Arne tilted her head curiously.

“Didn’t you come to Freya Orphanage to meet Benjamin, Cedric? You can’t find him unless I go to the management office.”

“……That’s right.”

Arne’s clear eyes moved in confusion. Cedric, who had been staring at those eyes, spoke.

“Because I’m worried.”

“…….”

“Just letting me into this place is quite a stretch for you. There’s no reason for you to care about Serena.”

Cedric shifted his gaze to the wrist he held with one hand.

“I have quite a bit of responsibility here.”

“…Then it will be quite late.”

“I don’t mind. I won’t be able to focus on work like this, anyway.”

Arne missed the timing to respond to Cedric’s words, who seemed genuinely concerned. At that moment, Marie’s voice rang out.

“Arne, are you hurt? What do you mean by enduring pain?”

Marie rolled up Arne’s sleeve. Startled, Arne stumbled and limped. Arne and Marie’s eyes met.

Biting her lip, Marie lifted her skirt, and Cedric turned his head.

“You…….”

Marie’s face twisted. Seeing the bandages wrapped around both of her ankles, it was clear the wounds had become inflamed again.

“Sensus Luceo.”

As Marie’s magic enveloped her, numerous runaway magic patterns glowed and surfaced below Arne’s chest.

“You said you were doing well? What’s all this? Why are you in this state?”

“Marie…….”

“How could you lie to me? Saying you were doing well? How could you?”

Marie pushed Arne’s shoulder. Arne staggered. Marie, seemingly getting angrier, didn’t stop and charged at her.

However, Cedric, who caught the staggering Arne, was quicker. Cedric’s grip on Marie’s outstretched arm was firm.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s okay, Cedric!”

Marie’s gaze lingered on Arne, who was leaning entirely on Cedric.

“How could you do this to me?”

Marie’s eyes welled up with tears. When Cedric released her arm, Marie left without looking back.

“I’m sorry, Cedric. You saw something unpleasant.”

“Is your body okay?”

“Yes. I…… I’ll go to the management office for now.”

She left a message that she would return while Cedric distributed the remaining cookies to the children. Then Arne hurriedly headed to the management office.

* * *

Marie, arms crossed, glared at Cedric, who was distributing cookies to the children.

‘How could she not tell me, who has been with her since childhood, but tell that man?’

Marie stomped one foot.

‘Who the hell is that guy?’

Marie’s stomping got faster.

‘Isn’t Arne very sick?’

She bit her nails when a young voice interrupted her.

“Sister Marie.”

“What?”

“You said shaking your leg brings bad luck. You told us that.”

“…….”

Marie awkwardly pressed her foot down. At that moment, a thought crossed her mind, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at the twins.

“Twins.”

“Yes.”

“I have a favor to ask. I’ll give you all my cookies.”

“All the cookies…?”

* * *

With sparkling eyes, the twins held out their hands wide to Cedric. They were the last children to receive cookies.

“Uncle, give us cookies.”

‘Uncle.’

It seemed they didn’t know who Cedric was due to their isolation from the outside world. Cedric chuckled at the unfamiliar title. The twins stared blankly at Cedric.

“Uncle, you look really handsome when you smile. You were scary before.”

“Yeah, you’re handsome.”

The twins giggled.

“I want to marry Uncle. He’s handsome.”

“Dummy, you have to ask if he has someone he likes first.”

“Oh, Uncle, do you have someone you like?”

The twins’ eyes sparkled brightly. Cedric froze at the sudden barrage of questions and the expectant looks in their eyes.

“Don’t tell me you don’t have someone you love?”

“Have you never been in love?”

“You look like you haven’t. What have you been doing all this time?”

“No way. Have you never kissed anyone?”

No one had ever dared to ask Cedric such bold questions, so he could only let out a wry laugh.

The twins’ eyes sparkled brightly, waiting for his answer.

“Love… I don’t think I’ve experienced it.”

“Oh-ho. Then why do you look at that sister like that?”

“If that’s not love, what is it?”

Seeing the two little kids discussing love made Cedric laugh. They were standing on tiptoes, holding onto the table to see his expression.

‘The table might fall. They could get hurt.’

The empty table wobbled every time the twins stood on their tiptoes. It was old and rickety, making it dangerous.

As Cedric stepped away from the table, the twins ran over to him. Judging by their plump cheeks and height, they seemed to be about six or seven years old.

“I don’t know who you mean by ‘that sister.’”

“Sister Arne!”

“Sister Arne!”

Cedric lazily lifted the corners of his lips.

“Do I look at the lady differently?”

“You look at her like we look at cookies.”

“Cookies are love.”

The twins were in sync. They burst into laughter, their eyes turning into crescents. The child with the blue ribbon fiddled with a cookie.

“I like you, Uncle. Will you marry me?”

“I like you too, but marriage is difficult.”

“Why?”

“I don’t deal with little kids.”

“What if I grow up?”

“No, there’s someone who asked first.”

The child tilted their head in thought, causing the blue ribbon to flutter.

“Hmm, then I guess it can’t be helped.”

The fluttering blue ribbon gently settled. The child with the yellow ribbon blinked and watched them.

“But if that person says no, will you marry me?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Please respect my preferences.”

“Okay.”

The child with the blue ribbon burst into laughter again. The yellow-ribboned child, who had been watching, let out a small sigh and spoke.

“Uncle, I’m Emily and this is Sana. Don’t mind what she says. She asks everyone who gives her something tasty to marry her. She even asked brother Benjamin when he gave her candy.”

“Benjamin?”

Cedric, who had been chuckling, stopped laughing at the familiar name. Emily nodded, causing the yellow ribbon to flutter.

“Uncle, sit here. I have something I’m curious about too.”

Emily plopped down on the grass and patted the ground with her leaf-like hands. Cedric’s eyes sparkled with interest. As he took a seat next to Emily, she propped her chin on her hands and let out a long sigh.

“I like someone too. But I don’t know how Eddie feels.”

“Did Eddie give you cookies too?”

“No. Eddie gave me chocolate. Is this love?”

Cedric suppressed a smile and listened carefully. Perhaps he could hear more about Benjamin as well.

“Uncle, don’t treat me the same as Sana. It was a promotion chocolate gift. The promotion exam is only once a year.”

Cedric composed his expression with a serious face, though his eyes were full of amusement.

“Uncle, wouldn’t a man understand another man’s feelings best?”

Finally, Cedric bowed his head and burst into laughter.

“Uncle, I’m very serious. Don’t laugh at me like that. He even kissed me on the forehead. Though it was a blessing.”

“…Why not ask him directly?”

“I’m a third-class and Eddie is second-class, so we can’t meet. He got promoted. We can’t meet for a year.”

Emily sighed deeply. Cedric patted her head.

“It seems he cares a lot about you.”

“Does he? Uncle, thank you for listening to my story. I’ll tell you something you’re curious about too. But first, Uncle, you have a bad aura.”

When Emily reached out to Cedric, a blue light flowed. In an instant, Emily’s eyes and aura changed.

“Holy power?”

“It’s a bit different, but it’s a secret. It will ease your worries a bit. And Uncle, you should go to the sister now. Tell the attendant there that you’re looking for the headmaster.”

“Do you have a prophetic ability?”

“If you’re too late, Raniarne will have a hard time.”

Cedric immediately stood up. She said the management office wasn’t a dangerous place. When Cedric was about to turn away, Emily grabbed his sleeve.

“Ah, the Benjamin you were curious about……”

Cedric’s footsteps halted. Very quickly.

* * *

Arne headed to the management office with a box of cookies. When she showed the guards the duke’s token, they readily let her pass.

She insisted that she was there to distribute cookies and handed a bag of cookies to the guards.

‘Their bewildered expressions were so amusing.’

Anyway, it was difficult to sneak in wearing this extravagant outfit adorned with silk, frills, and pearls. It was better to enter boldly.

‘Now is also the time the headmaster should be at the training ground. Do I have about an hour?’

Arne opened the door to the management office. The smell of old paper wafted out. As she quickly scanned her surroundings, a smile spread across her lips.

‘The index is here, as expected.’

The index contained all the personal information of the children recruited since the establishment of the Freya Orphanage.

As Arne flipped the sturdy cover, her hand touched the old pages bound by worn strings. She felt the history.

Just in case, Arne quickly flipped through the pages, trying to memorize as much as possible.

‘Mercedes isn’t here, as expected. There are quite a few with platinum blonde hair and purple eyes. This will be useful.’

The index of the Freya Orphanage was a confidential document not disclosed to anyone, a register of ordinary orphans, but also a list of the secret knights of Ronia.

‘Benjamin, Benjamin, where could you be?’

Arne’s hand stopped flipping the pages.

‘……Runaway?’

At that moment, she heard the guards murmuring. Soon, the closed door opened again. A chill ran down her spine.

The person who entered through the open door was not someone who should be here right now.