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chapter 9
The comment fairies were fussing over what color Duke Valent’s hair was and whether he was handsome, but the mysterious duke was completely outside my range of interest.
After the ladies had left, I subtly approached the director.
Now was the perfect time to show my scheming side.
“Director, you know…”
“What? Are you going to say your stomach hurts again and try to get some medicine?”
“No, it’s not that…”
I smiled sweetly, the way I would at benefactors, letting my charm loosen his guard.
“The ladies say there’s going to be a party at the Institution.”
“So?”
“Well… apparently many noble adults will gather there, and some might want to sponsor the orphanage.”
In truth, the ladies hadn’t actually mentioned that.
But the director wouldn’t be swayed unless money was involved.
“There are people who are extremely wealthy, and when they see someone in need, they immediately give away jewel-encrusted accessories. Wow… I wonder what a party like that would be like…”
└[I want to go too]
└[My lord, have mercy on a commoner like me]
└[I always imagine this: I find a wallet on the street, the owner is a CEO, and there’s a precious family photo inside, so I give them 5 million won and a job at a subsidiary.]
I didn’t mention that to make the comment fairies swoon!
Still, the director’s eyes were flickering with interest, not just the fairies’.
‘The director has enough reason to go.’
This upcoming conferment ceremony was especially large, and not only nobles would attend.
Shoe shiners, coachmen, even flower vendors hoping for a chance at romance. Where there are many people, others naturally gather.
If you’re not going into the depths, adding one or two more people to a crowded space isn’t unusual.
‘Especially since His Majesty is donating so much to orphanages now.’
‘Some nobles might even show interest just to create a topic like “following His Majesty’s wishes, I sponsored another orphanage—”’
I fanned the director’s interest, as if I had finished calculating in my head.
“If everyone knows what a wonderful person you are, they’ll definitely stop by our orphanage too. I really want a lot of benefactors to come! I want to proudly show them how great our orphanage is.”
“Hmm…”
“They said meeting the children personally made them even happier. I’d love it if I got that chance too…”
Since I had praised the director in front of benefactors countless times before, he didn’t suspect my blatant flattery.
Soon, the miserly director’s eyes sparkled, and catching his thoughts, my own eyes sparkled too.
Our embezzlement suspect—or rather, teacher—tilted his head when he heard about the director’s plan to visit the Institution.
“You’re taking a child with you?”
“Yes. Other orphanages are sending someone too, so I can’t stay behind. I hear the nobles at the Institution are very wealthy.”
“But it must be hard to take a child along.”
Especially the director, his expression seemed to say.
The director only ever ran around keeping an eye on the children to prevent them from breaking furniture or toys—he never actually took care of them himself.
“Rose interacts quite well with benefactors, so I plan to bring her.”
“Oh, if it’s Rose… she can handle herself.”
The teacher, who had been skeptical about the director taking a child alone, nodded as soon as he heard my name.
‘What? Am I the child representative who doesn’t need supervision?’
No matter how adult-like I acted, trusting me this much was unfair!
It felt a bit unjust that my two guardians were acting like this with me.
“Our orphanage’s biggest benefactor, Count Mateo, is at the Institution. It would be nice to greet him. So that day, you’ll work in my place.”
“I see. I hope it goes well.”
Since the director didn’t really have much to do, being absent for a day wouldn’t make much difference. The teacher supported his trip with a neutral attitude.
└[They seem like they’re plotting something behind their boss’s back]
Because of the comment fairies’ continuing suspicion, I also kept an eye on whether the teacher’s behavior was suspicious.
‘They’re definitely not working at the orphanage just because they like kids.’
When the director went out, he would leave Jeff in charge of the kids and secretly smoke in the storage room!
└[A kindergarten teacher smoking?]
└[Smoking causes forest fires!]
└[Are you the orphanage arsonist?]
Fortunately, he seemed to have extinguished the cigarette to avoid leaving evidence of negligence.
It looked like an expensive brand that couldn’t be bought easily with his salary. Where he got such a luxury item was also questionable.
Suspicious as he was, I had no choice but to wait and see.
Anyway, since the other orphanage staff knew I would be accompanying the director, the Institution schedule wouldn’t suddenly change.
Now all that was left was to wait with an excited heart…
‘No!’
There was a very important task left.
It was great that I could go to the Institution, but there was a big problem.
‘If it’s such a major event, Count Torto will probably attend.’
He wouldn’t miss a gathering of so many nobles.
‘A young child will stand out, and if they’re blonde too, they’ll attract even more attention.’
With the director beside me, it would only be a matter of time before everyone discovered I was an orphan.
So the conclusion was: I had to hide my hair color.
‘At the orphanage, everyone knew I was blonde, so there was no reason to hide it before.’
But among strangers, even for a single day, it was different.
└[Someone mentioned the “blonde heroine” foreshadow earlier?]
└[Are they really going to shave her head?]
Not shaving!
Hiding hair color would be the easiest way, but if I went bald, the director wouldn’t want to bring me along.
A few days before going to the Institution, I spent my free time in the orphanage’s back hill.
There, I gathered small amounts of grass, flowers, and branches, and secretly experimented in the kitchen at night…
“Found it!”
└[Are you going to poison Trot with a deadly flower?]
No! I’m hiding my hair color!
What I found was a dyeing material that absorbs well and doesn’t fade easily.
Since children often returned from the forest with stains of flowers or grass on their clothes and hands, the idea struck me.
‘I vaguely heard cloth can be dyed in a similar way.’
They say paint or cosmetics can get vivid color from flower petals.
So I picked up discarded cloth and experimented with the gathered materials every night.
I mashed, boiled, and even added salt, remembering that herbalists sometimes add salt to extract ingredients well.
└[Feels like making balsam flower dye]
Apparently, a similar flower was used in the fairies’ world too.
‘If only the comment fairies had known how to dye, I would’ve asked earlier.’
They usually say ridiculous things, but it turns out they’d been hiding useful info.
└[Usually in romance fantasies, they just change hair color with magic lol]
There is divine power in this world like magic, but it’s only used in temple events or healing—it doesn’t just instantly change things like in fairy tales.
Anyway, the dyed cloth would fade quickly if washed or exposed to sunlight. After several trials, I finally found a flower dye method that would last a full day.
└[Developing hair dye at five? Let’s start a business.]
Even if there’s a cloth dye business, there probably isn’t a hair dye business. Perhaps because no one styles their hair with color here.
‘I’m still nervous about applying it to my hair…’
Honestly, I didn’t even know what flowers I’d picked from the wild.
What if it itches terribly, or my scalp peels off?
If I caused a rash on my face, the director would leave me behind.
└[Rose will become bald…]
└[#BaldHeroine]
└[Please lol protect her hair]
Seeing my worry, the comment fairies began chanting a bizarre spell, hoping her hair would grow.
