“Well, taking a break isn’t a bad idea. So, where are you planning to stay?”

“I’m thinking of staying at the place where I used to live.”

“You mean that orphanage? Why would you go to such a place…”

“I’ve heard that Mr. Carlson, the current chairman, is well-respected and has greatly improved the orphanage’s atmosphere. I’m curious if that’s true, and I’ve wanted to visit at least once. So I’d like to stay there for a while… Melinda, you’ll give me permission, right?”

Melinda stammered with a surprised expression.

“P-permission? Why do you need that? You’ve already made up your mind.”

“You two are my guardians. Of course I need your permission.”

Melinda looked at Jacqueline for a moment with a choked-up expression. Then, seeing Michael’s foolish face smiling contentedly right beside her, her emotional moment quickly cooled.

‘Him, a guardian too?’

Melinda wanted to wipe the smug smile off Michael’s face, but decided to be generous today.

“Only if you promise to write letters frequently.”

“Of course! I’ll write every day!”

“That’s not necessary…”

‘Though I’d like that better.’

Melinda’s lips twitched, unable to hide her true feelings. Michael continued smiling. In this warm atmosphere, the only person who couldn’t smile was Anette. Suddenly facing eviction from her beloved home, she reminded everyone of her and Theo’s existence with a pitiful expression.

“What about us? Where will we go?”

But no one answered her. A little later, Melinda, with a prim face, showed Anette an apartment that met her requirements and brought up renewing her contract. Only then did Anette lift Theo’s jelly paw pads and celebrate with him, cheering happily.

* * *

【 Jacqueline Becomes a Volunteer 】

After Jacqueline, who had said she would just clear her head briefly and return, hadn’t come back for two years, Melinda and Michael finally came to visit her in Felsorn.

Reading the letters Melinda had sent during that time, written in elegant handwriting, asking why she didn’t write often, when she would return, and whether she had quit school, Jacqueline was honestly afraid to face Melinda.

However, seeing Melinda tearful upon seeing her, Jacqueline felt not fear but warmth in her heart from the joy and tenderness of their reunion. 

The cold, emotionally awkward lady now openly showed the affection she had previously hidden behind formality.

Michael was even more expressive. Jacqueline also belatedly realized how much she had missed them. 

Their ambiguous relationship had evolved into that of an aunt who considered her niece like a daughter, and a niece who considered her aunt like a mother.

Jacqueline smiled to herself, remembering that time.

Just then, Tail toddled over to Jacqueline and hugged her.

“Nimo, Nimo, carry!”

Jacqueline grunted as she lifted Tail, feeling how much heavier the child had become. Giggling near her ear, Tail held Jacqueline’s cheeks with her maple leaf-like hands and kissed her.

Jacqueline returned the favor, planting kisses on Tail’s powder-scented brown hair, her smooth round forehead white like a pebble, and her soft cheeks. As she adjusted her hold on the child who was laughing breathlessly, Sheila asked with a worried face.

“Aren’t you going to be late for the funeral?”

“Mr. Carlson said he would come pick me up.”

“True. It’s half a day by carriage, but by car it’s a quick trip. Ah. He’s here.”

Sharp-eared Sheila heard the car engine noise and quickly gestured for Tail. Sensing what was happening, Tail pouted and formed a walnut-sized lump in her chin. Her eyes, which had been shining like blue sapphires, quickly filled with tears.

“Nimo, don’t go!”

“I’m sorry, Tail. I need to go now. I’m going to buy those tasty cookies you like.”

“Waaaaaah! Cookie! Cookie! Don’t go!”

Jacqueline felt heartbroken leaving the wailing child behind, but she knew that after a little while, Tail would stop crying and happily play with her friends, so she set aside her concerns.

Jacqueline saw Carlson waiting for her by the car and hurried over. She pressed down on the black fascinator on her head to keep it from flying off as she ran to the car, then caught her breath.

“Haah…”

Jacqueline expressed her gratitude to the gray-mustached gentleman who had come to pick her up.

“Thank you, Chairman.”

“Ahem, think nothing of it. Shall we go?”

When Carlson politely opened the car door, Jacqueline got in. Having primarily used carriages and trams when living in the capital, cars were both familiar and unfamiliar modes of transportation to her. 

Carlson had to suppress a smile watching Jacqueline curiously examining the interior and fidgeting with the seat cushions.

He had felt it when he first met her too, but despite her calm impression, she was a curious and cheerful young lady. Carlson always found himself smiling when meeting her. Then he reflected that they didn’t look at all like people heading to a funeral, given how excited they were.

‘Mr. Friedman, you would have teased Miss Carroll just like I am.’

The protagonist of the funeral they were attending would have laughed heartily alongside Carlson.

“This is a T model that the Henrikson company modified from a military vehicle. The first four-wheel, 1,400cc, single-cylinder beast that crossed the continent.”

“Wow! That’s amazing.”

“Well then, let’s depart.”

Carlson gripped the steering wheel with a proud expression. Even a man approaching his fifties with graying hair could make such an innocent face. 

Watching him, Jacqueline recalled Michael’s words that men, regardless of age, always become children when showing off their hobbies. 

Michael, who had expanded his interests to horticulture after giving flowers to his beloved woman, had won a gold medal at the recent garden exhibition.

‘Uncle Michael has surprisingly delicate hobbies.’

“I should mention this in advance, but after the funeral, I’d like to stop by the post office. I have many letters to mail to my aunt.”

“To your aunt?”

“Yes, I promised to write every day, but somehow I’ve only been sending letters occasionally.”

“What about installing a telephone? Wouldn’t that put your aunt’s mind more at ease?”

“The installation cost wouldn’t be cheap. Though I do think it’s necessary.”

“If it’s necessary, then we should install one.”

“But you must be tight on time and budget with other foundation matters.”

“That’s fine. That’s what I’m here for.”

Carlson’s main job was auditing foundation corruption. He was a fearsome man known as “the butcher” to tax evaders, but he was also interested in child welfare and veteran issues, even running his own foundation.

He had a special connection with Jacqueline; it turned out that he and Michael were alumni of the same school. Carlson considered Michael, though many years his junior, a friend with many admirable qualities. 

So despite hearing of Michael’s notorious reputation, he didn’t mind and tried to befriend him. Now, years later, they regularly met for whiskey.

During their last meeting, Michael had complained, which was unusual for him.

‘I was so busy with work that I didn’t even realize it was our child’s twenty-third birthday. I’m a failure of an uncle.’

‘Just putting Don Carlo behind bars is a great achievement. Many soldiers died because of those purple pellets. Lives that could have been saved with timely rehabilitation… You’ll soon receive a commendation from the Veterans Association. I hear there’s movement within the prosecution to push you as the next Prosecutor General? You’ve done well for yourself, Mikey.’

‘I have no interest in success. I have more than enough money. I’d rather spend time with my family.’

‘I never thought I’d hear such words from you. The world is full of surprises. I thought you’d live forever like a man of adventure. You’ve really changed.’

‘I haven’t changed. I always wanted to build a stable home. And since we’re on the subject, Don Carlo is just bait. I’m merely the playmaker raising the stakes.’

‘You mean there’s someone higher up? Then, your current client…’

‘Let’s stop there. There might be listening ears.’

Carlson now realized that Michael’s client and the new patient Jacqueline would be taking care of were the same person: Oscar Walter von Oestenberg.

‘My, Mikey will be furious when he finds out.’

While Carlson was sweating profusely imagining the ominous future, Jacqueline was looking at a totem erected at the village entrance, recalling when she had escaped from the orphanage.

‘The village was busy harvesting hazelnuts everywhere…’

The orphanage director and his wife were essentially local dignitaries of Felsorn, with informants they had planted throughout the village. The police and carriage drivers were all in cahoots, so Jacqueline had to escape Felsorn on foot alone.

The ten-year-old girl, who had never been outside the orphanage, walked until she reached the neighboring small town. When hungry, she picked berries from bushes or leftover hazelnuts, filling her apron with whatever remained.

As she moved from village to village, she sometimes traded hazelnuts for flour. In compassionate villages, they gave her bread without asking for anything in return, but such villages were rare, and most places were unwelcoming to drifters. 

This was understandable, as allowing rebels or people with contagious diseases into the village could destroy the community.

But even before the war, closed-off villages remained closed. Though they claimed it was to preserve their customs, to outsiders, these traditions seemed primitive.