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Chapter – 08
When we entered the room, the children were already seated, waiting for us. Besides the children who had greeted me earlier, there were others as well—about ten in total.
Lady Salome sat down on a chair placed in front of them.
“Today, instead of Priest Yohann, I’ll be the one telling the story.”
Some of the children who were seeing her for the first time eyed her warily, but they soon relaxed at her gentle voice. I found myself thinking how fortunate it was that she didn’t show her crazed side in front of children. Clearing her throat, the lady began her tale.
“Once upon a time, there was an ordinary little girl.”
That was how she opened it. Fairy tales always began like that.
“One night, when the moonlight was dazzlingly beautiful, the girl suddenly fell into a place completely different from where she had lived before. An ordinary person would have felt terribly lonely and desolate. But the girl was a little different. She had already been unbearably lonely in the place she came from.”
Her voice was soft. Yet somehow, her expression looked faintly sad. Why was that?
“The girl prayed to God. She asked to be allowed to live a happy life this time. She begged that if God truly loved her, He would grant her happiness. God answered her earnest prayer like this: ‘That is impossible. You are a cog in my grand design. Small and insignificant, yet something that must exist exactly where it is. So even if your fate is terribly unhappy, you must accept it.’ The girl fell into despair.”
I had most fairy tales memorized. I had heard many of them since childhood, and through volunteering at orphanages, I had built up extensive knowledge of such stories.
But this was the first time I had ever heard a fairy tale like the one Lady Salome was telling. I listened closely.
“At first, she resisted God’s words. But she soon realized that it was meaningless. No matter how hard she tried, her fate did not change. Because it was something God had decided. God’s words were absolute. And so, in the end, the girl chose to obey God. She decided to accept her fate.”
A story of someone who resists God’s will, only to submit to it in the end—this was a common type of fairy tale in the Terrium Empire. Yet somehow, Lady Salome’s story felt very different from the widely known ones.
I glanced at her face. A deep emptiness lay within her violet eyes, despite how bright and vivid her storytelling voice was.
“And then, by God’s radiant plan, the girl eventually… lived an unhappy life and died. The end.”
Lady Salome clapped her hands brightly, as if she had just told a truly delightful story. But at the abrupt ending, the children were visibly bewildered. I was as well. A story that ended with the protagonist’s death—what kind of fairy tale was that?
Some of the younger children burst into tears after hearing it.
“Why are you crying? Was the story not fun? Ah, I suppose I didn’t explain properly how the girl died. You see, she died in a truly dreadful way. After being tortured, she was executed at the guillotine.”
She burst into giggles as she said it. The sound sent a chill down my spine. I had wondered why she had been so well-behaved—so this was it.
The children’s faces turned pale. Her laughter showed no sign of stopping. The director and I hurried to comfort the crying children.
“But no one mourned her death. Even if someone did grieve, it wasn’t of their own will. No—there was exactly one person who shed tears for her. That person was…”
“Lady Salome, that’s enough!”
I stood up and shouted at her.
“Why? Did you not enjoy my story either, Priest?”
She tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled.
“Ahaha, it’s such an amusing story. The end of a terribly unlucky little girl. Fairy tales should reflect reality to some extent, after all!”
Her shrill laughter mixed with the children’s sobs.
I took Lady Salome outside the orphanage. She followed without resistance, still wearing that smiling face.
Looking at her, I frowned. I couldn’t understand the malice of deliberately making innocent children cry.
“Why did you do that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you make up a story like that and make the children cry? I’ve never heard of such a cruel fairy tale. Why are you always like this? Do you enjoy tormenting others that much?”
Without realizing it, my voice rose in anger. At my words, her expression slowly twisted, as though she had been deeply shocked. She bit down hard on her lip.
“…I didn’t make it up.”
“My lady.”
Was she now lying as well? I had believed that no matter how willful she was, she was not someone who lied.
It seemed I had been mistaken. I glared at her. I had tolerated all the trouble she caused others, but tormenting innocent children was unforgivable.
“I told you, I didn’t make it up. Why won’t you believe me? Yohann, you of all people should believe me.”
She clenched her red dress tightly. Stepping forward, she grabbed the hem of my clothes, as if pleading—clinging to me. She looked as though she might collapse at any moment.
“I’m angry. I can’t stand it. I wish they’d all just die.”
I tried to shake her hand off, but she held on tightly, refusing to let go. Murmuring incomprehensible words, she raised her hand toward my face.
She slowly brushed my cheek. The cold sensation against my skin was unfamiliar, making me flinch.
“Yohann, don’t you dare hate me. You mustn’t. You’re not allowed to. No matter what I do, you must love me.”
“I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”
I backed away little by little. Before I knew it, tears had welled up in her eyes. My thoughts were in chaos. It was true that I had reprimanded her, but I had never intended to make her cry. To begin with, I didn’t understand why she was suddenly crying at all.
She soon released my sleeve and wiped away her tears.
Watching her silently, I took out a handkerchief from my pocket and offered it to her. She glanced at it, smiled sadly, and shook her head.
“…I’m sorry. I think I got carried away for a moment.”
It was the first apology I had ever heard from her. Of course, the one who deserved an apology was not me, but the children. Still, the very fact that she was reflecting on her actions came as quite a shock.
She then turned around and went back inside the orphanage ahead of me. I could only stare blankly at her retreating figure.
By the time I reentered the orphanage, everything had settled down. Perhaps Lady Salome had apologized to the children, because they were once again gathered around her as before.
I couldn’t bring myself to speak to her. She didn’t speak to me either. An awkward air hung between us, but no one pointed it out.
She played with the children as if nothing had happened, crouching down to their eye level and playing ball with them. I stayed nearby, looking after other children, in case she suddenly changed again and caused another incident. Even as I joined in role-playing games, I couldn’t focus at all.
Her crying face kept floating before my eyes. Perhaps the one who should apologize wasn’t her, but me.
No matter the reason, making a lady cry was not a good thing.
Noticing my lack of focus, Ciel spoke to me.
“Priest, do you really like that lady?”
I swallowed wrong and started coughing at the sudden question.
“What are you talking about, Ciel?”
“You’re bad at romance, Priest. So when that lady said she was dating you, it must have been a lie. But you keep looking over at her and can’t concentrate on playing.”
Ciel was more mature than the other children—sharp-eyed and perceptive. The idea that I liked Lady Salome was a misunderstanding, but still…
“You fought with her earlier, didn’t you? She was wrong, sure, but… why don’t you try approaching her first? They say love means being the first to be considerate.”
“Ciel, I don’t love the lady.”
I shook my head. I didn’t want to shatter a child’s romantic notions, but it was true—I didn’t love her. Ciel let out a small sigh, placed a hand on my shoulder, and shook his head.
“Priest, you’re really an idiot.”
He left with the other children, leaving me standing there alone.
What was I supposed to do now? I ran a hand through my bangs. Things had gone in a strange direction.
When I turned toward Lady Salome, our eyes met by chance. She widened her eyes briefly, then looked away.
In my pocket was the handkerchief I hadn’t been able to give her earlier.
“Yohann, you of all people should believe me.”
Why had she said that?
For some reason, a dull ache spread through my chest.
