CIBLN | Chapter 1

“Who’s on window frame duty here! Rosalyn, are you slacking off again?! You really can’t do anything properly!”

Morning cleaning time.

Emma yelled at Rosalyn in a voice full of anger.

Rosalyn, who was pointed out, tried to explain herself in confusion.

“…What? But didn’t I do everything I was told to do? I definitely cleaned the bathroom on the first floor.”

“What? What are you talking about, Rosalyn? You were told to clean our room’s window frame. I cleaned the first floor bathroom.”

When Rosalyn explained in a small voice, Anna interrupted and spoke up.

It seemed that Anna had lied about her cleaning duties today as well.

Originally, Anna was supposed to clean the bathroom, but she had asked Rosalyn to switch tasks with her.

Näive Rosalyn naturally thought Anna would clean the window frame….

But that wasn’t it.

In an instant, Rosalyn was made into a liar, tears welled up in her eyes at the accusation.

She felt wronged, but there was no one in this place who would take her side.

“You again, Rosalyn? Look at Anna. She takes the lead in difficult tasks, and you… Honestly, there’s nothing I like about you.”

Rosalyn was treated like an invisible person at the orphanage.

And it was because of the Director, Emma.

For that reason, the other children would bully Rosalyn without hesitation.

“Heh, exactly. Once you were adopted, you should’ve never come back.”

“You took away the chances for other kids to be adopted.”

Aggrieved.

A sharp pain throbbed in Rosalyn’s heart.

‘That’s right. I’m a bad child.’

A parasite who stole the opportunity from the other kids.

A useless outcast who can’t do anything right.

As the other kids around her said, Rosalyn had been adopted and returned multiple times.

Because of that, Rosalyn had many different names.

Luna, Ash, Camilla…. and so on.

The parents who first adopted Rosalyn were well-known philanthropists, highly regarded for their good reputation.

“This is my daughter, Luna. Isn’t she just beautiful?”

“Oh my goodness. To make such a decision for a child who isn’t even your biological child… I truly admire you.”

“Hahaha! She’s my daughter in my heart. If you have something, you should share it, right?”

…But not long after, she was quickly returned.

Because the company run by her adoptive parents suddenly went bankrupt.

“I’m sorry, Luna. But you’ve enjoyed so much because of us, haven’t you? A child like you could never have had such an extravagant experience otherwise.”

Her second parents…

“This child has no charm at all! Ash, try to smile a little. Girls are supposed to be cute, you know.”

“What’s the point of just having a pretty face? Don’t you need to have something to make people want to cherish you?”

“… I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll try harder. Mom, Dad. Please don’t abandon me…!”

Because she was quiet and lacked charm, her second adoptive parents soon chose to return her.

As for her third parents…

They were somewhat violent.

“You! How dare you push our Mina?! Mina’s knees are bleeding!”

“… I, I didn’t push her. My sister just asked me to play hide-and-seek with her…!”

“You ungrateful thing! Who do you think is feeding you and keeping you alive, that you dare hurt my daughter?!”

“I was wrong! I was wrong!”

For various reasons, Rosalyn had to return to the orphanage again.

And every time, Emma would say this.

“If you had acted like a real daughter, do you think they would have returned you? Haa. Let’s stop. I’m getting tired of this too.”

The same situation repeated itself several times, and before she knew it, everything had become Rosalyn’s fault.

‘I can’t cry. If I cry here, the Director will hate me even more.’

Rosalyn’s eyes were stinging, but she bit her lip painfully.

She had grown accustomed to holding back her tears.

It was heartbreaking to see the child quietly wiping her reddened eyes, but no one tried to comfort her.

“Everyone, pay attention!”

Emma clapped her hands.

The children stopped what they were doing and stared at her.

“We have a very special guest for the first time in a long time, so everyone hurry up, get ready, and come down. If you’re late, there may be no opportunity!”

A special guest.

It was the phrase she used when a noble visited.

The children’s eyes widened as if they were going to pop out.

Emma’s lips slowly rose into a sly smile.

“If you understand what I mean, get ready right now.”

Thud.

The door slammed shut.

Soon, the children began to fight among themselves, pulling out clothes from the closet and putting them on.

“Give me that! That yellow dress was donated to me this time!”

“Where’s it written? It came to the orphanage anyway. Whoever wears it first is the owner!”

Rosalyn, who had been blankly watching the scene, hesitated and carefully reached for a shabby dress that had fallen to the corner of the closet, intending to put it on.

Then bam-! The door suddenly swung open again.

“I almost forgot to tell you, Rosalyn!”

“Yes! Director….”

Rosalyn reflexively turned around in surprise.

“Stay in your room quietly. This time, it’s a very important person!”

Thud.

The door closed again.

“It’s pretty.”

Anna laughed as she grabbed the most extravagant and beautiful dress from the closet, put it on, and left the room.

Rosalyn hung her head, clutching the shabby clothes she was about to wear.

‘That’s better.’

It was truly for the best.

Now, she didn’t need a family anymore.

The happy families from fairy tales didn’t exist in the real world.

And anyway…

‘My turn will never come…’

Emma had no intention of showing Rosalyn to the important person.

* * *

“Heh, hehehe. What a golden opportunity this is!”

Emma hummed a tune and spun around on the spot.

In all the years she had run the orphanage, this was the first time she had seen such a big shot.

The person who had secretly visited was someone that Emma knew very well.

He was none other than the powerful successor to the Duke of Arcas family.

Duke Deon Arcas!

“It’s only a matter of time before I become rich overnight!”

Emma held up a stiff piece of paper with a title that read ‘Sponsorship Certificate.’

Her eyes sparkled with greed.

Emma pressed a kiss onto the sponsorship certificate as she recalled the events that had just happened.

Just a while ago.

A carriage had arrived in front of the orphanage.

Although she couldn’t see the family’s emblem, Emma was certain.

This was definitely a carriage from a noble family!

Emma rushed over to greet the visitor without hesitation.

“Welcome! May I ask you what brings you to our orphanage?”

“I would like to adopt a child.”

“… Yes? A child?”

There were many people who sponsored the orphanage and wanted to adopt a child.

However, if the person was a noble, it was a surprising event.

Because nobles were special.

They possessed incredible strength, like parting the seas with one hand or moving the earth… They wielded very mysterious powers.

People called that power ‘authority.’

And…

The person, who mentioned adopting a child just now, slightly revealed his face out of the carriage.

The moment Emma saw that face, she screamed inwardly.

Blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and a beautiful appearance.

If her memory served her correctly, this man was undoubtedly the Young Duke of Arcas!

Emma blinked her eyes in surprise.

Then, Deon Arcas smiled gently and handed her an envelope of documents, before asking with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“Would this sponsorship certificate be insufficient for identity verification?”

“H, h, how could that be?!”

Emma shook her head rapidly.

The identity of this person was Deon Arcas.

However….

It was very strange.

As far as Emma knew, Deon Arcas was unmarried.

Furthermore, given that the Duke Arcas family held such a high status, they would be very strict about maintaining their bloodline.

It was evident just from seeing that everyone bearing the Arcas name possessed such powerful abilities that even those with lesser status would be in awe.

Their powerful abilities surely didn’t just come naturally.

In particular, the Arcas family’s power was the ‘Power of Darkness’, which was said to wield incredible strength on the battlefield.

It was strange to anyone that the Young Duke of such a prestigious family, who should be continuing the lineage of their family through marriage, had come for adoption instead.

“…M-Might you have a preference for the child’s personality? Perhaps someone with exceptional looks, or a sharp mind? Or… is there a specific child you have in mind…?”

“Recommendations are fine. I’ll leave that to the Director’s discretion.”

Deon Arcas politely declined the suggestion.

Emma’s insides began to churn.

A noble wouldn’t visit and talk about sponsorship without any reason.

Moreover, if such a big shot had come in person…

Seeing Emma quickly thinking, Deon Arcas smiled faintly, and his piercing blue eyes gleamed.

“If you keep the fact that I’m adopting a child confidential, I will offer the amount what’s written here.”

At those words, Emma opened the envelope with trembling hands.

“Goodness! How much is this?!”

The moment Emma saw the amount written on the sponsorship certificate, she instinctively looked around frantically and quickly hid the document.

Then, holding her breath, she calmed herself and carefully checked the amount again.

【Sponsorship amount: 1,000,000,000 G】

Is this a dream or reality?

Emma’s mind went blank.

If she wasn’t mistaken, it was definitely one billion gold.

After seeing this amount of money, the purpose of Deon Arcas’s visit no longer mattered to Emma.