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Chapter – 06
I thought someone might bark, “How dare someone like you speak to our Akkelte?”
For all I knew, Duke Isis could’ve been the kind of ignorant parent who taught his child never to associate with poor kids.
But contrary to my worries, Duke Isis simply nodded without saying much.
“Ten minutes. Make sure you keep your promise.”
Phew.
As soon as Duke Isis gave his permission, a sigh of relief escaped my lips.
I must have been even more nervous than I realized, because my body had been stiff the whole time.
“Elia. Come with me.”
“…Okay!”
Honestly, I was curious about what Akkelte wanted to say.
He led me to the orphanage backyard where we had first met.
Chamomile flowers bloomed in clusters there, and since it was tucked away in a corner, hardly anyone came by.
“I have to head back now.”
“I know! Thank you so much for today.”
“Really? You’re thankful?”
“Of course! Thanks to you, I found my necklace, and also…”
As my voice trailed off awkwardly, Akkelte—who had been listening with his arms crossed—asked,
“And also… what?”
But there was no way I could answer that.
How am I supposed to say, “Thank you for blessing my eyes with your handsome face”?
There was a limit to acting like a face-obsessed fangirl. My true thoughts had almost slipped out unfiltered.
Thankfully I managed to stop myself. If I’d actually said it aloud, the aftermath would’ve been horrifying.
Unable to tell the truth, I hurriedly searched for another excuse.
“A-and thank you for agreeing to be my first customer!”
“…That’s kind of anticlimactic.”
Akkelte snorted softly.
Even in the dark night, his beauty practically glowed. It was dazzling.
“Anyway, about what you said earlier.”
“What I said? Which part?”
I’d probably said over a hundred things today alone.
How was I supposed to know which one he meant?
“What you said to that pink one.”
“The pink one? Ah… Luluka?”
Since Luluka had pink hair and pink eyes, she was probably who he meant.
Akkelte nodded vaguely, then hesitated, chewing lightly on his lip before speaking.
“T-that thing about… being friends.”
Why was he taking so long just to say that?
I nodded and waited for him to continue.
Then Akkelte slowly turned his face away from me.
“Then… does that mean you and I are friends too?”
“Huh?”
Akkelte and me? Friends?
The combination was so absurdly mismatched that I instinctively frowned.
How could the son of the Isis family and a child raised in an orphanage ever become friends?
The difference in status was far too extreme.
Akkelte hurriedly added,
“I’m not saying we’re definitely friends right now! I’m just asking what you think!”
“Hmm…”
“I mean… whether we could become friends, or… what I’m trying to say is…”
The more he talked, the more tangled his words became. Akkelte muttered a curse under his breath and ruffled his hair in frustration.
Since he rubbed it carelessly, his hair became a mess, making him look like a fluffy puppy.
He looks exactly like a sulky puppy whose owner won’t play with him. Cute.
I chuckled inwardly before finally nodding.
“Sure, I mean… friendship isn’t that big a deal.”
“Then…?”
“Yeah. We’re friends! Starting today.”
The gloom lingering on Akkelte’s face instantly brightened.
He really is still a kid.
His mature appearance made me forget, but Akkelte was the same age as me.
He looked so excited over gaining a new friend that, for the first time, he truly seemed like an innocent child his age.
Even though we can never really be true friends. So naive.
It wasn’t common for sponsors to visit orphanages.
Maybe once a year?
And for a high-ranking noble family like the Isis household to come personally was even rarer.
It was safe to assume Akkelte would never visit our orphanage again.
As time passed, this one-day connection would gradually fade away… Did Akkelte not realize that?
“I’ll send you letters.”
As if overturning my thoughts completely, something unbelievable came out of his mouth.
“Letters?”
“Yeah. Since I can’t come often, let’s keep in touch through letters.”
Letters… Right, there was that option.
It had already been three months since I possessed Elia’s body, but I’d completely forgotten letters existed as a form of communication.
Well, naturally. A fifteen-year-old orphan wouldn’t normally have anyone to exchange letters with.
If we write letters… maybe I really can stay close with Akkelte?
While I was lost in thought, Akkelte watched me anxiously.
Not wanting to keep him waiting any longer, I nodded.
Only then did his face light up again.
“You have to reply.”
“Don’t worry! Why wouldn’t I write back?”
“Yeah. I guess that’s true.”
Agreeing with my words, Akkelte smiled lazily like a well-fed predator that had just caught its prey.
Then he stood up and said goodbye.
“I should go now.”
“Okay! And thanks again for today.”
I waved both hands energetically at him.
Akkelte looked at me the way someone would look at a puppy happily greeting its owner and let out a quiet laugh.
After checking on the orphanage supported by the Isis family and returning home—
Two weeks passed.
Every single day, I checked the orphanage mailbox.
I didn’t know why, but the thought that a letter might come made my heart flutter.
“Elia, are you checking for letters again today?”
“Yep! Akkelte definitely said he’d send one.”
At the mention of Akkelte’s name, Luluka frowned.
She was probably remembering the unpleasant incident from two weeks ago.
Luluka crossed her arms and sank into thought before looking at me seriously.
“You know… don’t get your hopes up too much, Elia.”
“Don’t get my hopes up? What do you mean?”
At my question, Luluka glanced around cautiously like a sneaky cat.
Then she leaned close and whispered softly,
“Nobles usually don’t keep promises made to commoners.”
“Ah…”
She wasn’t wrong.
The Iberte Empire was especially strict about the divide between nobles and commoners.
Promises to commoners were often treated as insignificant.
Still… I was looking forward to it.
After hearing Luluka’s words, my mood sank.
Part of me thought there was no way Akkelte would forget his promise, but since no letter had arrived for two whole weeks, her words suddenly sounded believable.
My shoulders drooped.
Seeing that, Luluka looked even sadder than I did and comforted me.
“If you think you’ll just end up disappointed again today, I can check the mailbox for you instead.”
“You’ll go instead?”
The mailbox wasn’t even far away. Why bother?
“It’s okay. I can go myself.”
“No! I said I’ll go! I wanted to take a walk anyway.”
“Huh…?”
I tried to refuse, but Luluka stubbornly insisted with a ridiculous excuse.
“I said I’ll go…!”
Ignoring my protests, she suddenly ran off and disappeared from sight.
“Elia noona! Good timing! Help me with this!”
“Unnie! Can you help me too? I can’t thread the needle… waaah…”
“Hey! No cutting in line! I asked Elia noona first!”
Feeling an odd sense of unease, I tried to follow Luluka out of the room, but the children grabbed hold of me before I could leave.
Caught in a difficult situation, I couldn’t bring myself to ignore their sparkling eyes, so I reluctantly started threading needles for them.
By the time I finished helping everyone, nearly ten minutes had passed.
The mailbox should only take five minutes round-trip at most.
Worried by the lack of news, I hurried toward the mailbox to look for Luluka.
“Ugh… it’s so dry today.”
The air was so dry that my skin felt rough and cracked.
Despite not being a desert, the Iberte Empire rarely received rain.
Tenant farmers often ruined their crops, and in years with poor harvests, food shortages became severe.
Fortunately, the empire had many mines, producing enormous amounts of jewels every year. Through trade, they could secure more than enough water and food.
Still, because of that, the Emperor of Iberte held annual rain rituals.
If only enough rain would fall, the Iberte Empire could become an even greater power.
I wish it would rain soon.
Not just the Emperor—everyone in the empire desperately longed for rain.
As for me, when crops were scarce, prices rose, which meant the orphanage bought fewer ingredients, leading to smaller meal portions.
People wanted rain so desperately that anyone who didn’t wish for it might be branded a demon and executed.
Rubbing my dry, cracking arms, I searched for Luluka.
Found her! Huh? What’s she doing over there?
Luluka was standing in front of the mailbox.
But something seemed strange.
She stood there absentmindedly, holding something in each hand.
“Luluka! Why are you taking so long?”
“…! Ah, ahh!”
At my call, Luluka jumped in shock like someone struck by lightning.
She suddenly shoved one hand into her pocket before hurriedly speaking.
“You startled me by calling out so suddenly!”
“Hehe, sorry. But what’s that in your hand?”
What Luluka held was a letter.
I stared at her with hopeful eyes.
And as if answering my hopes, Luluka grinned and handed it to me.
“It came. It’s from the Isis ducal family.”
“Whoa…!”
At last, the letter I’d been waiting for had arrived.
So he didn’t break his promise!
Akkelte hadn’t forgotten me after all.
That realization strangely filled me with excitement.
I smiled brightly as I looked at the letter.
It was definitely from the Isis family.
“Congratulations. You’ve been waiting for it, right?”
“Yeah!”
I carefully tucked the letter against my chest. I planned to open it later in private.
Then suddenly, something occurred to me.
In a cautious voice, I asked Luluka,
“Luluka… didn’t another letter come too?”
“Huh? What do you mean? That was the only one.”
Luluka tilted her head in confusion.
That’s strange. I definitely saw her holding something in both hands.
Then… why was there only one letter?
Lately, I’d started finding more and more things about Luluka suspicious.
Confused, I asked her,
“Only one came? I’m sure I saw you holding letters in both hands.”
