Creak creak.

The sound of wooden floors creaking under heavy weight was heard.

Soon, the shadow of a bulky figure entered the orphanage.

“You little moochers. Someone’s here and you don’t even come out to greet them?”

The man who entered the orphanage had a flushed red face. It seemed he had been drinking heavily since midday.

“You stupid brats. Did you get any money? Damn, don’t tell me you’ve just been playing around all day again?”

“……”

‘Ah, really……?’

Karina turned to Mikhail with a slightly surprised expression.

Mikhail shrugged his shoulders with a look that said his hunch was right.

“It seems to be the person the little one mentioned earlier.”

“……Indeed.”

Apart from their surprise, Karina and Mikhail immediately realized who he was.

The children’s trembling response to the man’s phlegmy voice was enough to guess.

“That person seems to be the director of this orphanage.”

Before Karina’s mutter ended, the man’s shout, now closer than before, was heard again.

“What are these bastards doing inside when the sun is high in the sky, instead of going out to beg for money?”

“……!”

Karina’s brow furrowed sharply upon hearing those words.

‘Don’t tell me he even made the children beg for money?’

A reasonable suspicion suddenly arose.

“Huh? What’s this delicious smell?”

The director, who had been sniffing as soon as he entered, raised his eyes.

“These ungrateful parasites, not appreciating the kindness of being fed, are eating something by themselves?”

The director saw the children eating and began to interrogate them with a scowl.

“Where did you get all this food? Don’t tell me you’ve been secretly stealing and hiding money?”

The children’s faces, which had been happily chewing with a piece of bread in hand just moments ago, instantly turned ashen.

Among them were children who couldn’t even make a sound, just sniffling with tears welling up in their eyes.

Then, a little child quickly stood up and faced the director.

“We didn’t steal any money. Some people we met on the street bought this for us. So leave the children alone and let them eat!”

“Oh, you little freeloader! So you were here.”

The director pointed his finger at the little child, as if he had caught him at just the right moment, and barked.

“When you get something good, you should bring it to me right away! Do you want to get beaten like last time?”

Despite the director’s threats, the little child was not intimidated and instead retorted with an indignant expression.

“You said you wouldn’t touch the money I get separately! But you always take everything, that’s different from what you said!”

“How dare you talk back so impudently when you’re only able to stay at the orphanage because of me!”

“That’s because you even take away Mitchell’s medicine money!”

“You little…! I thought you were becoming somewhat useful so I let you stay! Such an ungrateful brat!”

The director shoved the little child aside.

“I didn’t kick out that sickly chicken because you begged so much! And now you dare to talk back to me?”

The director entered the small room, huffing and puffing.

“Taking up a room, the unpleasant thing! I should kick them all out…!”

The director paused when he noticed Karina and Mikhail in the room.

“……Who are you people? Who gave you permission to come in here?”

The director reeked of alcohol, having drunk quite a lot it seemed.

An expression of displeasure and contempt appeared on Karina’s face.

Mikhail, who suddenly blocked the director’s path as he approached Karina, asked.

“Are you the director of this orphanage?”

“What……”

The director hesitated and stopped in his tracks at Mikhail’s stern appearance.

Then he began to blink and scrutinize Karina and Mikhail’s attire.

The two’s clothes were of simple design without any decorations, but the fabric was thick and of high quality.

The cuffs were finely finished, and the shirt collar around the neck was crisply angled.

Sensing the inherently noble atmosphere they exuded just by standing there, the director immediately changed his attitude.

“Y-Yes… Yes. I’m the director here… But if I may ask, who might you be?”

“This person here is……”

Karina raised her arm to stop Mikhail, who was about to proudly reveal her identity.

“I was just passing by and saw that the children looked in poor condition, so I bought them some food. Is that not allowed?”

The director bowed and groveled even more at the casual disrespect that came out naturally.

“Oh no, of course it’s allowed. Hehehe.”

“The children seemed to have been starving for quite some time… Is the orphanage in a very bad situation?”

“We’re not in a comfortable situation, but we still scrape together what little money we have and spend it generously on feeding the children. It’s just that those kids, no matter how much we feed them, it doesn’t show. Even when we feed them until they’re full, they keep saying they’re hungry, as if they have a bottomless pit in their stomachs.”

The words flowed smoothly from the director’s mouth, as if it was something he always said, even though he was drunk and not in his right mind.

And thinking he smelled money, the director added while rubbing his palms together.

“When you want to help us, it’s best to give donations directly to me in cash rather than food or goods. I know best what the children need, you see.”

The director grinned, revealing his gold tooth.

Hearing this, the little child jumped up and shouted.

“That’s not true! If you give him money, he’ll use it all for alcohol and won’t do anything for us!”

The little child seemed anxious that Karina might actually donate money to the director, believing his words.

“You brat, how dare you interrupt adults talking! Get lost with your useless words!”

“It’s true! Last time, you said you’d sell Jena to a noble house because you were short on drinking money!”

One of the sitting children reacted to those words, flinching.

Then they began to sniffle with a frightened expression.

It seemed to be the child called Jena that was just mentioned.

“That was just to scare you because you wouldn’t listen!”

The director brushed off the little one and made a half-hearted excuse.

Then he gave a sly smile towards Karina.

“They’re still children, so they can’t distinguish between jokes and serious talk. You understand, right? Hehe.”

Karina gave a cold smile.

“I know this place receives support from the poverty relief agency. For a place receiving support funds, the living conditions seem quite lacking.”

“We use a lot on feeding the children, so we’re a bit short on daily necessities.”

The director spewed lies without even moistening his lips.

“The clothes the children are wearing seem too thin for this cold northern region.”

“Ah, that’s because the children complain it’s too hot when they play, so we made it better for playing……”

“Are the sick children receiving proper treatment?”

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

“What kind of treatment are they receiving?”

“That… that is……”

The director squirmed at the continued questions.

“Are you properly receiving audits?”

“Oh my, of course. We diligently receive them every quarter.”

“For someone who claims to receive diligent audits, you reek of alcohol. Did you drink like that knowing when the auditors would come?”

“No… that’s……”

The director, who had been answering while sweating profusely, cleared his throat as if annoyed.

“Ahem! Well, but. Why do you keep asking such things?”

The director’s words became shorter as he narrowed his eyes.

“It feels like you’re just picking a fight. I’m starting to get a bit upset now. Are you believing what that little freeloader said earlier?”

“Freeloader? Is that how this orphanage refers to the children it cares for?”

Karina pointed out something that had bothered her from the start.

“That brat eats the most, so of course his nickname is freeloader.”

The director now openly sneered and frowned.

“I may look like this now, but I have some backing too! You know? I’m someone who’s running this orphanage properly! Now that I look at it, did you come here to pick a fight with me? Who exactly are you?”

Just then, a voice calling for the director was heard from outside.

“Hey, you! Are you not done yet? You said you’d bring the drinking money, so why aren’t you coming?”

“Ah, everyone come over here! Some weird folks have come and are causing trouble.”

The director called for his gang.

“What’s going on?”

“Is something fun happening?”

A group of people, reeking of alcohol like the director, crowded around the orphanage entrance.

“This woman here is meddling, asking if I’m doing my job properly. I think she needs to be taught a harsh lesson to come to her senses.”

With his gang gathered, the director’s voice became much louder than before.

“They’ve got some nerve.”

“It’s been a while since you showed your skills.”

“That’s right! When I show my real skills, they’ll be flying!”

The gang, who had been snickering among themselves, intimidated Mikhail and Karina, telling them to come out.

“Now it seems it’s my turn to step in.”

Mikhail, who had been standing by with a bored expression, stood up with an excited look.

“Isn’t that right?”

Karina replied to Mikhail, who asked with sparkling eyes.

“No need to say. Take care of them immediately.”

Mikhail grinned.

“Ugh……”

“Ouch……”

The director and his gang, beaten to a pulp, groaned in pain.

“Hmm… This doesn’t even count as a warm-up……”

Mikhail grumbled in a deflated tone.

Meanwhile, the director and a few of his gang members were still shouting at the top of their lungs, unable to come to their senses.

“You bastards! Do you know who we are?”

“You’ve messed with the wrong people! Do you know who’s backing us?”

“That’s right! Do you think you can handle the consequences?”

“Who’s your backer?”

At Mikhail’s question, the director boasted proudly.

“Listen and be shocked! The one backing us is the sole princess of the Colsberg Grand Duke family, the rulers of the North! Lady Caroline!”

The director puffed up, even popping a vein in his neck, as if this fact was some kind of invincible card.

“You’re in big trouble now! Do you think the Grand Duchess will sit still when she finds out about this?”

“Ah, Caroline.”

Karina’s smile deepened.

The gang felt an ominous atmosphere from her reaction, snorting instead of tensing up at hearing Caroline’s name.

Even the director, who had been raging excitedly, sensed something was off.

Usually, as soon as he said this, the other party would be shocked and prostrate themselves on the ground, saying they had made a mistake.

The director, bewildered by the situation that was completely different from his expectations, just blinked his bloodshot eyes.

“……”

“……”

One of the gang members, who had been hesitating and looking at each other, cautiously asked.

“Um… Excuse me… Who might you be……”

“Me?”

Karina answered with feigned indifference.

“The Grand Duchess.”

“……Pardon?”

To the gang member who asked back with a dumbfounded expression, Karina answered once more.

“I said, I’m the Grand Duchess.”

“……!”

“……!”

The director and his gang swallowed hard at the quiet words that came out of Karina’s mouth.

As if the effects of alcohol had suddenly worn off, they were wide-eyed with their mouths agape.

One of them even started hiccupping nervously.

Soon, their faces were clouded with dismay, turning deathly pale.