I looked at the servant who had spoken with sharp eyes and asked.
“Selling the kids? What do you mean?”
“Oh, no. That’s not it... Oh my, this damn cube equation is really!”
At first, she denied it, but when she saw that I didn't seem to be fooling her at all, she slapped her mouth with a look of frustration on her face.
I averted my gaze, which had become sharp without me knowing, and tried to coax her gently.
“Hey, what’s the big deal? We all talk about this and that among ourselves.”
“Yeah, right?”
“Of course. Besides, I don’t have many acquaintances, so I have no one to talk to. Just feel free to talk.”
When I gently rubbed the corners of her eyes and tried to comfort her, she sighed in relief and cleared her throat.
“Well, you’ll find out soon enough...”
She muttered, then carefully opened the door.
“No, actually, our director is a little suspicious.”
“What is it?”
“That’s right, this orphanage has a really high adoption rate. I don’t know about anything else, but our director is really good at sending kids for adoption.”
“Oh, really?”
I opened my eyes wide at the unexpected words, but soon a puzzled expression appeared on my face.
'But so what?'
If you adopt well, it's good, so what's suspicious about that?
As I tilted my head because I couldn't understand, she looked around cautiously and continued speaking in a lowered voice.
“But I’ve never seen an adopter come.”
“Huh? What is that...”
“Why, usually when adopting a child, there is a process. You choose the one you like, and you talk to them a bit. But the adopters who come to this orphanage don’t have any of that.”
“So you’re saying they’re just taking the kids randomly without even meeting them?”
“Well, the director said that since all the adoptees are nobles, they come at night to secretly select the ones who are sleeping so that their status is not revealed, but there are only one or two of them.”
“That’s right. If there are a hundred, does it make sense to take them all like that?”
Another employee nearby chimed in and agreed.
“Hmm. It’s definitely a bit strange.”
Catalonia is a country where adoption culture is not yet active, so, understandably, they want to keep the fact of adoption a secret.
But even so, it didn't make sense to just take the child you were going to bring into your family without even having a single conversation with him.
“There is also a way to meet them under the pretext of volunteering or donating money...”
“Right? But what’s even stranger is that the director seems to have erased all the adoption records.”
“She's erasing the records?”
“Yes. In fact, some high-ranking officials came yesterday to look for the adopted child. But the director flatly denied that there was such a child. She even showed them the list. We know full well that the child’s younger sibling is in this orphanage!”
“That’s right. She even told the kids to lie? Say that there was no such thing. If they don’t do as she says, they’ll get kicked out of here!”
It was clear that we had come to find Marca's brother.
'As expected, it was perjury committed under the director's instructions.'
It wasn't all that surprising since it was something I had already expected, but I still wondered why on earth they did that.
“Why would you say that a perfectly fine child doesn’t exist? It’s clear that they’re being sold somewhere.”
Knock. Knock.
I was quietly tapping the table with my index finger, and only later realized that I was being overly serious, so I quickly joined in the conversation again.
“Oh my, this is ridiculous. The director of a daycare center is selling children! Shouldn’t we report this somewhere?”
Then the servants waved their hands as if to tell me not to even dream.
“Oh, I told you. The director’s mother is a well-known person in this industry. No matter how much we talk to her, she won’t even listen.”
“And what if I get caught and get cut off for no reason? The country is already in a state of chaos these days, and there aren’t any decent jobs.”
After all, it was by no means easy for commoners who were barely able to make a living to report someone and risk their livelihood.
I comforted them by patting their shoulders as if I understood.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince, who had successfully infiltrated the orphanage disguised as an orphan, followed the director into her office.
“Have a seat.”
"Yes."
The director began to investigate the Crown Prince's background as soon as he sat down on the sofa.
“Yeah, your parents died in an accident? Both of them?”
“Yes, they passed away at the same time in a carriage accident.”
“I see. So you didn’t have any relatives to look after you?”
“Yes. My grandparents and maternal grandparents are both deceased. They were both only children with no siblings.”
“Oh.”
The director snapped his fingers with a loud sound. She seemed to think that something was a good thing.
“Yeah, where did you live originally?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
The director looked puzzled at the Crown Prince's words.
“You don’t know? You don’t look so young that you don’t even know the name of the town you lived in?”
“We lived deep in the mountains. There was no village, and no people living around us.”
“Hmm, so?”
The director's mouth stretched out.
“Now I see that you are a child perfectly suited for adoption.”
"Yes?"
What does not having someone to care for you and not knowing where to live have to do with adoption?
When the Crown Prince stared at her intently, the director waved her hand as if to say that she was not the one.
“Most adoptees try to keep the fact that they were adopted a secret. The less people know about you, the better.”
"Yes."
It seemed like there was some other ulterior motive, but the Crown Prince nodded obediently without digging further.
“So, what’s your name?”
“This is Ethan.”
The Crown Prince gave himself a name similar to that of the assassin.
It was to observe what kind of reaction he would have, but unfortunately, the director didn't seem to have any thoughts.
“Ethan, that’s a nice name for an orphan.”
The director nodded and then declared as if she was bestowing a great favor.
“Yes, Ethan. I’ll take you in, so you can stay here. I’ll also send you to a good place for adoption, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you, Director.”
“Yes, then you should go out now.”
The director waved his hand toward the Crown Prince as if his business was over.
The Crown Prince's face turned bewildered at the attitude of not even talking to him, let alone taking him to his room.
“Where should I go?”
When the Crown Prince asked in a trembling voice, the director, who had been clapping his hands as if he had just remembered something, opened his mouth again and said, “Ah!”
“If you go out this door and go straight to the right, you’ll come across a room where the children are gathered. You can stay there with the other children.”
Then he crossed his legs and picked up the book. It seemed like he had absolutely no intention of guiding me to my room.
Tsk, the Crown Prince clicked his tongue internally and had no choice but to get up.
"Thank you."
He lowered his head like a child who knew nothing and went to find his room, recalling what the director had told him.
The place where he finally stopped was a large room about the size of an academy classroom.
Inside, some small children looked to be about four or five years old, swarming like ants.
It was so complicated that no one noticed when he came in.
He entered the room in silence, sat in the corner, and looked around.
Children lying down listlessly, children running around in age-appropriate ways, children fighting over a toy, children fighting and hitting each other as if something was making them so angry.
Their actions were all different, but they all had sweat dripping down their faces, and their clothes and shoes were all dirty.
The Crown Prince sat quietly and observed the orphanage scene.
The children were left unattended all day.
Occasionally, servants would stop by, but they didn't stay very long.
It seemed like they had so much work to do that they didn't have much time to take care of their children.
The Crown Prince gritted his teeth as he watched the children living alone without any guardians.
'What kind of daycare center is this?'
Of course, he knew that running a daycare center was not an easy task.
It was natural that the orphanage would be poor, as it had to rely on limited support from the state and the patronage of nobles.
But not all orphanages were like this.
Despite financial difficulties, many daycare center staff were racking their brains over how to provide healthier diets for their children and how to make their lives more comfortable.
Many places designed various games to develop children's emotions and made efforts to educate children despite their limited circumstances for their future.
But this place didn't put any effort into any of that.
Even food is the most basic requirement for children to survive.
“...”
The Crown Prince laughed in vain as he looked at the food that was served for lunch.
A slice of hard whole-grain bread and a glass of water. That was all the children were given.
'I didn't even hope for a balanced diet with evenly distributed nutrients...'
Isn't it too much for a child to eat just one piece of bread the size of his fist?
‘No wonder they can’t gain weight.’
It was at that moment that the Crown Prince sighed while looking at the skinny children.
Suddenly, the child next to him caught his eye.
A child quickly ate the bread given to him and then sucked his finger with a regretful expression.
Looking at that sight, he couldn't possibly swallow the bread.
“Eat.”
"Huh?"
The child tilted his head as the Crown Prince handed him his share of bread.
“Me? You want me to eat it?”
“Yeah, the amount we were given isn’t enough.”
“That’s true... but... you don’t have to eat it?”
“I’m fine. I’m not hungry.”
“Really? Then can I really eat it?”
“Yes, eat it.”
The child's face brightened as the Crown Prince nodded.
The child, who had been looking around a bit awkwardly, quickly said, “Thank you,” and took the bread from the Crown Prince.
The bread also disappeared as if it was a crab closing its eyes, but the child still had an expression on his face that held the world.
“...”
He let out a short sigh, feeling sorry for the child who was satisfied with just that much, and put the empty bowl down before sitting back in the corner.
He felt guilty about the children who were abandoned by their parents and not properly protected even by institutions.
Everything seemed like it was his fault.
No, it was clearly his own sin.
Because he is busy and has other things to do, he has not been able to properly manage and supervise the state-supported institutions, so the children are not receiving proper care.
'How many more institutions are neglecting the weak?'
It was at that moment that the Crown Prince clenched his fists in self-loathing.
“It’s my first time seeing you. Are you new here?”
At this daycare center, some fairly large children, who are rarely seen, approached them.
A boy and two girls in their teenage years.
'These kids are definitely...'
The three witnesses proved the director's innocence in front of him when he visited the daycare center yesterday.
“Selling the kids? What do you mean?”
“Oh, no. That’s not it... Oh my, this damn cube equation is really!”
At first, she denied it, but when she saw that I didn't seem to be fooling her at all, she slapped her mouth with a look of frustration on her face.
I averted my gaze, which had become sharp without me knowing, and tried to coax her gently.
“Hey, what’s the big deal? We all talk about this and that among ourselves.”
“Yeah, right?”
“Of course. Besides, I don’t have many acquaintances, so I have no one to talk to. Just feel free to talk.”
When I gently rubbed the corners of her eyes and tried to comfort her, she sighed in relief and cleared her throat.
“Well, you’ll find out soon enough...”
She muttered, then carefully opened the door.
“No, actually, our director is a little suspicious.”
“What is it?”
“That’s right, this orphanage has a really high adoption rate. I don’t know about anything else, but our director is really good at sending kids for adoption.”
“Oh, really?”
I opened my eyes wide at the unexpected words, but soon a puzzled expression appeared on my face.
'But so what?'
If you adopt well, it's good, so what's suspicious about that?
As I tilted my head because I couldn't understand, she looked around cautiously and continued speaking in a lowered voice.
“But I’ve never seen an adopter come.”
“Huh? What is that...”
“Why, usually when adopting a child, there is a process. You choose the one you like, and you talk to them a bit. But the adopters who come to this orphanage don’t have any of that.”
“So you’re saying they’re just taking the kids randomly without even meeting them?”
“Well, the director said that since all the adoptees are nobles, they come at night to secretly select the ones who are sleeping so that their status is not revealed, but there are only one or two of them.”
“That’s right. If there are a hundred, does it make sense to take them all like that?”
Another employee nearby chimed in and agreed.
“Hmm. It’s definitely a bit strange.”
Catalonia is a country where adoption culture is not yet active, so, understandably, they want to keep the fact of adoption a secret.
But even so, it didn't make sense to just take the child you were going to bring into your family without even having a single conversation with him.
“There is also a way to meet them under the pretext of volunteering or donating money...”
“Right? But what’s even stranger is that the director seems to have erased all the adoption records.”
“She's erasing the records?”
“Yes. In fact, some high-ranking officials came yesterday to look for the adopted child. But the director flatly denied that there was such a child. She even showed them the list. We know full well that the child’s younger sibling is in this orphanage!”
“That’s right. She even told the kids to lie? Say that there was no such thing. If they don’t do as she says, they’ll get kicked out of here!”
It was clear that we had come to find Marca's brother.
'As expected, it was perjury committed under the director's instructions.'
It wasn't all that surprising since it was something I had already expected, but I still wondered why on earth they did that.
“Why would you say that a perfectly fine child doesn’t exist? It’s clear that they’re being sold somewhere.”
Knock. Knock.
I was quietly tapping the table with my index finger, and only later realized that I was being overly serious, so I quickly joined in the conversation again.
“Oh my, this is ridiculous. The director of a daycare center is selling children! Shouldn’t we report this somewhere?”
Then the servants waved their hands as if to tell me not to even dream.
“Oh, I told you. The director’s mother is a well-known person in this industry. No matter how much we talk to her, she won’t even listen.”
“And what if I get caught and get cut off for no reason? The country is already in a state of chaos these days, and there aren’t any decent jobs.”
After all, it was by no means easy for commoners who were barely able to make a living to report someone and risk their livelihood.
I comforted them by patting their shoulders as if I understood.
***
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince, who had successfully infiltrated the orphanage disguised as an orphan, followed the director into her office.
“Have a seat.”
"Yes."
The director began to investigate the Crown Prince's background as soon as he sat down on the sofa.
“Yeah, your parents died in an accident? Both of them?”
“Yes, they passed away at the same time in a carriage accident.”
“I see. So you didn’t have any relatives to look after you?”
“Yes. My grandparents and maternal grandparents are both deceased. They were both only children with no siblings.”
“Oh.”
The director snapped his fingers with a loud sound. She seemed to think that something was a good thing.
“Yeah, where did you live originally?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
The director looked puzzled at the Crown Prince's words.
“You don’t know? You don’t look so young that you don’t even know the name of the town you lived in?”
“We lived deep in the mountains. There was no village, and no people living around us.”
“Hmm, so?”
The director's mouth stretched out.
“Now I see that you are a child perfectly suited for adoption.”
"Yes?"
What does not having someone to care for you and not knowing where to live have to do with adoption?
When the Crown Prince stared at her intently, the director waved her hand as if to say that she was not the one.
“Most adoptees try to keep the fact that they were adopted a secret. The less people know about you, the better.”
"Yes."
It seemed like there was some other ulterior motive, but the Crown Prince nodded obediently without digging further.
“So, what’s your name?”
“This is Ethan.”
The Crown Prince gave himself a name similar to that of the assassin.
It was to observe what kind of reaction he would have, but unfortunately, the director didn't seem to have any thoughts.
“Ethan, that’s a nice name for an orphan.”
The director nodded and then declared as if she was bestowing a great favor.
“Yes, Ethan. I’ll take you in, so you can stay here. I’ll also send you to a good place for adoption, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you, Director.”
“Yes, then you should go out now.”
The director waved his hand toward the Crown Prince as if his business was over.
The Crown Prince's face turned bewildered at the attitude of not even talking to him, let alone taking him to his room.
“Where should I go?”
When the Crown Prince asked in a trembling voice, the director, who had been clapping his hands as if he had just remembered something, opened his mouth again and said, “Ah!”
“If you go out this door and go straight to the right, you’ll come across a room where the children are gathered. You can stay there with the other children.”
Then he crossed his legs and picked up the book. It seemed like he had absolutely no intention of guiding me to my room.
Tsk, the Crown Prince clicked his tongue internally and had no choice but to get up.
"Thank you."
He lowered his head like a child who knew nothing and went to find his room, recalling what the director had told him.
The place where he finally stopped was a large room about the size of an academy classroom.
Inside, some small children looked to be about four or five years old, swarming like ants.
It was so complicated that no one noticed when he came in.
He entered the room in silence, sat in the corner, and looked around.
Children lying down listlessly, children running around in age-appropriate ways, children fighting over a toy, children fighting and hitting each other as if something was making them so angry.
Their actions were all different, but they all had sweat dripping down their faces, and their clothes and shoes were all dirty.
The Crown Prince sat quietly and observed the orphanage scene.
The children were left unattended all day.
Occasionally, servants would stop by, but they didn't stay very long.
It seemed like they had so much work to do that they didn't have much time to take care of their children.
The Crown Prince gritted his teeth as he watched the children living alone without any guardians.
'What kind of daycare center is this?'
Of course, he knew that running a daycare center was not an easy task.
It was natural that the orphanage would be poor, as it had to rely on limited support from the state and the patronage of nobles.
But not all orphanages were like this.
Despite financial difficulties, many daycare center staff were racking their brains over how to provide healthier diets for their children and how to make their lives more comfortable.
Many places designed various games to develop children's emotions and made efforts to educate children despite their limited circumstances for their future.
But this place didn't put any effort into any of that.
Even food is the most basic requirement for children to survive.
“...”
The Crown Prince laughed in vain as he looked at the food that was served for lunch.
A slice of hard whole-grain bread and a glass of water. That was all the children were given.
'I didn't even hope for a balanced diet with evenly distributed nutrients...'
Isn't it too much for a child to eat just one piece of bread the size of his fist?
‘No wonder they can’t gain weight.’
It was at that moment that the Crown Prince sighed while looking at the skinny children.
Suddenly, the child next to him caught his eye.
A child quickly ate the bread given to him and then sucked his finger with a regretful expression.
Looking at that sight, he couldn't possibly swallow the bread.
“Eat.”
"Huh?"
The child tilted his head as the Crown Prince handed him his share of bread.
“Me? You want me to eat it?”
“Yeah, the amount we were given isn’t enough.”
“That’s true... but... you don’t have to eat it?”
“I’m fine. I’m not hungry.”
“Really? Then can I really eat it?”
“Yes, eat it.”
The child's face brightened as the Crown Prince nodded.
The child, who had been looking around a bit awkwardly, quickly said, “Thank you,” and took the bread from the Crown Prince.
The bread also disappeared as if it was a crab closing its eyes, but the child still had an expression on his face that held the world.
“...”
He let out a short sigh, feeling sorry for the child who was satisfied with just that much, and put the empty bowl down before sitting back in the corner.
He felt guilty about the children who were abandoned by their parents and not properly protected even by institutions.
Everything seemed like it was his fault.
No, it was clearly his own sin.
Because he is busy and has other things to do, he has not been able to properly manage and supervise the state-supported institutions, so the children are not receiving proper care.
'How many more institutions are neglecting the weak?'
It was at that moment that the Crown Prince clenched his fists in self-loathing.
“It’s my first time seeing you. Are you new here?”
At this daycare center, some fairly large children, who are rarely seen, approached them.
A boy and two girls in their teenage years.
'These kids are definitely...'
The three witnesses proved the director's innocence in front of him when he visited the daycare center yesterday.
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