Chapter 41 – The Teacher’s New Home
“Liaaa!”
“Annelia, you idiot!”
“Uwaah, big sister!!”
I nearly jumped out of bed when a whole crowd of children burst into the room.
“Lulu? Mika? Tom…?”
And even Karien, Marshall, Bruno, and Rob.
‘Wait—why are all the kids from Evehill Orphanage here?’
While I was still staring at them in shock, Miel chuckled softly beside me and tucked a soft cushion behind my neck.
Owen still hadn’t returned from gathering medicine ingredients, so the wounds on my back were healing slowly.
At least the pain had eased a lot thanks to the steady doses of painkillers.
The doctor had even marveled at how well the wound wasn’t getting worse.
Of course, there was a reason for that.
‘Still, Owen needs to come back soon.’
I had so much to tell him—
like how the plants growing in the Abner greenhouse could heal this kind of injury in no time.
And how I’d been secretly using them little by little to treat myself.
Just as I shifted my position carefully, the last person entered the room.
Miss Anne.
“You little rascals! Didn’t I tell you Lia’s still sick? What kind of children make this much noise when visiting someone who’s hurt?”
The kids froze instantly.
“In this room, no shouting. If you want to talk, raise your hand. One at a time.”
Immediately, Mika shot her hand up first.
“Lia! Why are you hurt? Why do you have bandages on your legs?”
Mika was one of my friends from the orphanage—same age as me.
All the other kids were staring, waiting for an answer.
I didn’t even know where to start, so Miss Anne sighed and shrugged.
“…We couldn’t just leave the orphanage empty, so we all came together.”
So that meant everyone from the orphanage was staying in the Abner mansion right now?
My jaw dropped, and before I could say anything, Mika ran up to my bed, pressed her face into the blanket, and gave me a terrifying glare.
“I told you not to get sick! So why did you!?”
“Uh, well…”
Then little Lulu, standing a bit behind her, plopped down on the floor with a wet thud.
“L-Lia’s hurt? Lia’s gonna die?”
“Hic… L-Lia’s dying? Waaaah…”
And just like that, the crying spread through the whole room like wildfire.
All the kids were sobbing, rolling around on the floor like it was the end of the world.
I guess seeing me wrapped in bandages like a mummy had been too much for them.
Miss Anne covered her forehead with one hand.
Miel and Soya looked at me nervously, clearly unsure what to do.
‘Absolute rest! No excitement!’
The doctor’s warnings echoed in my head.
“Miss, are you all right?” Soya asked gently. “Should we… send your friends back for now?”
But I shook my head with a mysterious smile.
“No. Lia’s okay.”
Then, after taking a deep breath, I spoke softly to the crying children.
“I have sooo many toys.”
Mika stopped crying first.
“And I think there’s still some chocolate cake left from the party.”
Tom and Lulu instantly quieted down too and looked up at me with round eyes.
Inside, I smirked in triumph.
Then I threw in the finishing line.
“I’ll share the toys and cake—but only with the first people who stop crying.”
***
“Have you ever seen a five-year-old handle a group of kids like that?”
“No… never.”
“Neither have I,” Miss Anne admitted with a sigh. “But Lia’s always been a little different.”
I smiled proudly as the three women sitting around the table whispered to each other.
Meanwhile, my orphanage friends were all sitting on the big rug, completely absorbed in the mountain of toys.
“Whoa… look at this!”
Tom gasped. “It’s a Royal Knight Set!”
“Where? Where!?”
Ah, the Royal Knight Set.
That was a gift from Lady Harper, the Empress Dowager’s handmaid and Daisy’s mother.
“There’s even a Fairy Princess doll here!”
Mika couldn’t take her eyes off the doll the butler had given me.
“This teddy bear’s huge… I love teddy bears more than anything…”
Lulu was rubbing her face against the giant bear’s belly, giggling.
They all looked like they were walking on clouds.
Then—
“Lia! Are all these yours?” Tom asked, eyes shining.
I couldn’t help puffing out my chest a little.
“Yup, they’re mine.”
“Wow! Then did your mom give them to you?”
That question made me freeze.
The Fairy Princess doll slipped from Mika’s hands as Lulu turned to me with wide eyes.
“Who’s your mom, Lia? Yesterday we saw Chloe! She came back to visit the orphanage—with her mom!”
Chloe—right. She was the girl who’d been adopted when I was four.
“Is your mom nice too? Chloe’s mom is really nice! She’s tall and pretty and—”
Lulu’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.
All the kids stared at me, waiting for my answer.
“U-um… I…”
My voice shrank to a whisper.
“I don’t… have a mom yet.”
Lulu’s mouth dropped open.
Then Tom raised his hand like he was in class.
“Then you have a dad!”
I slowly shook my head again.
“No… no dad either.”
The kids went quiet.
‘How do I even explain this…?’
They must have thought I’d been adopted by a noble family.
They didn’t understand what a sponsorship program was.
“I mean… I don’t have parents, but I can live here,” I tried to explain.
“The Duchess is a really kind person—she even gives me gifts.”
“Then you’re waiting for your parents to come find you here?” Lulu asked.
“Yeah! I thought you already had a mom and dad!” Tom added.
“Um… not exactly.”
Lulu tilted her head.
“Still, you get to eat chocolate cake every day, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
For some reason, my shoulders sank, and I found myself looking down.
Then—
Ahem.
A low cough came from the doorway.
I turned my head and saw Duchess Sharon Abner, with Wendel standing behind her.
My face lit up.
“Duchess!”
The kids all stared at her curiously.
Lulu leaned toward Tom and whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear,
“Wow, is that Lia’s family?”
“Dummy! She said she doesn’t have one yet!”
The room fell silent again.
I blinked rapidly, not knowing what to do.
Sharon Abner stepped forward, her heels clicking softly on the floor.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, hesitating for a moment.
“I’m fine! The doctor said the wounds are clean now! Just my back still hurts a little…”
“I see. You’re taking your medicine regularly?”
“Yes!”
(Well, more like I can’t skip it because it hurts too much.)
“Good.”
The Duchess smiled faintly, then slowly turned around.
“You there.”
She was speaking—to Miss Anne.
“Yes, Duchess?”
“I have something important to discuss with you.”
Miss Anne blinked in surprise.
Even I tilted my head.
‘The Duchess wants to talk alone with Miss Anne?’
Now that I thought about it, I still didn’t know how Miss Anne and all the kids had ended up here, or why she’d been injured.
So many questions.
Then I heard the Duchess’s low, steady voice.
“Would you consider working here, for House Abner?”
