Chapter 16

“Ah! It’s Vivi-unnie!”

The voice of Anne, who had a lively personality, was heard.

“What?”

“Really?”

At Anne’s words, the children around peeked their faces out the door. When she waved her hand, a bright smile spread across the children’s faces.

“Hey! Quickly tell Eugene!”

“Vivi-unnie is here! Eugene!”

“Kids. You need to be quiet!”

The nun, who had been trying to calm the children for a while, eventually gave up.

“Sorry, Vivi. I don’t know why the children are so excited…”

“It’s okay. It’s nice to hear.”

“Come into the room.”

Following the nun into the room, she saw the children playing with toys. There was a pile of toy boxes that seemed to have just been opened. 

Could it be that Sir Costance left them?

“Unnie! Why are you so late!”

“Unnie, play with us with the new toys!”

“No, unnie will play dolls with us.”

The children were still lively.

“Kids, Vivi has come taking time out of her busy schedule. Don’t demand too much.”

“But…”

At the nun’s words, the children’s faces turned sullen. At that moment, the door burst open with a bang. A tall boy with black hair was standing at the door, breathing heavily.

“…It’s really Vivi.”

The boy’s face and clothes were all covered in dirt, as if he had been sword fighting before coming here. There were abrasions on the hand holding the wooden sword. The boy met her eyes. His golden eyes sparkled.

“Vivi!”

“Eugene! I told you to dust off your shoes before coming in!”

“Ugh!”

Eugene, the most troublesome 10-year-old boy at the orphanage, hurriedly dusted off the dirt from his shoes as the nun blocked his way.

“I dusted it all off!”

“My goodness. How could you dust it off here? You should do it outside!”

“I’ll sweep it with a broom later, okay? Okay?”

When Eugene begged unreasonably, the nun eventually stepped aside.

“I can’t live because of you, Eugene.”

“Thank you!”

Eugene quickly ran to her.

“Vivi!”

“Eugene! You should call her Vivi-noona!”

“…Vivi-noona!”

When the nun scolded him again from behind, Eugene corrected his address. At that sight, she burst into laughter.

“Vivi-noona, don’t laugh! I’ve been waiting for you all this time!”

“Sorry. Have you been well, Eugene?”

“No!”

Pouting, Eugene glared at her. When she habitually patted Eugene’s head, his expression quickly softened.

Eugene seemed to have grown taller. When she first saw him, he only came up to her chest.

“Talk with me today. I have something I want to do with you… noona.”

“No, Eugene.”

It was the nun who blocked her and Eugene. Eugene looked sullen as he saw the nun blocking him again.

“Why!”

“Eugene. Who taught you to shout like that?”

“Tsk.”

“Sit down, I have something to say. Everyone else, focus!”

The nun raised her voice. Then, the children who were playing separately all looked at the nun.

“There’s a ‘Peace Love Contest’ being held at the library where Vivi works. You can choose between writing and drawing, and participating would be very meaningful. Is anyone interested?”

“Is there a prize?”

The children were straightforward. They also asked if there was a participation prize.

“These days, kids know too much, it’s tough.”

The nun whispered softly, only for her to hear.

“It’s good that they’re honest.”

“Then, could you please explain it for me?”

At the nun’s words, she nodded. The eyes of the children waiting for an answer sparkled.

“Of course, there is. It’s quite big, and there’s also a participation prize. If you submit an application form, you’ll get candy too.”

At the mention of prizes and participation prizes, the children murmured.

“The contest is in ten days, so you can come to the library that day.”

“Then we can see Vivi that day too!”

“Eugene. You should say Vivi-noona.”

“Anyway, right, Vivi-noona?”

She nodded at Eugene’s question.

“I’ll be supervising the drawing section.”

“Really? Then I’ll participate! In the drawing section!”

“I’ll do writing!”

“Me too…!”

Starting with Eugene, the other children also raised their hands. As a result, all the children at the cathedral decided to participate.

She handed out the application forms she brought just in case to the children. As expected, more children chose the writing section over the drawing section. Even if she appealed that there were fewer competitors in the drawing section, it was no use.

The children who filled out the application forms were already full of enthusiasm. They were determined to prepare diligently from now on and win awards.

When one of them said they would practice for the contest in advance, the remaining children all brought pens and paper.

“Vivi. If I win an award at the contest, you’ll be happy too, right?”

Eugene asked her, watching the other children.

“It’s a big contest. The winning works will be displayed at City Hall. Isn’t that a wonderful thing?”

“Then I’ll start practicing today too!”

Eugene immediately unfolded a paper. Seeing the children eager to work hard made her smile. She was glad she came to the cathedral. The nun, also watching this scene with satisfaction, touched her arm.

“Vivi. How about having a cup of tea with me this time? Not lavender tea, but black tea.”

“Sounds good.”

* * *

She sat on a small bench at the back of the cathedral. White sheets were spread out, and next to them was a dry well, surrounded by the children’s footprints.

“Here you go.”

The nun handed her a glass of black tea.

“The children are very happy that you came, Vivi.”

“Maybe I should have come sooner.”

The nun smiled softly at her words. Like the children, she also liked this place. Living alone in Canary Village, there were many difficult times. She received a lot of help from the cathedral during those times.

“That man earlier…”

She carefully opened her lips.

“Do you think he’s still at the cathedral?”

“Do you know him?”

The nun asked with wide eyes.

“Just… I think so.”

“Well, I think he’s already left. Shall we look for him?”

“Oh, no!”

She shook her head hurriedly.

“It might not be him. I was just guessing.”

“It would be quite amazing if you knew him,Vivi. As I mentioned before, everyone at the cathedral is curious about him. We don’t know anything about him.”

“Really, nothing at all?”

“Yes. Even in summer, he always hides his face. So among ourselves, we have lots of speculations. He could be an actor, or a high-ranking person. Maybe someone who’s serving a sentence.”

“…Ahh.”

She fiddled with the glass. The breeze was cool.

“…But I think differently. Actually, I thought he might be related to Eugene.”

The nun said with an awkward smile. This time, she was surprised.

“Really?”

“This is just my guess. When he first came, he asked about Eugene. Whether he was sick, if he was eating properly.”

“And then?”

“At first, I was suspicious and answered vaguely. But as time passed and my doubts about him disappeared, I suggested it once, about going into the room and seeing Eugene directly?”

She listened silently to the nun’s story.

“He refused. So to this day, he and Eugene have never met face to face.”

The nun gave a wry smile.

“…It’s sad, but Eugene’s reason for coming to the cathedral is similar to other children. One day, he was just in front of the cathedral door.”

“Really… he could be Eugene’s family.”

“Vivi. If you really know him, could you please ask? What his relationship with Eugene is.”

The nun earnestly requested with a serious face. She wasn’t sure if that man was Sir Costance yet. But that build, height, and the scent he exuded were definitely like him…

‘What kind of relationship is there between Sir Costance and Eugene?’

“I’ll try.”

She said softly.

* * *

After having a long conversation with the nun, when she returned to the room, the children were playing separately. Eugene handed her a piece of paper with a drawing.

“Look at this! Vivi… I mean, Vivi-noona! I almost finished it!”

It was a drawing without color. The lines were messy, as if it was hurriedly drawn with just a pencil.

“How is it?”

Eugene asked.

Well…

It seemed to depict several people and a background. The problem was that it was impossible to tell who the characters were or where the background was.

“It’s well drawn, but wouldn’t it be better to color it?”

“Ah. I’m not confident in coloring. Wait a minute! I’ll quickly color it!”

She watched Eugene hastily take out crayons and colored pencils. A drawing…

Actually, the biggest worry was how to make the promotional poster for the drawing section. If she didn’t come up with a plan by Monday, Julia would surely take her picture.

That was something she couldn’t allow even if dirt got in her eyes. She didn’t want to leave any trace of herself anywhere.

If the promotional photo fell into the hands of the surviving researchers…

They knew her childhood face well. She had lived with the researchers all day long under the guise of protection, so it was natural.

‘It’s giving me a headache.’

Just as she was getting lost in thought, she sensed a presence. Hastily checking the window, she spotted that suspicious man.

The man was at the cathedral. When their eyes met, the man’s shoulders shook.