock first…”
The wooden front door was so weathered that it looked ready to crumble. If I knocked, I feared I might smash it off its hinges.
“Who’s there?”
Fortunately, someone called out before I accidentally destroyed the entrance.
Turning toward the voice, I found a middle-aged woman with an unpleasant, sour-looking face staring back at me.
“I’ve come to see the children.”
She scrutinized me with suspicion for only a moment before her gaze swept rapidly over my appearance.
More precisely, over my clothes.
My outfit wasn’t particularly flashy, but the fabric was of exceptional quality. The same could be said for my shoes and gloves.
Among nobles it would be considered ordinary, but to a commoner it was attire beyond imagination.
“O-Oh, I see!”
For an instant, it almost sounded as though I could hear coins clinking in her head as she calculated my worth.
Her wariness vanished immediately, replaced by exaggerated bows as she hurried toward me.
“H-Had you informed us in advance, we would have come to welcome you.”
“There’s no need. I’m hardly such an important guest.”
“It’s so chilly today. If only we’d known beforehand, we could have prepared some warm tea for—”
“More importantly, how long am I supposed to stand outside? As you just said, it’s rather cold.”
I cut her off.
I knew exactly why she was trying to stall.
“O-Of course! I’ll escort you inside right away. Just… just wait a minute! No, only one minute!”
After repeatedly insisting that I stay put, the woman hurried off somewhere.
Almost immediately, frantic noises erupted from beyond the door.
They must be scrambling to clean up.
I didn’t even need to see it.
The orphanage was usually a complete disaster.
The lazy director rarely cleaned anywhere except his own office. The only time the staff bothered tidying the place was before a noble visitor arrived.
After all, no aristocrat wanted to adopt a child raised in filth. Naturally, they had to impress wealthy patrons.
Unfortunately for them, I had no intention of waiting.
Without hesitation, I grasped the doorknob.
The door swung open with a loud creak.
The moment I stepped inside, I came face-to-face with a child.
He was clutching a filthy rag, wiping stains from the floor.
And he had vivid crimson eyes.
“…”
“…”
Silence settled between us.
Eyes as red as burning flames were rare enough on their own.
More importantly, the boy looked astonishingly like Duke Bellomon.
His long hair obscured nearly half his face, but the lower half that remained visible was practically identical to the duke’s.
It was easy to imagine that if the duke had been a child, he would have looked exactly like this.
Even his slightly wavy hair was black as polished ebony.
There’s no doubt about it. It’s Edwin.
I was certain.
Considering everything before me, this child had to be the Duke of Bellomon’s son—the protagonist of From Bastard to Family Head.
But…
Why was Edwin holding a rag?
Crack!
The sharp sound of breaking wood shattered the brief silence.
Turning around, I found the front door lying on the ground, its hinges completely snapped off.
“…”
So it broke after all.
I had expected as much.
“T-There was no need to come in! We asked you to wait outside!”
The panicked voice made me turn again.
A balding man who looked to be around fifty stood there, his shiny scalp exposed and a large mole marking the left side of his upper lip.
His appearance alone made his identity obvious.
He was the director of this orphanage.
“W-What are you all doing? Hurry and greet our guest!”
At the director’s signal, the child put down his rag and rose to his feet.
The others followed suit, setting aside the cardboard boxes and blankets they had been carrying before bowing politely to me.
But I couldn’t return their greeting.
“…Were you making the children clean?”
When I had entered, Edwin had been scrubbing the stained floor.
The other children had been doing much the same. Some clutched piles of collected trash, while others hurriedly folded blankets into untidy stacks.
The evidence was plain.
The director had assigned even the adults’ cleaning duties to the children.
The original story had mentioned that he constantly exploited the orphans, though it had never gone into detail.
I had never imagined he would make children barely a meter tall do the cleaning.
“O-Of course not!”
The director waved his hands frantically in denial.
“The children are simply such kind-hearted little angels. Whenever it’s time to clean or prepare meals, they insist on helping. Isn’t that right, children?”
“Yes…”
“You heard them! They’re all such wonderful kids! Hahaha!”
Ignoring the director’s forced laughter, I looked toward the children instead.
Every single one of them answered reluctantly.
I wanted to call out the obvious lie.
But now wasn’t the time.
Replacing the corrupt director and staff would have to wait until I gathered undeniable evidence.
“These angelic children will adapt wonderfully once they’re adopted.”
Apparently, the director assumed I had come looking to adopt a child.
Well, he isn’t entirely wrong. I do intend to take Edwin with me.
But not immediately.
If I suddenly adopted the duke’s son, people would undoubtedly become suspicious.
“Before deciding on an adoption, I’d like to spend time getting to know the children. Not just today—I intend to visit regularly.”
“Absolutely! That would be wonderful.”
The director rubbed his hands together with greedy enthusiasm.
“As it happens, it’s nearly mealtime. I thought perhaps I could eat with the children and get acquainted.”
“E-Eat with them?”
“Is that a problem?”
“N-Not exactly, but we don’t have food worthy of serving a noble lady…”
“I’m not particular about what I eat, so don’t trouble yourself.”
“I-I understand. Then please wait here just a moment.”
“Very well. I’ll spend some time with the children.”
Exchanging glances among themselves, the director and the staff hurried away.
Feeling slightly awkward, I sat down on the floor.
This is my first time dealing with so many children at once.
All of them stood frozen, nervously watching me.
In situations like this, the adult has to make the first move.
Children were naturally shy.
And these children weren’t just young—they were commoners. Speaking to an unfamiliar noblewoman must have been intimidating.
Thinking back to how I used to play with Lucian, I spoke up.
“W-Who wants to play with toys with me?”
I even made my voice a little higher than usual.
Mine tended to be lower than most women’s, and I didn’t want to frighten them.
“Oh? Look at this cute doll!”
I bent down and picked up a doll lying on the floor.
“Me!”
“Me too! I want to play!”
Several children hurried over, their eyes sparkling.
Thank goodness. At least some of them aren’t too shy.
They really were little angels.
Relieved, I smiled and waved the doll.
“Come on then. Let’s play dolls together with Auntie.”
The words had barely left my mouth when—
Pop.
The doll’s head fell clean off and rolled onto the floor.
“…”
The warm, cheerful atmosphere froze instantly.
With its head separated from its body, the doll looked grotesque enough to terrify any young child.
“I-I’ll fix it.”
I desperately tried to force the head back into place.
But once something broke, restoring it was rarely easy.
“It’s okay.”
“Let’s just play with blocks instead.”
Fortunately, the children acted as though this sort of thing happened all the time and brought over other toys.
“Shall we?”
At least that spared me further embarrassment.
But my relief lasted only a moment.
Not a single toy they produced was intact.
“Why is this doll’s dress stained?”
“A mouse peed on it.”
“And why are all the edges of these blocks worn away?”
“It rained a lot this summer. They rotted.”
“…Maybe we should play something besides toys.”
Resolving to replace not only the broken front door but every toy in the orphanage, I offered another idea.
“How about tag?”
It wasn’t exactly dignified entertainment for a noble lady, but children this age loved games that involved running around.
“Sounds great!”
Thankfully, they agreed enthusiastically.
“It’s so nice having a pretty big sister play with us.”
Their sweet compliments certainly brightened my mood.
Still… it feels like I’m only playing with part of the group.
I looked toward the children huddled quietly in the corner.
Among them sat Edwin, crouched silently without saying a word.
“Come on, everyone. Don’t just sit over there. Join us.”
“…”
“It’ll make lunch taste even better after you’ve had some fun.”
I tried every form of persuasion I could think of.
None of them moved.
This is a problem.
The biggest reason I had come here was to get close to Edwin.
The boy who would one day determine Lucian’s future couldn’t remain indifferent to me.
“Big Sister, just leave them alone and play with us.”
“Hm?”
“They like sitting there. If they don’t want to play, there’s no point forcing them.”
“That may be true, but wouldn’t it be more fun if everyone joined in?”
“Well… if you insist.”
The brown-haired child who had spoken to me puffed out his cheeks before walking over to the group in the corner.
“Hey. Get up already.”
“…”
“Didn’t you hear? Big Sister wants everyone to play together!”
At those words—more command than request—Edwin and the others slowly climbed to their feet.
Watching the scene unfold, I felt an inexplicable sense that something was wrong.