CH 18

Perseus knew that Stella’s previous outburst of tears had made May uncomfortable. Despite knowing this, he continued to make May apologize.

‘Sorry, Young Lady.’

‘I did everything wrong.’

‘Please forgive me.’

Even though the young child looked upset and was trying to hold back tears, he kept making her apology.

The reason was simple. It was to educate May.

It was purely May’s fault for falling into the mockery made by an eleven-year-old.

If May hadn’t acted in a way that made others see her as a joke in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened.

It was a realization from this experience that they should never be subjected to ridicule again.

That was why Persis kept apologizing to May.

So when Stella came to apologize for what happened that day, she didn’t seem entirely innocent.

Thump, thump. Stella’s heart pounded like a bat hitting a ball with strong hostility.

‘What happened…? Did May spill everything that happened between us?’

“Um, did you happen to hear from the master…?”

“Do I really have to hear it?”

“Well, no…”

The more they talked, the more absurd it seemed to Stella. She couldn’t believe that this man in front of her would someday become her father.

“I don’t know if you know this, but May is a girl. She’s been living as a son to avoid being kicked out of this house.”

He rested his arm on the sofa armrest and propped his face with his left hand.

“And that kind of kid caused trouble for my friend’s niece? Just because of a simple comment that she’s pretty?”

Stella’s complexion turned pale in an instant.

“Um, so what that means is…”

He kept making her apologize even though he knew that it wasn’t May’s fault?

Why? What did he want to gain?

‘To see how pathetic she looked?’

But whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter now. She knew it was her fault, so he had to apologize.

Stella bowed her head and trembled.

“I, I’m sorry… for daring to speak to you…”

“No one here deserves an apology.”

As she was confessing her mistake, the most shocking news hit her ears.

“We sent her to the orphanage.”

Her heart felt like it stopped for a moment.

‘You sent her to an orphanage…?’

Knowing the original story, she shook as if she was experiencing an earthquake.

“May, May, was sent to an orphanage? Then that child is…”

“So, don’t come to Flotina anymore. If possible, don’t even show up in front of me.”

Persis got up from his seat and walked towards the entrance of the reception room.

“Never let me see a wicked brat like you again.”

He left those words and left, leaving Stella in shock and staying in the reception room for a long time.

***

It has been a week since I left the Florentina dukedom and came to the orphanage run by Viscount Tibor.

Fortunately, life at the orphanage was not as bad as I had imagined. The facility was clean and well-managed by the Viscount, and while the food wasn’t plentiful, the children weren’t starving, and the care provided by the teachers was decent.

The only somewhat disappointing thing was that the orphanage children didn’t play with me and that the little one sleeping next to me kept encroaching on my space.

Well, it’s okay for now that she encroaches on my sleeping space. I’m still having trouble adapting to the unfamiliar sleeping arrangement, so I’m having trouble sleeping, anyway.

The children didn’t play with me because they thought I would be the first one to get adopted since I was pretty. I understand it to a certain extent. When a close friend leaves the orphanage, it can make you both jealous and sad.

Still, it’s a bit sad when they ignore me when I talk to them.

‘Oh, I miss Ellen and Joan….’

I don’t know how much Ellen and Joan cried before getting on the carriage to the orphanage. Joan is a sensitive child, and I’ve seen her cry a lot, but it was the first time I saw Ellen cry so hard. I think I regretted my decision to go to the orphanage a little bit back then.

Floa hasn’t shown his face since I collapsed. I wanted to say goodbye to him, but he didn’t appear.

I didn’t show it, but did I dislike him? Well, maybe I didn’t want him to prevent me from becoming a guardian, since I may not be a descendant of Flotina. Even if I disliked him, I would still say goodbye. Heartless Floa.

I was sitting alone in a corner, unable to mingle with the children as usual, when I heard the sound of a carriage getting closer outside the building. The children peeked out the window to see who was coming as the driver calmed the horses and stopped the carriage.

I felt tense, wondering if it was a scammer who came to buy and sell the children as slaves.

Soon, someone entered the orphanage. I was surprised when I saw who it was.

It was Stella, the platinum blonde girl who had a halo-like glow around her last time she made fun of me.

I rubbed my eyes, thinking that I might be mistaken. Then, the orphanage teacher came over and introduced me to Stella.

Suddenly, Stella appeared in front of me, looking more humane than before.

As if she was worried about me unexpectedly, she furrowed her brows and narrowed her eyes when she saw me.

“You tell me honestly. Where is it missing?”

Slightly caught off guard by her sudden attack, I blurted out a childish defense.

“It’s not? Mrs. Yudif said I was smart.”

“Who’s that again…”

Stella pierced through me with a worried gaze, then grabbed my arm and quickly pulled me up.

I was surprised by the sudden movement and could only blink my eyes.

Why is she so strong…?

“Let’s talk outside.”

Stella dragged me outside and took me to the back of the orphanage. I wondered if she came here to pick a fight.

Stella let go of my arm and suddenly got angry.

“Are you crazy? Why did you come to the orphanage? Are you insane and want to die?”

I replied calmly, “Why did you come here?”

“I don’t know! It’s just how I feel!”

I stayed silent.

Stella, with a confident strut, hooked her arm in mine and turned her head with a flourish. Strangely, her demeanor didn’t bother me.

Stella poked at me, grumbling, “If you’re going to leave, do it my way. Why go to an orphanage?”

“I already told you, it’s dangerous for a ten-year-old to live alone.”

“Isn’t an orphanage dangerous too? There’s nowhere more dangerous for you than with me. Or are you going to live with guilt for the rest of your life, thinking you killed me or something?”

I chuckled at the mention of guilt coming from Stella. Yet, somehow, I was relieved that she didn’t seem like such a bad person after all.

“Who’s going to die? I’m not going to die.”

“I went to the orphanage because if I don’t, other victims will appear.”

“…”

Stella’s momentum subsided a bit, and a moment of silence passed. I opened my mouth again.

“I came because I can’t let other victims appear.”

Then she swept her wavy hair from front to back as if it were ridiculous.

“Are you playing the hero? No one acknowledges you for doing that. You’re the only one who gets closer to death.”

She must be a real fool. She’s willing to risk her own life to prevent an unknown child from becoming a victim.

The short-haired girl in front of me gave a foolish answer.

“I acknowledge you, so it doesn’t matter if no one else does.”

Although it all started with Persis offering to send me to the orphanage, I ultimately chose to come here. The moment I realized that there would be other victims, even if he hadn’t kicked me out, I would have come here eventually.

“I can’t let another child die, even if it means I have to die.”

Hero play? No. It wasn’t about a sense of justice from the beginning. I just couldn’t stand seeing anyone sacrificed.

“Are you really that much of a fool? You’re definitely lacking in something.”

“Yeah, maybe I am. Do you have anything else to say?”

What?”

Stella was surprised at how quickly I admitted it.

“If you have nothing else to say, I’ll be going. Take care, Stella.”

As I tried to leave and enter the orphanage, Stella quickly grabbed me, surprised.

“Hey…! I haven’t even heard the main point yet…!”

Wasn’t I done with my conclusion?”

Once again, I thought I had said everything.

When I asked clumsily, Stella hit her own chest impatiently as if she was frustrated.

“You fool! Why do you think I came here? I came to rescue you!”

“I told you already, I came here by my own choice. I didn’t want any more victims to appear, so I came here pretending to be adopted by the scammer.”

Then Stella asked me with a desolate look on her face.

“Do you really want to be adopted by a scammer?”

I couldn’t understand why she was saying that.

“Why are you saying that? Isn’t it better for you if I’m here? It’s what you wanted, to live the original story.”

Stella couldn’t say anything in response. She had clearly said that before.

“Are you playing the hero? You have no reason to care about me. Or did you suddenly feel sorry for how you treated me last time?”