Hwik.
Several pairs of eyes turned toward me.
"Master, can we do it?"
"I'll go first."
"I'm first!"
A cruelty so pure it was almost innocent lurked in the children's eyes. They were merely pondering how to play with the toy called Kevin lying before them, without a trace of hesitation.
'These aren't ordinary children.'
Perhaps because they had been raised as assassins from a young age, the children of Arsil Orphanage were different from the rest.
"Hey, even cold water has a pecking order!"
When Helena growled, the children hesitated. But they soon pouted and voiced their complaints.
"That's not fair, Helena. Booh-"
"I really held back a lot!"
"Do you have any idea how much we suffered while you were gone?"
Helena brushed off the booing and clamor raining down like a swarm of bees.
"All right, all right. Who said I won't give you a turn? There's just an order to follow."
"You have to be quick about it!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"I'll only wait one day!"
"Okay~"
Though the children whined, they no longer insisted on taking their turns.
"You handle the children well."
At my remark, Helena shrugged.
"Well, I'm the oldest here. Practically a mother figure."
Helena usually smiled brightly, but it had always felt like she wore a mask to protect herself. Right now, though, it was clear she was smiling out of genuine joy.
"You look happy."
"Do I?"
Helena grinned and winked.
"Thank you, Master. This is the best reward of my life."
"Aren't your standards a bit low?"
"You wouldn't say that if you knew what I got for my last birthday."
As she spoke, Helena's gaze flicked to the sofa nearby. Deep disgust was evident in her eyes.
'Ah, I remember.'
It was one of the stories Helena had shared when she was imprisoned with Rose. Kevin had said he would give her a birthday present, then pushed her down onto that sofa.
"While I'm at it, I should smash that too."
Helena's eyes flashed toward the sofa at that moment.
"Your Excellency…!"
A thin voice calling me from the doorway was Rose's. Rose was neat and unharmed, without a scratch on her. However, her face looked a bit pale, seemingly startled by the scene before her.
Jeobeok.
I casually shifted my position to block Kevin and the children from view.
"May I come in?"
"No. Wait there for a moment. I'll be out soon."
"What?"
"It's not a pleasant sight for a wife to see."
Rose had been on the verge of tears just from seeing the assassins—she might faint at the sight of Kevin's battered state.
"Good grief."
I ignored Helena's snort and asked Kasto standing by the door.
"Is there another place where we can talk?"
"The children's break room should be fine…"
Kasto straightened his posture and answered promptly. From what I had observed earlier, he seemed to handle the practical duties at Kevin's side. The way he immediately adjusted his speech to formal with me, along with his brisk attitude, was quite decent.
"Then finish cleaning up here and come over. We'll go ahead."
When Kasto hesitated and looked at Helena,
"Do as he says."
Helena cut in firmly. Only then did Kasto bow his head, seemingly having settled on his stance.
"Understood. Then, how shall we handle the director?"
"As Helena said."
"Yes."
Kasto answered obediently and entered the room. Brushing past Kevin alongside Helena, he approached Rose waiting by the door. I followed and approached Rose as well.
"Your Excellency."
"Are you alright?"
Rose immediately asked after my well-being. Her worried gaze lingered on my blood-covered hands.
"I was drawing up a contract with the director."
"A contract?"
"A contract written in blood."
Though Kevin hadn't consented, it was effectively a contract transferring Arsil Orphanage to me from here on out.
"So blood contracts really are a thing."
Something must have crossed her mind, as Rose's expression turned peculiar.
"I didn't think you were being serious that day."
It was something I had said when we were drawing up the contract, to help loosen up the overly tense Rose.
"You remembered that."
"Because it was something you said, Your Excellency."
She said it with such a serious face that I was momentarily at a loss for words. As I was just staring at Rose—
"Ugh, seriously."
Helena, standing behind us, burst with irritation and stepped forward.
"Are you going to keep talking like it's just the two of you? There are other people here!"
"Helena!"
Rose greeted Helena with a bright face. Then she immediately examined Helena's blood-stained knees.
"You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"Ah, this? It's the director's blood."
"Thank goodness. You really gave it to him good, huh?"
"Yeah. Were you worried?"
Giggling, Helena embraced Rose. So very naturally.
"……?"
I was briefly flustered at the sight, then barely managed to hide my sullen expression as I asked.
"When did you two get so close?"
Helena, still hugging Rose tightly, smiled brightly at me.
"The madam and I had some quality girls' time together."
"Quality time?"
"The director was probably planning to take the madam hostage at the first opportunity."
Helena's hand stroked Rose's hair. It flowed down without any resistance, looking incredibly soft.
"Thanks to Master sending me ahead, I was able to meet the children first. Thanks to that, our madam was spared from any harm."
"Thank you, Helena."
Rose smiled warmly and leaned into Helena's embrace. Helena was about half a head taller than Rose, so Rose's face rested against Helena's cheek.
"……."
I was listening to Helena's words with my ears, but my eyes were entirely fixed on Rose nestled against Helena. It bothered me that Rose seemed quite comfortable being held by Helena, not rejecting her touch at all.
'…She was trembling so much back then.'
I couldn't help but be reminded of the incident in the closet. When you do the same thing but get treated differently depending on who you are, wouldn't anyone feel this way?
…No, never mind. Let me stop with this petty comparison.
'Anyway, it worked out.'
It was better than the two of them fighting. But another thought crossed my mind.
'So this is how it plays out.'
The regressed Rose had also broken Helena out of prison, just as I did. But unlike me, who immediately raided Arsil Orphanage, she had only used Helena as her informant. That was because she didn't have the power to do more.
In the original story, Rose and Helena raiding Arsil Orphanage happened much later.
'They got quite close back then too.'
Rose seemed to easily win over everyone she met. Bill, Selma, Fabri, and other retainers of the estate were proof of that—and I had become one of them too.
Then again, how could anyone hate someone who smiled so harmlessly? You only needed to spend a little time with Rose to know she was a good person.
Regardless, I had acquired Helena and Arsil Orphanage far faster than in the original story. How to utilize them now was up to me.
A short while later.
Helena, Kasto, Rose, and I gathered and sat in the neatly cleaned break room.
"I've heard a rough account from Helena, but…"
As soon as we settled into our seats, Kasto spoke up.
"How do you plan to use this orphanage going forward?"
Kasto's ash-gray eyes gleamed with caution. It was a gaze trying to evaluate his new master.
'He's a bit younger than me? A kid of few words but works well. He'd relay things to us when the director gave orders. He called me noona and followed me well.'
According to the information Helena had given me before coming in, he was more than capable enough to be entrusted with running this place.
"Same as before."
A flicker of disappointment flashed across Kasto's face. He seemed to have harbored some hope that a change in masters might mean freedom for the children.
"You will be in charge of operations, Kasto."
"What? Won't you be running it yourself, sir?"
"I'm busy. Someone who's been doing the work will do it better."
Kasto stammered, seemingly not expecting this.
"…Are you sure it's alright to leave it to me?"
"You assisted Kevin, didn't you? With that level of competence, you'll catch on quickly."
"Understood."
Kasto seemed relieved that things had turned out this way. I too was interested in utilizing the orphanage, not in running it.
"From now on, you'll serve as acting director. If you need to contact me, go through Helena."
"Master, aren't you being too openly a figurehead?"
Helena grumbled, but Kasto seemed grateful even for that much.
"Then I'll summarize and report only the key information you should know, sir."
I was quite satisfied with how quickly he grasped his expected role and adapted.
"We still have some funds remaining, but with no work coming in recently, we may soon face operational difficulties."
"No need to worry about that. I'll be providing the work."
If anything, there would be more work to come, not less. Even from my brief observation, I could sense the children's cruelty and decisiveness. I had a feeling they would carry out my orders exceptionally well.
"The same goes for funding. Donations have always been an excellent means of concealing money."
Rose blinked at my words. She apparently hadn't expected me to use such methods.
I had no intention of walking the righteous path going forward. I needed to clearly distinguish between those on my side and those who weren't, and show what happened when someone crossed the line. Arsil Orphanage and its children would serve as an excellent tool for this purpose.
"By the way, how did the facilities look to you, madam?"
"……Hmm."
Rose searched her memory and answered calmly.
"It was poor compared to what the director had boasted. Most of it was dressed up for show, just to display to guests. That dust on the finest tableware was far too sloppy."
"I see."
I turned my gaze to Kasto, who was wearing a grim expression.
"The children need to be healthy to work well, don't they?"
" Sir? Yes, that's true, but."
Tuk.
I set down the money pouch that had been tied to the horse earlier.
"Open it."
Kasto hesitated, then carefully took the pouch and opened it at my gesture.
"Heok…!"
Kasto jumped in surprise and looked at me as if asking what this was.
"Operating funds."
"A-All of this?"
"Make sure the children don't go hungry or fall ill. It would interfere with their work."
Kasto's eyes wavered with bewilderment. He wore an expression of someone unsure whether to laugh or cry.