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Chapter 22
“W-why are you running?!”
After being told to just wait quietly, the next thing I hear is a shout to run.
└[Mr. Trot is coming ㄷㄷ]
└[From villain to bigger villain]
“Mr. Trot” is the nickname the comment fairies use for Count Torto.
“Why is he coming?! I thought the Duke was coming first!”
└[Both are comingㅠㅠ]
Why are Duke Valent and Count Torto suddenly coming to the orphanage at the same time?
“Simultaneously? Or one after the other?”
└[Don’t know]
……
The vague answer probably means they really don’t know. And that made me anxious too.
“W-what should I do?”
Even though the comment fairies sometimes spout nonsense, when they predict something so precisely, it’s always correct.
As I panicked, the comment fairies started panicking too, exchanging opinions.
└[What if Trot comes first]
└[But if the count takes her, wouldn’t she go down Leon’s route? I heard he’s thinking of sending her as a daughter-in-law.]
└[Interesting]
└[As a Leon shareholder, this isn’t bad]
What’s “interesting” about that!
So, according to the comment fairies, once Duke Clark’s son appeared at a public event, Count Torto began looking for the illegitimate child even faster.
“So that’s how changing the past shows its effects.”
The comment fairies were momentarily tempted, but the reason he’s searching for his daughter is for an arranged marriage.
If Riley appears, the count might present her first.
└[Ah, true]
└[Thinking of the 2nd prince makes me mad again]
└[Anyway, can’t let Trot handle her, he’s trash]
The comment fairies seemed convinced by me and immediately came to their senses.
└[Since Leon likes Rose now, why not get her engaged immediately…]
└[She’s going to her trashy in-laws anyway, so it doesn’t mess up the plot]
└[If we consider it build-up, it’s still tempting]
Flipping their attitude over and over again. How easily influenced can they be!
“Anyway, I’m definitely not going back to Count Torto’s house!”
└[Yes, let’s not goㅠㅠ The knight father is better]
└[Please come first]
I don’t know what will happen with that father either.
For now, what I have to do is…
“Be ready to run anytime.”
Wherever I am, I mentally mapped out the shortest escape route to run immediately if needed.
Fortunately, the disaster of Count Torto arriving at the orphanage first did not occur.
Duke Valent came with only a single coachman—a very simple entourage.
“Of course, Duke Valent doesn’t need a guard.”
He himself had been an imperial guard knight; who would guard him?
The coachman, surprisingly strong for his age, quickly unloaded the supplies from the carriage, and the kitchen staff who arrived on time moved the goods into the storage.
Meanwhile, Duke Valent…
“……”
He got out of the carriage. Stood on the ground. That was it.
Really… he seemed like someone who had come solely to “visit.”
“Who forced him to stop by the orphanage?”
Well, at this point, Duke Valent had only one reason to be at the orphanage.
After he sent his donation, there had been an embezzlement incident. He must have come to help resolve it, which is almost like being pushed into it.
“Maybe he’s here to warn us to properly run the orphanage?!”
Unlike my worry, our director greeted the major donor cheerfully, without losing composure.
“Your coming here in person is truly an honor. Although the donation caused some trouble, look! Thanks to your interest, everything has already been neatly resolved! Haha.”
Until just yesterday, she had been grumbling about not being able to expand due to spending all the repair money.
I stared in disbelief, but when our eyes met, she immediately changed her expression.
“Our child wants to greet you, so come here, Rose.”
└[Finally, the childcare arc begins]
└[Excited ㄷㄱㄷㄱ]
I didn’t know what “childcare arc” really meant, but, as usual, I smiled politely for the noble’s visit.
“Hello, Duke! I’m so happy you came! I want to show you around where I live!”
Even as I spoke cheerfully, Duke Valent’s expression remained stiff.
Then he spoke. His first words were:
“You… speak.”
└[Well, that’s obvious]
…I thought the same, but I understood why he said it.
Even children who usually welcome nobles were cautiously keeping their distance and afraid.
As his reputation spread throughout the empire, even the orphanage kids knew of his notoriety.
So, I was the only child standing next to him.
└[Classic trope: the tyrant dad only isn’t scary to the kid who will be adopted]
Is this also a cliché?
While listening to the comment fairies’ new cliché theory, I met Duke Valent’s eyes.
I tried to smile as warmly as possible, but he immediately looked at the orphanage building.
“Let’s go inside.”
└[He met you before, can’t recognize?]
My hair had been burnt shorter, and besides, it was dyed back then.
“If I want to avoid Count Torto, maybe now’s my chance.”
I decided to trust the cliché the comment fairies mentioned and guided him through the orphanage with extra care…
“This is the playroom! All the toys and dolls are here.”
“……”
“This is the library, full of storybooks. And—”
“……”
No matter what I said, he didn’t move a muscle!
└[If cleverness doesn’t work, melt him with cuteness]
└[A bit of charm works on doting dads]
Charm… I don’t know about that.
I remembered when Duke Clark’s guards had held my hand while moving. A small, soft presence can make hearts open more easily.
So, I tried to subtly approach.
“…Why is he avoiding me?”
When I stepped forward, Duke Valent stepped back half a step—taking his long legs into account!
“This… feels familiar.”
I tried pretending to move again, but the same thing happened.
It wasn’t just the kids avoiding Duke Valent.
“The duke is avoiding the child too!”
└[This isn’t working]
└[He doesn’t need to be stone-faced like this]
└[Author, just start the childcare arc alreadyㅠㅠ]
Not just me, but the director also sensed that the duke had no real interest in the orphanage.
“Ha ha. Honestly, this isn’t an entertaining place for adults. After the visit, do you have somewhere else to go…?”
“I have a familiar place nearby, planning to stop by.”
“Oh, I see! Your ties being near here is also an honor.”
Did he ever visit this area near the Count Matteo’s domain?
Or did he just drop by the orphanage on the way?
After being shown around, Duke Valent left the orphanage…
└[Met twice, and he leaves like this again]
└[Will he come back next time?]
└[At this pace, adoption will take like 100 chapters, lol]
└[Maybe it ends after adoption…]
└[Feels like a childcare arc, but we’ve been looking for dad for how many chapters now? I’m dropping out.]
With the duke’s departure, the fairies’ complaints exploded.
Even the director, who had smiled in front of him, wiped sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief once he left.
“I can’t tell if he liked it or not.”
She muttered softly:
“Should have done fewer repairs to charge more…”
To think she’d consider this even after seeing the terrifying Duke Valent… amazing.
“Luckily, someone else is coming later. Back then, repair fees would have been….”
“Who’s coming today?”
“Oh… actually, someone heard there’s a blonde girl and said they’d visit.”
└[It’s Trot]
└[It’s Tororo]
└[Tart is coming]
“Why, why didn’t you tell me?!”
She usually gave me a heads-up when donors were coming to dress nicely!
The greedy-looking director suddenly looked calm and said:
“Rose, I thought you might be adopted by a good person. I really wanted to find you a wonderful family if possible.”
“F-family…?”
“I didn’t tell you in advance because I worried you’d be disappointed if things went wrong, but now I think you, being smart, probably understood.”
So… she just wanted to send me to a good place?!
“Sometimes, your rare warm moments—please don’t show them now!”
└[Wasn’t this why she brought Trot before the reset too?]
└[Pushed into hell out of kindness, lol]
└[Director is really unpredictable.]
Here’s the revelation of the adoption scam!
“Seriously… grateful, but not grateful!”
