I’ll Be the Heroine’s Competent Divorce Partner - Chapter 117
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 117
* * *
After receiving the box containing twenty éclairs.
I turned the carriage around.
The place we finally arrived at was a single-story mansion located not far from Bella’s Dress Shop.
The mansion had a small garden surrounded by a low stone wall.
Beyond the wall, children could be seen playing in the garden.
“Kyahahaha!”
“Peter, wait!”
Under the bright sunlight pouring down, the cheerful laughter of young children occasionally burst forth.
The Crown Prince widened his eyes as he looked at the mansion.
“This place is…”
I answered calmly.
“This is a place operated by our Bella Dress Shop. You could call it a kind of childcare facility.”
“A childcare facility?”
“Yes. Most of our dress shop’s seamstresses have children, but there aren’t many places to leave them while working.”
I continued my explanation gently.
“So we directly employ people to take care of the children. When work ends and it’s time to go home, the seamstresses each come to pick up their children.”
“Do you provide this support for free?”
“Well, it’s free for children up to ten years old. For older children, we charge a small fee.”
“I see, but operating this facility with just those fees can’t be easy.”
“We have to bear that much. I think of it as welfare for our employees.”
I shrugged my shoulders lightly.
Recently, Bella Dress Shop has been doing extremely well, so providing this much isn’t difficult.
More importantly, when I first hired the seamstresses, I made a promise.
That I would make sure they wouldn’t have to worry about their children at the very least.
“…A childcare facility.”
The Crown Prince looked around with fresh eyes.
“I see. The Empire currently only has orphanages that care for orphaned children.”
In the Empire, caring for children is usually considered the mother’s responsibility.
But if it were a world where every mother could leisurely care for their children, orphanages wouldn’t exist in the first place.
I shrugged my shoulders and pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong- ding-dong-ding-dong-.
As I waited for a moment, I could sense someone approaching from far away.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Elodie. Abigail should have contacted you in advance.”
Click.
The door opened.
A middle-aged woman with a gentle appearance came rushing out breathlessly.
“Hello, you must be Lady Elodie…?!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I nodded and gave her a bright smile.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, but this is the first time I’m seeing you in person.”
Having broken the ice, I offered a polite greeting.
“I’m Elodie, co-representative of Bella Dress Shop.”
At those words, Esther showed a clearly surprised expression and hastily bowed.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Esther.”
Esther.
She was a teacher at this care facility.
I smiled sheepishly.
“I was hoping to visit earlier when I had the chance, but it ended up being much later than I thought.”
Until now, Isabel and I had been hiding our identities, so Abigail had been managing the care facility on our behalf.
But now that we could engage in outside activities without issue.
I had come to visit in person.
“I felt bad about only hearing news through Abigail all the time. I came to meet Esther directly and listen if you have any concerns.”
“I see. Would you like to come inside for now?”
Esther nodded, then suddenly looked puzzled as she turned toward the Crown Prince.
“Come to think of it, who might this person be?”
“Ah.”
I hesitated for a moment.
How should I introduce him?
Would it be okay to openly reveal his identity as His Highness the Crown Prince?
Or should I make up something appropriate?
“Ah, I’m an employee of the dress shop. I came to escort the Lady.”
Fortunately, the Crown Prince answered first.
He went even further, giving a charming smile and adding casually.
“Please feel free to call me Joseph.”
Joseph, really?
Isn’t that a rather lazy way of coming up with a name?
It’s too obvious that it’s derived from Joshua.
Meanwhile, Esther looked at the Crown Prince with suspicious eyes.
Well, with that outstanding appearance and luxurious attire.
His looks were far too striking to pass for a mere dress shop employee.
But His Highness the Crown Prince maintained his bright smile, determined to accept no questions whatsoever.
“Please come inside for now.”
Esther didn’t ask any more questions and stepped back.
And so we entered the garden.
The children who had been playing excitedly were now staring at us intently.
“Kids, you should say hello.”
Esther spoke warmly to the children.
“This is Lady Elodie.”
“Hello, kids. My name is Elodie.”
Toward the several pairs of eyes filled with curiosity and wariness, I offered the most gentle greeting I could manage.
“Hello.”
The children also politely returned the greeting.
Then they started glancing at me and the Crown Prince.
“Aren’t you both fairies?”
“Fairies?”
“You know, the fairies that live on Fairy Island. They’re the prettiest in the world, but when night comes they transform into monster flowers.”
“Oh, those fairies that Jackson defeats?!”
“Yeah, those ones! Jackson said so. That being suspicious is an adventurer’s virtue!”
They started whispering among themselves with suspicious faces…
Wait, what fairies and what monster flowers?
And we’re even in the role of being defeated?!
“Oh my, kids. That’s just a fairy tale book.”
A flustered Esther quickly calmed the children down.
Then she looked back at me and the Crown Prince with an apologetic face.
“I’m sorry. The kids have been completely absorbed in adventure storybooks lately.”
“It’s fine.”
I chuckled and gestured toward the carriage with my eyes.
“Oh right, I bought some snacks for the children to eat. I loaded them in the carriage…”
At the same time, I saw it.
The sight of the children whipping around to look this way like meerkats.
Even how the children’s eyes, filled with anticipation, sparkled like stars.
‘Gulp.’
An intense sense of duty settled on my shoulders.
The duty to somehow live up to those expectations.
‘It’s, it’s fine.’
I swallowed my dry saliva.
The snacks I bought are éclairs that are rumored to be the most delicious in the territory…!
* * *
The children gathered closely around a large table.
Each had a plate with a large chocolate éclair and a glass of cool milk in front of them.
The excited children chattered like young birds.
“Wow, this looks delicious!”
“What’s this bread called?”
“Isn’t that a cream donut?”
“Silly. It looks different from a donut.”
“Then is it cake?”
“No, cake is fluffy.”
Just then, Esther clapped her hands once with a sharp sound.
The children’s gazes turned toward Esther.
After clearing her throat a couple times with a few coughs, Esther opened her mouth in a clear voice.
“Everyone, what should you say when you receive a gift?”
As soon as those words fell, the children quickly turned to look at me and the Crown Prince.
Then they shouted in unison at the top of their lungs.
“Thank you!”
“We’ll eat well!”
Their thanks were so resounding that, with a bit of exaggeration, I thought the mansion’s roof might fly off…
I quickly put on my Princess smile and answered warmly.
“Everyone eat deliciously.”
“Yes!”
The children devoured the éclairs with truly combative enthusiasm.
As the surroundings became quiet for a moment.
Esther and I exchanged various conversations.
“Is there anything inconvenient about running the facility?”
“No, not particularly. Abigail takes care of everything meticulously.”
But we couldn’t continue our conversation for long.
The children, who had devoured the éclairs in the blink of an eye, swarmed back to Esther.
“Teacher! Peter is trying to steal my éclair!”
“Wh-when did I?”
A mischievous boy eyeing the éclair that a girl was savoring.
“Clara, give me back my doll!”
“My doll, your doll, where? The teacher said those are for everyone to play with together!”
And two little ladies having a heated argument over ownership of a doll.
At least it seemed fortunate that the children were getting along without any major issues.
‘Wh-what should I do about this?’
I came here today to discuss various matters related to the care facility with Esther.
At this rate, it seems like we won’t have any time at all?!
Just when I was breaking out in a cold sweat inwardly.
A refreshing voice came to rescue Esther and me…
“Kids, shall we go outside and play?”
It was His Highness the Crown Prince.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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