🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 21
A little while later, she came back with a deflated purse of gold coins in her hand.
I picked up the purse of gold coins.
“Well, thank you for your hard work.”
After thanking the employee who had suffered because of me, I left the bank. The weight under my wrist made me feel more complicated than happy.
“Goodbye.”
I left the bank and hurried to find the carriage that I had waiting. The carriage was parked on a main street not far away.
“Ah, have you finished your business?”
The coachman who had been waiting for me saw me and ran over in a flash.
“It must be heavy, would you like me to carry it?”
The coachman said, looking at the bag I was holding. I shook my head.
“It’s okay.”
It’s not that I don’t trust the coachman, but I feel safer having it with me.
When I arrived at the carriage, I spoke to the coachman before getting in.
“There’s somewhere I need to go after stopping by the orphanage, would you mind?”
The initial route I had mentioned was from the orphanage to the bank and back, so I told him I needed to make one more stop. The coachman nodded enthusiastically.
“Of course. I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”
“Thank you.”
I smiled slightly at his eager demeanor and got into the carriage. A moment later, the carriage left the main street and started to move.
After gazing out the window for a moment, I turned my head and looked down at the purse of gold coins in my arms.
The feel of the round gold coins through the cloth made me feel both excited and worried.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Thank you for your hard work. Please wait here for a moment. It won’t take long.”
“Yes! Have a good trip!”
As I was getting out of the carriage on the main road and heading toward the orphanage, I stopped in surprise at a figure who suddenly appeared.
“J-Just a moment, please!”
“Ah!”
“I-I’m sorry if I startled you… I have something I must deliver, but no one answered the bell no matter how many times I rang it…”
“You are…”
The person who appeared was none other than the herald. His blue-tinged uniform and the imperial family’s crest.
But what was a little different was that he looked more timid than before.
My expression naturally hardened. I remembered his coercion and threats from last time.
“What are you doing here? I believe I clearly refused the sponsorship offer last time.”
My voice became unintentionally cold, thinking he might try to be abusive again.
But contrary to my expectations, the herald was shocked and waved his hands.
“No! It’s not that, I came to see the director because I have something to deliver to her.”
“Something to deliver?”
“Yes, it’s a letter from the imperial family.”
He held out a blue envelope. When I didn’t take it, the herald extended his hand a little further. He was acting as if he would die if I didn’t take it.
“I will just deliver this and leave.”
“…”
It was all very suspicious, but it was just a letter, and I couldn’t spend any more time here, so I reluctantly took the letter.
The herald said, “I have clearly delivered it.”
After confirming with his words, the herald quickly turned and left.
Left alone, I put the letter away and went inside.
The first place I looked was the playground with the jungle gym and other play facilities.
‘Why isn’t Cloan here for a change?’
Normally, at this time, Cloan would be running around, so I thought he would definitely be playing outside. My guess was wrong.
Maybe he’s taking a nap? Or maybe they’re all gathered together, eating snacks. They shouldn’t eat too much.
As I walked, I tried to guess what the children were doing. When I opened the front door, a small bell rang.
The bell that once rang with a thunderous, intimidating sound had been replaced a long time ago.
Now that the children would be playing outside often, they couldn’t hear that kind of sound every time.
Instead, the cute bell I hung made a pleasant sound whenever I came and went.
I came inside and stood in the hallway for a moment, looking left and right. To the left was the director’s office, to the right was the dining room.
The dining room door was tightly closed. Just in case, I tiptoed toward the dining room door and opened it just a little.
Thanks to the recent oiling, the door opened smoothly without a squeak.
As expected, the children were in the dining room. But they weren’t eating snacks.
“One plus one is two.”
“I don’t get it, big brother. Why is one plus one two? Isn’t it just one?”
“It’s one, and then another one is added. Count them. It’s two, right?”
“It’s hard.”
“Oppa, is this right?”
“It’s right. You solved it well. Good job.”
“Hehe.”
“Do you understand, Edie?”
“W-well, it’s a little hard, but…”
Edie nodded with a thoughtful expression at Jack’s question.
After looking at the two girls with a fond smile, I saw Jack looking at Cloan with a complicated expression as Cloan was still muttering, “Why is one plus one two?”
Nevertheless, Jack didn’t give up and was patiently explaining the reason to Cloan.
‘I can’t believe they’re studying…’
I couldn’t enter any further at the completely unexpected sight.
Could it be that the children were studying whenever they had a chance while I was at work during the day?
Judging by the progress of Edie and Ren, it seemed like they had been studying like this for quite a while.
‘I had no idea.’
I reflected on whether I had been too careless with the children.
At the same time, I felt a sense of pride. I was touched by the children’s self-motivated studying.
‘On another note, Cloan still hasn’t grasped the concept of numbers.’
Cloan is ten years old, which would be considered late in Korea, but considering this world, Cloan was normal.
In this world, unless you are a child of a noble or a wealthy person, you do not receive a proper education.
It was common for people not to even know their numbers or letters.
The reason is simple. Learning costs money. You have to buy textbooks, pens, paper, and time.
So it was only natural that the education level of commoners and their children, who are busy trying to make a living, was low.
How much more so for children who haven’t even received proper attention from adults?
Cloan was average, Ren and Edie were smart for their age, and Jack was…
There was no need to say anything about him.
Watching Jack diligently teaching the children, I strengthened my resolve. I was going to make sure Jack got an education no matter what.
Of course, I don’t think the process will be smooth.
I closed the dining room door more quietly than I had opened it. It wasn’t lunchtime yet, and I was going to leave again soon, so I didn’t want to disrupt their study flow by letting them know I had arrived.
I tiptoed toward the director’s office. Then I carefully stored the purse of gold coins deep in a locked drawer and rummaged through the teacups.
“Found it.”
I neatly put them in a paper bag and tucked it into my arms.
And then I took out the letter I had received from the herald.
‘There’s no rush, I’ll check it after I get back.’
I was curious about the contents of the letter, but the coachman was waiting outside and I had somewhere to go, so I left the letter on the desk and left the director’s office.
The children, focused on their studies, still didn’t know I had come and gone.
I thought to myself that it was a good thing I changed the bell. But there was one thing that worried me.
‘Isn’t it dangerous if an intruder comes in?’
Of course, the front gate and front door are locked, and the fence is taller than an adult, but I was still worried.
‘The last time, the children escaped through a small hole.’
I had accidentally found a small hole that a child could fit through while doing repair work on the orphanage.
I had wondered how the children escaped the day Ren was sick, and it turns out they escaped through that very hole.
I immediately blocked the hole. Not only that, but I thoroughly investigated the fence to see if there were any remaining holes, and no more were found.
So the possibility of someone breaking in is low, but I still feel anxious whenever I go out and leave the children alone.
‘Should I hire someone?’
As I walked toward the carriage, I fell into a dilemma.
With the sponsorship money from the Crayman Ducal family, I could not only raise the children well with just a portion of it, but I could also hire a caretaker.
The only jobs would be guarding the orphanage and watching the children when I’m not here, so it wouldn’t cost a lot of money. The commoners who don’t have jobs would all apply without hesitation.
‘But that also makes me anxious.’
I could already foresee how difficult it would be to filter out people with questionable backgrounds.
It would be hard to tell if a person of low quality was approaching with bad intentions.
“Ah, you’re out.”
When I went to the carriage, the coachman quickly opened the door. I stepped onto the small stairs and got into the carriage, then said,
For now,
“Please take me to the Crayman Duke’s residence.”
His eyes, which had said he would take me anywhere, widened.
