Chapter 19 – Part 1

Upon arriving at the forest before the Vincent Orphanage, Kristin slowly stepped down from the carriage.

First, she decided to wait at the place where she had arranged to meet Selena Scarlet, intentionally avoiding getting off in front of the orphanage, where the director might keep a close eye on her and Selena.

A little while later, a luxurious carriage approached and stopped before Kristin.

Kristin moved aside to allow the carriage to park and waited for Selena Scarlet to get out.

“Lady Selena.”

Selena Scarlet began to descend slowly as the carriage stopped and the door opened.

When Selena saw Kristin, she handed her a small dagger—a weapon young ladies often carried for self-defense.

“I’m apprehensive. Even if it’s not the director, someone might be guarding inside. I don’t think Director Blair would just leave the secret space unattended. So please take this dagger.”

Kristin looked at the dagger handed to her, and without saying another word, she accepted it.

If things went wrong, her life could be in danger, and all their efforts might come to nothing. For the sake of the children suffering in the orphanage, she wanted to resolve this matter without any problems.

“Thank you. I’ll keep the dagger safe.”

“Lady Kristin, what’s the plan? If I only distract the director, will you be able to find the ledger?”

Selena asked Kristin, and Kristin replied to her.

“If you can delay her for as long as possible, it should be until the volunteer work ends. In the meantime, I’ll sneak into the storage room.”

Kristin explained her plan to Selena, though she was still trying to figure out how exactly to enter the storage room.

If she had asked Oliver, Lenci’s older brother, she could have disguised herself as a worker at the flower shop and easily entered the storage room with him.

However, she could no longer ask Oliver for help.

She had to resolve this problem with her strength.

As she pondered for a moment, a clever idea suddenly came to Kristin’s mind.

The plan was to disguise herself as one of the workers delivering flowers.

She had already prepared several baskets of flowers in the carriage, and if she looked like a laborer, the director would have no reason to suspect her.

Usually, flower baskets were transported using carts, but when deliveries were urgent, they were sometimes transported using a private carriage from the estate.

This was precisely what Kristin intended to take advantage of.

Kristin thought that if she disguised herself as one of the servants from the estate and carried the flower baskets to the storage room, she could easily sneak in.

She had even mentioned in the recommendation letters she wrote for Lenci and Cindy that she would be sending flower baskets along, so there would be no problem in this situation.

“It seems I should look like a commoner, right?”

Kristin said to Selena Scarlet, and Selena, as if she had anticipated this, took out a small box from the carriage and handed it to Kristin.

“I had a feeling this might happen, so I prepared some clothes worn by the servants. Our estate buys several sets of clothes each year when hiring new staff, and it just so happens that one set was left over, so I brought it.”

Inside the box that Selena handed over were a shirt and work pants typically worn by male servants, along with the shoes they wore.

Fortunately, the size wasn’t too large, making it a good fit for Kristin.

“Thank you, Lady Selena. I did bring some clothes just in case, but I was worried because they were maid outfits. If a woman in maid attire suddenly delivers flower baskets, it might raise suspicion.”

“That’s right, Lady Kristin. Director Blair might be a bit suspicious of a female servant who hasn’t shown up before.

“Then I’ll change into these clothes in the carriage.”

“Alright, Lady Kristin. I’ll head to the orphanage first to observe the situation. I’ll do my best to ensure that the director doesn’t interfere with you, so please be careful.”

“Yes, Lady Selena.”

Kristin spoke to Selena Scarlet as she boarded her carriage, then opened the door of her own.

She slowly changed clothes behind the small curtain inside the carriage.

She tied back her long, red, wavy hair, which reached past her waist and tucked it into the hat that had been prepared with the outfit.

After taking off her dress, she put on the shirt and pants. Then she slipped on the shoes and adjusted the laces.

Kristin, feeling a bit awkward in the outfit, tidied herself up and took out a small mirror from her pouch to look at her reflection.

As long as she didn’t speak, she looked just like an ordinary commoner.

Just as she felt relieved that her outfit wouldn’t attract attention while carrying the flower baskets to the storage room, she heard the voice of the coachman.

“Shall we depart now if you’re ready? There are carriages lining up behind us. I’m worried someone might see us and get suspicious.”

While Kristin had been changing inside the carriage, the coachman had been keeping watch outside, making sure no one was approaching.

At first, the carriages had come sporadically, but their numbers were now increasing, with a line forming near Kristin’s carriage.

Seeing this, the coachman became anxious and urged Kristin to hurry.

“If you’re ready, we’ll be leaving.”

At the coachman’s words, Kristin responded aloud.

“Yes, go ahead. I’m ready.”

At Kristin’s words, the wheels of the carriage, which had been stationary, began to turn, kicking up dust as they moved.

* * *

“Alright, please line up over here. There’s so much work to be done at the orphanage. We need to fix the rooms for the children, and we also need to repair the dining hall furniture, like the chairs and tables that creak.”

“Now, now, the rest of you, come this way. We need someone to help feed the very young ladies and gentlemen. It would be ideal if someone with children could volunteer.”

When Kristin arrived in front of the Vincent Orphanage and stepped out of the carriage, the first voice she heard belonged to a woman who appeared to be the director.

At a glance, she seemed to be a kind, gentle person with a soft and warm expression.

The way she gestured to the children and the way she spoke kindly to those who had come to work was so gentle that it almost seemed too good to be true.

But knowing that this seemingly kind woman was, in reality, terribly corrupt made Kristin shake her head in disbelief.

At that moment, Director Blair Adley was slowly walking toward the carriage Kristin had arrived in.

Startled by this, Kristin hurriedly turned around and started pulling out the flower baskets from the carriage. Director Blair looked at the baskets on the ground and asked Kristin,

“Where did this carriage come from?”

Since Director Blair had never seen the seal of the Edith family, she was curious about Kristin.

Upon hearing her voice, Kristin lowered her tone as much as she could and answered.

“Lady Kristin Edith has sent these flower baskets.”

“Oh, I see. I believe Lady Kristin also sent maids named Lenci and Cindy here, but anyway, you can put the flower baskets in the storage area under that tree over there.”

Director Blair’s voice was exceptionally kind.

The thought that she wore this mask of kindness while tormenting children sent shivers down Kristin’s spine.

But she couldn’t reveal her true feelings in front of the director, so she replied politely.

“Yes, understood. I’ll move the flower baskets to the storage room over there.”

As Kristin was about to lift the flower baskets and head toward the shed, the director muttered quietly to herself, almost as if speaking to no one.

“Lady Kristin? I’m not sure what’s going on, but please convey my thanks to her. I’m quite busy today.”

As she said this, the director hurried her steps when she saw Selena Scarlet waving from a distance.

To her, Selena Scarlet was an unreachable presence, someone she was eager to impress.

The fact that Selena had personally come to the orphanage and wanted to talk with her was both surprising and pleasing.

Kristin, pulling her hat down further to conceal her face, carried the flower baskets toward the storage. As she got closer, she was taken aback by the sight before her.

The storage, at a glance, was filled with flowers.

Contrary to her expectations of dirty, rundown storage, the inside was much cleaner, and even a small lamp hung from the ceiling.

It wasn’t dark, nor did it have any unpleasant odors.

If one didn’t call it storage, it could easily be mistaken for a small room with just a bit of dust, so Kristin set the flower baskets down on the floor.

As soon as she placed the baskets down, she turned around.

Suddenly startled by a man who appeared out of nowhere, she almost fell backward but managed to steady herself against the wall.

Although his face was slightly covered by a hood, she could tell from his eyes.

It was none other than Raphael Rodney.

Even though he was disguised in commoners’ clothes, just like those worn by flower delivery workers, the look in his eyes made it clear that he was indeed Raphael Rodney.

“You seem quite surprised. It’s me, Kristin.”

“Y-your Grace.”