🔊 TTS Settings
CHAPTER 83….
“B-B-B-Boyfriend?! What are you saying all of a sudden, Chloe?!”
His face turned so red, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he fainted right then and there.
The boys who had been watching from afar had also approached and now stood before us.
One of them, a boy with glasses, looked sharply at Michael.
“But this is the first time you’ve brought a woman here, Teacher.”
“That’s because I didn’t have a girlfr— I mean, anyway! It’s not like that, kids!”
“…Really?”
“See? I told you, she’s not his girlfriend.”
The tallest boy, who had been holding a ball, stepped in and explained the situation involving his younger siblings.
“Not long ago, Miss Irene got married and had to leave the orphanage, right? So Chloe and Robin were worried that you might leave too if you got married.”
Watching them, I could tell just how much the kids cared for Michael as a teacher.
From the way they spoke to him, to the way he knelt down to meet the smallest child at eye level.
‘Come to think of it, Idris was kind to children too.’
It might’ve been a bias, but I always believed that those who were kind to children must be good people.
‘Hmm… the kids still don’t look fully convinced. Maybe I should help a little?’
I quietly joined the conversation between Michael and the children.
“There seems to be a little misunderstanding here—I’m not Mr. Michael’s girlfriend.”
The three pairs of eyes that had been staring only at Michael now turned to me all at once.
Then what are you?
That’s what their eyes seemed to be asking.
“You all know that it was Her Majesty the Empress who gave you your new library and saved your teacher, right?”
At the mention of the Empress, some of the wariness in their eyes began to fade.
“I was sent here by Her Majesty. I’ve come with a favor to ask on her behalf.”
“A favor?”
“Yes. If we want more of your friends to be able to study together, we need your help.”
At the word “help,” their eyes sparkled with interest.
“What do we have to do to help?”
“Eat well, sleep well, and study hard so you can become amazing people. Simple, right?”
“That’s really all we have to do?”
“Yup. If Her Majesty hears how hard you’re studying, she’ll build a bigger library and more classrooms so even more friends can learn too.”
“And to make that happen, the first step is to be a model student—by doing your homework.”
Picking up on the moment, Michael steered the topic back to something practical.
“Have you all done your homework?”
“W-We’re going to do it right now! Borrowing books from the library!”
The kids, startled by the mention of homework, ran off like they were fleeing, disappearing into the library.
Watching them go, I turned back to Michael and asked,
“Well then, shall we return to the palace now?”
Inside the carriage, silence filled the air.
Michael kept glancing at Leticia, then looking away, worried it was rude to stare.
But unable to suppress the urge, he looked up again… only to find Leticia already watching him.
She hadn’t done anything in particular, and yet just meeting her blue eyes made his heart drop with a thud.
“Sir Hildes, could you stop the carriage for a moment?”
“Ah, yes!”
The place where Leticia had the carriage stop was in front of a toy shop in a shopping district.
Michael looked back and forth between the shop and Leticia with a confused expression.
“But… why here all of a sudden?”
“I meant to stop here before we went to the orphanage, but I got distracted and forgot.”
“You’re buying gifts for the kids?”
“Yes. It actually worked out well, though. Now that I’ve met them, I have a better idea of what they like and what they need.”
Starting with the toy store, Leticia moved from shop to shop—bookstore, accessory store—buying things each child would like:
A teddy bear for Chloe, an eyeglass strap for Robin, a ball for Jake, and so on.
“Snacks would’ve been enough…”
“It’s always nicer to give someone something they need and like, don’t you think?”
Michael tried to dissuade her from going to all that trouble, but Leticia thought nothing of it.
Suddenly, a memory resurfaced.
The woman who had once extended a hand to him at a banquet, when he had been completely overlooked.
‘…You haven’t changed at all.’
Leticia spoke of her kindness like it was nothing special.
But remembering the kids’ preferences after just one meeting, or being the first to notice him back then—
Those were things only someone who truly cared could do.
To her, this kind of affection and thoughtfulness came so naturally, she probably didn’t even remember doing it.
But that was exactly what made her so admirable.
Someone unaware of their own kindness.
Someone who expected nothing in return for it.
And because Michael understood that, he ended up helping her pick gifts more enthusiastically than anyone else.
“Ah, let me carry those.”
He took the shopping bags Leticia had filled in both hands.
After buying some snacks as the last stop, the two of them walked toward the carriage parked in an alleyway.
Fanning herself in the summer heat, Leticia’s eyes sparkled as she spotted something.
“Sir Hildes, let’s get one of those!”
When he followed her gaze, he saw a street vendor selling ice cream.
But seeing the eager look in her eyes, it was clear Michael’s opinion no longer mattered.
Suppressing a smile, he nodded.
“Yes, that sounds good.”
“I’ll go get it—wait for me in the carriage.”
“Ah, I can do it—!”
Wanting to treat her to the ice cream in return for everything she’d done for the children, Michael reached out—but Leticia had already dashed off to the vendor.
Soon, she returned with two cones, one in each hand.
Though she usually looked like a flawless businesswoman, holding ice cream made her look just like any other cheerful girl.
“Here, this one’s yours, Sir Hildes.”
But Michael’s hands were still full with shopping bags, leaving him unable to take the ice cream.
“Ah, sorry! I’ll carry these now—give them to me.”
Leticia grabbed the bags with one hand and placed the ice cream into Michael’s palm with the other.
At that moment, as her soft touch brushed against his firm hand, he flinched instinctively.
And because of that—splatter!
The ice cream fell to the ground with a dramatic splat.
Along with his heart.
Both Michael and Leticia stared in shock at the fallen cone.
“Ah…! I-I’m so sorry!”
She bought this for me… it was the first thing she’s ever given me…
Michael felt an urge to cut off the hand that dropped it.
‘She must think I’m such a klutz…’
But then—
“Pfft.”
Leticia suddenly burst into laughter, not upset in the slightest.
She even looked delighted.
“Now I get why all the noblewomen think you’re so adorable.”
“P-Pardon…?”
“Here. This time, don’t drop it.”
She handed him her ice cream cone, making sure he held it securely.
As her cool yet gentle fingers brushed his again, a tingling sensation zipped through his hand.
And with that, the heart that had been pounding faster ever since he met her… now began to race even more intensely.
‘Please… stop embarrassing yourself.’
His fingers trembled, curling inward again, but this time, he managed to take the ice cream without fumbling.
He worried she might hear the deafening thump of his heart, but at the same time, he didn’t want her touch to leave.
“But what about your ice cream, my lady?”
“I’ll just go buy another one. It’s no big deal.”
With a bright smile, Leticia turned and headed back toward the street vendor.
Michael had meant to follow her, but he stopped, frozen.
He just stood there, mesmerized by her figure, still smiling like sunshine.
