Translator and Editor: Reg and Aki

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Chapter 2

“You stupid brat! Take care of the mess you made right now!”

“Bu—But……”

“I told you not to talk back to me! Scrub the floor with that mop!”

The director exclaimed and pointed at the mop that was on the floor.

The director raised his eyebrows and left the room. Telin slowly picked up the mop.

“I-It’s all because of you. You ruined everything.”

Telin glared at me before harshly throwing the mop away.

“I’ve changed into my most expensive clothes!”

“Wow, you’re really funny. Why do you keep blaming Shuelina?”

“Let’s go, Shuelina. Let her take care of this place by herself.”

Huh, she deserves it.

No one sided with Telin. Far from that actually. They looked uninterested.

Sneaking out of the door, Telin angrily squeezed the black water out of her stained dress.

But wait. Why did Telin change her dress again?

I tried to recall the reason……

‘Is today the day?’

An important guest would always visit the orphanage at dawn. I know that because I’m always cleaning at that time.

And this guest is the most important guest we’ve ever had……

‘The Grand Duke of Vailot!’

The cursed family of villains.

The Grand Ducal Family of Vailot, which is also referred to as the devil’s den.

They selected an orphan in the name of patronage and had them stay in their mansion.

‘To be exact……’

They tried to erase their family’s notoriety through newspaper headlines which said, ‘The Grand Duke helps a young girl’……

But that’s not what matters right now.

I just remembered.

The lucky child whom the grand duke chose that time was Telin.

‘She was definitely aiming for it.’

I wondered why she was so excited.

Telin, who is close to the director, must have known who was coming in advance.

It wasn’t difficult for this orphanage to catch rumors.

She might have noticed a bit late that it was just a sponsorship, not an adoption, but Telin still felt very lucky.

As far as I know, the grand duke did not stop sponsoring after that.

‘So that’s why.’

She was trying to provoke me to create a big fuss.

Around this time in the novel, Shuelina was locked up in a solitary room, crying.

She was still a little girl at that time, so she was helpless against Telin.

‘I finally understand why you’ve been staying close to me lately.’

She was wary of Shuelina, the prettiest and loveliest child in the orphanage, even when she cried.

She had to lock Shuelina away so that the grand duke wouldn’t know that Shuelina existed.

I stared at my reflection in the window.

Golden hair that shined brightly like the sun, half blue, half violet eyes, and a lovely, puppy-like face.

‘The novel’s description was right on point.’

When I read the novel before entering this body, the description of Shuelina’s appearance was longer than Azuela’s, the main character.

If you can see this face right now, you will know why.

Whenever Shuelina smiled brightly, even Telin would unconsciously drop her jaw.

“Aahhhhh!”

An angry shout was heard.

I closed my eyes and covered my ears tightly. Somehow, it doesn’t seem like Telin will let this end peacefully.

‘I have to get through this day.’

The director was already offended, so if I get tangled up with Telin again, I might get beaten more than in the original story.

I could really die.

I suddenly got goosebumps and shook my arms.

Today, I promise.

I won’t die a pointless death!

* * *

“Stand in line! The director will be here soon!”

I kept my guard against Telin, but surprisingly, nothing happened until breakfast.

‘I thought something was going to happen this morning……’

Was it just a feeling?

I felt a peculiar feeling and stood in line with the other children.

“Ah!”

I was standing still when something suddenly hit my waist.

I staggered for a moment before reeling my body and found Telin standing over there.

But I felt a sense of deja vu.

I’m sure it was Telin’s hand that landed on my waist just now.

It might have been natural if she was trying to grab onto something when she’s about to fall, but Telin was the one who pushed me.

“Well, that was a mistake.”

With a sarcastic remark, Telin shrugged.

‘You must have touched me on purpose.’

If it was really a mistake, she would’ve gotten angry and pushed me again for real.

I searched my waist anxiously, but I couldn’t feel anything.

Did she pretend to fall and put dirt on my waist? So that the director can see it right away?

In an instant, all kinds of thoughts came to my mind and my hands turned cold.

‘No, it has to be enough for the director to lock me up in anger.’

If it’s just my clothes, I can simply wash it.

The director usually orders me to do the laundry.

What’s the worst thing she can do so that the grand duke won’t see me?

“There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Telin said as she patted around that area of my dress, blocking my hand.

“Well, it’s completely fine! More importantly, Shuelina, you need to help me.”

Telin said as she grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly.

I had a hunch immediately.

Telin is trying to prevent me from checking my waist.

“Hewp you?”

(Help you?)

My heart thumped in anxiety.

If I don’t find out what Telin did, I might really die today.

Telin gritted her teeth and spoke in a prideful way, trying to act as casual as possible.

“I’m in charge of food distribution today because of you, so you have to help!”

It was ridiculous, but it was also a good excuse to keep an eye on me.

I nodded gently.

If I say no now, the director will probably slap me for making a fuss.

“You do this.”

When I stood in front of the large pot and basket, Telin quickly handed me the ladle.

The soup distribution was more difficult than the potatoes, so she passed the task to me.

“Wait! I can’t weach it. I need a chwair.”

(Wait! I can’t reach it. I need a chair.)

I jumped in my place as I said it.

I’m almost 6 years old, but my height is still a four-year-old’s, so the pot was too high for me.

“Ah, seriously.”

Telin moved to get a chair in annoyance.

Alright, here we go!

When Telin wasn’t watching, I patted the part where Telin’s hand did earlier.

I’m sure it’s around here.

Tuk-

The object I felt over the thin cloth of my pocket gave me a shudder.

When I hurriedly rolled it in my hand, I felt like my back was sweating.

‘This… Why is this here?’

A round object with something multi-sided and hard attached to it. It was a jeweled ring.

The only person who owns this kind of ring in this orphanage is the director.

At that moment, I clearly realized that Telin wasn’t only trying to lock me in a closet, she was trying to put in a grave.

If I get falsely accused of stealing the director’s jewelry, he would beat me to death for two days.

‘Telin……!’

I glanced at Telin who was bringing a chair from afar.

I calmly thought of a way to avoid her plan. Then, the time for me to solve this problem passively has come.

“Now, can you—ah!”

I stuck my foot out when Telin was about to put the chair in front of me.

Then Telin tripped on my foot and fell perfectly while holding the chair.

And unfortunately…… Telin pushed the pot away with her body.

The soup poured on the floor with a loud splashing sound.

“Oh no! Terin suddenwy fwell on hur way hewe!”

(Oh no! Telin suddenly fell on her way here!)

At the time when no one was able to open their mouths and there was just silence, I jumped up and made a lot of fuss.

“Hey, Telin! Are you crazy?”

“You’re really stupid! How can you cause an accident twice a day?”

“Argh, I’m hungry!”

As soon as the silence was broken, the children began clamoring.

In the meantime, Telin was pale and quiet, as if she had just foreseen her future.

The children’s reproach were all directed at Telin, who fell off.

“Terin! Are you awight? Are you hurt?”

I purposely knelt beside Telin, pretending to care.

As if she could not think of anything, Telin, who was still in shock, did not move.

‘Now!’

I carefully laid my hand on Telin, as if to make sure that she’s not hurt.

Then, I immediately slipped the ring into Telin’s pocket to take advantage of her shock.

She didn’t even notice what I did.

“What’s with all this damn noise?!”

A shrill, grown-up’s voice echoed in the entire room.

The director walked fast towards us. The bottom of the pot was wet with the soup.

“Director……”

With a bleached face, Telin slowly looked up at the director.

“It’s you again?”

The director shot a disappointed look at Telin. Then, with a blank look, Telin slowly shook her head.

Then, her eyes lit up, and began to appeal to the director.

“It wasn’t me, Director! Shu—Shuelina did it!”

I blinked and looked at Telin. Her hands were fisted very tightly.

Telin is freaking out.

She is stubbornly putting the blame on me with so many witnesses.

I’ve always thought she’s stupid and sloppy, but this is on an entirely different level.

“Shuelina tripped me! That’s right, I definitely felt my foot get stuck on something!”

Everyone’s eyes fell on me at Telin’s words.

I shook my head.

“Terin, how cou you say that when you fwell on youw own?”

(Telin, how could you say that when you fell on your own?)

The children nodded at my words.

Everyone was a witness to how I’ve also seen Telin fall down and how I was the first one to worry about her.

“Lies.”

In the midst of silence, someone’s whisper reached my ears.

It was probably the case for Telin as well because she looked even more anxious now.

“Mo—More importantly, Director! We need to search Shuelina’s body!”

Telin quickly pointed her finger at me. She seemed to want to escape this situation.

But she’s simply walking into a hole.

I clicked my tongue inside my mouth.

“I caught a glimpse of something sparkly in Shuelina’s pocket! It must be the director’s ring!”

Telin almost shouted.

“What? Shuelina, you thief!”

The director’s face turned red in an instant.

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