“Hmm.”

The first thing I did upon stepping into the orphanage was roll my eyes nervously, trapped by the five gazes surrounding me.

“…Hmmm.”

The orphanage director frowned as she looked down at me.

A doubtful hum escaped her tightly closed lips.

A man standing beside her, likely a teacher, leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“It doesn’t seem like she’s lying about being an orphan. Just look at that frizzy hair. You couldn’t fake that even if you tried.”

‘It’s curly, okay!’

I even ran my fingers through it after waking up this morning!

I could hear everything, you balding old man!

I wanted to shout indignantly, but I swallowed my words and forced myself to stay silent.

‘Calm down.’

It’s all for Mom.

Mom said my hair was the prettiest, shiniest, and cutest in the world…

‘She must’ve been lying… There’s no shine, not even a hint.’

As I wiped away a tear, the teachers, who had been whispering among themselves, seemed to reach a conclusion. They smiled brightly and extended a hand to me.

“All right, Ella. Let’s get along well from now on. For now, it’s mealtime—shall we head to the dining hall?”

“Yes! Sounds good.”

I quickly grabbed their hands before they could change their minds.

They led me to the dining hall on the first floor.

“Now, everyone, may I have your attention for a moment? We have a new friend here.”

The children, who had been noisily chatting while seated, immediately fell silent at the teacher’s words.

Maybe it was because this orphanage was sponsored by the temple, but the children’s faces looked fairly clean and healthy.

They didn’t seem scared of the teachers either.

“This friend’s name is Ella. From today, she’ll be searching for her parents with you, so if she doesn’t know something, help her out and take good care of her. Can you do that?”

“Yes, Teacher!”

“Good. Ella, you can sit over there. After the meal, come to the director’s office to fill out the register.”

“Understood.”

I nodded and took a seat at the end of the long table where the teacher had pointed.

It was my first time being around so many children my age at once, so I was a little nervous.

But as soon as I sat down on the wooden chair, a child sitting across from me suddenly handed me a napkin.

“You’ve got something weird on your face. Wipe it off with this.”

“Ah… Thanks.”

Come to think of it, I had smeared soot on my face to look like a street urchin.

‘…How embarrassing.’

Now that I had successfully entered the orphanage, a wave of belated shame washed over me.

After thanking the child, I dampened the napkin with water and wiped my face clean.

By then, the meal was served, and plates were placed in front of the children one by one.

“Let’s eat!”

The children shouted energetically and began eating.

On the plates were a small portion of scrambled eggs, toasted bread, baked beans, and lettuce.

‘Back when I lived in the tower, this would’ve been a meal for special occasions. But after staying at the ducal residence for a while, this feels so meager.’

I shook my head, marveling at how fickle humans could be.

Not eating anything would’ve drawn attention, so I picked up a fork and pretended to eat while sneaking glances at the child next to me.

“Hi.”

“Hi! You’re Ella, right? I’m Sam!”

“Nice to meet you, Sam.”

The boy, who had a friendly demeanor, smiled brightly and shook my outstretched hand.

After withdrawing my hand, I lowered my voice and asked,

“Sam, can I ask you something?”

“Sure! What is it?”

“Who’s the leader among the kids here?”

“The leader?”

“Yeah. The strongest one.”

While talking to Sam, I slipped my hand into my pocket to check if the piece of chocolate I’d brought was still there.

‘This isn’t even a bribe. Just a small gesture of goodwill.’

This place was where I’d stay quietly while avoiding the Marquis’s eyes.

The children seemed overall kind-hearted, but if I upset any of the more territorial ones, I wouldn’t be able to stay quietly.

So before leaving the ducal residence, I had packed some chocolate.

I planned to say I’d gotten it while begging and had saved it for later, then offer it.

After all, not many people dislike chocolate.

Sam furrowed his brows, thinking for a moment, then tilted his head and answered,

“I don’t know about a leader, but there’s an older boy who’s the strongest. Over there.”

Sam pointed to the opposite side of the dining hall.

Following his finger, I saw a boy whose head stood out taller than the others.

“Don’t spill your food, Bell.”

“Okay…”

The boy, with spiky brown hair and light green eyes, clicked his tongue and gently wiped the sauce off the chin of the child sitting next to him.

Despite his grumbling tone, his hands were kind and careful.

‘So he’s the most influential one, huh?’

I pretended to eat while observing the boy intermittently.

Good. After the meal, I’d approach him and strike up a conversation.

Then I’d give him the chocolate and win some favor.

My goal was simple: to stay quiet and unnoticed.

Resolving myself, I finished my meal.

Well, most of the food on my plate ended up in Sam’s stomach, but still.

At the time, I thought my plan was flawless.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

—

After the meal, I visited the director’s office and carefully wrote the alias “Ella” in the register before stepping outside.

After meals, the children played hide-and-seek in the small forest behind the orphanage for exercise.

I was relieved to know the rules since I’d occasionally played the game with Mom in the tower.

“How about Ella being ‘it’ today?”

“Yeah! Since it’s her first day!”

“When we were new, we all started as ‘it’ too!”

The children didn’t even wait for my response before giggling and scattering into the forest.

The boy I’d been watching earlier was among them.

‘Well, that works for me.’

Being “it” meant I could move around freely without suspicion.

It was the perfect game to get a chance to talk to the boy alone.

“Ella, are you okay with that?”

“Yes. I’ll be ‘it.’”

I shrugged at the concerned teacher and leaned against a tree trunk to count.

After counting to 100, I began searching for the children.

It took less than ten minutes to find all the kids except the boy who seemed to be the leader.

‘As expected, kids are… well, kids.’

Though I was new to the area, the forest wasn’t very large, and the children weren’t great at hiding.

One even thought that if they couldn’t see me, I couldn’t see them.

“Only one left, huh? I’ll be back!”

After bringing the found children to the teacher, I returned to the forest.

As expected of the leader, the boy was nowhere to be found even after I’d found all the others.

“Hey. It’s almost time to head back. Where are you?”

If this dragged on, the teacher would come looking for us, and I didn’t know when I’d get another chance to talk to him alone.

I raised my voice slightly, just enough not to be heard outside the forest, as I searched for the boy.

Rustle!

“…!”

As soon as I stepped on a pile of leaves, the ground beneath me suddenly gave way, and I fell downward.

Just before falling into what appeared to be a pit twice the height of an adult, I managed to grab the edge of the ground and avoid a full fall.

“Ugh…”

My shoulder felt like it was about to pop out of its socket.

My palms stung, likely scraped by the dirt, and I winced in pain.

Then, a strange voice reached my ears.

“…Your reflexes are better than I thought.”

Rustle—

From the tree I had just passed, the boy I’d been searching for appeared.

He landed lightly on the ground and approached the pit, standing in front of me.

His eyes, filled with an unusual mix of wariness and hostility, looked down at me.

‘What…?’

I couldn’t understand.

I had never left the north since I was born.

Or rather, I’d never been allowed to leave.

So how could I have earned someone’s grudge without knowing?

‘This isn’t just territorial behavior…’

The boy’s gaze wasn’t one of childish territorialism.

It was…

“You’re not an orphan, are you?”

The boy crouched down in front of the pit and twisted his lips into a smirk.

Unlike the soft gaze he’d had when looking at the younger child earlier, his eyes now were sharp and piercing.

‘What?’

The moment I heard his words, my heart sank with a loud thud.

Even more so than when I’d nearly fallen into the pit.

‘How…?’

“You look like you’re wondering how I know.”

The boy sneered, as if he could see right through me.

He glanced down and casually tapped the hand I was using to cling to the edge of the pit.

“……!”

At that moment, my already precarious grip slid further as my hand scraped against the dirt, and my body dropped slightly lower.

It felt like my heart was sinking, just like when Mom used to lift me high and then pretend to drop me for fun.

‘That jerk….’

I clenched my teeth to hold back a groan as the pain of dirt and sand digging into the wounds on my palm stung sharply.

When I glared up at the boy, he coldly remarked,

“A kid who supposedly lived on the streets doesn’t have a single callus on their hands? That doesn’t make sense. Look at how soft they are—just a little scrape, and they’re already bleeding.”

“……!”

His words made my shoulders flinch. I bit my lip and swallowed the groan rising in my throat.

‘I messed up.’