2-3 The Director’s Visit
“The orphanage director is coming to our house?”
About a year after the orphans had arrived, Father informed me that the director of Holy Haven Orphanage would be visiting the mansion.
“That’s right, Selina. It seems she wants to see if the orphans you brought back are being useful.”
“Useful? They’re still in training, aren’t they?”
They were supposed to become full-fledged only after developing a deep bond with the dogs we were raising and then killing them in tears.
I was anxiously waiting for that day to come, living in fear of dog attacks every day.
“No, they’re doing well. At first, I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but now they’re more polite and quick-moving than our servants.”
Of course they are. I punish them all collectively for any breach of manners, and if their movements are even slightly sluggish, I punish them all again.
The punishment depends on my mood at the time, but it’s nothing too severe.
Things like making them swim across a river in full armor, or throwing them into the forest and not letting them return until they’ve defeated ten monsters. Just that level of discipline.
However, their seriousness is different from the servants who only get scolded for failing. Their movements and etiquette as attendants had already become perfect.
“I don’t mind, but it would be troublesome if they want to take them back now. I might have disciplined them a bit too harshly, so they might want to return to the orphanage.”
From what I heard from the former butler, the harsher the training, the more loyalty should develop, but I haven’t seen any signs of that yet. It would be problematic if they begged to “return to the orphanage.”
“That won’t happen. I know you’ve been working hard to educate the orphans. They probably won’t say they want to leave here.”
Is that really true?
Just recently, I had them cross a bridge over the river without handrails while I shot magic at them. If they fell into the river, they had to start over from the beginning. I enjoyed knocking the orphans down with magic over and over again, but I felt I might have gone a bit too far.
Considering the power dynamics with the duke’s family, I don’t think the orphanage could take them back, but it’s still concerning if others learn about the kind of training I’m conducting.
I need to make sure they understand the situation.
That morning, Selina lined up the orphans and began speaking as usual.
“Listen up, you maggots. Today, you’ll have a visitor. It’s the director from your dear old Holy Haven Orphanage. Aren’t you happy?”
“Sir, yes sir!”
The six of them answered in unison. They had learned that Selina didn’t want any other response. In reality, if asked if they were happy, the answer would be ambiguous. They didn’t particularly like the director. However, compared to Selina, any human being would seem like an angel.
“Do you want to go back to the kind director?”
“Sir, no sir!”
They couldn’t say they wanted to go back even if their lives depended on it. If they said such a thing, they might be sent straight through the orphanage and into the ground.
“I see. I’m glad that you prefer to stay with strict me rather than the kind director.”
“Sir, yes sir!”
All six of them questioned the adjective “strict.” It wasn’t nearly strong enough; it should be replaced with “hellish” or “demonic.” But they answered without hesitation. If they paused even for a moment, who knows what would happen to them.
“I love you all. And you love me. This is a wonderful relationship, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Sir, yes sir!”
If this was training born out of love, they all thought that the person loved by Selina must be the most unfortunate person in the world.
Probably, sacrificing their lives wouldn’t be enough. They might have their very existence erased.
“If you betray this wonderful relationship, I would be very sad. You would surely be sad too. So today, I order you to respond to the director only with ‘yes’ and ‘no’. If you say anything else, I’ll make it so you can’t laugh or cry anymore. Do you understand?”
“Sir, yes sir!”
They couldn’t even imagine what it meant to make them unable to laugh or cry. However, Selina was a person who did what she said she would do. Imagining themselves standing dazed with emotionless, doll-like faces sent chills down their spines.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
The director who visited the duke’s family was deeply moved.
The problem children she hadn’t seen in a while had become more splendid than she could have imagined. They welcomed the director with proper appearance and etiquette. The director couldn’t hide her surprise at how much people could change in just one year.
Especially Isabel and Oscar, who used to argue back ten times more when scolded. Now they only give the minimum necessary “yes” or “no” answers to questions, with gentle smiles. These were the same children who used to talk back at every opportunity.
“Isabel, are you doing well?”
“Yes.”
Isabel answered with a smile.
When she was at the orphanage, she would have said something like, “Doing well in an orphanage? That’s a funny joke. It’s like saying ‘How do you do?’ to a corpse in a coffin.”
She had always thought she was a pretty child, but with her appearance tidied up and having acquired elegant posture and movements, she looked just like a noble young lady.
“Oscar, is there anything troubling you about life here?”
“No.”
Oscar bowed politely.
Before, he would have said something like, “Is there any part of the orphanage that isn’t a problem? First, I’d like rich parents. Then, the freedom to go out. Otherwise, this place is, to put it mildly, like a prison for children,” causing trouble for the nuns.
Now he carried himself with dignity, like a fine gentleman. He had always had a good face, but the childishness had disappeared, replaced by a captivating allure that made one want to stare.
Richard, Louis, Emma, and Alice had also shown considerable growth.
Richard, who used to have a large body and violent personality with poor posture and attitude, now kept his back straight as if balancing something on his head, maintaining a beautiful posture.
His large body no longer inspired fear as it did at the orphanage, but rather gave off the dependability of a knight.
Louis, whose body used to be overweight, had become unbelievably slim in just one year. It was hard to imagine how he managed to lose so much weight. When he was overweight, it wasn’t noticeable, but his kind face, though not as much as Oscar’s, seemed likely to attract girls’ attention.
When asked, “How did you manage to lose so much weight?”, he just smiled with a troubled expression.
Even Emma and Alice, who used to do nothing unless it interested them, had become capable of behaving properly as servants to nobility.
These were the same children who couldn’t sit still for a second and the bookworm.
“This is truly wonderful. I never imagined that our proble— I mean, the children we had difficulty guiding could become such splendid attendants. Lady Selina, you truly have an eye for potential.”
Selina responded to the director’s praise with an elegant curtsy.
She certainly looked the part. Compared to her, even the orphans still had room for improvement.
“With such thorough education, I’m sure nobles everywhere will want them as attendants. I hope you’ll continue to educate the children from Holy Haven Orphanage in the future,”
the director said in high spirits as she was leaving.
Selina returned a smile, but in her heart, she thought,
(We don’t need that many assassins, though.)
TLNOTE : While waiting, I implore you dear readers to read other masterpiece novels that also written by the same author :
- When the Monster Meat I Ate Led Me to the Throne
- Who killed the Hero?
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
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