Looking at the children’s clothing, they didn’t seem to be noble children—perhaps commoners’ children, but given there were more than just one or two, they might be orphans from an almshouse or a monastery.

Seeing their clean faces and clothes, it was clear someone was taking care of them.

“Kian. I’ll go out and meet the children. Wait for me just a moment.”

As soon as I stepped outside, the children, fearing I might scold them, took frightened steps backward and began to run away.

‘Oh no, at this rate I’ll lose them. I need to say something tempting to stop them.’

I chased after them and shouted urgently,

“Hey, kids! I’ll buy you candy!”

The children, as if on cue, simultaneously hesitated and turned back.

“Candy?”

“Don’t you want sweet, delicious candy?”

“But the Headmistress will ask who gave it to us…”

Since they mentioned the Headmistress, they must indeed be from the almshouse.

“Just tell her Lady Blake gave it to you. And if you tell me where you live, I’ll send these toys over. Can you tell me where you live?”

One child, who looked the oldest among them, glanced at the others as if hesitating, then finally answered,

“Reper Almshouse.”

Hearing “Reper Almshouse,” it sounded like quite a large place.

“I’ll come visit you soon with toys and candy. Go on ahead.”

I smiled kindly, but the children didn’t seem particularly delighted. They whispered among themselves and then ran off again as if fleeing.

It felt like my kindness had been ignored.

I made a dazed expression, then walked back into the toy shop. Kian, who had been sipping warm tea offered by the shopkeeper, stood up abruptly upon seeing me.

“Mother. How did it go?”

“Oh. Well…”

There was no need to tell Kian that the children hadn’t seemed happy.

It’s painful enough to offer kindness only to be rejected. I smiled brightly and said,

“They were very happy.”

Kian beamed and hugged me tightly.

“Thank you, Mother.”

“What are you thanking me for? You’re the one who wanted to give gifts to the children. But Kian, how did you even think of this?”

“Ah… Before I met you, when I had nowhere to go and wandered the streets, I once saw a noble child holding a toy. Even though I was terribly hungry then, I still really wanted that toy…”

To children, toys are just as important as filling their stomachs.

Walking alongside such a righteous and kind protagonist, my “villainess” concept for today was clearly doomed to fail.

“Not everyone who goes through such experiences thinks like you do. I’m so proud of you, Kian. You make me so proud.”

Kian smiled bashfully, pleased by the praise yet slightly embarrassed.

“Do you know of Reper Almshouse?”

The toy shop owner, who had been polishing his glasses, sighed deeply as if pitying them.

“Of course I do. Every day, children swarm here to look at the toys. One day, I went out to give them toys, and they ran away. Even when I offered toys, they’d just flee… It’s heartbreaking to see…”

‘Hmm. This shopkeeper seems quite kind-hearted?’

“Today, you’ll finally be able to give them all the toys you’ve wanted to give for so long.”

“Huh…? What do you mean, Your Grace?”

“Our young master wishes to purchase every toy in this shop and send them to the almshouse. In other words, we’re buying everything.”

Hearing this, the shopkeeper was so startled he dropped the glasses he was polishing.

“What? You mean… send all of this?”

“Yes. Send it all.”

“Of course, Your Grace! I’ll load the cargo immediately!”

Perhaps Kian had sensed the shopkeeper’s warmth and was passing it on to the children in his stead.

Though the shopkeeper said he was unsure how to handle such an unprecedented event, his smile never faded.

“Heh heh. Living long enough, you see all kinds of things. I’ll need to borrow a cargo cart since I don’t have one, and I’m short on laborers—I’ll ask the cobbler next door for help. Heh heh. This morning, I never imagined such fortune awaited me!”

Why does this feel so satisfying?

Reper Almshouse was located not far from the new city district.

Thinking about it, since it wasn’t far, the children could easily travel around the new district. I assumed it was quite a large place because of the name “Reper,” but it turned out to be just a single building.

Alongside our carriage, a cargo cart loaded with toys and various snacks arrived in front of the almshouse.

While unloading the cargo, the Headmistress and children had already come out to greet us even before we fully arrived.

The Headmistress was a woman in her mid-fifties with a warm appearance. According to the toy shop owner, she had been a baroness but began running the almshouse after her husband’s passing.

“Good heavens! Welcome, Your Grace. That you would visit such a humble place—surely the god Reper has looked kindly upon our almshouse and sent you. We are profoundly grateful for the toys and food you’ve provided for our children, Your Grace.”

The Headmistress bowed so deeply while speaking that I told her to raise her head.

“But how could I dare look directly upon Your Grace’s face? I cannot lift my head under the weight of your benevolence.”

According to Sikar, the best approach in such cases is simply to shout firmly.

“I won’t say it twice. Raise your head now.”

Perhaps due to my forceful tone, the Headmistress immediately lifted her head.

“I—I’m sorry, Your Grace… Please forgive me…”

“Enough. Please lead us inside. I wish to distribute the toys to the children quickly.”

“Of course, Your Grace!”

The almshouse was shabby, yet it was managed quite neatly.

“You’ve kept the building very clean.”

“You flatter me. I strive to maintain hygienic conditions for the children, but keeping things truly clean isn’t as easy as one might think.”

“Still, this level is quite admirable.”

Though the Headmistress showed humility, she didn’t seem displeased—her face flushed slightly with a faint smile.

While the laborers stacked gifts for the children to one side, I spoke further with the Headmistress about how the almshouse operated.

According to her, Reper Almshouse currently struggled to operate due to insufficient sponsorship relative to the number of children, and many areas still awaited repairs.

Just as I was considering offering some help, Kian gently tugged at my sleeve.

“Hmm? What is it, Kian?”

“I want to talk to you for a moment.”

Since Kian glanced at the Headmistress as he finished speaking, she immediately sensed it and excused herself.

“Please, converse as you wish. I’ll go verify the cargo has arrived correctly.”

“Thank you for your trouble.”

Watching the Headmistress leave, I asked Kian,

“Kian. What’s wrong?”

“It’s strange.”

“Hmm? What is?”

“I can’t feel any warmth from that Headmistress.”

“What do you mean? So to you, she feels cold?”

“Yes. That Headmistress isn’t a good person. Probably everything is a lie.”

If Kian, who senses the warmth of hearts, perceives coldness, then the Headmistress’s current demeanor must all be pretense.

“Understood, Kian. I’ll investigate more carefully.”

Kian nodded firmly, his expression resolute.

I proceeded to distribute the gifts that had arrived with the Headmistress. But strangely, the children’s expressions were gloomy.

Not a single one looked happy. They merely recited “thank you” in a flat, rehearsed tone.

“The children don’t seem happy at all. Maybe they don’t like toys much?”

I asked subtly, testing the waters. The Headmistress flinched at my question and stiffened her expression.

“Oh, no, not at all. They’re just surprised because Your Grace came. They’ve never seen someone so noble before.”

“Oh… Really?”

“Yes. I never imagined even in my dreams that someone as esteemed as Your Grace would take interest in such a small almshouse, not even a grand monastery.”

“I see. That could be true.”

Glancing around, I noticed the children handled the toys in their hands as if they were someone else’s possessions, sneakily glancing at the Headmistress.

‘Hmm… Still, since the children are clean, someone must be helping them…’

Kian wouldn’t misread things, but right now, I had no way to understand what was truly happening.

The Headmistress, busy smiling and patting children’s heads, didn’t even notice Kian glaring at her.

I quietly said to Kian alone,

“Shall we ask the children what kind of person the Headmistress is?”

“Yes. Good idea.”

While searching for a suitable child, I spotted one I’d met in the new city district. I carefully approached and quietly called the child to a corner of the hallway.

The child glanced cautiously at the Headmistress, saw her preoccupied distributing gifts to other children, and then walked over to me.

“Why… did you call me?”

“Hmm. I have something I want to ask you.”

The child hunched their shoulders fearfully, eyes darting nervously.

“Our young master says the Headmistress doesn’t seem like a good person. Can you tell me what kind of person she is, from your perspective?”

The child, who had been hunched over, suddenly widened their eyes in surprise, then hunched again as if frightened.

“I want you to tell me honestly. Only then can I help you.”

The child’s pupils trembled as if confused, then they squeezed their eyes shut and shouted loudly,

“The Headmistress is a truly wonderful person who took in poor us!”

Normally, for such words to burst out naturally, either the Headmistress must be genuinely beloved—or the child has been trained to say them.

But seeing the child’s expression held no joy whatsoever, I was certain it was a learned response.

So I asked other children too, but every single one repeated, without a single syllable of difference, that the Headmistress was an utterly wonderful person.

‘The children have all been brainwashed.’

Asking them further today seemed pointless.

“Kian. Let’s head back now.”

Kian looked at the Headmistress as if unable to simply leave, then turned to me. His eyes were filled with worry and earnestness.

“Yes?”

“Without evidence, we can’t uncover anything.”

Kian had a personality that couldn’t tolerate unjust situations. He frowned deeply, looking profoundly disappointed.

“Really… we have no choice but to leave like this?”

“Today, we’ll return for now. Tomorrow, His Grace the Duke will resolve this.”

“The Duke?”

“Of course. His Grace will handle everything we cannot.”

‘With his personality, handling something like this will be as easy as eating cold porridge.’

Moreover, this matter is also an opportunity for Sikar to grow closer to Kian—he’ll definitely help.

When we arrived at the ducal residence, the ordered clothes were piled high in the living room. After sending Kian straight to his room to bathe, I sat down on the sofa to rest—when Sikar emerged from his study.

“You’ve bought another mountain of clothes. Didn’t I tell you there’s no need to try so hard to impress me?”

‘I knew he’d say that.’

“You told me to forget being nice to people and just become a villainess. So I decided to become one.”

“You think buying lots of dresses makes you a villainess? You’re hopeless at becoming a true villainess.”

“What are you talking about? Extravagance is the symbol of a villainess!”

“You’d be better off honestly admitting you just wanted to impress me.”

This was entirely Sikar’s style of interpretation. Sikar walked slowly toward me with a sly smile.

“Let me hold your hand and see what you did today.”

I held out my hand toward him dismissively, as if telling him to figure it out himself.

“Here…”

Sikar took my hand, then made a slightly bewildered expression as if he’d seen something unpleasant, and frowned.

“Hmm, I see you’ve tried playing the villainess somewhat. But you’re too… clumsy… Kian truly can’t hide his noble birth. Even just casually following you, he looks like royalty… Still, whenever I see snowmen, Valije comes to mind… What’s this? You sent toys to the almshouse?”

“Kian wanted to.”

“That kid really has an unnecessarily soft heart. Seeing that, he seems unfit to be a ruler, yet when he makes decisions, he’s decisive enough to seize the throne… But the children’s reaction at the almshouse was strange.”

“I thought so too. Kian also said the Headmistress is strange.”

“I see. Did you properly send the gifts to Lucy and Luid?”

“Yes. I sent gifts to Lucy and Luid.”

“Really? Then the gifts should have arrived at the marquis’s residence by now.”

Sikar released my hand as if he’d finished reviewing all my memories.

“Time to head upstairs now.”

“Ah, no. I still have something to say.”

Sikar, who had begun to turn away, looked back at me indifferently, as if asking what I could possibly have left to say.

“Something to say?”

“Come with Kian and me to the almshouse tomorrow.”