“Because of Lady Juliet, this place is finally getting fixed!”

“Thank you!”

“Huh? Uhm…”

“The princess is really kind!”

The children spoke with lively voices, their eyes sparkling with expectation and joy.

Innocence born of ignorance.

The children didn’t even notice that the director and staff had gasped.

Juliet kneeled down look at the children in the eye and spoke to them in a troubled voice.

“My sister was the one who put in a lot of thought into improving the orphanage…”

The children tilted their heads in confusion.

“Still, they only sped up things up because Lady Juliet told them this place was old, right?”

“Lady Charlotte was busy with other things, so it got delayed.”

The moment the children finished speaking, the director, who had been frozen, suddenly regained her senses and bowed her head.

“My appologies, Your Highness the Crown Princess! The children don’t know what they’re saying! They’re still too young to understand the Crown Princess’ efforts…! Please!”

As she spoke, both her shoulders and voice were shaking.

The crown princess had just been disrespected. In a different world, in a different place, such an excuse wouldn’t fly and punishment would be meted out to both the children and to themselves for the lack of supervision. Imagining that such a future awaited them, her fear was justifiable.

“It’s fine. As you say, they’re children.”

“Thank you for your generosity…!”

“Why should I be angry? It’s the truth. I’ve been neglecting this orphanage.”

Charlotte spoke with a blank expression.

The atmosphere suddenly became cold again.

“I don’t think I was wrong for doing so, as other things had to be prioritized.”

Her eyes grew fierce.

“There are many buildings much more run down than this one, to the point of being on the verge of collapsing. Some of these buildings are surrounded by many houses, and if they collapse, many will lose their homes. There are also those who have no homes at all. I decided that we should deal with those more pressing matters first.”

Despite being flustered, Juliet still didn’t understand that she was being criticized.

“Yet, Juliet begged to differ. She happened to visit this orphanage, and even though she was noexpert, she judged that the building was in such a precarious state that it took priority above all else. We ended up having to reschedule and rework the budget of other projects, in which she had no hand in. As if my workload isn’t crazy enough to begin with, I also have to supervise this project from start to finish.”

Charlotte knew that losing her temper over a child’s prattle was immature of her.

…Or perhaps, it was because she had always bottled everything up that once it broke free, it wouldn’t stop.

“We have to handle everything ourselves, but if it’s any consolation to you, I suppose Juliet did suggestthat we expedite the construction.”

“…Excuse, me…?”

“Children are just so selfish and troublesome, aren’t they?”

Since it happened allthe time, she should be accustomed to it, right? Honestly, if someone were to ask her that question, the answer would be no.

The director was still trembling. The children were too young to properly comprehend what Charlotte was saying, but they seemed to sense that she was angry. They grew anxious when they saw how frightened the director and other staff were.

“Uhm, Sister—”

“—Go on, deal with those children. Isn’t that your specialty? That’s all you can do, really.”

Charlotte turned on her heels and walked quickly, maintaining the elegance that had been ingrained in her.

“Your Highness…”

“I’m not feeling well, so I’ll be returning to the carriage.”

After informing the confused escorts, Charlotte left the building and entered the carriage parked outside. Seeing her returning so soon despite having only entered the building, the driver and knights were baffled, but she didn’t say anything.

She sat down and exhaled, feeling sick to her stomach.

Charlotte stroked the magical bracelet that Ethelbert had given her, which she wore like a talisman.

---

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***T/N: Bwahhuahdua she snapped omg, to children too

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