Chapter 28 - The Future in Small Hands
"Hello there."
"Welcome. We've been expecting you."
Today, I visited the church accompanied by Sarah and Roger.
"The children have been waiting impatiently for your arrival, Rachel-sama," the Master Priest said with a smile. The thought of their faces brought a grin to my own lips. As we walked toward the back of the church, children came pouring out of the orphanage entrance like a landslide.
"It's Rachel-sama!"
"Rachel-sama! Welcome back!"
"Hey, we baked cookies today! You have to try some!"
"I would love to. Master Priest?"
"Go right ahead. I'll join you shortly."
Children grabbed both of my hands, tugging me forward, while others got behind me and gave me gentle shoves. "Careful now, don't run too fast or you'll trip."
Their smiles were infectious. It warmed my heart to be welcomed so enthusiastically every time.
About a month had passed since I started coming here. Following that day at the market, I had visited the church with my mother. As it was the local church, my mother had been here several times before. The current Master Priest had apparently been stationed here for three years.
When I first introduced myself, he had been shocked to learn I was the Marquis's daughter. However, his attitude toward me didn't change once he knew my status. I had met many people whose behavior shifted the moment they learned my rank. Having once been obsessed with status myself, I understood that impulse. But now, I realized that such people are rarely trusted. Who could trust someone who doesn't see the person behind the title? My inability to form genuine relationships in the past was likely because I was that kind of person. Seeing the Master Priest treat every visitor with equal care made me think, I want to be like him.
Time seemed to slow down here. There was a warmth that accepted everyone. It was no wonder so many people sought out this church.
The children had taken to me quickly as well. During my visits, I played with them, read stories, and taught them how to read and write. Roger, being a knight—the idol of every young boy—was always surrounded by a crowd of aspiring warriors. Sarah helped the two elderly sisters with chores and taught the girls how to sew.
"Hey, Rachel-sama, are you going to be the Prince's bride?"
I had just finished reading a picture book to a group of children aged three to eight when Mina asked the question, her large eyes blinking with curiosity. The question caught me off guard. An eight-year-old girl immediately chimed in to correct her.
"No, silly! She's his 'fiancée'!"
"Fiancée?"
"It means the person he's promised to marry! Right, Rachel-sama?"
All eyes turned to me with intense interest, leaving me with a wry smile. How should I explain this?
"That's right. A fiancée is someone who has made a promise to get married."
"So she is going to be the Prince's bride!"
"Wow, so Rachel-sama is a princess! That's amazing!"
"A princess?"
"I always thought Rachel-sama was a princess! She's so pretty."
As the children began to cheer and chatter, I noticed Mina looking down, her shoulders slumped in disappointment. I pulled her onto my lap. "What's wrong, Mina?"
"Um... if you become a bride, you won't come here anymore, right?"
"Well... if that happens, I might not be able to visit as often."
Mina clenched her small fists and fell silent. As I searched for the right words, she suddenly shouted, "I hate the Prince!"
"You hate him? Why?"
"Because he's going to take Rachel-sama away!"
I gently hugged Mina as she puffed out her cheeks and turned her face away. Children are more perceptive than they seem. The children here had lost their parents to death or financial hardship, or for reasons they didn't even understand. They were sensitive to the moods of adults and often overheard rumors.
Before I could speak, Mina's face lit up. "Oh! I know!"
"What is it?"
"You should just be the Master Priest's bride instead!"
"What?"
"The Master Priest is kind and handsome!"
"Well, yes, but..."
"If you do that, you can stay here forever!"
Mina looked at me with such pure, earnest joy at her 'brilliant' idea that I could only offer another awkward smile. How do I even answer that?
"Now, now, don't go troubling Rachel-sama."
A familiar, gentle voice sounded from behind us. I turned to see the Master Priest wearing a troubled smile. "Mina, they're setting out the snacks over there."
The moment she heard the word 'snacks,' Mina forgot all about our conversation. "Snacks!" she chirped, hopping off my lap and dashing out of the room without a backward glance.
The Master Priest sat in the chair beside me, his brow furrowed apologetically. "I wonder who she heard that from... I'm sorry. She put you in a difficult spot."
"No, it's fine..."
"Mina is particularly fond of you. I'm sure you have your own reasons for being here, and if you eventually return to the royal capital, she will be sad. But that, too, is an important experience for her. Please, don't let it weigh on you."
His violet eyes crinkled gently, as if he could see exactly what I was thinking. "I feel as though I'm just coming here when it's convenient for me, only to leave eventually... I feel like I'm just toying with their feelings."
Teaching them to read and write was only a temporary measure. Learning requires consistency to be effective. What could I really change by meddling for a short time before disappearing? Was I just doing this to make myself feel better?
"Then change things. From now on."
"Change things?"
"If you think about the future of the orphanage and the way we educate these children, this country will change. Children are the future. And that doesn't just apply to the children here."
"The future... Right now, I just enjoy being here. I don't actually know what to do concretely."
"Most adults are the same. I'm nearly in my mid-twenties, and I haven't achieved anything grand yet. I simply find this place comfortable as well."
The Master Priest laughed bashfully, yet he managed to point the way forward as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He gave me a sense of security—the feeling that it was okay to still be searching for answers.
"Still, I hope... this time lasts as long as possible."
"Pardon?"
"I'm the same as Mina. I find the place where you are to be very comfortable."
Was it just my imagination, or did he look a little lonely as he said that? Or was it just my own desire to stay that made me see it that way?