Last time, Theodore Lis, the emperor’s secretary, had advised Ellie to introduce her craftsman and had even written up the necessary documents.
To his surprise, he only received an invoice from the craftsman, Classman, after quite some time had passed.
‘Unexpected.’
Lis, sitting at his personal desk, which was unusually large and completely covered with papers and documents, rubbed his temples.
‘I thought that old man would finish it within a week at the latest and send the bill the next day.’
Among craftsmen, he was a man who was particularly strict about time and deadlines.
In fact, he had even set the expectation that he would start immediately, putting aside other requests.
‘So… how much is it, really?’
Lis hoped it wouldn’t be too large an amount, but since he had given the sudden request to the craftsman, it was likely to be a substantial sum…
‘Hmm?’
Lis was genuinely surprised by the amount written on the invoice.
It was a huge deal.
The fact that the emperor’s secretary was surprised by the amount was no small matter.
“What’s wrong, sir?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Even though he said this to his subordinate, Lis still brought the invoice closer to his face, wondering if he had mistaken the unit.
No, that wasn’t it.
The invoice read exactly “1 Shir.”
One silver coin.
‘…What is this?’
Something felt off.
If it was a protest for not accepting the request, the craftsman would have written “0 Knots” instead.
The fact that he charged “1 Shir” meant that the request had been formally accepted, and if it had been accepted, there was no way the old man would make any foolish moves.
‘Why?’
‘Could it be that the girl herself paid for it? That didn’t seem likely. While her expression had been calm, her attire didn’t suggest she had the money to pay that much.’
Suddenly, Lis remembered the face of the girl who was supposed to receive the wand.
The expression she had shown before bowing her head when she handed over the paper wrapped in gold thread that day.
That face, which vanished like a mirage in an instant.
At the time, Lis had formed an impression, but it had seemed too far-fetched, so he quickly pushed it out of his mind.
However, with the situation now even more absurd—Classman charging 1 Shir—the impression he had brushed aside earlier resurfaced in his mind.
It was a look that resembled His Majesty’s eyes, he thought.
Lis pressed his temples again.
A strange sensation washed over him.
It felt like something unusual was happening.
Something that could possibly turn this world and era upside down.
***
In the academy’s dean’s office, Melrit asked the girl who had made the emperor’s secretary uneasy, “Ellie? What are you doing right now?”
She was so flustered that she had used formal language.
In the deepest part of Melrit’s heart, Ellie was someone she should follow, her liege.
“Mm? Why?”
Ellie, completely unfazed, asked while continuing to pat Skaha’s head.
“No, it’s just that the dean always leaves it down, but I thought it might be pretty if I tied it a little to the side.”
When you’re around Ellie, the silence grows.
Or rather, it becomes the kind of situation where you can’t speak because you’re so dumbfounded.
‘Who are you tying what to be pretty?’
Melrit thought, ‘if she were tying the mane of a live lion, it wouldn’t have been as surprising.’
Her friends felt the same way.
Even Isabel, who was the least knowledgeable of the four, was staring wide-eyed in disbelief.
Melrit felt a sense of camaraderie.
“All done. How is it?”
“Uh, um…?”
Ellie’s suggested hairstyle was what was called a two-side up.
She tied her hair on both sides but left the back as it was, giving a lively yet calm impression.
“Uh, hmm… well, um… hmm…”
Skaha kept coughing and glancing at the mirror, but Melrit saw it.
The dean’s mouth was twitching with a grin.
She must have liked the mane after it was styled.
Moreover, it really suited her.
The two-side up was a hairstyle that looked good on a pretty 10-year-old.
Melrit felt a strange irritation.
Not towards Skaha, but towards Ellie.
“Damn, my liege, are you good at even this?”
“Mm, yeah, it’s pretty. How about trying it in front of people next time?”
“Are you crazy!? Absolutely not!”
She had seen a lion surprised too.
Today was a rare spectacle.
Ellie then casually spent time in the dean’s office before, when dinner time came, taking her friends and leaving.
“We’ll visit again next time!”
“Thank you for the tea.”
“Excuse us.”
Each child greeted politely, and as they left, Skaha looked at Melrit, who was left alone.
“…By the way, why did you come?”
“…Ellie called me.”
“…I see.”
***
After a moment of silence.
“Don’t talk about it outside.”
“Don’t worry. Even if I did, you wouldn’t believe it.”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s right. You’ve worked hard too, so go on now.”
“Yes, you’ve worked hard as well, Dean.”
Finally, the last visitor left, and Skaha stood in front of the mirror alone.
Her hair was still styled just as Ellie had done.
She reached out to undo it, but stopped.
Hesitating, unsure of what to do.
Finally, Skaha made a V with both hands in front of the mirror, trying out an awkward smile.
“…Eheh?”
The face of a girl, not quite a girl, turned red.
Rachel Vermi had died on Monday, and the Thursday class that week was taught by Sir, who had been the assistant.
The class was well-received.
In fact, compared to Rachel, Sir was hailed as the greatest professor of the century.
On the weekend that came again, I set out to visit the orphanage where I grew up.
Originally, I had planned to go alone, but Isabel followed me.
“There probably won’t be anything fun, you know?”
“I don’t care. As long as I’m with Ellie, that’s fun enough.”
It seems like the kid has grown a bit, but it was still a bit concerning to bring Isabel along.
‘I mean, it’s not that it won’t be fun, it’ll actually be hard.’
It’s not about physical exhaustion.
Her heart will likely get tired.
Of course, the orphanage now is different from when Doloria was the head and the late Marquis Ripete made the children grow raw materials for drugs.
Even so, it’s still bound to be rough.
Even if Doloria used the wealth from her stomach to fund operations, the food and living conditions would be slightly below average for this era.
That money is probably running out, and whoever the new director is must be facing a lot of challenges.
“Ugh…”
‘Would it be okay to bring this rich young lady to such a place? She’s a good kid, but still so young and innocent?’
‘No.’
Her heart will hurt.
But maybe, because she’s from a wealthy family, showing her these sides of the world might actually be more meaningful.
“Okay, let’s go together. If you cry because it’s too hard, I’ll stay by your side until you stop.”
“What are you talking about? Do you think I’m Anne? Just because I rode in a carriage, I’m gonna cry?”
Isabel stuck out her tongue at me, looking amused.
“Ugh, aah…! W-what is this…! Aaaah…!! H-how is this… Ugh, aaahhh!!!”
To get straight to the point, it went exactly as I expected.
“Sigh.”
To comfort Isabel, who was crying like the world was ending, I briefly took her outside the orphanage.
“Ugh, hic, E-Ellie… Hic, hhh…”
As I comforted her, she seemed to calm down a little, but then looked back at the orphanage building.
“Uaaaaaah!!”
“…Sigh.”
I had known this would happen, so I kept my promise without complaining and comforted her.
I sat her down in the grass and patted her back.
“Uh-huh, it was scary, huh? I know, I know, you were really surprised.”
“…Hic, heeek… Ellie…”
When she seemed to calm down a bit, I took out a handkerchief and pressed it to Isabel’s nose.
“Here, blow.”
“Sniff, sniff.”
“Other side too.”
“Huhh…”
“Good.”
I wiped around her eyes and nose, and as I was about to put the handkerchief back in my pocket, I remembered.
I did this the first time we met too.
But this time, there was something different.
“Wait a sec.”
Isabel grabbed my hand and recited something in the common magic language.
“Le, Levua thoro mua.”
Then, the dirt on the handkerchief magically cleaned itself.
“I’ve been practicing… since that day.”
Isabel, embarrassed, still turned her damp eyes away from me, but at the same time, she glanced at me as if wanting praise.
“Sigh.”
She was so cute and funny that I couldn’t help but hug her.
“You did well, okay?”
People grow.
Especially children who haven’t fully grown yet.
“…Ellie. You really grew up here.”
With tears in her eyes, Isabel asked, her voice a bit lower than usual.
“Yeah. This is actually a lot better than before.”
The condition of the orphanage was exactly as I had thought.
From the perspective of the new Marquis Ripete, the eldest son of the man I killed, this orphanage was probably just a burden.
If left alone, it would just drain money, but at the same time, it couldn’t be easily destroyed either.
With the bad reputation left by his father, he couldn’t just get rid of it.
‘As expected, I’ll have to secure funding for them.’
There was little chance my path and the orphanage’s would cross again in the future.
Still, I didn’t want to leave them to become miserable again.
That’s what fate is.
“…Ichi.”
Isabel sniffed again and spoke.
“Ellie.”
“Huh?”
“I’m… sniff…”
With a determined look, the young girl spoke.
“I’ll only take half of my allowance from now on.”
I hadn’t brought her here with that intention.