Chapter 29

But Ramande’s reaction was less than enthusiastic.

“Minuelle.”

“Mm? Ramande?”

“Why are you grinning like that again?”

“Hey! What part of this beautiful face looks shady to you? Open your eyes and take a good look.”

I swept my hair to one side and gave him a radiant smile, blinking my eyes wide.

Ramande’s response?

A groan leaked through the hands covering his face as he rubbed it in exasperation.

“Lady Plendena, why do you test me like this…”

“Hey, Ramande Plendena!”

Even when I raised my voice, he refused to lift his head.

The faintly flushed tips of his ears peeked out from his deep blue, night-sky-colored hair, looking even more annoyingly cute than usual.

“Oh, and weren’t you the one who said all children of Lady Plendena are beautiful?”

“I did say that, and it’s true, but…”

“But what?”

Finally lifting his head, Ramande cleared his throat and turned to the window, suddenly speaking with exaggerated calm.

“Being pretty is one thing. Looking shady is another.”

Excuse me?! You don’t even know what I was thinking, and yet you call me shady?

I was about to growl again when we heard someone outside announcing that we’d arrived at the orphanage.

As the carriage pulled into the small yard, children began to gather at the windows, watching with curiosity. They must have been the ones who gathered each evening to make those bracelets.

‘They probably can’t afford to buy thread, so they must’ve picked up scraps from a tailor’s shop.’

But as I looked closer, I noticed not just curiosity in their eyes—but fear.

“Right. A flashy carriage like this is basically shouting, ‘Look at me, I’m nobility.’”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. I just think we should pay quickly and leave.”

“Fair enough.”

As expected, Ramande quickly caught on to what I meant. He turned to the child standing by the coach and asked,

“Could you tell us where the director’s office is?”

“Right inside, first room to the right.”

“Thanks. May Plendena’s grace be with you.”

The girl’s cheeks turned pink at Ramande’s smile. It looked like the coachman had given her a piece of candy, too—one side of her cheek puffed up adorably. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Thank you for showing us the way. Stay healthy, okay?”

After gently patting her head once, I followed Ramande inside.

The building wasn’t large, and it was clearly old—but it was spotless, not a cobweb in sight, well cared for with genuine affection.

“First door on the right… easy to find.”

It was positioned so someone could rush upstairs or outside quickly if anything happened.  

Even without asking the girl, we’d have known just from entering.

Because behind the tightly closed door, a voice rang out—loud and clear.

“Director! What do you mean by that?!”

“I’m truly sorry, Palos. I asked around, but I couldn’t make it work…”

“You promised! You said if I passed the exam, you’d figure something out!”

“I thought I could… I’m sorry. That’s all I can say.”

“I don’t care anymore. I’ll never believe anything you say again!”

SLAM!

The door burst open, and a boy came flying out like a bullet.  

He didn’t even glance at us as he dashed past.

The worn-out door creaked, swinging loosely behind him.

‘Poor thing…’

It was a familiar sight—too familiar. Feeling a pang of sympathy, I turned my gaze to where the boy had disappeared, then let Ramande lead me inside the director’s office.

“W-who are you?”

The man, who’d been slumped over as if exhausted, shot to his feet.

His cheeks were sunken, as if he hadn’t had a proper meal in days, but the eyes behind his glasses were unexpectedly clear.

“We’re here to pay for the bracelets.”

At my signal, the knight handed over two silver coins. The director accepted them with reverent care.

“Thank you so much. I suppose you brought the child here because you were concerned.”

“It’s not like we had urgent business elsewhere anyway. But…”

My gaze, which had been scanning the room, landed on a piece of crumpled paper lying on the floor.

Ramande, noticing at once, bent to pick it up and smoothed it out before handing it to me.

“A magic school enrollment form? That boy passed the entrance exam?”

“Yes. We thought that if he passed, we’d be able to find a sponsor, but…”

The boy’s name was Palos.

Apparently, while helping the director run errands at the market, he happened to catch the eye of a passing mage who said he had talent.

“We scraped together everything we had, just barely managing to get him to take the exam.”

Palos had passed with flying colors—only for the director to fail in finding him a sponsor.

“I’m not very good with words, you see. I just feel sorry for Palos.”

“I see.”

I looked down at the crumpled form. At the end of the name Palos, pressed hard into the paper, was a round water stain. On impulse, I spoke.

“This must also be the will of Plendena. I’ll be taking this form.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m saying I’ll be listed as his sponsor.”

I tossed a smile to the director, who was too stunned to speak, and turned around.

“At least tell me the name of my benefactor.”

“No need. Just tell Palos he doesn’t have to worry about anything anymore—he can learn and grow to his heart’s content. No need to see me out.”

As I left the orphanage, a thought crossed my mind:

‘Wow, I was kind of cool just now.’

But the satisfaction didn’t last long. The moment I got into the carriage, Ramande—who had remained silent up to this point—unleashed a flood of scolding.

“Buying the whole basket of bracelets, fine. Escorting the kid home for safety, I get it. But why did you take the magic school form?!”

“It would’ve been a waste. If he passed the exam, he’s clearly talented… and he really seemed to want it.”

More than anything, he reminded me of myself in my past life. I had been accepted to a university in Seoul, but didn’t qualify for a scholarship. I couldn’t afford to live on my own.

My own orphanage director had apologized to me like that, too.

Of course, Ramande had no way of knowing that.

He pressed a hand to his forehead.

“Minuelle, is… helping people in need your new hobby? I’ve told you not to just go around being generous to strangers.”

“Hey, it’s not just anyone…”

…Or is it?

“If you don’t know them, it’s just anyone. It was the same when we first met. What if I’d hurt you?”

“Oh come on, you’re still bringing that up?”

Ramande had had it even worse than Palos. He came from the back alleys of Sermender. I found him beaten half to death after a failed pickpocket attempt and brought him in. That’s when they discovered he had divine power, and he ended up staying at the temple.

“Exactly. And look how well it turned out. You didn’t hurt me—you became my best friend. Happy ending. Right?”

“Life doesn’t always have a happy ending, Minuelle.”

You worrywart.

I gave him a serious look, patting his shoulder to reassure him.

“I know. But it’s not like I do this all the time. I’ve got money to spare, so what’s the harm in being a little impulsive now and then? Just think of it as sponsoring someone instead of buying jewelry at the boutique.”

Even I can’t help everyone. They say not even the king can rescue the poor.

It was just a moment—just a fleeting moment—when I saw my old self in that boy and acted on a whim.

“They say retail therapy helps when you’re feeling down, right? Spending money~ Pow pow~ Helpful, right? Right?”

Beam—bright smile!

With every facial muscle fully relaxed, I smiled as radiantly as I could.

‘Look at that glow! I must be shining at 450 lumens right now!’

“Minuelle, you…”

“Yeeees~?”

‘Not enough? Fine, let’s go full 1,000 lumens!’

Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle.

“……”

When I even added a little flower-pose beneath my chin, beaming away, Ramande finally let out a deep sigh and relaxed his stiff face.

“Agh. How could I ever win against you?”

Mission accomplished. I flopped back lazily onto the cushion and grumbled in mock irritation.

“Pft. If you were just going to cave, why bother nagging me in the first place?”

“Minuelle Karnian, you really—!”

“Oops, slipped out!”

After barely managing to calm Ramande down (?), we arrived in front of the magic school.

‘Huh?’

A plain carriage with no particular embellishments was slowly passing by on the opposite side.

It looked like a modest vehicle driven by commoners, so I was about to turn away without a second thought—until something red caught my eye.

‘…Lapheche?’

I caught a glimpse of her squinting slightly against the sun, and then—a man’s hand reached out from across her seat.

‘……!’

Just before the curtains were drawn, my eyes locked with the man’s.

It only lasted a single second—if that—but I was sure of it.

‘Esadien.’

He furrowed his brows when he saw Ramande and me. The distance wasn’t far enough to mistake it—I saw it clearly.

Before I even realized it, my knees buckled slightly. Ramande immediately caught me, asking in alarm:

“Minuelle, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing. The sun was just reflecting off the carriage window… I think I just lost my balance for a second.”

“Your ankle? Does it ache at all?”

He looked about ready to make me stretch out my leg right then and there.

“No, really, I’m fine! Let’s just go!”

I strode ahead and entered the school, but in my mind, the earlier scene kept replaying in slow motion.

The two of them. In a carriage with no crest.

That strange feeling washed over me again.

As if something heavy and cold was sinking to the bottom of my chest.

A feeling that was anything but pleasant.

* * *

Talk about adding insult to injury. When your luck’s rotten, even falling on your back breaks your nose.  

That incident wasn’t the only thing getting on my nerves.

“You can’t.”

“…What?”

“I said you can’t. The applicant must be present in person.”

The receptionist at the magic school was, surprisingly, incredibly rigid.

I glanced around to double-check, but unfortunately, there was no one else registering at the moment—no way to verify whether he was being honest.

“What even is this? Really now. What do you take our magic school for?”

He tapped the crumpled application form with his fingers and then shoved it back toward us.

“Anyway, it’s a no. Bring him here yourself.”

“Let me ask you something. Do nobles have to come register in person, too? That can’t be right. Palos is a commoner, sure, but I’m a noble. I’m his sponsor.”

“Then fill out the sponsorship documents.”

He said it like he was doing me a favor—his attitude was smug and snide. Even as he slid the paperwork over, his annoying mouth wouldn’t stop flapping.

“You do realize impersonating a noble is a serious crime, right?”

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it—utter disbelief.

“Should’ve worn my cleric robes,” Ramande muttered beside me, visibly annoyed.  

I gave a subtle shake of my head to say it was fine and then moved to a table away from the counter.