Chapter 11

The queen, having heard from the king about Alexandre's condition, became interested in Marianne, who had managed to motivate her son.

She immediately summoned the head of the intelligence department and ordered an investigation into Marianne's conduct.

The head assigned the task to a promising young agent.

"Please investigate Mademoiselle Marianne de Landefulie."

Antonio, an intelligence officer, was a man who had steadily earned a good reputation for his thorough work.

Upon receiving the order, he headed straight to the academy she attended.

From there, he closely followed her and gathered information.

By the fifth day, he realized that the six-year-old girl's intellect and actions were far from ordinary.

The blonde girl hid her conspicuous hair under a scarf and walked around the slums with a man who looked like a butler.

Whenever she saw orphans, she would run over and negotiate with them.

Antonio, disguised as a merchant, approached the orphans she had contacted.

He asked them to carry loads and deliver letters, and recorded what Marianne had asked them to do.

He also infiltrated the food suppliers who frequented the earl's house and gathered rumors about Marianne.

It seemed that the girl had hired orphans for a "study on the practicality of chickens" and was also planning to help them achieve economic and professional independence.

By the end of a month, the orphans had become healthier.

Their once sallow skin had turned a healthy color and became lustrous.

The girl had the orphans record the number of eggs laid, and when she realized they couldn't write, she taught them reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The orphans collected vegetable scraps and corn husks from the market at low prices and billed the mansion for the cost.

To do this, they started learning addition and subtraction.

The maids boasted about Marianne's intelligence and kindness as if it were their own.

The girl reportedly told the orphans, "If you can do calculations and read and write, you won't be deceived by bad adults," and encouraged them to study.

Regarding wages, Antonio had thought it might be risky to give inexperienced orphans money, but she had taught them the joy of saving by giving them glass bottles and keys.

He had thought that noble girls' social service meant donations to churches, financial support for soup kitchens, and charity parties.

"Is this what a genius is like?"

Antonio, who had considered himself quite capable, recalled what he had been like at six years old.

He had been obsessed with climbing trees with his brother.

He felt embarrassed about his past self, who had thought he was quite capable.

To the kitchen maids, the girl reportedly said, "When raising children, meat, fish, eggs, and cheese are effective for growth. I've studied and summarized the diets of 50 tall knights and 50 commoners."

Marianne was at the top of her class in all subjects and often read books on natural science.

"She's too smart compared to other noble girls," Antonio thought.

The detailed report submitted to the queen contained all this information.

After reading the report, Queen Ekaterina told the king, "I'm not sure if this girl can be controlled by Alexandre. We must prevent her from being taken by foreign nobles."

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The leader of the orphans was a responsible young boy.

"Miss, there's a strange guy who's been asking us a lot of questions about you lately."

"Oh, that's suspicious. Don't go with anyone who offers you a good deal. Be careful."

"Haha, there's no better deal than your chicken coop."

"Is that so? I wonder if this is a good deal. This is practice for when I grow up and manage my own estate. I'm the one benefiting the most."

With that, Marianne ate a sandwich with the orphans.

"Miss, if you ever manage an estate, please let us know. We'll definitely come and work for you.

We used to live in constant fear of death or being sold by bad people.

Especially the cute girls were in danger.

Now, no one goes hungry, and we've saved a lot of money.

We want to repay you for saving us."

"Oh, that's too much. It's nothing. If you want to thank me, help children in the same situation someday."

"Ah, I see. That makes sense. I understand."

Years later, the young boy had become a transport operator with many employees.

Whenever he saw orphans in the towns where he worked, he would always approach them, give them food if they were hungry, and hire them if they wanted.

When the orphans he hired grew up, he would smile and tell them, "Now it's your turn to help other orphans."

"I was saved by a little girl from the Marie farm when I was a child," he would say.