How To Ruin The Original Work (16 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 1

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It’s merely a matter of who realizes it first—there are countless things that simply cannot be achieved through effort alone.

At age 11, when Nigel became a novice priest, she stopped praying to find her real family.

The following year, she gave up her habit of sneaking out through hidden gaps scattered around the orphanage.

The year after that, she began wearing more often the cheap raw gemstone necklace she’d received as a gift, instead of the locket she’d kept since childhood.

And the year after that, Nigel almost stopped… or rather, wanted to stop eavesdropping on conversations about the director’s office from the narrow passage hidden behind the basement storeroom.

“…Is that really true, Hendel?”

“Yes, Director. After exchanging messages several times, the description matches Nigel exactly.”

Just as her legs were starting to go numb and she was about to leave, Nigel froze at hearing her own name suddenly spoken.

“Nigel really…”

At that moment, a loud thudding sound drowned out the rest—children stomping wildly across the floor.

‘…I’ll give those brats a good thump later.’

Resolved to deliver a solid knock to the head of that likely culprit, Nigel refocused on the conversation.

“But Nigel…”

THUD!

This time, footsteps charged from the opposite direction.

“Wahaha!”

Simultaneously, Jack’s excited laughter drifted faintly through the air.

‘…Jack, you’re officially on my hit list.’

Ultimately, Nigel left the storeroom empty-handed, massaged her numb legs briefly, then immediately went searching for Jack.

Knock knock.

Soon after, the bedroom door slowly opened—but disappointingly, it wasn’t Jack.

“Nigel… your footsteps sound scary. Are you mad again?”

“No.”

Nigel forced a smile as she gently ruffled the child’s soft, dark brown hair.

“…You’re scary.”

At the child’s merciless honesty, Nigel’s smile faltered.

Then, from behind the door, a blond boy with noticeably darker golden hair and a head much larger than the brown-haired child’s popped out abruptly.

“You’re looking for Jack again, right, older sister? He went to the kitchen, saying he needed to find the leftover muffins!”

“Thanks. Now all of you hurry inside before you freeze to death out here.”

Only after confirming the children were safely tucked into bed did Nigel head toward the kitchen.

A faint rustling sound came from a corner of the kitchen, permeated by the subtle scent of butter.

Following the noise, she spotted a familiar head of hair.

“Jack.”

At the single word, the head jerked violently.

“Aha… hi?”

“You remember the rule—no snacks after bath time, or you’ll be banned for a whole week.”

“Oh, I haven’t eaten anything yet!”

Jack quickly hid his tiny hand behind his back.

“Then at least wipe the crumbs off your face before lying.”

After reluctantly compromising on two knocks to the head, Jack allowed himself to be dragged off without further protest.

“By the way, Nigel, how did you even know I was hiding so perfectly in the kitchen?”

“There are ways. You’ll see them too when you grow up.”

“But Nigel, you’re not even grown up yet.”

Nigel lightly ignored Jack’s remark, but he kept chattering naturally.

“Nigel… could it be you also know the future?”

Nigel’s expression hardened slightly, then she let out a soft chuckle and spoke.

“Go to sleep quickly. If you sleep late, monsters will come and take you away.”

“Pfft, monsters from when? Even little Beni isn’t scared of them anymore!”

“Exactly.”

Outside the bedroom door, Jack paused just before entering and turned back.

Trending

“Oh, right, Nigel—Priest Hendel has been here a while.”

They really do spill secrets early.

Nigel ruffled Jack’s neatly tied hair into complete disarray for no reason.

“My hair!”

“Good night.”

BANG!

Nigel quietly chuckled, imagining Jack’s crumpled face behind the closed door.

This is exactly why you tease kids.

But as she stared at the shut door, Nigel’s lifted smile slowly faded.

Rustle. She slipped her hand into her pocket.

It was time to do what she had to do.

Thud thud.

Before the director’s office, the wooden door—which required two firm pushes to budge due to its age—looked even more worn out than usual today.

Nigel opened it while silently challenging the wooden goddess carving mounted above the door.

Creeeak.

An eerie sound brushed past her ears.

“You’re here, Nigel.”

Director Priest Ron and Deputy Director Priest Hendel greeted her with warm smiles. On the table before them sat two cups of tea, long gone cold.

“Even in February, the weather’s still chilly, isn’t it? Come, have a cup.”

Guess bedtime before midnight is out of the question.

Nigel fetched from the cupboard a plain white cup marked with a single blue stripe.

Thankfully, the teapot still steamed warmly.

After taking a sip of the over-brewed, bitter tea that drowned out its own fragrance, Nigel frowned.

While waiting for her tea to cool, the two made idle chatter about the weather and tomorrow’s meal plan.

Finally, unable to take it anymore, Nigel spoke first.

“If there’s nothing important, can I go to bed now?”

Only then did they exchange glances and slowly nod.

“Well, Nigel… actually…”

Hendel swallowed hard, then pulled a bundle of papers from his robes.

“We… we seem to have found your family, child.”

Ron added awkwardly.

Nigel sifted through the papers and picked out the envelope dated most recently.

The pale cream envelope bore intricate tree-branch patterns along its edges and a complex wax seal at its center.

It looked nothing like the cheap, beige bulk envelopes the orphanage usually used.

“It’s a letter from your family. We thought you should read it first, so we haven’t opened it yet.”

Hendel offered her a reassuring smile.

Nigel broke the seal and read the letter.

In elegant script, it expressed a deep longing to meet Nigel in person.

And right beside the seal at the bottom, clearly written, was the name of the house Nigel had expected all along.

“Nigel, we’ve already booked your train ticket to the capital ourselves. Just write a reply and leave within a few days.”

Hendel proudly pulled out a train ticket from his robes.

Silver. A second-class ticket.

Despite their constant financial struggles—with church subsidies barely covering even the children’s fortnightly snack allowance—they’d wasted enough money to cover that and more.

“You’ve worked so hard, Nigel.”

Ron’s eyes reddened as he spoke.

Beside him, Hendel’s glasses were already fogging up.

How could she possibly say it in this atmosphere?

After a brief hesitation, Nigel spoke.

“I don’t want to meet them.”

“What?”

ads

“But Nigel—this is a duke’s house, even we in the provinces have heard of them. Considering everything you’ve endured here…”

Hendel and Ron stared at her, wide-eyed.

She had endured much indeed. Left at the orphanage as an infant based solely on her name, she’d grown up alone as a girl among boys.

Whenever church inspectors visited, she’d often had her hard-grown hair shaved off. Since adopting a girl out of a boys’ orphanage was tricky, she’d eventually passed the grueling novice priest exam—something nearly impossible without connections.

As she grew older, she gradually took on more household duties. With the orphanage receiving almost no church support, chores piled up, and Nigel’s days flew by doing nothing but housework.

Ron and Hendel always felt heartbroken seeing Nigel, at an age when others dressed prettily and received affection, wearing no nice clothes and spending all her time caring for the children.

They’d pooled money to buy her pretty dresses, only for her to scold them for wasting money and return the clothes multiple times. Even when they gave her rare free time to play, she’d somehow find odd jobs and come back with groceries bought from a day’s wages.

To learn now that Nigel was actually a lady of a ducal house—they’d thought her hardships were finally over…

“I won’t meet them.”

Nigel drove the point home firmly.

“Then… will you stay here?”

Nigel was already seventeen—barely any time remained before adulthood.

Upon turning adult, she’d have to choose between leaving the orphanage entirely or staying on as an ordained priest.

“No. I should start preparing to leave soon anyway.”

“But your real family…”

Hendel’s brave attempt faltered under Nigel’s unwavering gaze.

“I’m going to the academy.”

Both men’s eyes widened once more.

The Academy—a prestigious institution where every member pursued scholarly ambitions; graduating from certain renowned academies guaranteed excellent employment opportunities.

The only challenges were admission and tuition—but…

“I was accepted into Syenia a few months ago.”

Nigel pulled out another envelope from her robes, its edges gilded in gold leaf.

Ron and Hendel quickly scanned the letter.

[Congratulations. We are pleased to inform you that Nigel As has been officially accepted (rank: top) into the Imperial Syenia Academy.]

“Top…?”

“Top of my class. Tuition’s waived.”

Nigel calmly answered Ron, who could only stare blankly.

Thud—

The letter slipped limply from his hand onto the floor.

“My goodness…”

“Nigel…”

Syenia was the Empire’s only Imperial Academy, the most prestigious of all—merely graduating ensured lifelong career security.

“We knew you were clever, but not to this extent…”

“We’ve made you suffer too much…”

Just as the mood began to sink, Nigel spoke again.

“I’ll accept the train ticket as a congratulatory gift.”

A perfect gift, delivered at the perfect moment.

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  1. Lizymay7 Chapter 15
    The praise for Nigel is growing at the academy; let’s see how this highly talented girl fares there and develops a good relationship with Noah.

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