MTO C44

Chapter 44

“Excuse me a moment,” David murmured as he rose and unlatched the window.

With a sweep of wings, a massive black eagle settled gracefully on the sill. It bore the crest of House Eglence—the Duke’s war‑hawk messenger. David removed the parcel tied to its leg and unfolded it.

Surely they don’t mean to drag me back already?

Michel stiffened. Not even a full day had passed since he left Eglence Castle. He’d told Kaidan he’d come whenever summoned—but this soon?

He eyed the eagle uneasily. So regal, its bearing mirrored its master, proud and cold. But in the glint of its eyes, Michel swore he saw talons ready to slash. He pictured himself snatched up in those claws, dragged forcibly across the mountains. He shivered. Thankfully, nothing so dire occurred.

“As I said—your debts will not last even a week,” David boasted, passing part of the letter to Michel.

Michel snatched it, reading greedily.

In celebration of the birth of a new Saint.

Kaidan Eglence.

A short card. Attached to it, a thin slip of paper. Strange symbols, and beneath them, the number 100,000 habits, stamped with the ducal seal.

Michel turned it over and over.

“What… is this?”

“A bank draft,” David explained. “Exchangeable anywhere for coin. The Duke has sent this as his first donation to the Saint.”

Michel’s eyes bulged. He counted the digits twice, thrice. Surely he had misread? But no—the zeros were real, the word habits unmistakable.

100,000.

Even thirty thousand, he had once been told, was coin a peasant would never see in a lifetime. Yet this—more than thrice that sum.

Sudden cold fear gripped him. To hold so much by his frail hands?

“C‑can he even give such a sum? Is Brother Kaidan that rich?”

“…He is the Duke of Eglence. And a hero of war,” David replied, as if Michel asked whether water was wet. Michel’s confusion only deepened—after all, he had witnessed the kitchens running without basic sugar.

“Even so, yes—it is no mere gift. The Duke takes pride, that Valois has its first Saint.”

Michel was overcome. If Kaidan were here, he would have kissed him full on the cheek. Nagged him all festival, shadowed his every move—but behind it, he had hidden this thunderous gift!

Next time, no complaints. He would memorize the prayers perfectly.

As Michel clenched his vow, David heaved a long sigh—a sound of pure relief.

“With this, the orphanage’s emergency fund may rest untouched. And, of course, there’s no need for any—performances.”

“…Yes. Sister!”

Michel brandished the draft overhead. Barbara gasped at the generosity, but soon beamed, congratulating him. Yet when Michel declared he would pour the entire remainder into the orphanage after the debt, she nearly fainted, shaking him by the sleeves.

“But this is YOUR donation, Headmaster!”

“I’ve nothing else to spend it on.”

“Still—”

“Isn’t the orphanage my home? Spending for it is spending for me.”

His words slipped. He stopped in shock.

Home.

Yes—this was his home now. Wherever he went, he would always return here, to Valois Orphanage.

As lightning revelation struck, Michel blazed with conviction. He would pour it all back. Even Barbara, faced with such fervor, at last conceded.

“Not a penny will be wasted—I swear,” she murmured.

Thus the meeting shifted. The subject: how best to direct this giant sum. Michel and Barbara debated schooling, repairs, supplies; David interjected guidance. The parlor candles burned late into the night.

The next day.

“Has anyone seen Heart?”

Michel called the children together into the common room. Seven beds, but only six bodies. At his question, the little ones traded looks, shaking their heads. They knew—but none dared betray a brother.

Michel sighed. He didn’t pry further. Better preserve their loyalty.

While he had been gone, they had opened their hearts. Only later, with quiet and time, had they realized what he had done—fought for them against the dangerous men, driven the debt‑collectors away. Barbara’s earnest testimony and David’s gentle lies had sealed that tale—but at last the children had truly seen Saint Michel defend them.

All except Heart. He had missed that moment.

And now, Michel wondered—had he run away rather than endure him? In the original story, it was so; Heart would flee, fall into thievery, until fate redeemed him years later. But Michel could not abide that path. Not in this winter cold. He had altered so much already, even handed the dragon quest to Kaidan—why, if not to save children like Heart from their destined misery?

Patience. Calm. Slowly.

He forced down anxiety.

Barbara was in the kitchen, David gone to parley with debt‑men. For now, Michel had the six before him.

He had cleared the room of clutter; the floor wide. The youngsters twitched their necks like squirrels, unsettled by the new emptiness.

“Now—sit.”

“Yes, sir.”

The children plopped down in a row. Michel gathered his breath, placed both hands sternly on his knees.

“Taekwon! Hello!”

He snapped his bow in booming voice. The twins Dan and Max squealed, clutching at each other. Michel grinned up.

“From today I am not just Headmaster—I am Instructor Michel. You will call me Instructor during lessons. Understood?”

The children gaped, bewildered. Expected. He leaned in.

“Understood?”

Dan bobbed frantically.

“Louder.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

“Good. Again! Valois Orphanage children—Understood?”

“YES, INSTRUCTOR!!”

The shout was nervous, off‑pitch, but enough to satisfy the start.

Michel sat formally, mask of gravity.

“Days ago, something happened here that must never happen. Evil men came. They frightened you. Do you remember?”

Faces turned grim. Alice even trembled. He scanned them all.

“How did you feel, then?”

“…Scared,” whispered Charlotte.

He nodded.

“Yes. When men shouted, when they smashed your snowman, you were scared. Did anyone else feel other things?”

Timidly, one by one, they confessed. “Surprised.” “Hated it.” “Angry.” Michel received each word solemnly.

“You endured injustice that day. No one should act violent—child or grown.”

He paused. Eyes wide, waiting.

“But such men exist. There are good adults, and there are wicked ones.”

Fear flickered in small gazes. He softened his expression.

“But do not fear. For now, I—your Instructor—will protect you. If trouble comes, I’ll be at your side.”

He tapped his chest twice.