Chapter 2

I became the villain's lost daughter, Chapter 2 (2/218)

When I arrived at the orphanage, it was already an hour later than usual.

I slipped in quietly from the back and took a deep breath.

Fortunately, the shoes for the director and Lily's outings were nowhere to be seen.

"Phew, that's a relief."

Only then did I carefully close the door and enter the kitchen without making a sound.

'The kids are probably playing, so no one saw me.'

I opened the basket and gathered the vegetables I had brought, then took out the meat and placed it in cold water.

In this era, without refrigerators, magic stones serve a similar purpose, but there was no such luxury at the orphanage.

"The first time the meat went bad, I got a terrible scolding..."

I was chased outside and not allowed to eat dinner because I had made the expensive meat unusable.

I felt so wronged and miserable that tears welled up, but as an orphan without parents, I couldn't even complain.

I'll leave here as soon as I turn an adult.

"...Sigh, I guess I should make some stew."

There was meat, but only a small amount, so there was no other choice but to make stew.

Fortunately, there was leftover rice, so the cooking wasn't too difficult.

I didn't expect much from the orphanage's ordinary kitchen facilities in a fantasy world.

First, I prepared the vegetables I had gathered.

After slicing all the onions, I cut the meat into small pieces.

'The director said to cut it as small as possible.'

To feed over ten children, I had to cut a fist-sized piece of meat into at least twenty pieces.

As I watched the pot bubble with the ingredients, my mouth watered.

"Is this the only meat for the week?"

I added the remaining tomatoes to make the stew a beautiful red, and the smell was fantastic.

'I hope no one saw that I was late.'

It was frustrating to have to worry about such things, but I didn't want to face the director's sharp gaze and harsh voice.

Just then, the kitchen outside became noisy.

"Director, you're here!"

"Wow! New clothes!"

I rushed to the door and saw the director and Lily, who had just returned, still in their outing clothes.

"Did you finish preparing dinner?"

"...Yes, almost done."

Fortunately, there was no questioning about my lateness.

After finishing the meal I had prepared earlier.

"Who's coming tomorrow?"

"The director said it's someone very important. I'm excited!"

The children were each holding brooms and mops, bustling about.

The director had told them to polish the floors to a shine because someone important was coming tomorrow.

'I'll probably have to stay in the attic all day tomorrow.'

While it might be good news for the other children that someone was coming to the orphanage, it wasn't for me.

'I just wish I could be ten years old already.'

That's when it happened.

"You don't seem happy, do you?"

Lily approached me as I sighed and mopped the floor.

She was definitely here to mess with my clothes again.

"I have no reason to be happy."

I swallowed my frustration and replied.

Lily, ignoring my answer, snickered and continued.

"They say a nobleman is coming tomorrow. The director said he's definitely here to take me."

"...So what?"

"There won't be anyone to adopt a girl with black hair, so you'll probably live here forever, right?"

As expected, her cruel words made me bite my lip.

I knew she was a bit spoiled and mean, but why did she have to come and say such things?

I forced my frozen body to move.

"How pitiful. At least clean properly. Who knows? If I become a noble lady, I might give you a penny."

Lily's giggling laughter stuck in my ears as I walked away without a word.

The most miserable thing was that I couldn't refute her taunt that I would live here forever.

I had vowed countless times to leave as soon as I turned an adult, but I wasn't sure if it was really possible.

***

"...Huh."

A small sob escaped from under the thin straw mat.

Afraid of being caught crying, I stifled the sound.

Even after living in the orphanage for twenty years, the sudden loneliness was something I could never get used to.

'I'll get a mom and dad too!'

'Really?'

'Yes! He said he would come to take me soon, patted my head, and gave me a pretty pencil case!'

'Wow! That's great!'

The loneliness deepened each time my friends, who had endured the pain with me, left the orphanage with new parents.

As a child, I cried bitterly, wondering why I couldn't get a mom and dad.

One day, the director said I would finally have parents, and I went to sleep with high hopes.

But my excitement shattered when the couple who came to meet me said:

"Oh, the child looks different from the photo...?"

"Also, the child seems a bit gloomy. We don't think we're a good match."

The director said it was because I was no good and that no one would love a child like me.

As a child, I lost hope.

"...I wish I had just died."

And to be reborn as an orphan again.

It felt like a curse that I would never have a family.

"Ugh..."

If there is a god,

If the god who sent me here really exists...

I wished with all my heart that I would no longer be alone.

***

"Kids! Hurry up and get ready!"

"Yes!"

"Lily! Come here quickly. Put on the new dress and these shoes, and the ribbon... this one will do!"

The orphanage's day started unusually early, and it was different from usual.

The director bustled about, checking on the other children.

'It's probably because of the nobleman who's coming today.'

The other children put on their prettiest clothes, probably hoping for a chance.

There were almost no nobles who wanted to adopt in this place far from the capital.

"Only a little more! Kids who are ready, come to the director!"

"Me!"

"I'm ready too!"

Even Lily, who had been so arrogant yesterday, was dressed in a bright yellow dress and green shoes.

I looked down at my own clothes.

Rough, cheap fabric, a worn and dirty old dress.

Compared to Lily's bright dress, it was nothing, but it didn't matter.

"Director, should I wear this?"

"What? Ha, ha. What a funny thing to say. Who would take a girl with black hair like you? Don't draw attention and hide in the attic when the guests arrive."

Over the year, a few people had visited the orphanage to adopt, but I was always hidden in the attic.

It was no different today.

I closed the attic door and entered the room.

"...It's unfair."

It was unfair that black hair was cursed, and that I happened to have black hair.

There was no disappointment without hope, they say.

But the hope of "what if" always sprouted in any situation.

That's why I always sat by the window for hours when guests arrived.

What if someone noticed me?

What if they didn't frown when they saw me?

...What if they became my family?

"Ah, a carriage."

Even for someone who had been disappointed many times, a spark of hope remained.

My gaze turned to the carriage approaching the orphanage from a distance.

"Kids! A carriage is coming! Let's go outside!"

"I was so excited last night that I couldn't sleep..."

"Me too. I hope it's really me this time."

The director's busy voice and the children's excited voices drifted up from below the window.

The attic window, which overlooked the orphanage's main gate, was the only thing I was grateful for.

"Wow, a carriage!"

"Wow! It's bigger than the one Theo rode in!"

The carriage, which drew the children's attention, also caught mine.

The carriage, pulled by four horses, was the largest and most splendid I had ever seen in this place.

"That's a four-horse carriage from a novel..."

I understood why the director was more excited than usual.

A nobleman who could ride in such a carriage must be of high rank.

If a noble family adopted a child from the Risen Orphanage, the director's smile would surely reach the sky.

"Whoa, whoa."

The carriage, which had been slowly approaching, finally stopped.

While the driver calmed the horses, the carriage door opened.

"Who is it?"

"I hope it's a handsome prince!"

"Me too!"

I could faintly hear the children's chatter.

Who could it be?

I was also curious about who was in such a grand carriage.

'If it's someone from the original story, it might be someone from "Aila's Love."'

The thought that I might see someone from the original story for the first time made my heart swell again.

I fixed my gaze on the open carriage door.

***

A man with blue hair stepped out of the open carriage door.

He paused, leaning into the carriage to say something.

After finishing his conversation with the person inside, the man smiled warmly and greeted the director.

"It's Fern from yesterday. The, um, Duke is inside."

"Hehe, we've been waiting with the children. Right, kids?"

"Yes!"

Fern, amused by the scene, looked around at the children.

No one noticed that his gaze was searching for something.

"The children are very spirited."

"Yes, they are all very spirited and intelligent."

"Hmm. Are these all the children in the orphanage?"

Fern hoped the director would give the right answer, out of a bit of sympathy.

"Yes, these are all the children."

But the director answered without a moment's hesitation, and Fern quietly glanced at the carriage.

His master must have heard this answer.

As if reading his thoughts, a tall figure in a robe emerged from the carriage.

"Duke."

Fern's bow made the director's eyes gleam with greed.

'A Duke!'

From the moment the carriage arrived, he had sensed the wealth and felt very good about it, but a Duke!

If this went well, the Risen Orphanage would become famous in no time!

"Let me ask again. Are these all the children in the orphanage?"

The director, drunk on the future glory, answered the question without a second thought.

He thought of the black-haired child in the attic but quickly dismissed it.

"Of course! How could I lie to a Duke? These are all the children."

"Is that so."

Just as the director was about to move, smiling falsely, the man asked.

"Then what about the child in the attic?"

The man's gaze, fixed on the exact location of the attic, made the director's face pale.

"That, that's..."

'Why did he notice!'

Caught unexpectedly, but not wanting to reveal the cursed child, the director's mind raced.

"That child has black hair. She is cursed, so I couldn't show her to the Duke. Please understand."

"Understand?"

"It's out of concern that she might cause trouble for the Duke. If you wish, I can bring her right away."

The director's eyes trembled.

The man smiled at the director's forced calm.

A cursed black-haired child...

Such a familiar phrase.

"What's the child's name?"

"R, Rita."

Yes. Erita, it's you.

Looking at his beloved daughter, who was hiding like a criminal and staring at him with a dazed expression, Aslan whispered so softly that no one could hear.

"Father has come, Erita."

Let's go home now.