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chapter 14
└[A scammer, out of nowhere? LOL]
The comments laughed, saying I was reaching—but the person I pointed out really was a scammer.
‘He’s the guy who tried to scam Count Torto.’
└[Huh? I thought the count was supposed to be smart—he got scammed?]
└[Pretty sloppy for a villain]
Scammers aren’t called scammers for nothing. The way words just roll off their tongues…
Long story short, the count didn’t fall for it. Maybe because he doesn’t trust people to begin with—he immediately had someone investigate.
‘Did he capture the guy and execute him on the spot?’
No. He valued his scamming skills and turned him into a subordinate instead…
Of course, there was some violence involved—politely called “persuasion.”
‘Maybe because he’d been beaten before while scamming others, the face I remember had lots of small scars.’
At this point in time, though, before he’d scammed too many people, his face was fairly clean.
Thanks to that, the man—who looked a bit more trustworthy—laughed at me like I was ridiculous.
“Kid. Do you even know what a scammer is? You don’t call good people scammers.”
“He really is a scammer. The director said so.”
If he were an ordinary scammer, he wouldn’t have dared invoke the director’s name when she wasn’t around.
But this guy?
“They said donations were coming to the orphanage, but someone stole them along the way…”
He was a middleman scammer with multiple records of siphoning off orphanage donations!
‘He even bragged in front of Count Torto about how many orphanages he ruined, calling it his “talent.”’
And someone like that was hanging around Count Mateo—our orphanage’s biggest donor? His intentions were obvious!
I’d just given up on avoiding adoption by asking Duke Clark, and now this? Trouble on top of trouble.
Yet after hearing me out, the scammer shamelessly put on a shocked expression.
“Oh my, what a terrible person! I don’t know who it is, but I’ll scold him for you.”
“That’s you. The director said a mole on the forehead is the face of a scammer.”
“How many people have moles on their foreheads? I saw at least ten on my way here.”
As someone whose calling was deceiving others, he didn’t show panic—but what mattered was the people around us.
Thankfully, Count Mateo didn’t just brush me off.
“Do you know this child? I was just about to discuss donations.”
“Perhaps he’s from one of the orphanages I mediate for. If you play with children too much, you get cheeky ones like this. Haha. Kid, go over there—I’ll play with you later.”
He clearly wanted me gone fast, but when it comes to lying, whoever pushes harder usually wins.
So I deliberately put on a more pitiful expression.
“I don’t have money, so I can’t go to the market… For a week, my friends and I only ate hard bread and water… gurgle…”
Some people don’t believe children because they’re children.
Others believe them because they’re children.
Count Mateo, thankfully, leaned toward the latter.
“Your mediation record—what did you say it was again?”
“I already showed you the documents. Now you doubt me because of some kid who appeared out of nowhere?”
“This is our duke’s first sponsorship project. We can’t afford mistakes. Let’s be precise.”
“If this is how it is, I’ll find it difficult to take on this job.”
The count and the scammer soon began arguing.
└[Ahhh. Finally seeing a proper adult—my blood pressure’s going down.]
└[Does that count have a son?]
No son, as far as I remember—so stop thinking about marrying me off.
Just the fact that he didn’t ignore me already made him an excellent sponsor.
‘Mr. Scammer, take this chance to clean up your life. Don’t stick with Count Torto.’
I wondered why the comment fairies had suddenly pointed this place out—maybe it was to save the orphanage.
└[Nope]
…Whatever their intention.
He was someone who would later help secure Count Torto’s slush funds in a big way—wouldn’t it be better to cut him off early?
I was just starting to feel satisfied, thinking I’d gotten a bit of revenge on Count Torto, when I felt a gaze from above.
When I turned—
“…?”
Duke Valent, who’d maintained a third-party stance the whole time, was quietly looking down at me.
└[Duke: Useful. I’ll adopt you.]
Hey. Stop making up his lines.
‘He literally received his ducal title directly from His Majesty today—why would he notice a commoner kid?’
I’d just realized that after meeting Duke Clark.
The gap between high nobility and someone like me was enormous.
‘He probably didn’t intervene earlier because it wasn’t his place. Just watching, I guess.’
Since our eyes met, I bowed politely—but unexpectedly, Duke Valent spoke.
“You. Which orphanage—”
Before he could finish, the cornered scammer pointed at me and redirected the attack.
“Ah! I remember now! I’ve heard rumors among orphanages—about a group that goes around with a child, obstructing sponsorships and committing real scams! Red hair, blue eyes. This child matches the description exactly!”
Wait—I’m the scammer now?!
Of course that wasn’t true. My hair wasn’t even red to begin with!
But as I said—lies are about momentum.
While I hesitated for a moment, the scammer kept going.
“You brat! Where did you learn such awful things? Where are the adults you’re traveling with?”
He looked toward Duke Clark’s escort, who had come with me.
“Ah—no. I’m not with him…”
Shaking his head.
Unable to step forward in front of nobles, the guard hurriedly denied it.
“Now that I think about it, the person traveling with this child was talking about orphanages too…”
└[LMAO instant abandonment]
Hey! That sounds suspicious!
“Our director is really—!”
“Enough. I’ll hand this child over to the guards!”
“Hey!”
The scammer grabbed my clothes, clearly trying to get rid of me while he could.
But someone stepped in.
‘S—scared me!’
With a clear shring, a cold blade appeared right in front of my eyes.
Duke Valent had stepped between us, his sword half-drawn.
“What are you doing, right now, within His Majesty’s domain?”
└[YES finally Dad steps in]
└[Knew we could trust him~]
I’m not sure an outdoor garden far from the palace center counts as “His Majesty’s safety,” but—
As a former commander of the Imperial Knights, the duke didn’t tolerate disturbances on palace grounds.
“Well, th-that is, this child—”
“This child is not red-haired.”
As he looked down at me, he must have noticed the undyed part.
I immediately took off my hat, revealing the most blotchy part of my head.
“I got dye on it while playing with fabric a few days ago!”
└[Ta-da, it was blonde]
Who knew my hidden yellow hair would come in handy like this.
The scammer was left speechless.
After observing the commotion, Count Mateo sighed, as if he’d reached a conclusion.
“Hah… it seems the one who should be going to the guards is—”
At that, Duke Valent’s half-drawn sword emerged even further.
Wait—are you seriously going for an on-the-spot execution?!
And isn’t that the sword His Majesty bestowed at the ceremony earlier?
‘You’ll use anything as a weapon as long as it swings?!’
The protagonist of the day drawing a gleaming imperial sword—
Nearby nobles were already glancing this way. They weren’t staring outright, but the atmosphere was tense.
‘This got bigger than it needed to.’
Trying to avoid attention, I hid behind Duke Valent, who’d taken my side—
“?”
…Was it just my imagination?
When I stepped closer, it felt like the duke subtly moved away.
└[???]
└[Wait—because she’s a commoner?]
There are plenty of nobles who look down on commoners, but hadn’t he just defended me?
Before I could dwell on it, I looked around, trying to escape the gathering stares—
“…!”
And then I saw him.
At the edge of my vision, a familiar blond man talking with another noble.
└[WTF Torto???]
└[Why are you here♬~♪♬]
└[He’s literally singing trot LMAO]
