The New Orphans
The first thing we needed to do after taking the orphans into our care was bathe them. We had to scrub the boys and girls down in their respective buildings, then get them dressed in gray priest and shrine maiden robes before they could eat lunch.
I returned my Pandabus to his feystone form, then looked at my attendants. “Nicola, wash the girls in the girls’ building. Gil, wash the boys in the boys’ building. As for the soap and their clothes...”
“They will be the same as the ones used in the temple and have already been prepared,” Fran said, earning nods from Nicola and Gil.
Noticing that the four orphans were stiff with anxiety, I gave them a warm smile. “We can eat lunch once you’re clean. You’re all hungry, aren’t you?”
The word “lunch” made the orphans swallow hard, and while they exchanged scared glances over being separated, they still went to their respective buildings to be washed.
Ferdinand and I headed to the dining hall, then took our seats at the furthest end of the table. These were the seats for nobles. The table no longer looked exceptionally miserable thanks to Fran having covered it with a tablecloth, but that didn’t change the fact we were sitting on wooden boxes in front of a table made of boxes and a board.
In the temple, blue robes ate first. Their attendants would only start once they were done, and the leftovers would then be sent to the orphanage as divine gifts. This meant that nobody could start eating until we had finished, so we started lunch with Fran and a gray shrine maiden serving us. Damuel and Brigitte were eating with us as fellow nobles, as we didn’t have the time nor space here for the guard knights to eat separately.
“...Rozemyne, you have taught even gray shrine maidens to cook food such as this?” Ferdinand asked with a frown. He was paying money for my recipes.
“It all began when only one chef remained in the temple over the winter, which demanded that we use apprentice gray shrine maidens as assistants in the kitchen. But once they had learned how to make tasty food, they would naturally continue making it when they returned to the orphanage. The techniques just spread from there. It wasn’t as though I went out of my way to teach them, and the blue priests don’t know about it simply because they have no interest in the orphanage.”
Ferdinand, being one such blue priest, twitched his cheek ever so slightly. “So you have not only taught them letters and math, but how to cook as well? If other nobles were to learn of this, we would be swarmed with requests to buy them.”
“My children are expensive, just so you know. They have lots of special abilities. Considering that they serve necessary roles in spreading the printing industry and furthering my education reform plans, it would take a lot for me to sell one of them, even if a noble were interested. Plus, I now have the authority to turn those nobles down.”
The previous High Bishop might have been willing to sell them all off at the drop of a hat, but I was in the middle of training them for my master plan of spreading printing and building bookstores and libraries. I had no intention of letting them go so easily.
“What do you mean by ‘education reform plans’?” Ferdinand demanded. “I have heard of no such thing.”
“If more people don’t learn to read, there won’t be more people to write books, will there?” I replied. “I have a grand plan to increase the literacy rate within the duchy, though I haven’t ironed out all the details just yet.” I had several ideas swirling around in my head, but they all relied on printing being widely established to varying degrees.
Ferdinand glared at me as he dabbed his mouth. “Write a detailed report on your plan and deliver it to me when we return to the temple.”
“What? But I just told you, I haven’t ironed out the details y—”
“You have a clear history of charging into matters before the details have been ironed out. Write a report, even if you are just presenting a vague idea of what you potentially hope to accomplish one day.”
Unable to argue back, I had to acquiesce and agree to write a report. All while glaring at Damuel and Fran, who were nodding in complete agreement with Ferdinand.
“...Still, this turned out to be more troublesome than expected. What do you intend to do about him, Rozemyne?” Ferdinand asked with a sigh.
“Wait, who are you talking about?” I asked, blinking in confusion.
“That insignificant fool who is convinced that he has power to his name. Such small fry tend to harbor unjustified resentment toward those they themselves act against, and I expect his bitter attempts at revenge to be as tedious as they are obsessive,” Ferdinand explained.
I let out my own sigh once I understood what he meant. “He does resemble the previous High Bishop, doesn’t he? The way he tries to sell girls for money, mistakenly interprets the power of his distant backers as his own, does whatever he wants like he’s the king of his own little world...” I started listing out all of the ways they resembled each other, earning a small chuckle from Ferdinand.
“Their backers’ power is almost incomparable in scale, but they certainly are similar in the lowly way they scurry about.”
“Though in this case, since we don’t know who his backers are, we don’t know how much influence he has. How many people will we need to remove from power to eradicate it completely, and how will the city change once they’re gone...? Hopefully the changes will be good for the monastery.”
The High Bishop’s power was largely constrained to the temple, so it had been easy for Ferdinand to fill the power vacuum when he was removed. For this reason, there hadn’t been any problems to speak of. But now we were dealing with the mayor of a city that nobles never entered unless it was Spring Prayer or time for taxes. We could use our status as nobles to eliminate him, but who knew what would happen to the city once he was gone?
“Rozemyne, time spent thinking about how to make things go your way is time wasted. The future is always an unknown; the best we can do is what we deem to be right.”
“...You say that, but don’t you spend a lot of time thinking up plans to make things go the way you want them to?”
“The gods help those who help themselves,” Ferdinand replied. In other words, you could justify anything if you used the right phrasing. I glared at him and pursed my lips a little, but with an unfazed expression he murmured, “There are few matters that can be settled through idealistic philosophies.”
His words carried a weight to them that made it hard to argue back, as he had lived in noble society where idealism didn’t cut it before ultimately joining the temple for his own protection.
“Lady Rozemyne, we have finished bathing them,” Nicola said, bringing Nora and Marthe into the dining hall in their gray shrine maiden robes just as a delicious aroma started wafting through the air. The girls had been so dirty before that I hadn’t been able to work out what color their hair was, but now it stood out against their gray robes and highlighted their pretty faces.
“Please state your names and ages,” I said.
Marthe immediately hid behind Nora, who quickly turned around with an expression of motherly concern, her light purplish-blue hair swishing through the air as she did. She patted Marthe’s head before turning back to me with bright blue eyes and a smile.
“I’m Nora, and I’m fourteen. I’m really glad you came here when you did, since I was going to be sold as soon as I came of age. Thanks for taking us in, really,” she said.
I nodded and returned her smile, but Ferdinand’s lips curved into a displeased frown.
“Such casual language...”
“Ferdinand, please don’t have unreasonable expectations of people who haven’t been educated. Those in the lower city are even worse. All that matters is that they learn to speak properly moving forward,” I said, trying to console him.
It only made sense that there would be a big gap between the orphans raised in the temple and the orphans raised elsewhere; there were no blue priests in Hasse, so nobody would chastise them for coarse language or improper behavior. Ehrenfest’s lower city was right by the Noble’s Quarter, but a city without nobles had no reason to teach its kids how to interact with them.
“And what about you, girl hiding behind Nora?” I asked. But Marthe just fearfully shook her dark-green hair and kept hiding.
“Her name is Marthe, and—”
“Let me stop you there, Nora. This child must answer on her own. Her being shy or nervous around strangers might have been acceptable up until today, but if a noble were to visit and she were to refuse to answer their questions, that would be seen as defiance. And defying a noble leads to immediate execution. That much is common sense in the temple.”
“No way...” Nora looked around in a daze, only to see Ferdinand, his brow furrowed in displeasure at her tone, and my two guard knights, who were visibly frustrated with how her and Marthe were conducting themselves but were keeping silent as I was speaking. Fran and Nicola had already started eating, so there would be no one to defend her and Marthe’s improper behavior toward nobles.
“I have spent time with lower city commoners and thus understand how you two feel very well. But as a noble myself, I cannot allow this to continue. Commoners must display absolute obedience to nobles; you two will die if you do not understand this fact. Now, tell me your name and age.” As I focused my gaze on Marthe, I couldn’t help thinking I suuure am the bad guy here...
Marthe was immediately pushed forward by Nora, and tears welled up in her eyes as she choked out a response. “I’m Marthe... Eight years old.”
“Very well done. I know that it will be hard for you to adapt to an entirely different way of life here, but nobody will sell you, and you will have food each day. I ask that you both dedicate yourselves to adapting quickly, knowing that you will be cared for in turn.”
“Okay,” they both replied.
But no sooner had I let out a sigh of relief at their understanding than Thore and Rick angrily started charging at me. “What’re you planning to do to Marthe and my sister?!”
“Stop. I will not be doing anything to them,” I said, but they continued charging this way. Before they could get much closer though, Damuel and Brigitte knocked them both back with light smacks. The two boys immediately fell backward, slamming into the boxes being used as chairs.
“Thore! Rick!” Nora cried.
“To think that you would charge at a noble... There is courage, and then there is foolishness. Were I any other noble, you two would both be dead right now,” I said.
They had acted so recklessly because they hadn’t grown up around any nobles. That was dangerous. At this rate, they could end up dying in the blink of an eye.
“Listen well, you two—it is crucial to be patient and calm when dealing with nobles, even when they do things you don’t like. There is a world of difference between defying the mayor, who is a fellow commoner, and defying a noble. He will merely beat you, but a noble will kill you where you stand without listening to a word of protest,” I explained.
The four orphans paled at the sight of my two guards, who were protectively standing in front of me with their weapons now drawn.
“I imagine that you heard me ask this of Nora and Marthe,” I continued, “but I will repeat myself: please state your names and ages.”
“I’m Thore, and I’m eleven,” Thore said, protectively standing in front of Nora and fixing me with a glare as he answered. He looked a lot like his sister; his eyes were just as blue as hers, and his hair was a similar color. It wasn’t hard to imagine that he had protected Nora from the countless men who had no doubt targeted her for her looks. I found his heroism and love for her admirable, and hoped that he wouldn’t let anyone take that from him.
...Though he’d need to learn to keep it down and not let his heroism tick off my guards and attendants.
“My name’s Rick. I’m twelve, and I’m Marthe’s older brother.” He and Marthe likewise had similar hair and eye colors—dark green and gray, respectively. Other than that, though, they looked pretty different; Rick had thick eyebrows and sharp facial features, while Marthe had cute features that seemed to reflect her shy, reserved personality.
“I am Rozemyne. Just recently, I was baptized and made the High Bishop of Ehrenfest. It is nice to meet you all. Now, we will postpone taking you to your rooms so that we can eat lunch first. Gil, you may begin eating. You have done a good job today.”
Fran stood up from his seat, having finished, and Gil took his place. Gray shrine maidens then brought Gil some food, which he speedily started to work his way through. Once he was done, the gray priests began to eat. There was plenty to go around since we hadn’t brought many orphans back with us.
“When the heck are we gonna get to eat?!” Thore exclaimed.
“...I’m hungry...” Marthe murmured.
I felt bad for the four orphans and their rumbling tummies, but they had to get used to how things worked in the temple. “Gil, please tell them the order in which we from the temple eat our food,” I said, leaving the explanation to him since he knew the most about commoners out of all of my attendants. He nodded and began to speak.
“Food in the temple is referred to as ‘divine gifts.’ The noble blue priests eat first, followed by their attendants. The leftovers are then brought to the orphanage, where there is also an eating order: first the adult priests and shrine maidens eat, then the apprentices, and then finally the children who haven’t yet been baptized.”
“You are all old enough to be apprentices, so for now you may rest easy knowing that you will be eating together,” I added.
When it came time for the apprentices to eat, food was placed in front of the four orphans. They would be serving themselves under normal circumstances, but since we had no idea what they would do, we decided to serve them first so that they could see what was expected of them.
“Not yet, I’m afraid—you must first pray in appreciation to the gods.”
I stopped the four orphans, all of whom had started chomping down on their food, and made them repeat the prayer after me. As it was a fundamental part of life in the temple, it was something they had to get used to. I, too, had walked the same path before.
Once that was done, they got to work silently devouring their food, each with gleaming eyes. It was clear from the way they grabbed it with their hands and shoved it into their mouths that they had lived life without ever encountering the word “etiquette.”
Everyone but me was looking at them with shock; Ferdinand didn’t even try to hide the disgust on his face. It reminded me of how repulsed I had been when I first came to this world and saw my neighbors eating around the well.
“They are surely starving. I know this is not a pleasant sight for you, but this is how all untrained people eat. We have no choice but to teach them the proper way slowly over time. If nothing else, this will help us all appreciate the importance of education and how above average the children in the orphanage truly are.”
“...Indeed. To speak frankly, I did not expect them to be this boorish. The only commoners I know are those in the Gilberta Company,” Ferdinand murmured.
I let out a sigh. It wasn’t fair to compare them with the Gilberta Company. This was standard for poor people.
The orphans asked for seconds, thirds, and even fourths. When the time came to take them to their rooms, they each had their hands on their swollen bellies and satisfied grins on their faces.
Since we were in the dining hall, we headed to the girls’ rooms first. Boys weren’t normally allowed in, but I had decided it would be wise to show them the rooms just this once, so they could see that everyone was being treated equally.
We climbed the stairs and opened the first door to the right.
“This is where the apprentices will sleep. Adult shrine maidens have their own rooms further down the hall, but apprentices share rooms with each other.”
“This room’s so big we can all sleep together,” Thore said with a grin, but I shook my head.
“I’m afraid you won’t all be sleeping in the same room.”
“Why not?!” he exclaimed, as he and Rick stepped forward to protect their sisters. My guards and attendants immediately assumed their own defensive stances in response, so I raised a hand to stop them.
“Boys are forbidden from entering the girls’ building; they are only allowed to go to the dining room. You would normally not be allowed in here, but we brought you here today so that you could see for yourselves that the girls are being treated equally.”
Thore’s blue eyes flashed with rage. “But we’re siblings!”
“I know, but that is irrelevant. This is the girls’ building. Even their male family members cannot enter,” I explained. It was easy to imagine that they had spent their lives fighting to stay together and find a home for themselves, and while denying them that made my heart ache, I had no other choice.
“To other gray shrine maidens, Thore and Rick are not family—they are strangers and men like any other. Just as you wish to protect Nora, Thore, I wish to protect my gray shrine maidens.”
“Thore and Rick would never do anything bad to girls,” Nora said, her light-purple hair swaying as she shook her head.
I continued my explanation, desperately hoping they would be able to see things from my perspective. “I understand that. My gray priests would never do anything bad to girls either. But my word is not enough for you to believe that, is it, Nora?”
Nora inhaled deeply, lowering her eyes before once again shaking her head. I could understand that Thore and Rick wanted to protect their sisters, but I couldn’t allow men into the girls’ building.
“If you insist on staying together, you will need to sleep in the corner of the dining hall,” I said.
“That’ll work. Let’s make our own room in the dining hall,” Thore said in a cheery voice, but Nora and Marthe looked at me with worry. Their eyes asked whether they really could make a room there, and I shook my head.
“I will only be lending you space to sleep; the dining hall can be entered by all, so other men have free access to the space as well. It is not your personal area, and others will not be forbidden from entering your sleeping space.”
My repeated rejections must have finally touched a nerve, as Thore’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and his face twisted in anger. “The dining hall’s that friggin’ big! What’s the problem with us making our own room there?!” he roared. “Don’t you know how much it hurts to be taken away from your family?!”
I clutched my chest, and that was when I heard a loud, painful-sounding slap. Fran had smacked Thore across the face. Fran, who had been raised in the orphanage and taught from birth that violence was wrong under any circumstances. I looked up at him, wide-eyed.
“Fran...?” I whispered. His dark-brown eyes were filled with anger as he looked down at the boy coldly, dropping the temperature of the room just like Ferdinand did when he was angry.
“There is no one in the world who knows that feeling more than Lady Rozemyne,” Fran said, the fury in his eyes not easing for even a moment as he took a step forward.
Thore took a step back in response, clearly intimidated. “Th-The heck...?” he murmured.
Fran took another step forward. “Lady Rozemyne’s talents led to her being separated from her family at her baptism and instead becoming the archduke’s adopted daughter. On top of that, she has been assigned the position of High Bishop, which requires her to continuously move between the castle and the temple while suffering this sorrow of being unable to see her family.”
The four kids opened their eyes wide in shock, then all looked at me in unison. Fran shifted to the side a bit, so as to protect me from their gazes.
“Lady Rozemyne saved your sister from being sold, and although you will be sleeping in separate rooms, you will be permitted to live in the same orphanage. All thanks to her. She may forgive your ungracious rudeness, but as her head attendant, I will not.”
...Oh no. Fran’s patience has finally run out.
Fran hadn’t gotten angry like this when he scolded me for being soft on Delia or when I had gotten too close with Gil. He served me well, but I knew that Ferdinand was still above me in his mind, so I hadn’t expected him to get this angry over the orphans being rude to me.
The sight of the terrified Thore was enough to make me hurriedly stop Fran. “That will be enough, Fran. They have learned their lesson,” I said, stepping between them.
“But Lady Rozemyne...” Fran replied, angry enough that he tried to take yet another step forward.
“I understand that you are angry for my sake. Thank you. Your hand hurts, does it not?” I asked.
It was my fault that Fran had been forced to resort to violence when heretofore he had managed to avoid it. I just wasn’t a good enough noble yet. I grabbed his sleeve to stop him and clasped my hands around his reddened palm. His gaze moved down to his hand, at which point I looked over to Thore, who was holding a hand against his struck cheek, and Rick, who had stepped forward to protect the others.
“Listen well, Thore. Rick. I understand painfully well your desire to protect your families. I also understand that you are feeling anxious and uneasy here, in a world where everything runs on rules different from the ones you are used to.”
Throughout my life, I had experienced a vast number of worlds with clashing rules and philosophies—the contrasts between Earth and this world, commoners and nobles, craftsmen and merchants, the lower city and the temple, the temple and the Noble’s Quarter, and so on. I knew exactly how nerve-wracking it was to enter a new world, and how hard it was to live when its values clashed with your own.
“But you aren’t alone, are you?” I continued. “You may not be able to sleep in the same room, but you will still be living together. Nora and Marthe will never be sold.”
Thore raised his head and slowly blinked his blue eyes, seeming to understand for the first time that my words were well and true.
“You can sleep in the dining hall if you absolutely insist, but I think that Nora and Marthe would rest easier in the girls’ building where men are forbidden from going than in the dining hall where anybody can enter. Am I right?” I asked. Thore was doing everything he could to protect his sister, but he hadn’t actually asked Nora or Marthe what they thought. I looked their way and Nora immediately cast her eyes down, her long eyelashes pointing toward the floor.
“Thore, please go to the boys’ building. We’ll sleep in the girls’ building.”
“Nora?!”
“I don’t want to sleep in the dining hall. I won’t be able to relax with men I don’t know walking around. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to sleep easy... Please understand, Thore.”
All it took was one look at Nora’s faint smile to know how exhausted she was, and how many years she had spent living in uneasy fear. Hearing her words, Thore bit his lip in frustration.
“Me too, Rick... I want to sleep with Nora,” Marthe said, desperately pulling on her brother’s sleeve. It must have been rare for her to be so forward about her opinions, as Rick’s eyes shot open wide in surprise as he looked down at her.
“...You sure you’ll be fine?”
“Uh huh... It’s not scary here,” Marthe said, giving Rick a small smile as she removed her hand from his sleeve. Now that both her and Nora had expressed their desire to sleep in the girls’ building, Thore and Rick had no choice but to concede.
“Now then, I will continue the tour...” I began, thinking that everything had been peacefully settled. But just as I was about to head toward the staircase, Fran raised a hand to stop me.
“First, apologize,” he said to Thore.
“What...?” I asked in surprise.
“Lady Rozemyne is the High Bishop. I demand that you apologize for behaving so rudely to the High Bishop,” Fran continued.
Bwuuh?! He’s still mad?!
It seemed that Fran’s quiet anger was especially persistent. I personally just wanted to let bygones be bygones, but his expression and behavior made it clear that he wouldn’t let Thore off so easily. It was the first time I had seen him like this, and it was beyond me to stop him.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one unsettled by Fran’s anger, as Nora immediately sucked in a breath and forced Thore’s head down. Then, once she had her little brother on his knees, she knelt down as well and faced me to apologize. “I’m sorry. Come on, Thore! Apologize!”
“...I’m sorry.”
Okay, they apologized. Isn’t that good enough? I silently pleaded, looking up at Fran. Our eyes met, and he gave a small smile. But it wasn’t his usual peaceful smile. Instead, it was like... an ice-cold smile that lacked any trace of warmth.
“Lady Rozemyne, I suggest that we leave the tour to Gil and Nicola.”
“Um, Fran?”
“I would like to discuss this matter in more detail. Gil, Nicola—please take them away,” Fran ordered.
Gil and Nicola stammered out words of agreement, then raced down the stairs with the four orphans so quickly that they were practically fleeing from him.
...Wait, no! Don’t leave me behind! I cried out on the inside, but Fran’s coldness seemed to propel them forward and they were gone in the blink of an eye. Now it was just Fran, my two guards, Ferdinand, and me. As you might expect, Ferdinand was wearing a smile that was just as frosty as Fran’s, and I instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
“Now then, Lady Rozemyne. Let us discuss this matter in your room,” Fran said.
“Indeed,” Ferdinand agreed. “It seems we have much to teach her.”
“O-Okay!” I squeaked.
These two are way too similar. It’s honestly terrifying. Somebody, help me!
But nobody came. It was at times like these that I wanted protection the most, but my two guards wouldn’t even look me in the eyes.
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