Chapter 16

Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

“Is something the matter?”
“That… um. It is not that the little one is causing trouble. To tell the truth…”
“Peter, Big Brother, is simply too tender-hearted.”
A small voice rang out from behind the Director of the orphanage.
It was the very same youngster who had first stepped forward to accept the baked goods prepared by Lion and Rikschel.
“Elena.”
“No need to scold. Could you clarify precisely what you mean by that?”
Before the Director could reprimand the child, Lion intervened gently, directing his question straight to Elena.
“Yes. Well, Peter, Big Brother is…”
Elena’s explanation, put simply, came down to this:
Peter was an exceptionally affectionate soul, so he deliberately tried to distance himself from anyone who was only passing through for a single visit.
Consequently, he was turning down all nourishment and aid provided by outside visitors.
“Indeed. Sadly, Elena is telling the truth. That boy… even when the Young Masters offer him pastries himself, he refuses to touch them.”
The Director muttered, her expression heavy with sorrow.
“In truth, it is quite alarming. He is already remarkably slender, and now he is fasting like this after so long…”
‘It cannot be helped.’
Rikschel gave a slow nod.
While he felt a deep sense of sympathy, there was ultimately nothing they, as outsiders, could do to fix the situation.
“In that case, it would make more sense to hand his portion over to someone else…”
“Where is the boy? I will go and persuade him.”
Lion, however, took a different stance.
‘All I need to do is prove to him that I am here to stay.’
If the child was rejecting kindness out of fear that they would never return, they simply needed to come back again later.
He had nothing urgent pressing him anyway, and he could always make use of that hairpin down the road.
“He is hiding out in the backyard behind the main building. If you are truly set on this, I shall accompany you.”
“Please lead the way.”
As the trio made their way around the back, they indeed spotted a small figure huddled tightly against the stone wall.
It was clearly the intended recipient of the final loaf.
Yet…
‘He is terribly thin.’
Just as the Director had warned, he looked far more fragile than the rest of the children.
Judging by the frailness of his exposed arms, it would hardly be surprising if he collapsed at any second.
‘He seems around the same age as Mudu’s little ones.’
“Peter! Stand up. These are the kind individuals who baked for us today. Come and take your share.”
The Director called out in a warm, encouraging tone, but…
“…I am not eating.”
“Come now, they went to all that trouble to prepare this. Can you not manage at least a small bite?”
“No.”
Faced with such stubborn resistance, the Director stepped back slightly with a strained, apologetic smile.
“He is not a bad boy at all. It is simply that… well, as Elena mentioned, he is terribly young.”
Then, dropping her voice to a whisper too quiet for the boy to catch, she added:
“His adoption fell through three separate times. He is far too guarded now.”
“…”
Rikschel cast a sideways glance at his older brother, Lion.
At this juncture, wouldn’t it be wiser to simply walk away?
‘Knowing my brother, he will never give up.’
Anticipating Lion’s next move, Rikschel took a deliberate step backward to clear some room.
Just as expected, Lion strode forward without hesitation.
“You are Peter, correct?”
“…”
While he had at least deigned to reply to the Director, he did not even offer Lion the courtesy of an answer.
Unfazed, Lion dangled the bread right in front of his face.
“This is the very last piece. Did everyone else finish theirs?”
“Go away… I am not eating…”
Just as the words left his mouth.
A rich, mouth-watering buttery fragrance drifted outward from the pastry.
At that exact moment.
*Grrrrumble-*
A resounding growl echoed from deep within the small frame, and Peter’s face turned crimson.
‘Clearly, he is far from full.’
The situation was suddenly crystal clear.
Given that he had suffered the heartbreak of three failed adoptions at such a tender age, it made complete sense that he had walled himself off entirely from strangers.
Even if he were to be adopted again, it would undoubtedly take him a very long time to adjust.
‘If he were merely throwing a tantrum, I would have teased him out of it.’
This, however, went far beyond something that could be fixed by treating him like a petulant toddler.
‘In a case like this…’
Lion lowered himself smoothly to the ground, sitting right beside Peter without uttering another word.
“…”
Peter was slightly startled, but he quickly feigned indifference and buried his face deeper between his knees.
He knew that if he kept up his stubborn protest, the temptation would eventually vanish.
“…Well then, I shall go and check on the rest of the children.”
Seeing Lion settle in, the Director quietly excused herself.
She held little hope that this approach would work.
Even so, she secretly wished this might somehow give Peter a chance to crack open his locked heart.
Time slipped away.
Eventually, even the visiting volunteers began packing up to head home for the evening.
“…”
Peter slowly raised his head from his knees.
He must have drifted off while waiting for them to leave.
‘Surely he is gone by now.’
Are not all adults cut from the exact same cloth?
They offer up a superficial show of charity.
They even make hollow promises to return with a bright smile.
And then they never show their faces again.
‘Absolute liars.’
Even his prospective adoptive parents had been no different.
Simply because he failed to match their idealized expectations, simply because he was not affectionate enough.
Because the child did not look at them like true parents.
‘They threw me away.’
Believing that if they merely dropped him back off at the orphanage, he would somehow manage to survive on his own.
Therefore, the man who had been sitting by his side moments ago must have abandoned his post as well.
Just like all the rest…
At That Precise Moment.
“Awake, are you?”
A calm voice drifted over from his flank.
“Gasp!”
Peter jumped in fright and whipped his head around.
The young noble who had come to volunteer was still sitting right there.
‘Did he return while I was asleep?’
No, had that been the case, his keen senses would have picked up on it.
His hearing was exceptionally sharp.
Does that mean he had spent all that time sitting quietly by his side, ignoring everything else?
“You looked so peaceful while sleeping, I chose not to wake you. Are you truly not hungry?”
Lion produced the bread once more.
The steam had long since faded, but because he had kept it clutched in his hands, it had not gone completely cold.
*Grrrrumble-*
At the sight of the food, his neglected stomach staged another noisy protest.
“…Hmph.”
Peter jerked his head away in an effort to resist, but…
“I suppose I am hungry, then.”
True to form, Lion showed no signs of irritation.
“Are you quite certain you will not have any? Very well, then.”
This time, offering a playful grin, he made one final gesture before taking matters into his own hands.
‘What is the meaning of this…?’
While Peter sat frozen in sheer bewilderment.
*Rip-*!
Lion tore off a generous chunk of the pastry he was holding and popped it straight into his own mouth.
“…”
Peter’s eyes widened to the size of saucers at the sight.
What—what on earth is he doing!?
The food intended specifically for him had just vanished down someone else’s throat!
This was a completely unprecedented form of betrayal.
The man was not begging him to eat, nor was he losing his temper and demanding he starve, nor was he pointing fingers and labeling him a greedy orphan.
The bread simply vanished.
And in a single bite, a full third of it was gone!
“Ah, this is wonderful. I happened to be rather famished myself.”
*Munch munch!*
Lion chewed the pastry with obvious enjoyment.
“Wh-what do you think you are doing?!”
“Eating bread, of course?”
Answering with utter nonchalance, Lion ripped off yet another massive piece.
‘My bread!!’
He was shoving it down at such a pace that barely half of the loaf remained.
Panic immediately seized Peter, driving away all hesitation.
“Since you declared you would not touch it, I had no alternative but to finish it myself.”
Even as Peter sputtered in frantic outrage, Lion casually tore off another fragment.
‘Wait, hold on—’
If I do not eat it now… will it all be stolen away?
Turning down food and having food actively snatched from one’s grasp were two entirely different concepts.
This had nothing to do with whether someone was offering affection or not.
No, his brain could not even process those complex thoughts right now.
Plain and simple! His bread was disappearing right before his eyes!
Just as Lion raised another piece toward his mouth!
“I-I will eat it! I will eat it!”
“Oh? Is that true?”
“I said I will eat it!”
“That sounds terribly doubtful. Say ah~.”
“Ugh, you—!”
Grumbling fiercely, Peter snatched the remaining bread out of the air, stuffed it into his mouth, and glared at Lion with a defiant scowl.
And then…
“…”
He began to chew without even realizing it.
The bread… was astonishingly good.
Especially for someone who spent most of his days half-starved, how could it taste like anything less than heaven?
It took only a few moments for Peter to toss his remaining wariness to the wind and polish off half the loaf.
‘That is it. At his age, a child needs to eat his fill.’
Watching Peter finish his meal with a look of quiet contentment, Lion casually pulled another hidden piece of bread from his tunic and held it out.
“Here you go. Technically this was my share, but I suppose I can spare it.”
Naturally, this was just another portion belonging to Peter all along, but Lion lied without so much as a flicker of guilt.
“…”
Peter stared at the offering, caught in an internal debate over whether to accept it.
“If you do not want it, I suppose I shall have to consume this one as well.”
“Ah, no! Thank you…”
Finally caving, Peter snatched the bread and devoured it as well.
Though he sniffled softly as he ate, Lion wisely chose to ignore it.
Instead, he raised a finger to his lips, casting a glance over at the Director, who was watching Peter’s transformation with absolute astonishment from afar.
Only after the last crumb had vanished did Lion reach out and gently pat the boy’s head.
“You are a good eater.”
“This, well…”
Peter opened his mouth, clearly searching for an excuse.
He desperately wanted to snap, “Are you not just like all the rest?” but the words simply refused to cross his lips.
Just as he was trying to convince himself that the only reason he ate was because the bread was dry.
“Let me ask you something. Even grown adults skip their meals when they are upset. Yet you, Peter, refuse to skip your meals even in the middle of a tantrum and still manage to eat so well.”
“…”
“Well done.”
“…”
Peter’s lips worked silently for a moment before he clenched his small fist and blurted out:
“It is only because the bread happens to be tasty!”
“Is that a fact?”
“Yes! So, um…”
Lion maintained his patient silence, refusing to rush him.
Until Peter finally let his true feelings slip through.
“…So, thank you. For baking such good bread.”
“I will make you even more next time.”
Lion flashed a warm smile and extended his pinky finger.
“Promise.”
“…Yes. Promise.”
“By the way, Big Brother has never once broken a promise in his life. Keep that firmly in mind.”
At last, the dark scowl melted away from Peter’s face, replaced by a genuine smile.
While he might not have fully trusted the promise just yet, he had undeniably opened his heart to Lion.
To break through and reach even a single soul.
That was what mattered most.
“Oh, good heavens…”
The Director, watching the scene unfold from a distance, raised both hands to cover her trembling mouth.
‘How many years has it been since I last witnessed that child smile…!’
Ever since the Director had arrived at the orphanage, Peter’s smiles had slowly drained away one by one.
Even with all her devotion, the Director had been powerless to heal the deep scars left behind by three failed adoptions.
Yet the problem had been solved by a younger boy…
Accompanied by a noble young master who supposedly knew nothing of the harsh realities of the world.
‘To be honest, I initially thought he was entirely untrustworthy.’
Or rather, I firmly believed he was simply indulging in a passing whim.
Even so, I had felt a measure of gratitude. Was he not a remarkable individual who had mobilized so many people to aid the orphanage children?
However…
‘He treats these little ones with genuine sincerity.’
If anything, the only one harboring prejudice all along had been the Director herself.
Closing her eyes tightly for a moment, the Director drew in a sharp breath and opened them again.
‘That noble soul truly merits the highest of divine blessings…!’
She had no idea how she could possibly repay such a blessed young master, but she resolved right then and there to do everything within her power.
That meant reaching out to the priest—her single reliable connection.
Word had already reached her that he would be arriving at the crack of dawn to offer prayers for the children.
“Excuse me, would the two of you be willing to linger at the orphanage for just a brief moment? There is someone special I would love for you to meet.”