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The one who furrowed his brow in response to the boy’s straightforward question was Cedric.
“Why are you, of all people, saying something like that to me?”
Throughout their time together, Cedric had never brought up Lillian even once. It was a kind of bait, a way to confirm if Winston knew something about Maynard.
Having confirmed it, Winston clearly knew something.
The fact that he hadn’t mentioned a single word about Lillian was evidence enough.
‘I’m sure he knows that the man is a teacher.’
If so, Winston, the director, would surely know that he had Lillian with him, but it was rather strange that he did not say a word. The fact that he didn’t say anything only added to the suspicion. When someone tries to hide something, their intentions often become apparent in the opposite way they intend to hide it.
Winston was also like that.
But why did the unfamiliar boy suddenly ask about Lillian?
“I heard you talking in front of the flour warehouse earlier. You mentioned the name, Lillian.”
The question was surprisingly easy to solve.
During Winston’s brief absence, Isaac and Cedric had a conversation.
— Your Highness, don’t you ask about Lillian?
— I don’t need to ask. They should have already talked about it over there. That should be enough.
It seemed like they overheard that conversation.
Isaac murmured with a sigh.
“I made sure there was no one around.”
“I’m good at climbing roofs.”
The boy shrugged and then asked Cedric.
“Is he Lillian’s father?”
The seemingly obvious question unexpectedly pricked at Cedric’s judgment.
In a situation where it was not certain whether Lillian was actually his daughter, it was neither easy to affirm nor deny that he was her father.
“Well…”
Since then, Lillian had continued to address Cedric as “Your Grace.”
If she had quietly called him “father” like other children, Cedric would have pretended not to be defeated. However, Lillian always maintained a sharp boundary.
As if one day you will have to leave here.
Recalling that fact made him feel bitter inside. Cedric slowly closed and opened his eyes to gather his emotions, then spoke.
“I am accompanying Lillian.”
“And it seems… you came here to find out about Lillian.”
“Yes.”
Cedric’s attitude towards the boy had changed quite a bit.
Perhaps it was because he had a hunch that this boy might reveal something he had missed.
“Can you tell me about the child? I promise it won’t do any harm.”
Upon hearing Cedric’s words, a bewildering mix of emotions surfaced on the boy’s face.
It was not clear to read his expression, as it was a blend of various emotions. Only a faint sense of realization and conviction passed fleetingly.
As they faced each other, a dry winter wind swept through the space between the two of them.
The sound of the desolate wind passed, and the boy opened his mouth.
“My name is Theo. I helped Lillian escape from here.”
Under his wavering red hair, his pumpkin-colored eyes shone brightly.
* * *
Theodore.
With fiery red hair, considered ominous and ranking as the top priority in terms of flames, and a curly hairstyle rumored to match his fiery temperament.
Moreover, his slightly smaller eyes and eyebrows that arched upward gave him a somewhat fierce impression. On top of that, he had grown like a towering tree, with his height far exceeding the average, making him a lanky figure.
Even with his tall stature, he was the eldest among the abandoned children of Merifield Orphanage, unable to be adopted due to the assumption that he would eat a lot.
This boy, who had nothing remarkable about him, was behaving uncharacteristically for the first time in his fifteen years—though to be honest, he fell a bit short of being fifteen.
“… So, Lillian left to find her parents. Since then, I haven’t seen her or heard any news.
He had spilled everything about Lillian to someone he had just met.
Why didn’t he have a place to share such stories before?
Once his mouth opened, it seemed it would never close. Thanks to that, Cedric was able to hear in detail about the circumstances of Lillian’s sudden departure from the orphanage after experiencing the death of her close friend.
Even in the midst of that, Theo didn’t let his guard down easily. Endless suspicion resided in his flickering eyes as he looked at Cedric.
‘He doesn’t seem like an ordinary person.’
Although the two men in front of him were not dressed particularly fancy, their speech and behavior gave off an unmistakable air of nobility. Not the kind of noble like Winston, the orphanage director, who acted as if he were nobility, but genuine nobility that a commoner orphan like himself would never have the chance to encounter.
But why were these people here, asking about Lillian?
‘Is this really a wise thing to do?’
Theo habitually adjusted his appearance by running his hand through his disheveled hair, then looked at Cedric, cleared his throat, and straightened his posture once again.
Cedric’s stern and restrained attitude had the authority to make the person facing him feel a sense of dignity. He could be described as a specimen of a knight that Theo had admired and wished to become someday, as seen in books.
‘What kind of relationship does this person have with Lillian, anyway?’
To be honest, there was a mountain of questions Theo wanted to ask. If it had been his usual self, he wouldn’t have spoken until the other side had properly clarified their relationship with Lillian.
And perhaps Cedric felt the same way, as he asked this question after hearing all the stories.
“First of all, thank you for sharing. Were you close to Lillian?”
“Not really, well… I’m not sure. Maybe a little.”
“In that case, it’s even more incomprehensible. You seemed quite guarded, so is there a reason you willingly told me about Lillian?”
On the surface, it seemed like a question that was prying too much after offering to share the information. However, Theo easily understood the intention behind the question.
Cedric was asking if he could trust Theo’s words.
Fortunately, Theo had an answer.
“I was asked to.”
And at the same time, that was also the reason why Theo shared Lillian’s story.
Theo went to the warehouse and took something out. It was probably something he had carefully hidden, wrapped tightly in a bag of flour.
“Lillian has left, and if there’s anyone among the people coming to the orphanage who knows about Lillian, please pass this on.”
Cedric untied the bag and took out its contents.
It was a notepad that wasn’t very thick.
The first page had the name of the user-written on it. Cedric cleared his throat and read the name out loud.
“… Swan.”
* * *
Honestly, Theo wasn’t close to Swan during his lifetime.
No, to be more precise, the only one who was close to Swan at the Maryfield orphanage was Lillian.
“Why does Lillian stick around with the princess like that?”
“Well, maybe being a maid suits her nature. Thanks to that, she doesn’t have to clean the dining hall, you know.”
“Uh, I just want to clean. Because of Swan, I always get scolded by the director. I don’t like that.”
The children at the orphanage didn’t particularly like Swan, who received special treatment. Of course, there were some children who looked at Lillian, who was always with Swan, with envy.
However, when most of them saw that Lillian would occasionally be punished under the pretext of not properly taking care of Swan, they sympathized with her.
Thus, Swan was the princess of the orphanage and, at the same time, an isolated person.
No one besides Lillian wanted to associate with Swan, and Swan, except for Lillian, behaved as if no one else was needed.
At least, until this day.
“Brother Theo.”
While washing his face at the water tap, Theo raised his head at the familiar name and unfamiliar voice.
Because of the scorching sun and the eye contact, his expression wrinkled. After wiping the water dripping down his chin, he looked around, then shifted his gaze back to the person in front of him.
“… What?”
It was Swan who called him. A pretty girl with long, flowing black hair was looking at him with sparkling eyes.