Chapter 18 – Part 4

Kristin saw Lenci and Cindy off on their way to the academy. Afterward, she returned to the parlor and waited for Selena Scarlet to arrive that afternoon.

Kristin’s mind was restless.

She knew that if anything went wrong, the consequences could be severe. Even if they found the secret room, they might need a key to get in, or they might go through all that trouble only to find nothing inside. If that happened, they would have to wait another month.

But waiting another month would mean the children would continue to suffer. Kristin’s heart ached at the thought, and she was determined to resolve everything in one go.

“My Lady, Lady Selena Scarlet has arrived,” the butler announced.

“Oh, yes,” Kristin replied.

Taking a sip of water from the glass on the parlor table, Kristin slowly walked to the entrance to greet Selena Scarlet.

** * * **

“I couldn’t help but come because I was worried about you, Lady Kristin,” Selena Scarlet said as she approached Kristin.

Kristin guided Selena into the parlor and offered her a seat on the sofa. As they settled in, a servant approached and asked Kristin,

“Shall I prepare some tea?”

“Oh, Lady Kristin, there’s no need to prepare tea. I already had some this morning. I came by because I thought we should discuss the matters for next week,” Selena responded.

“Just bring some warm water,” Kristin instructed.

“Yes, my Lady,” the servant replied before leaving.

As Kristin spoke, Selena, who was looking at her with a worried expression, couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“First of all, Lady Selena, don’t worry too much. I’ve come up with a plan. Fortunately, my maids, Lenci and Cindy, shared some more information about that place.”

“About the Vincent Orphanage?”

Selena asked, taking a sip of the warm water the servant had brought. Her hands trembled slightly as she placed the glass back on the table.

From Selena’s perspective, she hadn’t asked Kristin to join their group to involve her in such dangerous tasks. However, as fate would have it, Kristin had ended up taking on the responsibility of exposing the director of the largest orphanage in the Empire, the Vincent Orphanage, as soon as she joined.

But when Kristin mentioned that her maids had told her about the orphanage, Selena couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

When Selena gave Kristin a questioning look, Kristin continued,

“I have friends who work at the Vincent Orphanage. They told me that the children are forced to smile and that any activities they do outside are just for show. On top of that, the children aren’t even given proper clothes.”

“Oh my, how terrible. Father Benjamin mentioned something similar in his letter. He said the director’s odd behavior was noticeable because of how the children reacted. One of the children handed him a crumpled piece of paper, written in crayon, that said, ‘Please save us.’
Not only that but during one of the services, the children were wearing clothes that didn’t fit them at all. When Father Benjamin tried to inspect the children’s clothes, a teacher working there stopped him, saying everything was fine.”

Kristin sighed deeply after hearing Selena Scarlet’s account.

At first, she didn’t want to believe it, but the events at the Vincent Orphanage had to be set right, no matter what.

“So, Lady Selena, I need to ask you a favor,” Kristin said.

“A favor?” Selena’s eyes were misty with tears. Kristin handed her a tissue and then spoke again.

“We need to find the corrupt ledger of the orphanage. The fact that the children have been abused for years without anyone knowing doesn’t make sense, does it? I believe it’s all happening in a secret space somewhere.”

“Lady Kristin, I suspected something too. But I have no idea where that space might be.”

“The storage room.”

Selena tilted her head in confusion at the mention of the storage room.

A storage room was a commonplace found in orphanages, noble estates, or almost any establishment.

If something were hidden in such a space, the servants who used it would easily notice. From a noble’s perspective, it didn’t make sense to store anything important in a storage room. Precious items were usually kept in a safe hidden in a corner of the study, or an even more secure place like a double-bottomed drawer.

—

“But the storage room…?”

Selena Scarlet hesitated, looking at Kristin with an expression of disbelief. Kristin spoke again, trying to reassure her.

“My servant, Lenci’s brother runs a flower shop in town, and he mentioned that the Vincent Orphanage hires commoners to volunteer on the second Friday of every month. That day happens to be when the inspector from the palace visits, and the director orders flowers to make it seem like the orphanage is well-run.”

“The second Friday of every month… that’s next Friday, isn’t it? There aren’t many days left,” Selena replied, her voice tinged with concern.

“I’m planning to retrieve the ledger and find evidence of the children’s abuse that day,” Kristin declared.

Selena Scarlet shook her head in worry.

Next Friday was less than a week away. Typically, it took anywhere from a month to six months for the Empire’s institutions to investigate cases properly. But Kristin was attempting to resolve everything in just a week, which was far from the standard approach.

Because of this, Selena spoke up with concern,

“Less than a week isn’t enough time to conduct a proper investigation. Even with Father Benjamin’s letter, we might need more solid evidence. And even if you go there on Friday, it’s questionable whether you’ll find the ledger in such a large space.”

However, Kristin’s perspective was different. The limited time made her feel that swift action was necessary. If they took the usual approach of repeated investigations, the orphanage director would undoubtedly become suspicious. Kristin didn’t want to give the director any time to catch on.

“That’s why I need a little help from you, Lady Selena Scarlet.”

“Me? How can I help? If I go there, it might raise suspicions.”

“As a teacher at the academy where nobles send their children, the director might not find your presence unusual. If you bring some teaching materials and show them to the children like you normally would, the director probably won’t suspect a thing. But I need you to keep the director away from the storage room. You could even have tea with the inspector and a few others to keep them occupied.”

“Are you saying that during that time, you plan to search the entire orphanage? Or do you mean you’ll specifically enter that storage room you mentioned earlier?”

Kristin nodded slowly in response to Selena’s question.

“Yes. I plan to find the secret space where I believe the ledger is hidden.”

But at that moment, the butler rushed in, speaking anxiously to Kristin.

“My Lady, the Duke of Raphael Rodney just visited.”

“The Duke?”

“Lady Kristin, I heard you received a life-threatening letter, why didn’t you tell us about it? What are you going to do, my Lady? You are the only one left in the Edith family; please take care of yourself, I don’t want to see anything wrong with you.”

Alberto, the butler, turned to Kristin, his face full of worry, unable to straighten his tie and glasses, which were dripping down his face.

The butler spoke again, looking very nervous.

“For the time being, you shouldn’t leave the estate. The Duke instructed us to ensure you stay inside, my Lady. He said he would handle everything and warned that if you step outside, none of us will be able to rest easily. So, for the sake of us all, please… just stay inside the estate.”

“Butler,” Kristin began.

“Yes, my Lady?”

“I can’t just stay inside the estate. I’m no longer a sheltered flower in a greenhouse. And I must see this through.”

“But… but…”