Chapter 47
“Really? There’s something like that?”
Miela’s eyes widened in surprise. Yurhan nodded.
“Yes. It’s quite different from the capital and other territories.”
“That’s true. I visited the capital a few years ago with my father and was shocked. There were so many homeless people living on the streets. The poorhouse was just for show and infamous at that.”
Istin naturally joined the conversation and shared his experience. It was back when his condition had improved enough to stay briefly at the townhouse in the capital. The visit had shocked him so much that he’d fallen ill again.
“Just as Istin said, there were many impoverished people wandering the streets because the poorhouses didn’t accept them. The capital’s poorhouses mostly take in young children who have lost their families.”
“…!”
Miela’s expression briefly went blank.
The village she had originally lived in was so small it didn’t have a poorhouse. Looking back now, that had actually been fortunate.
If she had lived in a densely populated place like the capital, she would have ended up in a poorhouse after her mother passed away.
“But in the Balroa territory, no one is ever forced onto the streets. As I said, even before I became the head of the house, our family had managed a business passed down for generations that supports this.”
“Wow, that’s amazing! Lord Yurhan…!”
Miela’s eyes sparkled like stars at his words. Yurhan coughed into his hand.
Ahem, “Well, I’m only doing what’s necessary, but praise like that is a little embarrassing.”
Though he said he was embarrassed, a smile was sneaking up at the corners of Yurhan’s lips. Honestly, this had been somewhat intentional—a bit of image management, one could say.
“I heard from Regina that Miela seemed to have a misunderstanding about the Balroa family.”
Apparently, she thought they were the richest and scariest family in the empire or something. While the former was indeed true, the latter was not.
Yurhan had brought Miela along on this tour to give his future daughter-in-law a positive impression of Balroa.
“It would be a big problem if she misunderstood us as fattening our family vaults off the backs of our people. Balroa is actually the territory with the highest citizen satisfaction in the empire.”
As Yurhan explained, Miela suddenly had a question.
“But what happens if there are too many sick or struggling people? What if there’s not enough space in the poorhouse?”
“That’s a good question. Of course, they don’t stay there forever. We help them get back on their feet eventually—by giving jobs to the poor and treatment to the sick, for example.”
“Wow, I see…!”
It was something she had never known before. The original story never covered such detailed aspects.
Most of what Stephanie had told her was about events involving the main characters.
“Right. The world exists beyond what the original story showed.”
Suddenly, Miela realized something. Her mother had always considered this place to be a fictional world. Naturally so—after all, she had transmigrated into it.
But Miela had been born and raised here. To her, this was the real world. Her very existence was proof that this wasn’t just a novel.
“There must be countless stories in this world beyond what Mom told me. Every living, breathing thing has its own story.”
She felt a strange, unfamiliar feeling. And with that, she wanted to know more—about the world beyond what the original story had revealed.
And she made a new resolution.
“Istin, Lord Yurhan, and Lady Regina—they’re all such good people. I’m really glad. I want to be like them too. Not just brilliant or cool, but a good person!”
Seeing Miela’s expression soften, Yurhan spoke in a lighter tone.
“In any case, today we’re stopping by the poorhouse to check that it’s running well. No matter how trustworthy someone may be, things tend to slacken without oversight.”
Just then, the potion’s effect wore off, and the Duke and Istin returned to their original appearances. At the same time, a carriage approached—the one with Balroa’s crest. It was Yurhan’s personal carriage.
“Come now, both of you. Get in.”
“We’re going by carriage?”
“Yes. The poorhouse is on the outskirts of the territory, too far to walk.”
Before Yurhan even finished speaking, Istin held out his hand.
“Miela, take my hand.”
“Okay!”
Once inside, Miela was surprised. This carriage was quite different from the one she had ridden with Istin and Regina before.
It had been modified for official use, with seating on only one side and a desk-like fixture on the other.
In the end, Miela, Istin, and Yurhan all sat crowded on one side of the seat.
“The carriage is definitely spacious, so why does it feel so cramped? Is it because Lord Yurhan’s shoulders are too broad?”
Miela tilted her head slightly. But her guess was off. The real reason was that Istin was sitting right up next to her.
“There’s plenty of space…”
Meanwhile, Yurhan found it a bit odd. He thought about telling Istin to scoot over toward him, but seeing how close Istin was sitting to Miela and how they were chatting happily, he realized what was going on.
“That brat’s doing it on purpose.”
Just like me, huh.
Yurhan’s usually impassive lips curved into a smile, and a quiet chuckle escaped.
He was reminded of when he had first gotten engaged to Regina. Both of them had aloof personalities, so it hadn’t been easy to get close. But he had been the first to develop feelings and approach her. Anyway, he was glad the two kids seemed to be getting along well.
“Oh dear, Your Grace! If we had known you were coming, we would have prepared a proper welcome!”
When they arrived at the poorhouse, the director and staff came out in surprise to greet them.
“It’s been a while. I was touring the territory and thought I’d drop by. Has everything been going well since my last visit?”
“Yes, of course. Please, come this way.”
Yurhan followed the director inside, and Istin turned to Miela, who had been standing still.
“Miela. Shall we do our part now?”
“Huh? Our part?”
“Father handed out gifts to kids our age here last time. This time, it’s our turn to do that.”
Istin glanced over, and she followed his gaze—Yurhan’s attendants had brought over boxes filled with items like books and toys.
“Really? Let’s go!”
Miela and Istin headed to the backyard of the poorhouse. The children who had been playing there paused and looked over. Soon, some of them seemed to recognize Istin and looked surprised.
“Isn’t that… the young master? Who’s that next to him?”
“Eek, scary. I’m gonna hide!”
Even though they were the same age, the children couldn’t easily approach Istin.
Understandable—everyone in Balroa had heard stories about how cold and prickly the young master was.
“That’s strange. Why do they all look so scared?”
Unaware of those rumors, Miela was puzzled. Was it because of her? Because she was unfamiliar?
“But I’m not scary at all…”
After a short moment of hesitation, Miela decided to be brave and gently approach them.
“Hi, everyone! Nice to meet you. I’m Miela! We came to give you some gifts!”
“G-Gifts?”
At the word gift, all the children perked up their ears.
“Yup! There are soft teddy bears, colored pencils, and even toy carriages!”
“Wow!”
As soon as Miela revealed the contents, the children began to gather around her.
“I want a teddy bear!”
“What colors do the pencils have?”
“I want the toy carriage!”
And then—
“Here. Take this. It’s a toy.”
Istin, who had been watching Miela with a slightly pouty expression as she won the kids over, suddenly stepped in.
“Eep!”
Startled by his unexpected approach, a boy grabbed the gift and dashed off. A girl next to him who had just received a present from Miela asked cautiously,
“Thanks! But… who are you, Miela? Do you work at the Duke’s house?”
