IRTBT 06

Chapter 6

“……How would we know our own names?”

“I want… a name too.”

Unlike Rohen, who kept responding sharply, Lariz looked dejected as she hugged the thing in her arms tightly.

“You don’t know what a name is.”

“Why? Do you know?”

“Of course, I do.”

“Y-You do?”

The boy who had been wary of me like a cat, always narrowing his eyes and watching me carefully, suddenly had his large eyes sparkling.

“You really know our names?”

“How? That’s suspicious.”

“There’s nothing suspicious about it. I’m special.”

Fortunately, perhaps because they were children, it felt like they were willing to believe what I said rather easily. So I took this chance to act as proud as possible.

“You know, I’m the only one who came to this place where you two are, right?”

“Yeah!”

Lariz nodded her head up and down like a doll, her eyes shining brightly. However, Rohen looked at me with clear dissatisfaction.

“……That’s why I thought you were that human’s servant.”

The voice I heard at that moment was not the voice of a child.

It was the sharp voice of a beast.

As if he still couldn’t fully trust me, Rohen’s gaze remained as cold as ice.

“Wow…… that’s a little horrifying. A servant? Well, in a way, I guess it could be considered true.”

“See.”

At those words, Rohen immediately hugged Lariz and stepped backward. Then he bared his teeth and growled fiercely.

“No, it’s not what you think. Whether you know it or not, this place is an orphanage. It’s a place that takes in children who have no family or home and raises them. That woman is the director of this orphanage, and I’m one of the children here. So, in a way, I guess I could be called her servant.”

“……”

“And more than anyone else, I hate that woman.”

Only then did Lariz escape from Rohen’s arms and hop toward me.

“You’re not a bad person?”

“No. At least not to you two.”

“……Then what do you want from us?”

“For you two to live ordinary lives.”

Of course, my biggest reason was that when the Grand Duke came later, I wanted to prevent him from burning this place down because the children had been abused here.

“Other than that, there’s nothing I want.”

I truly didn’t want anything from the children themselves.

“That’s a relief. Really, that’s such a relief.”

Seeing Lariz relax, I shrugged my shoulders.

“First of all, I’m your older sister. Because you two are younger than me.”

“Older sister?”

“Yeah. Older sister. Ah, you’re the younger one, and that guy glaring at me from above is your older brother, right?”

“Older brother?”

“Yeah, yeah. Between the two of you, he was born first, right?”

At my words, Lariz nodded repeatedly.

“Yeah! Then he’s older brother! I see. He’s my older brother.”

“That’s right. And your name is Lariz.”

“Lariz……?”

“That guy over there is Rohen.”

I slowly told them the names that appeared in the novel.

“Lariz’s nickname is Lari.”

“Lari……! Sister! It’s pretty!”

Lariz spun around in place and smiled so brightly that her eyes nearly disappeared. Then she hopped around happily.

“I have a name too! Brother, come here quickly! They said you have a name too!”

“……Why should we use the name that woman gave us?”

“Because that’s the name you were born with. I didn’t make it up. I’m special. That’s why I know your names.”

This place was inside a novel, and you two were the hidden villains and the villainess of that story.

Right now, you’re just children. This becomes your trauma, and as you grow older, you become worse people because of it.

I didn’t need to tell them all of that.

So I simply looked at them quietly.

“If you don’t believe me, you don’t have to. But I’ve never lied to you even once.”

“……People who are good with words are even harder to trust.”

“Yeah, you don’t have to believe me. But at least wear these shoes. If you walk around barefoot, your feet will get hurt.”

But even after hearing that, Rohen didn’t even think about coming down.

“I know you two won’t open your hearts easily. Not just you two, but all the children in this orphanage are like that. Because they get hurt every time. They know that even if they trust someone, the only thing they gain is another wound, so they don’t open their hearts.”

“Sister……”

“So it’s okay if you stay guarded like that.”

I opened the bundle I brought and placed the things I had found in front of them.

“I’ll leave the things I brought here, so use them comfortably. I’ll come again next time.”

“Sister. Are you leaving already?”

“Yeah. If I’m away for too long, the orphanage director will definitely become suspicious.”

The sharp-eyed director had already noticed that I was unusually clever compared to the others.

Because of that, she often made me do various tasks.

So staying away for a long time wasn’t a good idea.

‘Especially lately, when her mood keeps changing so often……’

I had to be careful so the other children wouldn’t suffer because of me.

That was why I looked at the disappointed Lariz for a moment before leaving through the small hole.

“I’ll come again. Until then, stay safe!”

Leaving those words behind,

I left the children and walked away.

Just knowing that the twins could speak and that they weren’t much different from children their age was already enough.

Because of that, every time I walked away, I looked back at the warehouse getting farther away and smiled faintly.

‘I hope they open their hearts soon.’

I felt as if Lariz’s bright voice and Rohen’s voice, which was still cautious but much softer than before, lingered in my ears.

There are days like that in life.

Days when everything goes unusually well.

The orphanage director returned after going out early in the morning, and she was unusually angry.

She appeared during breakfast, which she normally never attended, and pointed out every little bad habit of the children.

Then, as if she suddenly thought of something, she hit the children’s hands with a long stick before suddenly disappearing.

When the woman who had been shouting loudly vanished, the only thing everyone felt was relief.

The children who had been unable to eat properly because they were watching her finally had a real meal after she left.

The teachers began keeping watch to protect the children, and breakfast ended without much trouble.

Although something felt strangely unsettling, everyone was relieved that the director was gone, so I had no choice but to pretend to feel the same.

Time passed, and the director returned around the time we were making embroidery.

I wondered if she would become angry again, but instead, she started saying something completely unexpected.

“I think the children are being pushed too hard.”

“Pardon?”

The director, who had returned in a state far kinder than usual, even scolded the childcare workers for making the children work too much.

She even said something absurd like they shouldn’t trouble the children too much and should let them rest.

The teachers looked disgusted by how quickly the director had flipped her attitude, but they couldn’t show it, so they awkwardly agreed.

“I-Is that so?”

“Yes. Let the children rest today. How long are you going to make these young children work so hard?”

“Yes. Ah, understood, Director. You heard her, right? Everyone go rest today.”

“Yes!”

At the word “rest,” the children immediately jumped up from their seats.

Because they never knew when the director might change her mind, the childcare workers continued watching her carefully until the very end.

But she didn’t change her words until every child had left.

Thanks to that, we were able to rest for the first time in a very long while.

‘But something feels strange.’

A day when everything was going unusually well.

Why had the woman who acted like a mad person during breakfast suddenly returned in such a good mood?

That discomfort that started from there shook my heart more strongly than usual.

And it didn’t take long before I discovered the reason behind that uneasy feeling.

“Aisha, Aisha. Since it’s free time today, let’s go to the market!”

Elle came running over excitedly and linked arms with me.

“Elle, later.”

“You’re not going again today?”

“Yeah. Let’s go another time. But Elle, while you’re there, can you buy something for me?”

“What?”

Among the orphanage children, Elle was one of the worst at making things with her hands, but she was also one of the smartest.

Because of that, she followed me like a child.

So I handed her the small amount of money I had saved.

“Buy me a doll.”

“Wow! Is Aisha finally entering the world of dolls?”

“Yeah. But buy me a fluffy sheep doll.”

“A sheep? Not a human doll?”

Elle looked at me with the saddest expression she had ever made.

“Yeah, a sheep doll. Please.”

“U-Um. If Aisha wants it, I’ll buy it.”

“With the money left over, buy something you want to eat.”

At those words, Elle quickly moved away from me as if afraid I might take the money back.

“Hey! Don’t worry. But don’t tell me about any money left over later!”

“Okay, okay.”

Not only Elle, but most of the orphanage children ran toward the market as if they didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity.

I waved at them.

And as soon as almost no children remained in the orphanage, I ran in the opposite direction.

Hoping that the suspicion that suddenly came to mind was wrong.

Hoping that this uncomfortable feeling was just an excessive misunderstanding.

I ran and ran.

While checking my surroundings in case someone saw me.

And when I was finally out of breath, I arrived at the warehouse.

The warehouse door was slightly different from usual.

Because of that, my hand reaching toward the small hole trembled.

Suppressing my anxiety, I barely managed to enter.

“Kids…… Rohen, Lari. Are you there?”