Chapter 51

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 51

Chapter Title: Genuine Treasures

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"The orphanage where Little One stayed was more rundown than the other facilities, wasn't it? It was overcrowded with kids, too. They said six or seven children slept together in that room."

Ishak was utterly shocked.

Six or seven kids sharing a space not even half the size of his dressing room?

'Is this place hell?'

Leblain had been chosen as the Child of Destiny in midsummer and only moved to the imperial palace in the fall.

That meant she'd lived in a dump like this until this year.

Come to think of it, Leblain had never really acted like a normal kid from the start.

She hardly ever begged for toys, got greedy for things, or threw tantrums.

It made sense—she'd grown up in a place like this and never learned to expect anything.

Ishak's face was grim as he stepped out of the administrator's office, and Henri's eyes were clouded.

"I yelled at the little one at first, asking if she even knew how to eat a carrot..."

"......"

"She grew up in a place where she had to starve if she didn't eat even a carrot."

Henri was filled with regret beside Ishak, who muttered those words in a depressed tone.

[You think just because you're registered in the family tree that you're really my sibling? Don't make me laugh. Who treats a bloodless orphan like real family?]

Why had he said something like that?

His chest ached as he recalled Leblain blinking blankly at him after hearing those words.

"I'll tell the little one now that she can demand all the toys she wants and live in a nice room."

"Yeah."

The two clenched their fists tight.

After stuffing myself silly and then sleeping straight through another twenty hours, my mind finally cleared up a bit.

And the moment it did, I wanted to tear my hair out.

'I must've been crazy!'

I remembered how I'd sniffled and whined that day.

[Lebu room small and dark. So not my room. This big and pretty, so mine!]

It was mortifying.

"Here, Little One, have more. I snuck it past Lea."

I rolled my eyes at Uni, who held out a donut with a look of fierce determination on her face.

"No wanna eat more now."

"You can wish for things like this! A big pretty room or yummy snacks—it's all okay..."

Uni trailed off, her eyes glistening with tears.

'No, it's just that I've eaten too much already...'

Even for me, five pancakes plus donuts was pushing it.

Ever since yesterday, everyone looked at me with such pity.

The maids piled up snacks and urged them on me, saying with teary eyes, "Please tell us if there's anything else you need."

The retainers sent toys and treats, too.

Word of how I'd lived until now must've spread everywhere.

Teary stares followed me no matter where I went—it was overwhelming.

'Time to escape.'

I'd kill time in the greenhouse until those watery gazes dried up.

I grabbed my elephant bag and snuck backward out of the room.

Only after setting the bag down in the empty greenhouse did I let out a sigh of relief.

'Better think about the caravan business.'

Seria and the duke had sealed their deal.

He'd secured plenty of spinel and promised to buy every bit they mined.

He must be planning to use it against the temple.

'Then I'll be the only winner in this battle of whales.'

With the duke buying up loads of spinel, my warehouse would overflow.

The temple would eat dirt and have to sell their mine.

If I snapped up the mine too, I'd have a spinel monopoly!

I let out a sneaky hee-hee-hee.

I'd spent everything buying up spinel variants and funding the caravan's launch, leaving me flat broke for now—but riches were just around the corner.

"Hmm, hum, hum-de-hum."

I whistled a little tune and scribbled on the letter paper I'd prepared ahead of time.

[To Seria.

Glad to hear you're doing well. I've named the caravan . Use that name for all our future deals.

I'm looking everywhere for escorts to guard the caravan. The merchant guild's guards are Duvered territory folk, so they have to log every entry and exit. The duke said it'd be risky if they got caught, so we should hire from outside. I agree.

I heard you met the chairman a few days ago. What were you two fighting about? You'll be working together, so try to get along.

P.S. You called the chairman an annoying old goat, but I think he looks more like a leopard—]

I froze at a sudden presence behind me and quickly stuffed the letter into my bag.

"Ah, there you are."

It was Ishak. He spotted me and waved wildly before yelling toward the door, "Bro, she's in here!"

Then he ran over to me.

"Izak, hi-hi."

"Hi."

"Whasdat?"

I tilted my head at the trinkets he was holding.

"They wouldn't let you play with stuff like this at the orphanage, right?"

How did he even know that?

The orphanage had jewelry toys—super detailed for kids' stuff, so they were a huge hit.

The boss kid hoarded them and only let her favorites play, so I'd never gotten a turn.

"Yeah."

"Now you can play with tons of them."

With that, he dumped a bunch into my arms.

'Are these toys?'

They sure looked real. I picked up one that resembled an amber necklace and examined it closely—then flinched.

'Isn't that a real beetle in the center?'

Amber forms from hardened resin, and sometimes bugs get trapped inside.

Having one actually makes it more valuable.

Would they put a real beetle in a kids' toy?

I peered closer and flinched again.

"I-I-Izak."

"Huh?"

"This... this real... real gem!"

"Of course it's real."

What if a kid breaks real gems playing?

I hurriedly shoved them back at Ishak and clutched my pounding chest.

'Calm down. I'm gonna be rich soon. Once Seria's deal goes through, I could buy ten of those.'

I tried telling myself that, but after a beggar life in my past and never even glimpsing gems in my first two loops here, I couldn't settle down easily.

"Don't like the amber? Then play with this diamond."

He handed me a diamond so big I needed both hands.

The kind of massive gem you'd find in an empress's jewel box.

'Money couldn't even buy something like this.'

"Izak, if you bring stuff like this, Duke gonna scold."

"It's not the duke's. It's mine."

"Huh?"

"Took it from my second jewelry vault."

"...How many jewelry vaults you got?"

Ishak blinked at me like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Henri, who had just entered the greenhouse, saw me trembling while clutching the diamond and scolded Ishak.

"What did you do to scare Leblain like that?"

"Guess she doesn't like my jewels."

"That's why I said take from my third vault. Yours are just big."

"Then let's give her this one and get something better from your vault."

"Sure."

...Suddenly, I felt sorry for myself, the one who'd thought she was gonna be rich.

The real rich kids' aura was blinding.

"Little one, so what do you wanna do? Want some new clothes?"

"How about bringing in a dessert chef from the palace?"

"I'll build you an amusement park."

I glanced sideways at the two of them hollering offers left and right.

"No thanky."

Indulging in too much imperial luxury would just make me picky if I ever went into exile.

Spinel was plenty for me.

'So I need to hire that caravan escort fast and start deals beyond just Duvered.'

Ishak drooped his brows.

"Want me to kill the orphanage director for you?"

"Why kill teacher?!"

I startled and blurted it out, but Ishak scowled.

"Making six or seven kids sleep in a cramped, filthy room like that. Orphanages get state funding— if it's that dirty, she must've skimmed it off."

"No, that orphanage not run by country."

Orphanages in this empire fell into three categories.

1. State-run orphanages backed by the imperial family.

The nation builds them, and officials are assigned as directors. Good facilities, solid support, even settlement funds when the kids age out.

2. Public orphanages funded by temples or nobles.

Ones vetted and sponsored by temples or noble houses. Quality varies by sponsor, but generally decent.

3. Private orphanages run by commoners.

Built mainly to snag subsidies. They get audited since tax money's involved, but it's mostly for show.

Commoners can't run them like state or public ones anyway, so they're always the worst.

No oversight means hardly any adoptions.

Parents who can't raise kids or don't want to pay child taxes dump them temporarily and pick them up later. Those parents were the private orphanages' second source of cash.

And the one I'd been in was the third type.

They kept real orphans like me around just to make it look legit, but paid zero attention.

The director prioritized kids whose parents paid up or were sure to come back for them.

'That's why I worked so hard to win over Duke Amities and Duke Ballua's affection.'

Still, I'd survived without dying every time right up until the Empress Dowager took me in—thanks to that place, in a way.

'Wait... orphanage?'

The word orphanage sparked something in my mind.

Down the line, four knights rose to the pinnacle of knighthood.

The knight rumored to have slain a dragon: Duke Amities.

The once-in-a-century genius: Ishak.

The holy knight called the nightmare of the battlefield: Surir.

And the master of military strategy: Zachary.

Zachary had come from a private orphanage.

They said he was a gentle, thoughtful man.

'Zachary would be reliable for guarding the caravan.'

And the orphanage where he was from was nearby, too.