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chapter 4
Anyway, Gerald had been chubby as a child too, but after a certain point, he grew tall and lean.
‘He grew up healthy, yet all he did was think of ways to torment me. Truly infuriating.’
A sudden unpleasant memory surfaced, and I sat next to Edin, watching him eat his bread.
└[Edin is so cute, nom nom]
└[Please, an illustrationㅠ]
Cute children, including comments from fairies, had the effect of softening the surrounding atmosphere.
But the peaceful moment was short-lived; trouble soon appeared.
“What’s this? Edin. You were supposed to give me your bread. Did you secretly steal an extra one?”
Startled by the voice dripping with spite, Edin let out a ‘hic!’
‘So he got his own bread taken, but kept mine for himself?’
No wonder he was eating so diligently without showing he was full.
└[Poor kidㅠㅠㅠ]
└[Why steal a child’s food ♬♪♪]
The comment fairies began lamenting with a “yuyuyu” chorus of sadness over this unfortunate situation.
“Jeff. Didn’t you hear the teacher say if you keep bothering Edin, your cleaning time will be extended?”
“The teacher doesn’t make me clean. I watch the other kids instead!”
Jeff received special treatment from the exhausted-looking male teacher.
When Jeff and his group herded the other children, the kids couldn’t even protest.
Managing a few troublemakers like Jeff was easier than keeping tabs on many kids simultaneously.
└[Jeff? Sounds like a supporting character]
└[Call him George]
Where did the fairies who were just praising and adoring the kids go?
Since Jeff was male and they didn’t call him a male lead, being the male lead seemed to require some kind of character test.
“And I wasn’t bullying him—Edin gave me the bread.”
“You just took it without asking, didn’t you?”
“How can you assume that without even seeing? Could it be… Rose, do you like Edin?”
What is this? Ew, so childish! Are these really kids’ arguments?
Not like the adult noble fights I’d witnessed before—where one could publicly humiliate a rival by cutting off their family’s business connections or kneeling them before many witnesses.
“L-looooves~ he loves~ ehehe~.”
I had never experienced such blunt mockery, not even before my reincarnation.
Dizzy from the new form of mental attack, I was at a loss for words.
“St-stop it…”
Edin tried to intervene, but trembling violently, this seemed to be his maximum resistance.
‘Phew. Get a grip. I’ve survived the harsh noble society; I can’t let this break me.’
I took out my secret weapon, the only one I could use.
“D-Director!”
└[Calling the teacher when kids fight is standard]
└[Hey! There’s a fight in the next class!]
I wasn’t a teacher, but shouting for the director startled Jeff, who tried to cover my mouth.
“Director! Jeff did something bad while the Baroness was here—uuugh!”
“What?! If she saw, the orphanage’s reputation would drop!”
Hearing the sound of the director’s office door opening, Jeff finally stopped teasing.
“Tch… I’ll let this one slide.”
“Slide? Here, take this. Nyah nyah.”
└[So childishㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
I couldn’t resist one last childish revenge against the fleeing Jeff.
I felt victorious in the argument, yet why did I feel such defeat fighting with a five-year-old at full strength…?
“…Ahem.”
The director muttered, closed the door, and the corridor quieted.
Feeling embarrassed, I cleared my throat and turned around. Edin looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Rose, you’re cool…”
Nyah nyah…?
I placed the bread he’d been holding into his open mouth.
“Just finish your bread.”
└[Rose: Protecting the bread shuttle]
Don’t attach my lines to my name without permission.
I hadn’t realized it yet, but today showed me that life in an orphanage wasn’t so easy.
Once Edin received certification from some fairies as a male lead, they became excited discussing him for a while.
Sometimes, names completely unrelated to the current situation were dragged into conversation.
└[Technically, the 2nd prince had a crush on Rose]
└[He even thought about marrying you~ yayyy]
‘What? They’re actually singing a proper song?’
The melody wasn’t erratic like during emotional moments, but you could feel the attempt to sing.
True to their nature, the comment fairies were drawn to the nation’s highest powers just like they scrutinized nobles.
└[Isn’t the male lead supposed to be the 2nd prince? Power male lead best]
└[Ehh, a cheating guy can’t be the male lead. It must be the crown prince, power male lead best]
└[Checked the flashback again; not clear if he cheated lol]
└[Show illustration of 2nd prince and crown prince and let us choose]
They argued over whether the 2nd prince could be a male lead.
‘Well. I probably won’t meet them again anyway.’
Considering my current situation, struggling to find a guardian even among minor nobles or wealthy commoners, how could I even think about royalty?
I reflected in a way inappropriate for a five-year-old.
‘If I can calm down this easily, maybe it wasn’t love.’
Rather than a wholehearted love, he was more like the best partner.
Anyway, the fairies seemed to realize that I was far from the royal family and shifted their attention to someone closer.
└[I’ll bet on Edin.]
└[Is Edin secretly from a ducal family?]
└[Haha, if it starts at an orphanage, there’s always one lost noble kidㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
‘Do all orphanages really have hidden noble bloodlines?’
Of course, I had been mistaken for the Count’s relative before, but it wasn’t true.
Still, the fairies insisted this was standard “cliché” storytelling.
└[He’s probably a male lead candidate. The heroine didn’t narrate it, but Edin is probably handsome.]
The fairies couldn’t take in info through my perspective.
But judging by how often they talked about appearances, they must have their own aesthetic sense.
‘If I draw it, will the fairies be able to see it?’
Since they often requested illustrations, they likely enjoyed viewing pictures.
I tried drawing Edin, who had been reading a picture book in front of me.
‘Round face, soft and chubby…’
└[Can’t see it]
└[Not crayon, give a high-quality digital illustration]
Hmm. My drawing didn’t reach the fairies.
As I roughly pushed the failed paper aside, I felt a sparkling gaze from the front.
“Rose. Did you draw this?”
“Oh? Yes. Do you want it?”
“Really? Yay!”
Edin smiled shyly, delighted.
Even if the fairies weren’t satisfied, at least Edin was.
└[He just confessed he liked it, male lead confirmed]
He didn’t like me—it was the drawing. And who gives that kind of meaning to a five-year-old’s ‘like’…
└[Watching the childhood friend narrative develop is satisfying]
└[It’s not random that Edin keeps appearing]
Edin did follow me more closely after the Nyah Nyah incident, or rather, the Jeff defeat incident.
‘But I’m often with the other kids too.’
Looking to the side now…
“Finished the picture book? Let’s play with dolls!”
Other playtime “guests” had arrived.
Since I could stand up to Jeff and even summon the director, it was no wonder kids gravitated toward me.
‘To be precise, it’s not that I’m always with Edin; it’s that the fairies only appear when I’m with him.’
The comment fairies weren’t in my ear all day.
They appeared only when something interesting happened.
And recently, their main concern was whether the male lead was at this orphanage, and what he looked like.
└[Please describe Edin’s hair and eye color, pretty please]
Does that even matter?
I didn’t describe other children’s hair because nothing was remarkable. Most children at the orphanage had brown hair, including Edin.
└[Ah, blond…]
└[No! I bet on Edin and he’s a stepbrotherㅠㅠ]
As soon as I mentioned Edin’s hair, the fairies who had been leading the male lead hunt suddenly changed attitude.
‘Why disappointed he has brown hair? Brown comes in many shades and can be pretty.’
Especially with green eyes like Edin, it evoked the feeling of looking at lush trees.
└[Blond hair, green eyes? Beep. Definitely a stepbrother.]
