Chapter 7: Zinnia Second Part (5)

“Today is the day you’re visiting in person, right?”

“Yes. Have you already contacted the guild?”

“Yes, of course.”

The study had been busy since morning. The butler, Garnet, and the head maid had been taking turns visiting, stacking various documents on my desk. Usually, the documents would come at regular intervals, but today was special. It was the day of the monthly visit to the orphanage.

I planned to visit the orphanage in the afternoon and spend time there, so I was handling most of my tasks in the morning.

“We’ve prepared food for 30 people at the mansion, and it will be moved by cart.”

“Make sure it’s well-packaged so it doesn’t spoil during the trip.”

“Yes, I’ll check it once more before departure and upon arrival!”

When Garnet left to deliver the finished documents to my father’s study, the butler, who had gone to find the inventory list from the guild, knocked and entered. I put down the quill I had been twirling and let him in.

“Miss, I found the inventory list you requested.”

“Hand it over.”

I carefully went through the inventory list from beginning to end. There were a few items that I hadn’t requested.

“Items 3, 7, and 29 weren’t on my list. Who requested these?”

“This list was compiled based on both your and Miss Layla’s inputs. I believe these items were requested by the orphanage.”

“Alright. Issue the confirmation and send it to the guild. When are the items expected to arrive?”

“By 3 PM.”

I dismissed the butler with a satisfied smile. When I glanced at the clock, it was pointing to 10 AM. Thanks to getting up early and processing documents, I was almost done with today’s workload.

I stretched my arms, taking in the clear, cloudless sky. On a day like this, it would be wonderful to go outside and get some fresh air. Preparing food and having a picnic with everyone sounded like a great idea. I rang the bell beside my chair to call Garnet.

“Yes, Miss!”

“Garnet, ask the orphanage about having a picnic and prepare some snacks for tea time.”

“Yes, understood.”

Escaping from the hell of paperwork and getting into the carriage felt like a breath of fresh air. Being so used to being buried in documents, the day trips to the orphanage were some of the few leisure moments I had. Even though these outings only happened once a month due to my tight schedule.

Taking a longer, more scenic route to avoid traffic in the market, I enjoyed the smell of fresh greenery and the sight of familiar trees lining the road. I opened the carriage window and stuck my head out slightly to savor the rare scenery. Normally, Garnet would have stopped me, deeming it too dangerous, but perhaps she felt sorry for me being cooped up and overworked. She didn’t stop my small act of rebellion this time.

“Miss, Mrs. Bella suggested hiking up Mount Ratafan for the picnic.”

“Mount Ratafan? Can the children manage that?”

“For children, mountains are like playgrounds. It’ll be harder for you, wearing those shoes.”

I looked down at my feet, realizing my mistake. I was dressed in my usual simple dress and heeled shoes, not exactly suitable for hiking. While this attire was considered quite plain for a noble lady, it wasn’t ideal for climbing a mountain.

“Right… I wasn’t thinking.”

“That’s why I brought an extra pair of flat shoes!”

Garnet’s bright smile showed she was genuinely excited. I shook my head with an amused sigh.

“I thought you seemed excited earlier, and this is why?”

“Um, well, this too, but I’m mostly excited because it’s been a while since we visited the orphanage!”

Garnet, who couldn’t resist sweets, pretty things, and anything cute, had a happy look on her face, lost in thought. 

While I established the orphanage and set up its framework, Garnet was the one who put the most effort into its operation. She learned various things from the nanny and volunteered at the orphanage every week. She was also instrumental in bringing in homeless children from the backstreets of the market. 

If I used my wealth to build the orphanage, Garnet used her time and dedication to establish it. Because of this, most of the children at the orphanage listened well to Garnet. 

“You saw them just last weekend, and you’re still this excited?”

“Well, the kids are just too adorable. Really, how can they be so cute…?”

Garnet’s monologue was interrupted by the coachman’s call that we had arrived and the carriage came to a stop. Garnet quickly forgot her previous state and began gathering items to give to the children. As she organized the carriage’s interior, the door opened from the outside, and a familiar face awaited to escort me.

“Sir Kerlan.”

“It’s been a while, Lady Knight.”

The one greeting me politely was Roxana’s brother, Sir Beloff Kerlan, the captain of the Imperial Knights. Thanks to Beloff’s surprisingly down-to-earth nature, we started speaking informally from our first meeting. Whenever our visit schedules overlapped, he would come out to escort me.

“I heard your last visit was two weeks ago, so I expected someone else today.”

“That was the plan, but the other knights’ training schedules didn’t match, so I ended up coming.”

When I submitted the papers to establish an orphanage for children with mana, I was quite confident. From my motivation to set up the orphanage to the education of the children until they grew up, and the funding to make it all possible, there was no one more suitable for the job than me.

So I had never considered the possibility that my plans might be thwarted. I had overlooked how deep-seated human distrust could turn into an emotion akin to fear over time.

Magicians have been ostracized for just two centuries in historical terms. However, the events of that time left behind a vast amount of irreparable damage. To the people of the Empire, who grew up restoring what was lost, children with mana were nothing but ticking time bombs that could explode at any moment.

The first set of documents I submitted was returned to me with a denial stamp. I admitted my mistake. After all, I was one of the people of the Empire. No matter how much I knew that not all magicians were dangerous, I couldn’t ignore the opposing view.

So, in the next set of documents, I included a pledge that the orphanage would never teach magic to the children. Additionally, I agreed to send the children to the Imperial magicians as apprentices if requested.

Of course, I ensured that this would not be forced upon any unwilling child, but considering the dwindling number of Imperial magicians each year, it seemed like a fair condition. It would be mutually beneficial for commoners to enter the palace with several years of training.

However, this still seemed insufficient to the Imperial authorities, who added one more condition: the Imperial Knights would visit the orphanage every three days. They didn’t explicitly state their reason, but I could only assume it was to monitor that the children weren’t secretly learning magic.

Those who had dedicated their lives to the sword and those who had honed their survival instincts on the streets lived separately, with a strong sense of distrust, unable to mingle. Neither side trusted the other, so this was expected. These groups, who seemed destined to ignore each other forever, eventually came together due to an unexpected incident.

It wasn’t just the Imperial Knights that the children were wary of. The employees of the orphanage, who had shed their status as Clovers, were also subjects of the children’s suspicion.

The picnic that Garnet planned for those children was born from a desire to see everyone become friends. She believed that fostering a sense of closeness would help the children, who were often timid and withdrawn, to feel more comfortable. Naturally, the children loved the picnic. Those who experienced the concept of “playing” for the first time during the picnic looked so happy that they even brought smiles to the faces of not just the orphanage staff, but also the stern Imperial Knights. After that, even though the visiting knights changed every time, the initial wariness had completely disappeared.