57. Kisha and Misha

 There were two men standing in the black and white photograph. To be precise, a young man and a boy. One was a boy with black hair and round eyes.

‘Someone who looks like they can’t even get a bowl of gruel couldn’t possibly be the winner.’

Daphne slightly pursed her lips.

“Is the winner this man?”

Daphne pointed at one side with her index finger. The man under her fingerprint was showing his large palm towards the camera as if he didn’t want to be photographed.

Thanks to that, his face wasn’t visible, but he had a large build and light-colored hair. He had his white shirt rolled up above his elbows, and his pants weren’t made of material suitable for movement.

“That one is the one who withdrew but was effectively second place. The boy won!”

“Why did he withdraw? Did he think he would lose?”

“Maybe he wanted to get second place?”

Narid answered casually. Daphne unconsciously frowned.

“Why would anyone want second place?”

“Well, maybe the second-place prize was good…… Like how you got third place in the academic conference to win the shoe workshop voucher, Miss.”

Daphne quickly agreed.

“So this child is that good with a sword?”

Daphne looked at the boy again. No matter how she looked at him, he seemed a year or two younger than her. He was wearing a flower crown and holding a sword sheath about half his body length with a blank expression.

“Good. Let’s investigate this kid.”

“What? Oh, I thought you would want to look for the man on the left, Miss.”

“I prefer young kids who are easier to handle. If he’s an orphan, he’ll need someone to depend on even more.”

“That’s the kind of thing that could be misunderstood coming from someone like you, Miss.”

Narid gently chided her. Daphne pouted her lips.

Although the Grand Duke had repeatedly said that people shouldn’t be treated like commodities, Daphne hadn’t really changed that habit. Do you know where people’s trust comes from? Do you know what people depend on the most?

“But what can I do? I need someone to protect me, and this baby will need someone to depend on too.”

It was money, plain and simple. 

 * * *

 “Get lost.”

“What?”

Daphne paused while adjusting the brim of her wide-brimmed hat. Looking down, she saw a pretty child with silver hair, rare in Secradion, looking up at her with a sullen expression.

“Are you a girl?”

“I’m a boy.”

“Oh my. I apologize for……”

“If you know, then leave. Take that fancy beetle you came in and go.”

He pointed his finger at the yellow Ford that Daphne had arrived in. His baggy sleeve rolled up as he raised his arm. His twig-like arm was covered in soot.

‘Ah.’

Not just simple soot. Daphne frowned. The boy, sensing her gaze, quickly lowered his arm and glared at her again.

“Do you know who I am?”

“No.”

Tenzen was hotter and more humid than the capital of Secradion. Daphne, who always maintained a pristine appearance, felt irritated as she felt sweat rising. But she quickly composed herself.

It was because the boy had gray eyes exactly like her godfather.

“No, I didn’t come to see you in the first place. It’s the one with black hair.”

“Who doesn’t know that? My brother didn’t go there to sell himself to people with too much time on their hands.”

Despite Daphne showing patience for the third time, what was with this treatment?

She placed her hand on her chest and spoke sincerely.

“I’m not a human trafficker. I came to ask that boy, whether he’s your brother or not, to become my bodyguard. They say he won in the continent.”

However, Daphne showed patience once more, as per her godfather’s teachings. Looking closely, there were yellow marks on his face, seemingly bruises that were healing.

“Do you think you’re the only wealthy person who’s come? Get lost. And right now, you’re not in any position to be making requests.”

“What did you say?”

“You have the attitude of someone buying a piglet from a butcher shop. Go learn some of that ‘manners’ you’re so keen on teaching.”

The boy jerked his chin toward where Daphne was standing. It was quite a delinquent gesture. Paying attention to his words, she could now hear the inconsistencies in his accent clearly.

‘So much for protecting them.’

She recalled how the flounder-faced orphanage director had appealed about two children with unique backgrounds among those he was protecting.

—We rescued them from being Empire slaves. They’re very healthy and lovable.

Daphne crossed her arms and clicked her tongue. Thinking about how they were showing their love by thoroughly beating up these supposedly healthy and lovable children.

“Is your brother a piglet from a butcher shop? Don’t worry. I can’t eat meat.”

While muttering this, Daphne looked at the stone steps she was standing on. Then she looked down again. The boy was indeed about five steps below her.

“You’re the one who spoke to me from down there. Why are you acting like this? Come up here and talk.”

At Daphne’s words, concern clouded the boy’s expression.

The sun, which had been hidden behind clouds, beat down harshly. She fanned herself while slowly descending one step at a time until she stood in front of him. Up close, he seemed about half a span taller than her.

Daphne briefly considered standing on the step above but let out a tiny sigh instead.

“My friend from the Empire, could you perhaps go ask if your director often breaks promises? I’m an important person, how long do they plan to keep me waiting in this shabby place?”

“……”

The boy seemed to flare up but didn’t talk back. He probably thought his identity had been revealed by the words ‘friend from the Empire.’

The Empire still actively practiced slavery. That’s why slaves from labor camps often escape to Secradion. The Empire therefore maintains a certain level of cooperation with Secradion……

‘They receive reports at irregular times, and the reward money is very generous.’

They were clearly just waiting for that day while pretending to protect these children. Daphne clicked her tongue, tsk.

“I don’t know what idiots have come by, but I really need a bodyguard. A bodyguard who will protect me and be on my side.”

“My brother is.”

“What’s your name?”

Daphne didn’t like the conversation dragging on. Again, it was because of the heat. The boy whose words were cut off raised his eyes skeptically.

“What good would knowing do you?”

“I’ll hear his name from him. I’m asking about the name of the Empire-born young man standing before me. Are you two family? Come with me too.”

“Ki…sha aside, you mean my name? Me?”

Daphne nodded. The silver-haired boy opened and closed his mouth before shutting it again.

‘By the way, the swordsman boy’s name is Kisha? Sounds like a girl’s name…… It’s pretty.’

She consciously redirected her thought process. Whether due to her birth, upbringing, or her own hardships, Daphne’s words and thoughts could sometimes be quite irritating.

‘Since godfather told me to fix my way of thinking first, I’ve been trying to be careful……’

Anyway, Daphne liked the boy who was responding to her firmly without batting an eye.

‘Being from the Empire, he must be good at the Empire’s language too.’

The boy who talked back like a machine gun was also good at Secradion’s language. Though his pronunciation needed some more practice.

‘Since they said he likes learning, he’ll probably come along easily if I offer to educate him.’

Daphne considered various things she could do for the silver-haired boy standing before her.

“Why should I tell you? I won’t tell you.”

“What? This crazy— oh my, hey!”

Before Daphne could reach out to grab him, the boy with reddened ear tips fled with quick movements.

She rolled her golden eyes. Her hand grasping at empty air had never felt so pitiful.

Daphne looked down at her attire. The Green family traditionally wears silk green dresses for formal occasions. Additional laces are added here and there to give it an even more luxurious feel.

Since childhood, Daphne had been forced to wear such fully formal clothes.

—If it’s uncomfortable, don’t wear it like that. Wear something cool.

—Even in winter?

—If that’s your choice, then so be it. But catching a cold will be your responsibility.

After that, Daphne strictly adhered to very light clothing and consciously avoided anything uncomfortable. It was okay even if she caught a cold. After all, there were six adults in Serenade who took care of her, including her godfather and Narid!

For someone like her to even wear a hat meant……

‘Even I would find it burdensome.’

She almost found herself ridiculous for dressing up like an adult to welcome new family members.

Daphne had been crumpled up in the car when she arrived in this backwater place wearing such clothes.

Her waist, which had endured long hours of abuse, was still screaming in protest. And after all that, when asked to wait here, she had waited for almost an hour under the scorching sun!

“How dare you stand me up, you violent criminal.”

Returning to the car with anger in her steps, stamping her footprints like seals on the ground, Daphne gritted her teeth. When she got in the back seat, both the military-trained driver and Narid in the passenger seat turned around.

“Weren’t you hot?”

“Weren’t you hot? I offered to hold a parasol for you.”

“I have a hat. It’s fine. Sir, do you carry a gun by any chance?”

“Pardon?”

“And spare fuel and a lighter too.”

The driver nodded, though bewildered. Daphne nodded in satisfaction. The shabby orphanage was built with brown bricks. She had felt uneasy and disgusted from the moment it came into view.

Daphne crossed her arms and glared at the orphanage wall.

More than the boy not following her, she was more disgusted by the fact that an adult would hit children and then have the nerve to ask for donations.

“Bastards who hit children deserve to die.”