TMV 05

Chapter 5

There were a few kinds of days like that in my life.

Days that weren’t special, but I wore pretty clothes. Days when the orphanage staff paid unusually close attention to me.

I could instinctively tell.

‘Maybe today… I’ll get parents.’

When I was young, I was desperate. I struggled to show that I was someone worthy of becoming part of a family.

More polite, more obedient, kinder.

I always screamed with my whole body, begging someone to become my parents. But I never had a family.

But today… maybe this time, I really will get one.

I stared at the door of the headmistress’s office where voices were softly flowing out.

‘Don’t get emotional. This is a fixed story. That man is just here to use me.’

I hit my chest a few times to calm my strangely excited heart.

‘Seriously, why am I excited? I should just think about being used and thrown away.’

I was a little shaken by old memories, but I quickly composed myself and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

After receiving permission, I opened the door. The first thing I saw was a man sitting in the seat of honor.

He had an elegant, straight posture. A gentleman in his mid-to-late 40s with black hair that looked similar to Iana’s was looking at me.

“Greet him, Freedia. This is Duke Wyss.”

Ivan Wyss.

He was the one who placed Iana, a branch member of the Wyss family, into the position of Empress.

He was not satisfied with simply influencing Iana. He also aimed for the position of father-in-law to the First Prince.

But he only had one daughter who would inherit his title. So he was looking for an appropriate girl among his relatives.

And by chance, the Imperial Gazette had shown him a photo of a poor orphan girl standing next to Heraes.

The Duke must have thought that an orphan with no troublesome family ties would be easier to control and use as he pleased.

The Duke of Wyss was a man with power said to “make even birds fall from the sky.” For him, turning this marriage into a “romantic story between an orphan and royalty” would be no problem at all.

“Hello, Duke?”

“Mm.”

He nodded calmly and looked me up and down. It seemed he had no interest in talking to me.

He asked the headmistress instead.

“Is the child smart?”

“Yes, of course. She’s very capable. You have no idea how smart she is.”

That was said by a headmistress who had suffered headaches and stomachaches because of me for days.

She smiled while gritting her teeth behind it.

I stepped into the conversation with pure and innocent enthusiasm.

“I’m really happy to meet you. It feels like a dream that I might finally have a family. I heard from the headmistress that you have a daughter, Duke. Is that true?”

The headmistress poked my side hard, telling me not to interrupt, but I ignored it and smiled brightly.

The Duke nodded.

“Yes, I have a daughter. She is fifteen, so the ages match well.”

“She’s older than me! I want to give her a gift.”

“A gift?”

I slowly took out a ribbon I had carefully kept in my pocket.

“This is a ribbon that His Highness the First Prince gave me recently. It’s the best thing I own.”

“Why would you give away your best possession?”

I brought up a thought from my childhood, when I still had innocence and romance.

“I’ve always wanted a family. The most valuable thing I have is that wish for a family.”

“If you take me, I’ll be satisfied with that alone.”

That’s how I used to think. If I ever had a family, I would love them forever. I would share my best things and live without greed.

‘I was naive. Family is just a burden.’

The Duke seemed to like that I said I wouldn’t want anything.

People like him were surrounded by greedy people like Iana, who changed their attitude depending on the situation.

He probably didn’t fully believe me, but making a good first impression was enough.

“Can you keep that promise? Even if you don’t desire anything, I can provide everything you need. If you are satisfied with what I give you and do not become greedy, you will not be unhappy.”

I smiled confidently, as if to reassure him.

“Duke, I’m an orphan. I also know who His Highness the First Prince is.”

Meaning: giving him this ribbon was not purely innocent.

I knew my place, and I knew how valuable this item was to me. It wasn’t something I would casually give to anyone—but I still chose to give it to him.

The Duke seemed to understand what I meant.

He looked at me with the most unusual, beautiful golden eyes I had ever seen in this world.

I met his sharp gaze without avoiding it.

Then the Duke let out a short laugh.

“You’re quite calculating for a child.”

“Thank you for thinking so.”

“Better to be calculating than foolish.”

Hmm… he seemed more satisfied than expected. That made me feel a little guilty.

‘Sorry, Duke. My goal is to live comfortably in your house, then become useless and get thrown away.’

So please expect a lot from me. The higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

I had also chosen adoption with the intention of being discarded.

‘I’ll behave until I grow old enough… then become useless and definitely get thrown away!’

Once I’m adopted, I’ll save my allowance and use it when I’m abandoned to start a business. Like that chicken business I once thought about. I hadn’t given up on it completely.

Of course, Ivan would not easily discard a child he carefully chose.

So I came up with another plan.

‘Contract marriage!’

Haha, I’m glad I read so many romance fantasy novels. Don’t the heroines usually escape through contract marriages?

‘If I become a noble, I can gather information at tea parties and things like that, then arrange a contract marriage with someone suitable.’

Since I already know the story, I can offer a few valuable secrets in exchange for the contract.

After the contract ends, I’ll ask for a divorce, take my gold, and start my new life.

‘Perfect!’

I hid my greedy thoughts under a cute, innocent smile.

“I like the child.”

The Duke said, almost like praising the headmistress.

That made me feel annoyed.

‘She did nothing but abuse me and Freedia!’

Even now, she had been poking my side repeatedly, telling me to stay quiet.

I had been planning to leave quietly after a little revenge… but still.

“Ah! Headmistress, it hurts! Please stop pinching me!”

At my words, the Duke looked at her, confused.

The headmistress quickly responded.

“I never pinched her, Duke. Freedia sometimes lies like this. Children her age often lie. You don’t need to believe everything she says. Smart children especially make up believable stories.”

Ah. So that’s what she was doing.

Trying to make me look like a liar.

‘So that’s her plan in case I report abuse.’

Not bad.

I admired her clever move and instead of denying it loudly, I calmly said:

“I’m sorry, Headmistress. I must have been mistaken. Of course you wouldn’t do that after taking such good care of me.”

My obedient apology made her smile freeze slightly.

She hadn’t expected me to accept it so easily.

The Duke looked at me suspiciously.

“Has the headmistress been good to you?”

“Yes, of course! She even gave me a special attic room!”

“Other children share rooms with two or three people, but I got a room all to myself. It was so small that even two people couldn’t fit inside.”

I could feel the headmistress flinch.

I continued with a bright smile, leaving no room for excuses.

“Having a private room—wasn’t that kindness from the headmistress? Of course, at night it was so cold I shivered, but thanks to that I could imagine myself as a poor matchstick girl freezing in the winter streets. Isn’t that romantic?”

I clasped my hands together and smiled dreamily.

I wasn’t even sure if this world had The Little Match Girl, but it didn’t matter. Stories about poor, suffering children were universal anyway.

The Duke frowned.

“That doesn’t sound like a lie.”

“That’s right!”

I continued enthusiastically.

“Sometimes I even imagined my thin old blanket was a pile of straw, and I was a heroic adventurer sleeping in a barn. Heroes in stories always have miserable childhoods.”

The Duke pressed his forehead.

“No matter how much you like it, you won’t be sleeping in a room like that in my estate.”

Then he sharply looked at the headmistress.

“I heard quite a bit of funding is coming into this orphanage. I wonder if the auditors are blind… or just closing their eyes.”

The headmistress turned pale.

‘So there really was something dirty here.’

The Duke immediately ordered that only a few belongings be packed and that we leave by carriage.

I asked him to wait a moment and picked up the dress that had been given to me. I neatly folded it and placed it in front of the headmistress’s office.

‘I’m returning this. You’ll be wearing better things soon anyway. You look terrible—take care of yourself.’