03
The director took a deep breath, then—true to his habit—rubbed his hands together as he cautiously approached Fail.
“We will, of course, follow the contract Your Grace provides, but there is something the orphanage has traditionally handled, you see… Would you care to step inside and take a look first?”
The director opened a door that looked refined and expensive at a glance.
It was clearly his office—far too luxurious compared to the rest of the facility. Anyone could tell where all the donations flowing into this orphanage had ended up.
Seeing the office only made the problems here all the more obvious.
Feeling a gaze on me, I lifted my head and met the eyes of the man standing nearby.
Come to think of it…
“Uh… um, Father?”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know your name…”
“Hyperion. Hyperion Eden Featherway of the Ducal House of Featherway.”
“A… duke?”
Wasn’t a duke an incredibly high rank? In the Empire, that was just below the imperial family itself.
Now that I knew his status, it was hard to even look at him properly.
What have I been doing all this time…!
…An awkward silence followed. As I fidgeted with my fingers, Arsen—who had been standing about three steps away—approached and took my hand.
“Maya, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Huh? About what?”
Arsen hesitated, clearly struggling to speak. He looked uneasy.
Following his gaze, I saw the duke standing beside us. Realizing Arsen couldn’t speak freely in front of him, I grabbed Arsen’s hand and pulled him toward the end of the corridor.
Thankfully, the duke didn’t follow.
Even after we were far enough away, Arsen lowered his voice to a whisper.
“Maya… aren’t you worried?”
“About what?”
I didn’t understand him right away. Shouldn’t we be grateful that someone wanted to adopt us? Tilting my head, I saw Arsen glance back toward the distant duke.
“He might treat us nicely now… but what if he beats us once we get home?”
“Ah…”
It wasn’t that Arsen didn’t trust the duke specifically—he didn’t trust adults at all. That was understandable. The director had been the only adult in his life.
I, too, glanced at the duke.
An adult who would adopt children just to beat and torment them would be a villain beyond mere bad taste.
Just then—
Bang!
A loud crash echoed as the door to the director’s office burst open.
“Ugh—!”
At the same time, the director was flung outside, rolling across the floor.
“W-What was that?”
My grip on Arsen’s hand tightened. He flinched, startled.
From inside, Fail emerged calmly, dusting off his hands.
“What happened, Fail?”
Despite the sudden commotion, the duke asked with complete composure.
“He made an outrageous demand. Reasoning proved ineffective, so I exercised force, as you permitted.”
Since when did he give permission for that?
Staring with my mouth agape, I thought I caught Fail’s eyes for a brief moment. Then he subtly stepped in front of us, blocking Arsen and me from seeing inside.
“An outrageous demand… What did he ask for?”
“Y-You’re taking the two children, aren’t you? They’re angelic children! It’s painful to part with them, so I merely made a request—yet you treat me like this!”
Though the duke had addressed Fail, the director was the one who shouted.
It was obvious—he was trying to seize the opportunity to extort something. Even now, he only cared about what he could squeeze out of the children in his orphanage.
That greed must have touched a nerve. The duke’s eyebrow twitched.
In the next instant, Duke Hyperion seized the director by the throat.
Though the man was two or three times his size, the duke lifted him effortlessly—one-handed.
“H-Hrk!”
“You seek to fill your hollow heart with money. Then perhaps the hollow hearts of these children can be filled with your life.”
“I-I understand! I understand! I’ll sign it! Please, just spare my life—!”
Thud!
The duke hurled the director aside. He hit the ground and rolled pitifully.
Watching the scene, Arsen swallowed hard.
“…I-Is he a good person?”
“He’s a bit extreme, but…”
We exchanged glances, then slowly nodded and approached.
The director, pale and trembling, was signing the contract the duke had prepared.
The moment his pen left the page, a system window I had almost forgotten appeared before my eyes.
[Rank Up!]
Maya (F) → Maya Featherway (D)
Bonus Reward: 500 Coins Acquired!
How miserable must my life have been to start at F-rank? Looking at this orphanage, I understood all too well.
I stared at the window with mixed feelings before turning away. Should I at least be grateful for the bonus coins?
“That should be sufficient. Let us go. Fail, guide the children to the carriage.”
Contract secured, the duke turned and left the orphanage without hesitation.
Fail extended both hands toward Arsen and me, who were standing there blankly.
“Can you walk on your own, Young Lady?”
“Huh? Ah… yes!”
“Please speak comfortably. You are now a lady of the Featherway house.”
A grown man speaking formally to a child who barely understood anything—it felt unbearably awkward.
The Confucian values of my past Korean self simply couldn’t accept it.
When I hesitated and didn’t take his hand, Fail withdrew it awkwardly and stepped behind us.
“I will guide you. Please proceed outside.”
“Y-Yes!”
Feeling as though I were being hurried, I opened the door and stepped out.
Once this door closed, Arsen and I would be completely free of this place.
Just before the door shut behind us, I saw small figures watching us from the far room.
Right. It wasn’t just Arsen and me here. Those children were also under the director’s control.
As I stood frozen, staring at them, Fail immediately noticed and followed my gaze.
“Are you worried?”
“A little… no, a lot.”
The director, humiliated by both Fail and the duke, wouldn’t change for the better. If anything, he’d take it out on the children.
No adult who raises a hand against a child is sane.
When we didn’t get into the carriage right away, the duke sensed something was wrong and approached.
“What is the issue, Fail?”
Instead of answering, Fail gestured toward the orphanage interior. The duke followed his gaze, then tilted his head indifferently.
“I can’t take more. As I said before, one heir is enough.”
Cold-blooded!
I’d benefited from his help, but how could he ignore those children so easily?
My feet refused to move from the orphanage entrance.
Perhaps because of that, the duke sighed once and turned back toward the carriage.
I knew that following Duke Hyperion without looking back would guarantee a comfortable life.
But if I had to choose between the man I’d just met and the children I’d just seen, I chose the latter. The children were innocent.
Yet the duke chose to leave.
Taking only Arsen and me, abandoning the others.
…Fine. Fail. At least Fail seemed human.
When I stared at him, Fail gave an awkward smile and nodded.
“I will take care of what concerns you. All you need to do is go to the ducal estate, Young Lady.”
“Really? I can trust you?”
“Of course. The House of Featherway is the greatest ducal house in the Empire. Is there anything His Grace wouldn’t grant the lady’s wish?”
When I still couldn’t move, Fail said, “Excuse me,” and gently lifted me into his arms.
“Wah—!”
“If we delay any longer, we may arrive after sunset. Night is when monsters roam.”
He carried me to the carriage and opened the door.
Duke Hyperion was already seated inside. Without hesitation, Fail placed me in the seat across from him and stepped back.
Arsen climbed in after me and took the seat beside me.
“Then I will see you at the ducal estate.”
“You’re not coming, Fail?”
“I have matters to attend to here.”
He smiled warmly once more, bowed to the duke, and stepped away from the carriage.
Watching him through the window, I saw Fail reenter the building.
Knights follow their lord’s commands. Which meant…
When I glanced at the duke, he looked at me with his usual indifferent expression, chin propped on his hand.
“You could’ve said something sooner.”
Grumbling, I straightened up just as the carriage began to move.
After that, I remembered nothing. Too much had happened in too short a time, and exhaustion claimed me.
When I regained consciousness, the carriage had stopped.
“You awake?”
Duke Hyperion’s crimson eyes looked down at me. The door was opening—it seemed I’d woken just in time.
Arsen climbed down first and reached out his hand to me.
“Take my hand, Maya.”
“Thanks.”
The step down was high, but with Arsen’s help, I managed.
When I lifted my head, I saw a grand mansion and a line of servants standing in perfect order to welcome us.
At a single gesture from the duke, they all bowed in unison.
A man who appeared to be the butler stepped forward and bowed slightly later than the rest.
“Welcome home, Your Grace. And welcome, Young Lady.”
His demeanor was so natural, as though he’d known I was coming all along.
As so many people bowed before me, it finally sank in.
Maya Featherway.
Daughter of the Duke of Featherway.
That was the life I would live from now on.
