-Chapter 9-
Saintess Melodia turned sharply, fixing the orphanage director with a cold, piercing glare.
The woman only rolled her eyes and stammered, pretending not to understand.
“Director! Why aren’t you saying anything? Did you really keep these children locked up here?”
“N-no, that’s not it… I-I don’t even know who these children are. I run this orphanage—why on earth would I lock up children in a shed?”
Her lips quivered as she spoke, but Melodia’s face grew darker with each word.
“We don’t know yet whether you truly didn’t know—or whether you knew and ignored it. Either way, this matter will not be brushed aside.”
“I-I really had no idea.”
“So you’re saying you didn’t even know this shed existed?”
At first, the director insisted she knew nothing. But soon, her face changed—as if she realized that lie wouldn’t work, or suddenly thought of a better excuse.
“I… I did know this shed existed. It’s been here since the orphanage was first built.”
“…”
“But it’s been abandoned for years! I never thought anyone would go near it, let alone children sneaking in.”
The director glanced at the twins, glaring daggers. The children immediately dropped their gaze, too scared to look her in the eye.
She looked satisfied. She must have thought they were too frightened to say anything against her.
‘She’s threatening them even now—with just her eyes,’ I thought bitterly.
What a vile woman.
She’d ruled this place for so long, she knew exactly how to control children through fear. Especially kids like the twins—those who’d suffered more than anyone. She knew that even when the chance came to tell the truth, terror would keep them silent.
Melodia sneered. “You claim ignorance, yet the way you’re glaring at them right now says otherwise, Director Sandra.”
“Of course not! I’m merely checking whether they might pose a danger to the other children,” the director replied smoothly.
Melodia sighed deeply.
“There are no dangerous children, Director. Children become the way they are because of the adults who raise them.”
“Is that so?” the director said lightly, shrugging with a faint smirk.
“That’s enough,” Melodia said, her voice cold. “As far as I can tell, you did know these children were here.”
“So now you’re accusing me without proof?” the director snapped.
“It’s not an accusation—it’s an observation,” Melodia replied. “But until we finish our inspection, you’ll step down from your position. Effective immediately.”
The director’s face flushed bright red. For a moment, she looked ready to explode. But then, forcing herself to calm down, she bowed stiffly.
“…Understood.”
Her easy compliance actually startled Melodia.
“You’re agreeing rather quickly,” she said.
“Well,” the director said smoothly, “this orphanage survives only thanks to the temple’s support. If the temple wishes to review things, that’s only natural, isn’t it?”
‘Sure,’ I thought darkly. ‘And the moment the saintess leaves, you’ll start bribing the other nuns again, just like before.’
Melodia nodded slowly. “Fine. In that case, we’ll proceed. We’ll take the children into our care for the time being.”
At her signal, the paladins stepped forward toward the twins.
But the closer they got, the more the children froze.
“It’s all right,” Melodia said gently. “We just want to help.”
Suddenly, the twins bolted—straight toward me.
“I’m staying with unni! I don’t want to go with anyone else!”
Lariz threw herself into my arms, clinging tightly, rubbing her face against my chest. She looked so small—still a child, just a little girl who’d never known comfort.
Rohen followed hesitantly, moving to stand right beside me.
“Guys…?” I murmured.
Melodia looked genuinely surprised.
I held their hands and looked up at her. “Please, Saintess! Let them stay with me! I think they’re scared of adults!”
“Scared of… adults?”
She looked over the children again—at their tattered clothes, their dirt-streaked faces, the way they shook like frightened animals—and sighed.
“Please,” I begged softly.
The saintess hesitated, her expression unreadable—torn between sympathy and doubt. Finally, she let out a long breath and nodded.
“…You’re strange today, Aisha. But… fine. If the children trust you, then you can take care of them for now.”
“Thank you!”
“However,” she added sternly, “we’ll continue to investigate. Once the children are stable, we’ll have to bring them to the temple.”
“Of course!” I said quickly, nodding before she could change her mind.
“I believe you’ll take good care of them,” she said softly. But her eyes still held uncertainty.
Then she rose to her feet. “Sometimes, the simplest solutions come from the children themselves.”
“Saintess, surely you don’t mean…” one of the paladins began nervously.
Both knights stepped forward, clearly uncomfortable. Whether because they shared Melodia’s compassion or were just shocked by what they saw, I couldn’t tell.
“Look at them,” one said. “You can’t seriously leave them here.”
Melodia shook her head. “If we force them, we’ll only make it worse. What could we possibly learn from terrified children?”
“But still—”
“Aisha will care for them, and the temple will assign someone to monitor the situation. That’s safer for now.”
Her gaze swept over the knights.
“If we take them and they shut down completely, we lose any chance to reach them.”
“…Understood.”
“Then follow my order. This is for their sake.”
The knights finally nodded, bowing slightly. “As you command, Saintess.”
The tension in the room eased slightly. The director remained silent, just watching us with a cold smile.
I turned to Melodia and grabbed her hand timidly.
“Um, Saintess?”
“Yes, Aisha?”
“I’m not… in trouble, right?”
I pouted slightly, lowering my head. “You won’t scold me for this, will you? I only brought my friends here…”
Then, like a nervous child, I scuffed my shoe against the floor, trembling a little for effect.
Melodia’s eyes softened. She must have understood what I was really asking.
“No, Aisha. You did nothing wrong,” she said gently, patting my head.
“Really?”
“Have I ever lied to you before?”
“No!”
“Then believe me. You did well.”
“Okay…” I whispered.
But instead of stopping there, I turned and approached the director. I reached for her hand, still smiling sweetly.
“Director!”
“…”
“The Saintess said I did well! That means you won’t scold me, right?”
Her expression stiffened. “…Aisha, if you say things like that, people will think I’m always scolding you.”
For a split second, I thought I could hear her teeth grinding.
And honestly, it felt amazing.
“Of course not!” I said innocently. “The director’s always so kind to us! You never get angry. I just got worried because you looked upset earlier…”
Not angry, no. She just preferred to destroy us with words instead.
‘You’re the reason your parents abandoned you.’
‘You think anyone out there would take in trash like you?’
‘Useless little things—just wasting food.’
The words that had poured from her mouth day after day.
Cruelty disguised as “education.”
And now she was pretending to be some gentle guardian.
But today wasn’t the day she’d face judgment.
So instead, I smiled brightly.
“See? You weren’t angry. You were just surprised, right?”
“…Right,” she managed to say, her jaw tight.
“Yay! Then I really did do well! The Saintess said so too!”
I beamed up at both of them.
And for the first time—
I’d won.
