House Ronia’s middle name, Sevilia, means noble aristocrat. Arne’s sister, who was introduced at the ball, was also Bianca Sevilia de Ronia.

So, the black dress was a shackle. A reminder to always remember her roots and know her place.

She had never been a complete Lady of Ronia.

Cedric’s brow furrowed.

‘I heard the lady was adopted at a very young age, but this is too cruel for a child to endure.’

Cedric tightly held Arne’s hand. He roughly ran a hand through his hair and was the first to step out of the carriage. As Cedric escorted Arne, the headmaster’s gaze fell on him.

‘Isn’t that Cedric of Renigrad? How is he with Arne?’

There had been no indication that the young master of Renigrad would be accompanying her. Freya Orphanage does not allow outsiders.

These thoughts were fleeting as the headmaster froze upon seeing Arne step out of the carriage.

The frills of her white dress fluttered in the wind. Pearls swayed elegantly with her movements. She looked every bit the perfect noblewoman.

It was unbelievable. He picked up and educated a girl who had looked like a beggar.

Moreover, she was meeting the headmaster’s gaze directly.

‘Where does she get off looking straight at me? She must have been poorly disciplined. The Duchess must have been very uncomfortable. I’ll have to re-educate her.’

As Arne walked, holding Cedric’s hand, her silhouette became visible. She was quite thin, but her lines were graceful. With better nourishment, she would be quite a sight. The headmaster’s gaze lingered on Arne with blatant scrutiny.

At that moment, he felt like she couldn’t breathe. Turning towards the source of the sharp, murderous aura, he saw Cedric’s red eyes blazing.

A chill ran down his spine. The headmaster quickly bowed his head.

“Greetings to the young master of Renigrad. I apologize for not being informed of your visit and for the delayed greeting. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“Quite rude, indeed.”

“Pardon?”

Asking for forgiveness was merely a formality. Hearing his unexpected words, the headmaster asked again in confusion.

“And foolish to boot.”

“What’s that…….”

The headmaster, who was about to retort to the word ‘foolish,’ immediately clamped his mouth shut under the overwhelming pressure as if his neck was being choked.

“Ugh.”

The children standing there trembled at Cedric’s murderous intent. Among them, a young child had tears welling up. Cedric ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. The murderous intent subsided.

“Lead the way.”

Cedric spoke in a voice as gentle as possible. Even though his voice had softened, the child who made eye contact with Cedric tightly grasped the hand of the child next to them. It seemed like tears would fall at any moment.

Cedric awkwardly lifted the corners of his mouth. At that, the child finally burst into tears.

“Stop crying immediately! How dare you! Useless thing.”

At that moment, Arne’s eyebrows twitched. The headmaster was still the same despite the passage of time. His manner of speaking, her emaciated body with only his belly protruding, and his unpleasant gaze. A firm and cold voice flowed from Arne’s mouth.

“Headmaster, how dare you raise your voice. Lead the way.”

The headmaster stared blankly at Arne as if he had misheard. The child who didn’t even reach his waist before was now giving him orders.

‘Is she the Lady of Ronia now? She’s really gotten out of hand. The child who begged and cried not to be thrown out has become arrogant.’

The headmaster, who had been sneering, spoke politely when he met Cedric’s gaze.

“I’m sorry, but Freya Orphanage is not open to outsiders. Young Master of Renigrad, you cannot enter.”

“Cedric will accompany me.”

Arne took out a badge from her handbag.

“You know well what this means, don’t you?”

The badge signifying the permission and guarantee of the Duke of Ronia, was something that had never been given to someone who had served in secret loyalty all their life.

“How did you get this…….”

“Let’s go in.”

Arne gently tilted her head towards Cedric. Cedric, who lightly nodded, moved his steps. The headmaster, too scared to follow Cedric, hesitated and spat out curses in frustration.

After confirming the distance had widened, Arne leaned towards Cedric and whispered.

“I can’t tell you in detail, but Freya Orphanage is a bit different from other orphanages. It’s not usually open to outsiders, so we must find Benjamin today. We’ll use the excuse of handing out cookies to everyone to meet him.”

“Is Benjamin the friend suffering from Arin’s disease? Can’t we just ask for him?”

“……Benjamin is someone who is not disclosed to outsiders. Although ‘Roa’ is the most famous, he is also part of Ronia’s secret knight order. Though he’s not a knight but an explosives manufacturer.”

Cedric finally understood the unusual atmosphere of the headmaster and this orphanage.

It was a place disguised as an orphanage but is actually a training ground for the Duke of Ronia’s secret knights. Her words made perfect sense.

Since they couldn’t ask for Benjamin, who didn’t exist in the world.

“If we arouse the Duke’s suspicion, it’ll be difficult, so please trust me. I have other friends who can help, and I’ll keep looking for a way. And please keep the fact that this place is special a secret.”

Cedric found Arne’s subtly changed aura since arriving at the orphanage intriguing. He lazily lifted the corners of his lips in tune with her.

“To me, this just looks like an ordinary orphanage.”

“…Thank you.”

Arne finished speaking and turned around. At that moment, the headmaster, who approached reluctantly, changed her expression. Her confident gaze and thick lips closed haughtily.

Cedric watched her with interest. He remembered where he had seen that expression before.

It was when he first met her, when she boldly negotiated with him, which was more like a threat. She had a strangely similar aura to the secret knight ‘Roa.’

Arne’s voice, soft but firm, flowed out.

“Headmaster, I want to personally distribute cookies to the children.”

“What kind of ridiculous…… behavior is this?”

Feeling the murderous intent from behind, the headmaster changed his tone of voice at Arne. Arne lowered her voice and whispered only to the headmaster.

“You received a letter from the Duke, didn’t you? Then you must know the high expectations placed on the relationship between me and Cedric. It’s the Duke’s intention to restore my reputation and build prestige.”

“Why here, of all places?”

“Because no other orphanage in the Empire would accept the crazy villainess. As long as I don’t go to the management office, it’s fine, isn’t it?”

At times like this, her notorious reputation was quite helpful. It was a very plausible justification. Arne lazily smiled.

“You wouldn’t want to disappoint the Duke, would you?”

The headmaster glared intensely at Arne but, having no words to refute, spat out curses and walked away briskly.

‘It’s done.’

A faint smile spread across Arne’s lips. Although she used the excuse of building her reputation, the real reason she came here was to meet Benjamin and get her hands on the index.

The index is essential for the success of Arne’s Mercedes merchant guild.

‘The Grand Duke of Renigrad wants to expand the influence of the Renigrad family with his vast financial resources.’

If she could show the Grand Duke of Renigrad that he doesn’t necessarily need to ally with the Leverun family, then the engagement between Cedric and Lady Leverun might not proceed, making the index very important.

‘And finally, Marie…….’

When the headmaster disappeared, Marie, who had been standing beside him, quickly walked over to Arne.

“Why did you come only now! You came to the first-class training ground in the management office but always left without seeing us! Not even once! I missed you.”

Marie hugged Arne tightly. Marie’s hand, stroking Arne’s hair, was warm.

“……Marie, I really missed you. I took too long, didn’t I?”

“Yes. It took too long! But seeing your face again makes me happy. How have you been? Your clothes are so pretty!”

Marie’s eyes were tearful. Even though she didn’t say anything, Arne could understand what she meant.

“…The carriage is full of cookies. You brought them to give to the children, right? I’ll help.”

“Thank you, Marie.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

* * *

Under Marie’s direction, the children each received a bag of cookies. The children’s eyes sparkled at the savory butter scent. The children’s cheeks, full of cookies, moved busily.

“One box is already gone.”

“I’ll bring more, Marie.”

The busy Marie nodded. Arne picked up the remaining cookie boxes. But she soon bit her lip at the piercing pain. Her ankles and wrists throbbed. The still-healing wounds ached.

“I’ll do it.”

Cedric took the box from Arne with one hand.

“See a doctor after this.”

Cedric grabbed Arne’s wrist. The swelling had mostly subsided, but if there was really a fracture, one blessing wouldn’t be enough.

“It’s not that bad. You have a sudden schedule today and are busy. I’m sorry it took longer than expected. I think I need to go to the management office. Maybe he didn’t come because he’s in training.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Pardon?”

“Entering the management office.”

It was a question she hadn’t considered. She hadn’t expected him to ask if it was dangerous. She thought he would ask how long it would take or what to do if they couldn’t meet today.

“No. But only I can enter, so you’ll have to wait a bit.”

Cedric rubbed Arne’s wrist with his thumb. Arne’s lips curled slightly inward. Soon, his spirit mana arose.

“It’s serious. When you endure pain, the left corner of your lip twitches slightly. If you see a doctor after this, I’ll let you go.”