MTO C12

Chapter 12

The children, to their credit, tried to wash their own dishes after the meal. It was a commendable habit, but just for today, Michel offered to do it instead. He wanted the children to feel as though they were being treated like kings.

Standing at the entrance of the dining hall, Michel began asking each child’s name.

“What’s your name, friend?”

“Charlotte!”

“Ah, Charlotte. Did you enjoy your meal?”

Up until yesterday, he had assumed that the headmaster of the orphanage would at least know the children’s names. But what kind of child abuser would bother memorizing their faces? As expected, the children found it slightly odd when Michel asked their names, but none seemed hurt or offended.

“Hello, didn’t we meet yesterday?”

Michel greeted two children walking side by side. He had come across them in the backyard of the orphanage the day before.

One was a boy with dark brown hair and matching eyes, giving off a sharp, intelligent impression. The other was a little girl, a young lady with ashen blond hair and strikingly dark blue eyes.

“What are your names?”

“…Oliver.”

“Alice.”

Both children appeared more wary than the others and seemed a little older as well. Michel’s expression turned solemn.

“Oliver, Alice. I must have scared you pretty badly yesterday, didn’t I? I’m truly sorry. I never intended to hurt you with that object.”

As soon as Michel apologized, a strange change flickered across the children’s faces. Oliver gave a stiff nod and tried to leave the dining hall, but Alice stood rooted in front of Michel, refusing to move.

“Why is an adult apologizing?”

Oliver tugged at Alice’s hand, trying to stop her, but she stood her ground and looked Michel straight in the eyes. Michel did not look away either.

“If an adult does something wrong, they must apologize. I frightened you yesterday, so apologizing is the right thing to do. Does it seem strange to you that I’m saying sorry?”

“…Yes.”

Alice was an honest child. Oliver fidgeted uneasily, but he did not abandon his friend. Both of them were brave enough to be praised.

“I see. That makes sense. But remember this—if I do wrong in the future, I will always apologize to you. Whether you accept my apology or not is entirely up to you.”

Alice tilted her head, as if the words were too difficult for her to grasp. Michel smiled softly at the sight.

“Alice, yesterday you tried to protect Leon, didn’t you? That was truly amazing. Very brave of you.”

The day before, Alice had covered Leon’s mouth in the backyard of the orphanage, trying to stop his cries. Like Barbara, she was afraid Leon would be whipped if he made noise.

As she received his praise, Alice’s cheeks turned a rosy pink.

“Let’s go already.”

Seemingly at his limit, Oliver tugged Alice away firmly. Even as she let herself be pulled, Alice kept looking back at Michel. When their eyes locked, Michel gave her a small wave. Startled, Alice quickly snapped her head away.

If only I hadn’t brought out the whip yesterday…

Michel sighed as he watched the two children vanish quickly through the door. The first impression was always crucial, yet he had destroyed it horribly. Well, perhaps yesterday wasn’t their first meeting with him, but still.

When he turned back toward the dining hall, a small boy was suddenly standing before him.

“Hello, Leon.”

Aside from Heart, Leon was the only child whose name he knew. His fluffy pink hair, soft like dandelion seeds, was irresistibly cute. Michel crouched down to his level.

“Did you enjoy your meal, Leon?”

Leon didn’t answer. He just stared up at Michel with wide eyes, blinking slowly before tilting his head.

“God?”

The sight was so adorable that Michel felt a smile melt across his face despite himself.

“Yes. God told me many times to be good to you. He asked me to tell you that He loves you very, very much.”

Leon’s eyes, green as fresh spring fields, glimmered with curiosity. The child who had once sobbed so bitterly was nowhere to be found.

How could anyone harm such a small child…

The memory of the original story ignited Michel’s fury anew against the former owner of this body. He had been angry even when reading the webtoon, but now that he had personally met Leon—seen him with his own eyes—the pain of what the child had suffered cut unbearably deep.

Michel extended his little finger toward him.

“From now on, the headmaster will protect you, Leon.”

There would be no future where the boy suffered through torment until he drew his last breath.

Suddenly, Leon threw out his arms and wrapped them around Michel’s neck. Momentarily startled, Michel quickly returned the embrace. The child’s tiny body was warm, seeping slowly into his chest, and his rough little breaths tickled Michel’s ear. The vivid presence of life made Michel’s heart feel as though it was melting.

“Stay away from Leon!”

But it didn’t last long. Heart stormed over furiously and pried Leon away from Michel. She shot him a sharp glare before leading Leon out of the dining hall. The boy scurried after her with his short legs, stomping quickly to keep up.

Michel clenched and unclenched his hands awkwardly as he stood. At that moment, David approached him quietly from the side.

“Are you not going to ask my name, Headmaster?”

“…Shall I?”

“It would be an honor, but no need. What I want to ask is what precisely is going on here.”

David was smiling, but his eyes flashed with a keen sharpness. Michel chuckled uneasily, looking away. And there, standing quietly with a flushed face, was Barbara, watching him intently.

There’s no easy escape now…

“Heh, ha…”

Once all the children were sent upstairs, only three people remained in the dining hall.

Michel sipped at the nameless herbal tea Barbara had poured for him. Outwardly he appeared calm, but sweat poured down his back like sudden summer rain.

What now?

He had been so caught up in comforting the wounded hearts of the children that he hadn’t prepared any explanation for the adults. For a moment, he considered confessing the truth—but surely they would dismiss him as insane.

Hadn’t Kaidan already concluded he was mentally unsound after hearing his real name? Having just resolved to live as Michel, it would be disastrous to be cast out of the orphanage like a lunatic so soon.

Instead of sighing, Michel swallowed another mouthful of tea. As he set down the slightly cooled cup, he met Barbara’s eyes.

“H-heavenly Father… Sister Barbara.”

“…Yes, Headmaster.”

“Did you truly return after meeting God?”

Michel stared at her, startled. The nun’s eyes shone with childlike radiance, not a trace of mockery or doubt.

Of course. She is still a nun through and through.

There could be no one more devoted to God in this place than Barbara. Given that Michel had returned with a saint’s token in his hand, it was only natural that she believed him wholeheartedly.

Realizing the situation, Michel straightened his posture.

“Yes. That is correct. I know I have troubled you greatly until now. I truly apologize, Sister.”

Not knowing exactly what the previous headmaster had done to Barbara, all he could offer was a vague apology. But that alone was enough to bring her to tears. With joyful sobs, she dabbed at her eyes, and the warmth of seeing her rejoice filled Michel’s own heart like freshly kindled firewood.

“You really met God Himself?”

Ah—damn!

Michel slowly turned his head. Beside Barbara, David’s expression remained skeptical, his face twisted with distaste.

“Until now, you never once spoke of such a thing, did you?”

Deceiving the warmhearted nun might be easy, but deceiving a trained knight was an entirely different matter. And now that the words were spoken, he couldn’t retract them either. Michel darted his eyes nervously around.

“Well… It’s just that the memories only came back to me last night.”

“Your memories suddenly returned?”

“Yes, yes. But not everything in detail, just bits and pieces…”

“…Bits and pieces.”

David’s frown deepened further. In desperation, Michel resorted to his last trick.

“Ugh—thinking too much makes my head…!”

“Are you all right, Headmaster?”

Grabbing his head and groaning, Michel pretended to suffer. When he had been Kim Jeong-oh, no one ever believed his feigned sicknesses. But as Michel, the act seemed strangely effective.

Or perhaps they’re just letting it slide…

He reassured Barbara that he was fine and sneaked a glance at David’s face. Though the knight still bore a look of quiet suspicion, it seemed he would not press further—at least not for now.

“So then, which parts do you remember, and which not at all?”

“Um… I recall some conversations with God, and I also know I did many terrible things before… but the details, the specifics, are lost to me.”

Before his clumsy lies unraveled further, Michel quickly pulled something from within his robes.

“That’s why, I’d like your help with this.”

It was an item he had found in the headmaster’s office. The way it had been carefully tucked away in a desk drawer suggested it was important, but he hadn’t been able to decipher it himself.

“What is this?”

He handed the book to David, who opened it and scanned the pages.

“It appears to be a ledger of the orphanage’s finances.”

“Yes, that’s right. It contains records of the donations made to the orphanage.”

Barbara added her own confirmation. The answer was no surprise to Michel.

“So, do we still have funds left over?”

“If the ledger is accurate, we are secure until next winter, but…”

David trailed off and glanced toward Barbara, whose complexion quickly paled. Even without words, Michel could already guess the truth about their financial state. Still, he clung to a sliver of hope.

“Sister, do you know how much budget remains for the orphanage?”

“…Ordinarily, the headmaster himself managed the finances.”

And just like that, his hope was crushed. Yesterday, Michel had scoured the office thoroughly yet hadn’t found even a single coin.

Perhaps the headmaster had hidden the money in some secret place no one else could reach. But this was the very same man who, in the webtoon, had been both a gambling addict and an alcoholic. He only returned to the orphanage when he ran out of money elsewhere. Such a man saving diligently for the future? Impossible.