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Chapter 110
“Your Majesty?”
Ivy murmured in surprise, and the little girl straightened her back proudly and said firmly,
“Yes. Emperor, Your Majesty. You’ve been sending us lots of sweets since last month, haven’t you?”
As if to prove she wasn’t lying, the girl turned to the other children standing beside her.
All the children in front of the candy shop nodded in agreement.
“It’s true! That’s why I ate three cookies! They were even bigger than my palm!”
“I had a brownie. I ate the whole thing myself! The headmistress said you’ll send more next month, so don’t worry!”
“Right! It was even sweeter than candy. She said in winter, we’d even get sweets with cream inside!”
The children chattered excitedly, bragging to Ivy about what they had eaten.
The more she listened, the wider Ivy’s eyes grew in surprise.
The little girl who had first spoken shrugged her shoulders and continued, seemingly amused by Ivy’s reaction.
“It’s not just snacks. We got pens and notebooks too.”
“Chris said he was really happy because his tuition for the upper school was covered. He said he’d keep studying because he’s smart.”
As the children mentioned a certain name, they spoke proudly as if they themselves were attending the upper school.
Then, the first girl looked at Ivy and said in a slightly sharp tone,
“So don’t pity us. We eat lots of delicious things too.”
Hearing that, Arsel, who was observing from behind, realized why these children were giving Ivy a disapproving look.
They had mistaken her question about being hungry as an act of pity.
“No, that’s not it…”
Ivy shook her head and opened the paper bag she was holding.
Inside were candies that she had received as extras—everything except the ones meant for Arsel.
She pulled out a long lollipop, snapped it in half, and said to the children,
“Do you want to share this with me?”
No matter how many cookies or sweets the children had received and eaten, a child’s stomach is never truly full for long.
Rather than pitying them, Ivy’s offer to share what she had made the children excited, and they happily accepted her candy.
After saying goodbye with waves, the children returned to the orphanage.
After parting ways, Ivy and Arsel wandered around the village.
The villagers, recognizing Arsel, welcomed him warmly, saying it had been a long time since he last visited.
As they passed in front of the tailor’s shop, Arsel stopped.
“Oh, isn’t this Master Arsel? It’s been a while.”
The elderly shop owner greeted Arsel warmly, then smiled at Ivy.
“And who is this cute little lady?”
“Hello, I’m Ivy Alden!”
“You’re quite spirited.”
While exchanging friendly greetings, Arsel pointed at something in the small shop window.
“How much is this?”
He was asking about a small pouch made of fabric with a chick pattern.
“Price? Oh, I’ll just give it to you.”
“No, I insist…”
“When you suffered from that terrible cold, you sent the doctor from the manor, didn’t you? I was wondering how to repay that favor, and if I can do it with this small pouch made from leftover fabric, then it’s a fair repayment.”
Arsel thought for a moment and replied,
“Then I’ll gratefully accept it.”
He took the pouch and handed it to Ivy.
“Here, put your coins inside.”
Ivy’s bag jingled with coins whenever she walked, the result of exchanging gold coins and receiving lots of change.
Though she initially wanted to say it was too much, Ivy realized it was exactly what she needed and accepted it with gratitude, bowing politely to the shop owner.
The two of them continued walking through the village.
The village wasn’t very large, and within an hour, they had explored it entirely.
Just as Arsel was about to suggest returning to the manor immediately, he noticed Ivy gazing at the stream near the village and said to the carriage driver,
“You can go back to the manor first. We’ll walk slowly.”
Initially hesitant, the driver eventually agreed and returned to the manor to wait.
While this might be unusual elsewhere, in the Duchy of Kellen—especially a village next to the manor—it was perfectly normal.
The Duke himself often strolled through the village leisurely.
The road leading to the manor was lined with large trees, with benches placed at intervals.
Both the manor’s servants and villagers had installed these benches for the Duke’s frequent walks.
After some time, Arsel sat in a shaded spot that offered a view of the stream running through the nearby fields.
Even walking under the trees, the summer heat caused them to sweat.
Sitting on the bench, the cool breeze refreshed them, and both closed their eyes to enjoy it.
Then Ivy, looking toward the orphanage in the distance, spoke.
“Do you think our orphanage got any too?”
The children had said the Emperor sent sweets and that all other orphanages must have received them as well.
Then surely the orphanage in Elam had received sweets too.
After the commotion at the academy with Izriella demanding the stolen goods be returned, Ivy had packed new boxes of well-wrapped cookies from the academy’s cafeteria and sent them to the orphanage.
Of course, this included pencils, pens, ink, and notebooks that Seraphina had gifted.
While packing gifts for her friends, Irene insisted on adding all the items from her room as well.
Yet, on the way back after sending the gifts and letters, Ivy’s heart felt heavier than she had expected.
“I’m the only one eating and living well.”
The happier and more content she was at the academy, the more she thought of her friends at the orphanage.
She could always eat her fill, but her friends struggled to even get a glimpse unless she sent something.
“There’s so much here…”
After sending the gifts, her heart continued to feel heavy. She felt a bit sad thinking that she’d need to send them regularly every month.
“Do my friends always have to wait for someone’s gifts? Can’t they eat sweets as naturally as I do?”
These thoughts lingered in her mind.
Here, everyone freely gave children lots of delicious treats.
She wished her friends could eat the same way.
But who could provide that for everyone?
No one could possibly make sure everyone received such treats, she thought…
“The Emperor has been sending them all along.”
Then her friends must have received theirs by now.
Even without her, they could always enjoy delicious things.
“When I return to the academy, I’ll go thank the Emperor personally.”
Somehow, her throat tightened and her eyes grew warm.
Ivy didn’t notice, but Arsel observed her trembling lips and the way her jaw tightened from holding back tears.
He knew she wouldn’t cry openly.
Even when Izriella had beaten her, and the Emperor had appeared, Ivy had quietly refrained from crying.
Even in other situations, she never showed tears.
‘Maybe I should make her cry.’
He thought it might be better for her to cry out loud rather than keep it bottled up inside.
Besides, if she cried in front of him, he could immediately comfort her.
However…
Arsel opened the paper bag Ivy had held and took out the lollipop.
He snapped it and pushed the larger piece into Ivy’s mouth.
“……!”
Startled, she chewed on it, tasting the sweet and refreshing mint.
Her gloomy expression brightened immediately.
“Delicious?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s have another.”
Arsel fed her another piece.
Crunch. Crunch.
With each snap, Ivy’s face grew brighter.
Seeing her cheerful again, Arsel felt satisfied.
He liked seeing Ivy smile.
“All gone.”
Arsel shook the empty paper bag. They had eaten all the candies they bought.
“Uh… uh…”
Ivy stared at the crumbs in the bag, flustered.
She had meant to buy them for him, yet they had eaten everything herself!
‘What should I do? What should I do?’
Flailing her arms, Ivy noticed the field across the stream was full of red flowers.
She recognized them immediately.
“Salvia!”
“Salvia?”
“They have nectar! I’ll pick some for us!”
Feeling guilty for finishing all the candy, she wanted to give Arsel something in return.
“Ivy!”
In her hurry, she didn’t hear Arsel calling and ran toward the stream.
She quickly took off her shoes and stepped into the flowing water.
“Uh?”
Slipping on a stone, Ivy fell backward into the stream.
