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Grace returned the emptied bottles to the merchant.
“It’s amazing how the invention of the Gate led to advances in distribution, which in turn improved food culture,” she said.
“That’s right!”
Benjamin’s eyes sparkled at Grace’s comment, and he nodded enthusiastically—far more than usual.
Grace was startled; she had never seen him this excited and froze stiffly. Seeing her reaction, Benjamin quickly calmed himself.
“Oh, no. I’m sorry.”
The Gate was also one of the projects invested in by the Pelton Duke family. It was a magical device—a sort of teleportation system.
Although its history was relatively short and it wasn’t installed across the Empire, the Gate clearly made distribution easier, allowing fresh ingredients to be traded with ease.
‘Opening the Gate is expensive, so you have to move a large amount at once…’
Even so, the advantages were enormous.
Grace thought it made sense that Benjamin would like the Gate. After all, the Pelton Duke family’s main source of income was magical stones, and the Gate was their second.
However, his answer was unexpected.
“I used to dream of becoming a Gate installer…”
“…….”
“But I never achieved it.”
That was understandable. In Earth terms, he was basically a major shareholder of a Gate company.
“I wanted to become a Gate installer so I could set them up anywhere in the world. Of course, as a Duke, I can help with that work, so I’m very happy.”
As he spoke, Benjamin kept shoving cake pops—whose origin was a mystery—into Grace’s mouth.
Usually, Grace would refuse anything offered to her, but today she seemed genuinely pleased to eat whatever was given.
‘Is he fattening me up for some purpose?’
Was he trying to make me dependent?
Grace almost suspected him, but the cake pops were just too delicious. She chewed and swallowed enthusiastically.
“Benny, aren’t you going to eat any?”
“Seeing you eat is enough for me,” he said.
Grace’s eyes narrowed slightly at his words. Finally, Benjamin popped the remaining cake pops from the bag into his own mouth.
“…….”
He chewed for a long while, covering his mouth, then glanced around before speaking.
“Would you like some time alone, my lady?”
“Why?”
“I’ll go buy something to drink.”
Benjamin pointed toward another stall, which was crowded. It seemed difficult to manage the crowd with Grace in tow.
“All right.”
Grace didn’t feel the need to stick close to him and nodded readily.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“Yes.”
“Really quickly.”
“Yes.”
“You can explore elsewhere, but be careful of strangers.”
“……Yes.”
“There are some smooth-talking, flashy but hollow people. Those types—”
“Go on your errand,” Grace interrupted.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Benjamin quietly went off to get the drinks. Grace watched the back of his head as he gradually disappeared and thought, ‘Aren’t you kind of the flashy, hollow type yourself?’
‘Hmm.’
Finally alone, Grace brushed the crumbs off her mouth and surveyed her surroundings.
‘Where am I?’
Amid the festival crowd, a dilapidated building stood out due to its sparse foot traffic.
Normally, it was best to avoid old, rundown places, but for some reason, her eyes kept returning to it.
“Hmm.”
Grace glanced toward where Benjamin had gone, spotting the back of his head.
‘He said I could explore elsewhere.’
He’d manage fine on his own. With that conclusion, Grace hurried toward the area.
Near the quiet part, children were huddled together.
“……?”
Grace looked around for adults. One child tugged at her cloak from below.
“Are you buying something?”
A child of about four sniffled and looked up at her.
“What are you selling?”
“Um… soap.”
Grace turned her gaze to the “products” they were selling.
‘Not pretty at all.’
Squatting in front of the stall, she held a bar of soap near her nose.
‘No distinctive scent…’
She wished they had added a different fragrance, but it smelled completely ordinary, colorless, and oddly shaped.
“…….”
Grace propped her chin on her hand and studied the stall.
‘Should I buy these?’
Out of pity?
Looking at the soap with zero commercial appeal, she asked the children,
“Where’s your guardian?”
“Our teacher.”
“Teacher?”
“Yes.”
Hearing “teacher,” Grace realized that the dilapidated building was an orphanage and these children belonged to it.
‘Could it be that this so-called teacher…’
As a horrifying thought crossed her mind, her face turned pale. At that moment, a young woman appeared in the distance, running urgently with a large bag.
The children brightened when they saw her.
“Teacher!”
“Sorry, kids. The usual shop was crowded today…”
The woman, seemingly the teacher, handed out day-old bread from the bag. She noticed Grace and froze.
“A… are you a customer?”
“Probably a customer,” Grace replied.
“Yes, a customer!”
The child holding onto Grace’s cloak insisted firmly. The teacher gave a short sigh, realizing the situation.
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, no. It’s fine.”
She seemed aware that the soap wasn’t marketable.
“Are you the head of this orphanage?”
“Oh, no. I’m not the head. I was originally just a teacher.”
“……?”
Grace gave her a puzzled look, but didn’t press further. The teacher seemed unwilling to explain.
Grace glanced at the old building again.
‘If this is an orphanage, there should be donations coming in.’
Even if the donations weren’t large, the children shouldn’t have to sit around selling unsellable soap.
‘Ah.’
Grace observed the woman’s rough hands and quickly understood the situation.
Whether or not the head had run off, it was clear someone was embezzling the orphanage’s funds, and the woman called “teacher” was collecting what little money she could and working extra to care for the children.
‘A world where good people suffer.’
Grace considered her options.
Should she buy all the soap right now?
Or perhaps donate to the orphanage under the Duchess’s name?
‘No, that would be too simplistic.’
Buying the soap would only provide a temporary fix, and donating under the Duchess’s name would end if she divorced.
‘I need a way for them to be independent, whether with or without donations…’
Her gaze returned to the soap. The children looked up at her with bright eyes.
The woman, uneasy, spoke to Grace.
“Oh, you brought them here? I’m so sorry.”
“What’s your name?”
“Huh?”
“I’m Grace… Linden. It’s proper to introduce myself first.”
Grace corrected herself from her full married name, Grace Pelton, to her maiden name, Linden.
“I’m Cleta Dunn.”
“Good, Dunn.”
Cleta nodded blankly.
“Dunn, honestly, I have plenty of soap at home, so I don’t need to buy any.”
Cleta nodded, her expression dark.
“But festivals are the perfect time to buy useless things anyway.”
“…….”
Grace glanced toward the square. It was just past noon.
‘There’s still plenty of time…’
It seemed like a sign not to pass by but to help.
“My lady, you’re here.”
As Grace thought about what to do, Benjamin returned, carrying two cordial drinks and trotting up to her.
“……My lady?”
“…….”
Benjamin scanned the surroundings and noticed Grace’s serious, subdued expression.
Grace murmured,
“Wait….”
“Yes?”
“Wait a moment. Can I do something else first?”
“…….”
Benjamin looked blankly at her. Flustered, Grace added,
“I… I know this is a festival, and that, well… Benny, this isn’t exactly something you’d normally do…”
Though Grace had been confident in front of Cleta, she became small and timid in front of Benjamin. Her voice grew softer.
Cleta, watching between them, called out to her.
“Ms. Linden?”
Benjamin noticed the name “Linden” and slightly raised an eyebrow.
“……Linden?”
“Oh, this is my husband,” Grace clarified to Cleta.
Once Grace introduced Benjamin as her husband, his eyebrow returned to its usual position, soft and gentle.
“I can handle anything, my lady. Don’t worry about me.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if Benny just enjoyed the festival on his own?”
“Why would enjoying it alone be fun? I can help and finish quickly. Just tell me what to do. Then we can return to enjoying the festival, right?”
Of course, if I can be of help, Benjamin said softly, nodding with a gentle smile.
