The embarrassment of wearing a dress had long since floated away.
In fact, seeing the children in front of me not harbor any wariness made me feel grateful that I had come in this outfit. If they had been scared, we wouldn’t have been able to have a proper conversation.
The problem was… now that I had a bunch of curious eyes staring at me, I had no idea what to say.
I couldn’t outright say, “I’m from the same orphanage as you. Do you recognize me?” There were just too many kids. I thought Daniel might notice my identity but wouldn’t tell the others, but I wasn’t sure about the other nine kids.
“…….”
And just like that, I thought about how I really didn’t know these kids at all.
That’s only natural. You sometimes discover unknown sides of friends you’ve known for ten years, so for kids I had only seen for a few months, just remembering their faces after ten years would be an achievement in itself.
… Not that I felt particularly proud of that.
“Hey, look, sister.”
Claire, who had approached me without me noticing, linked her arm with mine and pulled me along.
I took another step toward the kids.
“Sylvia, sister.”
Claire added as if she was announcing something.
That statement was aimed at me, but it was likely meant for the kids to hear. Claire must have known that she shouldn’t reveal the truth to them, but she probably wanted to give them a little hint.
And a hint is, quite literally, just a hint. If these kids were ever certain enough to ask again, I could just deny it vehemently.
As the kids processed Claire’s words, a few of them blinked in disbelief. Blink, blink. After a few blinks, the light of understanding flickered in their eyes, and soon their faces were painted with astonishment.
That understanding spread like waves, each child glancing at the one next to them, then back at my face, realizing something. Soon, they all stood there with their mouths agape, looking just as surprised.
It didn’t even take a minute for that to happen.
These kids all remembered me. It took less than a minute for them to recognize my identity.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t even remember their names.
“This person is,”
Claire said, still gripping my arm firmly, as if she thought I would run away at any moment.
… The last time we were all together was when I was kidnapped by Lucas and became a member of the royal family.
Claire didn’t fully grasp what had happened back then, but it seemed like she still thought something like that could happen again.
“This person is Princess Sylvia Fanggriffon of the Fanggriffon royal family.”
A few of the kids gasped in surprise. They hesitated, debating whether they should bow in greeting, but when they saw the others standing still, some looked confused.
They were all still so young. Even though ten years had passed.
Does that mean I still look young in the eyes of others?
My head was spinning, and I couldn’t think logically.
“I invited you after getting close at the academy, and when I heard that we were looking after you, the princess wanted to meet you all, so here we are.”
The playful demeanor I had shown Leo completely vanished, and Claire spoke to the kids in a soft, soothing voice, as if it were necessary.
I thought about Claire after I had disappeared.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t imagined it before. I had thought about it multiple times after we parted ways. I wondered if she was doing well, thinking that she wouldn’t grow up twisted since she was at Grace’s Estate, and other such thoughts until we met again at the academy.
And after we met, there was no need to imagine.
She was diligent and hardworking, cheerful in personality, good at making friends, and warm… so it was no wonder that resulting Claire was right beside me.
But could that truly be called Claire’s real self?
Just like the original story, she had grown twisted fighting with Alice at the royal palace after experiencing such events; it wouldn’t have been surprising if her personality was shaped by circumstances beyond her control.
What kind of words had Claire spoken to the kids right after I disappeared, and how had she comforted them?
“How is it? Isn’t she pretty?”
I’ve grown pretty, right?
It sounded that way in my ears when Claire said that with a bright smile, now pulling my arms snugly as if to boast, almost as if she was proud of me.
“The princess is curious about our story; how about you share?”
“…….”
The kids’ eyes lingered on Claire before they all turned to face me.
“Shall we tell her our story?”
Under normal circumstances, that would have been absurd.
There are plenty of nobles doing charity work. Whether it be genuine compassion or to showcase their own generosity due to religious reasons, there are quite a few who donate money and operate orphanages while visiting them.
However, it would be rude to unnecessarily take up the time of someone so kind by dragging out our stories. Since the noble and commoner worlds don’t intersect, it’s natural for most nobles not to care to hear commoners’ tales. Even if they were the ones helping those commoners.
But Claire said that.
As if she believed I would want that.
And—
Yeah, honestly, I did want that.
*
Emma had a knack for cleaning. Not just in the sense of being good at mopping. She had an exceptional ability to judge the size of objects and decide where they would fit in a space or how to stack boxes to fit even one more item in the warehouse. That’s why she was currently training to be a maid. In a few years, she would probably work in the main residence for a while before finding a suitable husband and getting married.
Oliver excelled at swordsmanship. Not as well as Claire, but it was clear he would grow to be a help to his master during battles. So he had been training lately. One day when he grew up, Oliver would become one of those guarding the entrance of the territory.
Chloe had a talent for taking care of plants—and—
One by one, each child shared their stories with me, almost as if they were presenting something.
They were all different. While some might work in similar fields, not one of them had the same exact talent as the others.
And they were all kids I had drawn the curtains for that day.
“…….”
While I listened to the kids’ stories carefully, I didn’t say a word.
In fact, I remembered that day.
I had simply wanted to go out with Claire. The ones who had talked to me about the kids had been Claire.
The kids… the kids are still inside, huh?
Only after hearing Claire’s words did I think to go upstairs and make an effort to save them.
If Claire hadn’t said that—
But the kids, as if they recognized who I was, proudly introduced themselves, as if they were determined to live hard enough to make sure my sacrifice didn’t seem wasted.
And Claire beside me listened with a bright smile on her face, soaking in their stories.
It was embarrassing.
It was shameful.
I wanted to jump into a hole and hide.
That feeling was similar to wearing clothes that didn’t fit.
I… I was probably not as good a person as these kids thought.
“……Sylvia.”
While I was listening to the stories, someone suddenly tapped my shoulder and spoke up.
It was Alice.
Alice, who was speaking to me from the opposite side of Claire, looked slightly worried.
“…….”
Are you okay? I didn’t hear such a question. Alice knew what kind of kids proudly spoke in front of me.
And Alice likely thought that I had saved those kids. Or at the very least, she thought I had done something worthy of receiving such gratitude from them.
“Shall we take a little break?”
I nodded slightly at Claire’s question.
I moved and sat on one of the chairs that were around.
As I stayed silent, the others present also kept quiet.
Ah, this isn’t what I wanted to do.
But even so, I didn’t know what to say.
So I just sat there for a while, focusing on my breathing.
*
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