Published: September 6, 2025
Dirk clenched his fist as Hartmut quietly inquired.
“I want to become a noble and serve as either the head priest, the high priest, or the orphanage director.”
“Oh?”
Hartmut looked at Dirk with a hint of amusement, but his gaze remained sharp.
“Before Lady Rosemine came, the orphanage was in terrible condition. Because Lady Rosemine treated us well, we got meals and could survive winters without freezing.”
“It's good to see you understand that clearly.”
Hartmut nodded approvingly, as if looking at a promising student, and encouraged him to continue.
“Besides, Lady Rosemine is the only noble who would help gray priests in danger, and the reason the underage Lady Rosemine can remain head priest is because the high priest firmly supports her.”
Hartmut looked very satisfied with Dirk’s words. Though he was aware of the support they received and didn’t argue, there was a slight, almost imperceptible unease within him. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that Dirk was somewhat brainwashed by Hartmut.
“Last spring, when the news spread that the high priest would change, the gray priests and gray shrine maidens were very troubled. They didn’t know how the temple or the orphanage would change with a new high priest.”
I made various reforms as the orphanage director with the permission of Ferdinand, the high priest. Watching how the orphanage director always consulted the high priest before making decisions, it was naturally clear who held the higher position. If the new high priest opposed my plans, it wouldn't be surprising if the orphanage reverted to its former state. The adult gray priests who knew the old orphanage were very anxious.
“Lady Rosemine appointed Hartmut as the high priest. Everyone was happy because he was kind and didn’t treat Lady Rosemine harshly. But before that, I only knew the orphanage with Lady Rosemine, so I didn’t really understand why the adults were so glad.”
Before baptism, when Dirk never left the orphanage and only my close attendants visited, he had no memory of unpleasant nobles and thus couldn’t empathize with adult anxieties or relief.
The same was true when Conrad came to the orphanage. Adults were tense because he was a noble child, but Dirk was just happy to have a peer his age.
“Conrad was just like us. Until then, I was the only one using the black stones Fran brought, but then Conrad started using them too.”
Dirk, a self-eater, and Conrad, born noble, would occasionally use black mana stones to drain excess mana so it wouldn't overflow. Sharing this mana draining strengthened their sense of camaraderie, but Dirk never felt the difference between a noble child and an orphan.
“But when many noble children came in winter, every child acted arrogantly and rarely listened to adults. They would say things like ‘Why must a noble child do that?’ or ‘It’s just patience until I return to nobility.’”
Though they all lived in the orphanage, these nobles didn’t see themselves as part of it, and they clearly understood, as did the adults, that they were looked down upon. This was the first unpleasant class distinction Dirk encountered in the orphanage, which was supposed to be founded on equality.
“When Conrad asked me, ‘What do you think will happen if nobles like these become orphanage directors or high priests?’ I finally understood.”
After spending a season and seeing that the consciousness of children left behind without being taken in by their parents hadn’t changed, Dirk felt firsthand that normal noble kids never identify as orphans.
Then, recently, Wilma came back to the orphanage in a panic, telling us that in a year, Hartmut and I would leave the temple, Melchior would succeed, and Wilma would be bought out. The head priest, high priest, orphanage director, and orphanage manager would all change. The orphanage apparently fell into chaos. The adults’ confusion, who usually never lose composure, was very frightening to Dirk.
“I thought about what to do so the orphanage wouldn’t suffer, but I didn’t know. It would be good if a good noble who truly cared for the orphanage existed, but there are few good nobles, right? Going back to the old orphanage would be terrible... Delia can never leave the orphanage.”