58. And Daphne

 Misha stood on the central landing of the orphanage, looking down at the orphan children huddled around the extinguished fireplace.

—Ma’am. Beaucater, thank you for your sponsorship. May your journey be peaceful……

—Ah, I plan to stay for about a week. I’d like to know what the sponsored children need. What are the names of those two boys?

—The one you were looking for is Kisha, and the other one is Misha.

—Ah. So you even take care of the older children. That’s interesting.

—As you know, their background……

The director seemed elated with the substantial sponsorship from the new wealthy patron. Though his face cracked a bit at the mention of staying for a week.

—Such pretty names. Sounds like cosmetic shop names.

—Haha. Those names were gifts from an anonymous sponsor.

The red-haired woman who had been staying for a week now was also visible. And the gray-eyed maid sitting next to her.

Daphne surprisingly got along well with the orphanage children. She personally washed the grimy children, had her driver and maid buy clothes to dress them in new outfits, and held several girls in her arms while reading them storybooks.

“That woman is pretty.”

Kisha, with a wooden sword on his shoulder, added as he was going down. Misha grimaced.

“Ocean. Get your head straight.”

“Doesn’t she look like a noble lady?”

“Anyone can see she’s nobility. What else would she be if not nobility?”

“She’s a princess, you fool.”

Kisha, who couldn’t resist pretty women, mumbled dreamily.

“Hey, it’s all an act. You don’t know how fake noble women are. They’re the type to smile in front of a fan but badmouth you right behind your back.”

“Really? I can’t tell.”

Regardless of Misha’s protests, Kisha swung his wooden sword on the stairs where Daphne could see him well, thinking he should make a good impression on her.

Misha glared at his non-blood-related brother with narrowed eyes, seeing right through his attempt to show off.

“Sister, there’s wood on your leg! Is it a drawing? When will these flowers bloom?”

“It’s all bumpy! Is it the curse of an oak tree monster? Doesn’t it itch?”

The young girls who had been praising Daphne as a large, beautiful doll were poking at various parts of her body.

Daphne burst into laughter at the children’s clear voices.

She didn’t seem bothered by them curiously poking at her scars and appeared to be thinking about what to say. Kisha passed by Misha’s side and taunted.

“Hey hey. Even when they called it a monster’s curse, she’s still smiling. She’s pretty. Doesn’t seem particularly bothered, right?”

“You’re crazy. Just get lost, will you.”

Misha hit Kisha’s back as if to push him down the stairs.

“This is just a scar that won’t bloom flowers. Actually, I……”

Daphne willingly told them in a gentle voice about how much she enjoyed being in the ballet company and what kind of accident she had at what age. All the sensitive children were moved.

Though Misha noticeably flinched, he soon continued watching her without so much as a snort.

“Ocean, remember. We’ve seen plenty of people like her.”

“Hey. I like my new name, so just call me that.”

“The meaning? Aren’t you ashamed of that male bastard who won the continental championship?”

“Oh. Well, actually I wasn’t a male bastard.”

Kisha winked playfully. Misha parted his lips to reveal clenched teeth. Yet his eyes turned back to where the noble lady was.

The sunlight that had been hidden by clouds shone on the back of Daphne’s head. Her dark hair blazed even more crimson under it.

“Cold-hearted big brother! Don’t just stand there, come sit. These snacks are really delicious.”

“Sister, do you have a prince? Do you have knights too?”

“I don’t need princes or knights? Though I could use some bodyguards and secretaries.”

“What’s that? I don’t know what it is but it sounds cool!”

Daphne glanced at Misha and slyly winked her left eye.

‘That woman and Kisha. They’ll get along just fine. Someone like me won’t be needed.’

Misha turned his head sharply. And just as he was about to go down the back stairs to check the vegetable garden, the director suddenly appeared and grabbed his wrist tightly. Kisha stopped in his tracks, startled enough to jump.

“Misha. Come to the director’s office.”

“…Yes.”

Daphne instantly wiped all expression from her face.

Her golden eyes watched until Misha’s silver head disappeared. 

 * * *

 Misha jerked awake. He was on a dusty sofa.

“Where are the children?”

It was Kisha sitting with his legs folded on the table right in front of the sofa. When Misha slowly looked around, the orphanage that should have been noisy even in the evening was quiet as if no one was there.

“Daphne left today. Without taking me. Without taking anyone.”

“……”

“The kids cried until they were exhausted and all went to their rooms.”

“……”

“What do we do now.”

Kisha’s voice was disgruntled. Misha sat up thinking he knew this would happen. All his facial muscles ached.

“What do you mean what do we do. Nothing changed even when we got a new sponsor.”

“We never had someone who stayed and played with us for a week.”

Misha looked at Kisha with an expression that said ‘what do you want me to do about it.’

“Ah, sh*t. You should have just gone together when she asked. Living as a chauffeur or something while serving the princess would have been better than getting beaten to death by that director bastard.”

“Then why didn’t you go with her? I don’t want to live serving others anymore.”

“I’m just saying. Daphne said she would hire us. Said she’d pay us like normal people. Give us holidays and even a castle.”

“That’s a lie. What castle would a girl like that give to us?”

“You slave of disbelief.”

Kisha seemed thoroughly annoyed. He deeply regretted not just leaving alone, abandoning someone who wasn’t even his real brother. But it didn’t seem right to leave behind someone who got beaten every other day.

“I should have told Daphne. Should have just told her.”

“People might think you were the one getting beaten.”

“Why are you so narrow-minded? That’s why you keep getting beaten. Why didn’t you at least try talking to Daphne?”

“Ocean, why are you calling her name when you barely even spoke to her? Nobles hate that.”

“Who’s listening for you to make such a fuss? No wonder people call you a slave. Try seeing people as people instead of their class. And I’m Kisha, not Ocean. I brought an opportunity for all of us, so why are you so desperate to kick it away? Are you feeling inferior to me?”

Kisha irritably shook his curly red hair.

“Acting like a real winner when you didn’t even win fair and square……”

“……”

“Ocean, do you think you’ll be safe if people find out you’re from Libian?”

“I don’t want to hit people so shut up and go back to sleep. Just.”

“Listen carefully. If anyone finds out that you and I are protecting each other, that girl will be in danger too.”

A runaway imperial slave branded with a lily on the nape, and an orphan from pirate war criminals.

Daphne must have known their backgrounds, and knowingly trying to take them in and raise them would be clear treason as a citizen of Secradion.

“Why do you think of others even after getting beaten like that? We should come first.”

“Is that why you started a war because you put yourselves first? Stupid selfish bastard.”

“This bastard must not have been beaten enough.”

Kisha pursed his lips, then pulled out a box he had put under the table and placed it on Misha’s legs. Misha couldn’t bring himself to touch the box and just looked at Kisha as if asking what it was.

“Daphne said to give it to you.”

Misha tilted his head and opened the square lid.

It was full of paper roses inside. She must have put in all the red paper roses she had been folding with the children.

Misha’s expression turned sour. As he absentmindedly felt the paper roses, something cold, hard and small touched his fingertips. Misha grabbed and lifted it. A tea tag dangled from the silver handle.

<Gift♡>

“Uh……”

It was a gun. 

 * * *

 The gun had already passed to Kisha’s hands. They quietly bickered in the hallway leading to the director’s bedroom.

“Hey, hey. Kisha. Murder is not, not okay.”

“Mur’der’? Does that bastard look human to your eyes? To me he just looks like a monster. And this is revenge. You’ve been beaten for years.”

“Daphne gave it to me. It’s my choice.”

“Ah, this is my first time seeing a gun so it’s fascinating. I’ll return it after firing just a few shots.”

“You’re supposed to be an inspector! At least kill with a sword!”

“That bastard sold all my engraved swords!”

Though they were similar in height, Kisha who diligently exercised including swordsmanship had longer arms than Misha. Misha suddenly got angry.

“Why, why are you like this when you weren’t even the one getting beaten? Let’s just live carelessly.”

“Libians may not know much else but they cherish treasures and brothers dearly. And you’re my brother.”

“How, how are we brothers just because our eye colors are the same.”

“Our names are similar now too. Even without family names.”

Misha paused at Kisha’s serious words.

“I’m going first.”

Kisha darted quickly. And immediately opened the bedroom door and aimed the gun inside. But the director lay still on the bed without turning their way.

There was a fishy smell.

Kisha moved a bit closer to the man with Misha behind him. And tilted his head.

“Misha, he’s already dead?”

“What?”

“This……”

Kisha pressed the lamp button on the bedside table to brighten the room. Kisha, who rarely got surprised, exclaimed “Wak!”

“Hey. Ugh sh*t. Looks like a nightmare. Weakling, don’t look.”

“You wanna die? I’ll look too, urgh.”

Misha defiantly tilted his head. And as soon as he saw the director’s corpse, he dry heaved. Then he glanced at the coffee cup on the bedside table.

He remembered Daphne who had entered the director’s office with an envelope saying it was a gift, while Misha was getting beaten in a corner of the office hours ago.

—It’s tea imported from the east. They say you’ll sleep very~ deeply if you drink it before bed. Very deeply.

‘I wondered why she was giving him tea as a gift.’

Misha quickly realized who had prepared all this. And giggled.

“There’s gasoline and a lighter here too……”

“But Covenant.”

“What?”

“After all you’ve suffered, isn’t it too luxurious for him to die peacefully by poison? For this bastard.”

Kisha muttered with a chilled expression. Before Misha could stop him, he covered the director’s face with a pillow and squeezed the trigger multiple times.