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The very next day after sending the letter, a reply came.
The later came really fast, but It wasn’t the letter that came from the post office.

 

Because this was from…

” Hello, this is a letter from the Duke of Crayman.
Are you Seirra Peirunte, the director of the ?”

 

I could feel the children snooping behind me.
I didn’t know what expression to make now.

I definitely thought the contents of my letter would catch his interest but it didn’t.

 

‘I didn’t expect him to send someone directly!’

The person who came with the letter could not be called a postman no matter how hard I looked at him.

The silvery-gray hair tied up in a ponytail and wearing luxurious silver-rimmed monocle on his one eye.
And clothes he was wearing were that of a gentleman, and most of all.

 

‘ The carriage he came in was also luxurious…….’

 

The carriage he was riding on was like the size of a house.
It gave me chills and it felt like it was telling me how serious this situation was.

It was troublesome.

I gulped down my saliva.
And answered him back with a stiff head.

 

“I am Seirra Peirunte, the director of .”

 

“I see.
Let me introduce myself first.
My name is Rick Henna Mun, the assistant of Duke Crayman.
I have the reply of your letter.
Here.”

 

After his introduction, he gave the letter to me with an elegant gesture.

I took the letter with a strained face.
And I glanced at him.

 

‘Why isn’t he going back?’

 

Despite delivering the letter safely, he stood there and looked at me.

His eyes were honestly urging me to read the letter.

After a while, Rick opened his mouth when I didn’t unseal the letter.

“You can open it here and give me an reply.”

 

I knew it.

The Duke of Crayman seemed unwilling to waste his time.

Maybe he didn’t want to give me a chance to play any tricks.
There was a possibility that he wrote that in the letter.

Anyway, I couldn’t just keep Rick standing like that, so I unsealed the letter with a nervous face.

When I opened the envelope and took out the letter inside it, I felt the texture of high-quality paper entangled in my fingers.

Taking a short deep breath, I quickly read the letter.

In fact, the letter was short and clear enough, even the expression of the person who is reading the letter can clearly tell what is written inside.

 

[I would like to talk to you in person.
If you also wish to talk in person, then come to the mansion in the carriage I sent.

– Dietrich Crayman]

 

That was all.
So,in name of reply he wanted me to go to his mansion.

It was more like summoning me to his mansion this instant.
I looked at Rick.
Perhaps he was aware of the contents of this letter.
That’s why he was standing like a rock and staring at me.

 

“His Excellency is waiting for the director.
Would you like to go?”

 

He was asking what my intentions were in the letter.
I strained my hand holding the letter.

 

There was no reason to avoid it.
No, rather, this was the situation I was hoping for.
Because I needed to face him to achieve what I wanted.

Looking at Rick with unshakable eyes, I said

 

“All right, I’ll go.”

 

“Then…”

 

“But There’s something I have to do before going.”

 

When Rick heard me he made a quizzical expression.

After telling him to wait for a while, I looked back at the children huddled at the front door.

I made a serious face.

 

***

 

“Don’t go outside recklessly.
Don’t touch sharp objects.
I made sandwiches for snacks, so if you’re feeling hungry, eat those sandwiches.
And don’t eat cold food before you go to bed.
You’ll get a stomachache.
Even if someone you don’t know asks you to let them in…….”

 

“All right, stop…”…！”

 

When I couldn’t stop talking, Chloran, who couldn’t stand it, shouted.
There was a clear sign of boredom on top of his pretty face.

 

But I was relieved at that sight.

 

Anyway, being able to express my feelings honestly like this was also a sign that I was one step closer to them.

 

But I couldn’t help being anxious.

 

‘It’s because of the accident that happened on my first day going out in this world.’

 

And I knew there was no way that it would not happen again.
So I was paying them a lot more attention like this, but it seemed just like nagging in Chloran’s eyes.

I swallowed a sigh and said soothingly.

 

“It won’t take long.
I’m going to stop by the market when I come back, so is there anything you want to eat?”

 

Chloran, who was grumbling at my question, flinched.
Then he showed hesitation.

His head that was about to turn towards me creaked and turned toward the wall.

A few minutes passed, and Cloane muttered while staring at the wall.

 

“……children’s meal.”

 

“Huh? What?”

 

But the sound was so soft.

So, I couldn’t hear him.

When I asked again, Chloran’s shoulders trembled.
Then he raised his voice a little.

 

” I want to have….
children’s meal or something like that!”

 

I blinked.

After thinking about Chloran ‘s words for a moment, I asked in a sly voice with a smile.

 

“Hmm.
It looks like Chloran must have loved the food I cooked for him!”

 

“It’s not that.
It’s my first time eating such food, so…… It’s not because the cutlets that the director made for me were delicious, but because it was already an amazing dish!”

 

Perhaps Chloran himself doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

I looked at Chloran with affectionate eyes and chuckled.

 

Then Chloran kicked his tongue and turned his head away.

 

To Chloran, I was the director who was an enemy to fight.
Asking me to do something like that means that the cutlets I made for him suited his taste.

 

‘So cute.’

 

I was thrilled that the child, who use to hate me, started to open up little by little.

However, if I push him further it will only have an adverse effect.

I asked Chloran, looking back at the children.

 

 

“Alright, Chloran wants to have the cutlets.
Is there anything else you all want to eat? What about you Roddy? Is there anything you want to eat? ”

 

Roddy, who was clinging to Ren, blinked, at my question.
Soon she exclaimed with a bright face.

 

“I want to eat what the director made for us before.”

 

“Oh,You mean omurice.
Alright, Roddy wants to have omurice.
What about Ren and Eddy?”

 

“Well, I…”

Eddy glanced at Ren at the end.

As soon as my eyes reached Ren, Ren also noticed that Eddy was looking at her.

 

Ren, who had been thinking for a while, soon realized something and smiled.

Ren asked, “Eddy, do you want to eat fried rice director cooked for us again?”

 

“Huh? Can I really have it again?”

 

“Of course you can.
Do you want to have something else too?”

 

“Oh, no! I only want that, Ren.”

 

Eddy’s cheeks were red at Ren’s words.
She seemed to be happy while twisting his fingers.

Looking at this scene, I felt as if I had been struck by lightning.

 

‘I knew it, Ren was mature from the beginning.’

 

Taking care of the belligerent Chloran and young Roddy together, naturally Ren became a more mature and friendly child.

 

‘Looks like I have underestimated the children too much.’

I thought that somehow I would need my whole strength to put Eddy between the children who had already formed a deep bond.

 

The kids were bad at looking out for others, so I thought more effort was required to constantly alert Eddy’s presence to them.

But now there was no need for that.
As the situation got better, the kids, at least Ren, accepted Eddy and started to get attached to her.

 

Now I knew what I had to do.
I needed to create an atmosphere where children could relax their vigilance toward other and naturally get along.

The reason why the children could not accept Eddy in the novel was because they could not afford to let their guard down while trying to survive in the barren environment of this orphanage.

 

Now I just needed to make this place liveable.

That was the extent of my role.
But I sincerely wanted to try to do something more for them.

It was an indescribable feeling.

The only thing that I was certain of was that I really wanted to create an environment in which these children didn’t have to suffer anymore.

 

For that, this mutual meeting had to end successfully.

With determination, I looked at Jake for the last time.

Ever since the duke’s carriage arrived, Jake has looked somewhat precarious.

Looking at Jack like that silently, I called to him.

 

“Jake.”

 

“…….”

 

Jake looked at me.
I knew what Jake was nervous about.
What did the duke have to do with a place like this? That was probably what he was thinking.

 

It may not be appropriate for the situation.
But I really wanted to reassure this child.

 

“Don’t worry.
I will protect you no matter what.”

 

The children looked at me puzzled by my mysterious words, but I just looked at Jack focusedly.

 

Jack’s eyes opened slowly.

Looking at his figure, I asked in a warm voice.

 

“What do you want to eat, Jack?”

 

Jack smoothed his lips a few times with a frozen face.
At the end, a small voice leaked out.

“… Omurice.”