After enjoying the marketplace, Arthur and Kei finally arrived at their destination. Arthur offered to help carry the cookies, but Kei promptly refused with a firm refusal.
“That’s part of a personal maid’s duties.”
“Lord Arthur, what brings you to a place like this?”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. I just wanted to have a look.”
Morgan was supposed to have contacted them in advance, but the priest still looked flustered as he came out to greet Arthur, half in disbelief.
Why was he here? Arthur couldn’t say he’d like to know that himself.
Truthfully, Morgan had reached her own conclusions and decided he should visit the orphanage—so being asked that question was a little awkward.
“This place is amazing… It’s called ‘Arthur Orphanage’? That’s so lovely—it has the same name as yours, Lord Arthur!”
“Yes! This orphanage was established to commemorate Lord Arthur’s birth. To think that Arthur himself would truly come here—I was so moved I nearly wept… Thank you.”
The priest really did look on the verge of tears as he gazed at Arthur. He was clearly overjoyed.
And it wasn’t hard to see why.
Though Arthur’s character had its… issues, his healing abilities were widely known even among clergy, and many had come to venerate him almost as a divine figure.
As for Arthur himself—
‘There’s an orphanage named after me?!’
He had no idea. Well, technically, he might’ve heard about it once, but he’d likely ignored it, thinking it unimportant. Now, he was confused by how grateful everyone seemed just because he showed up.
“What are you saying? It’s an orphanage bearing my name. Of course I care. Keep up the good work.”
“Yes!! Thank you for your gracious words!!”
“Hehe, you’re amazing, Lord Arthur!!”
Despite feigning familiarity, Arthur was met with the priest nearly crying in joy and Kei looking at him with deep admiration. He barely held back a self-satisfied smirk.
Was it really this easy to get people to thank you? Was he amazing? Did he earn Good Deed Points just by existing?
He was in an excellent mood. Of course, people had thanked him before. But this—this was the first time he’d been celebrated so much without even using his healing magic.
Not bad…
“Guaah!”
At that exact moment, something struck his face with incredible force. A sickening sound echoed in the hall.
“Lord Arthur!! Are you alright?!”
“Who did that?! Who threw the bucket?! Lord Arthur, please forgive us!!”
Kei rushed to his side in concern, and the priest turned pale as he scolded the children. After all, this was the second prince. At worst, the orphanage could be shut down. The child could even be executed.
The kids were trembling, realizing they’d made a terrible mistake by hitting someone in such fine clothing.
“Heh, kids sure are energetic.”
But to everyone’s surprise, Arthur smiled as if nothing had happened. Not because he had become a saint overnight. Normally, the old Arthur would’ve exploded: “You little brat, what the hell?!”
But this Arthur had just been praised by Morgan, welcomed tearfully by a priest—and most importantly, he had a secret weapon: the Good Deed Notebook.
It had happened the night before. When he returned from Morgan’s office, he noticed the Good Deed Notebook glowing. The entry that had once said “???” now read in blue: “Solve the problem at the orphanage.”
In other words, if Arthur resolved whatever issue this orphanage was facing, he could escape his guillotine flag.
Knowing that made it easy to smile. With a perfectly self-serving grin, Arthur addressed the guilty children.
“Did you know? Buckets hurt when they hit someone. It’s fine to play, but be careful, okay?”
“Yes sir!!”
“Lord Arthur… how kind…”
“A true saint… I’m honored to work in this orphanage…”
Kei looked on in awe, and the priest shed tears at Arthur’s supposed magnanimity. Anyone who had known the old Arthur—Morgan, for instance—would immediately have questioned why he hadn’t snapped. But luckily, Kei didn’t know him well yet, and the priest was seeing him through the lens of a “merciful prince who visited the orphanage out of compassion.”
Utterly blind.
Encouraged by the children’s sincere responses, Arthur continued.
“And make sure to study. If you do, you’ll grow up to be admirable people.”
Of course, these weren’t Arthur’s own words. They were Morgan’s, from when she used to lecture him for refusing to study as a child. Arthur, naturally, had no issue telling others to do what he himself had failed at.
“…Even if I study, if I die, it’s pointless. Who’s gonna teach us anyway? We don’t even have anyone to show us how.”
“Hey! Ease!!”
One boy spoke up. Without flinching, he glared at Arthur, even though Arthur was clearly an adult. Kei moved protectively, trying to intervene—but Arthur stepped forward toward the boy named Ease.
Ease flinched for a moment—but Arthur said something unexpected.
“Someone’s in pain, huh…? Take me to them. I’ll heal them.”
“Lord Arthur!! Are you going to… like you did for me…?”
“You can’t!! Using your precious miracle on us lowly commoners—it’s too much!!”
Kei and the priest panicked, but Arthur didn’t care. He was a selfish prince by nature.
“Pain hurts, doesn’t it? And being in pain all the time… must be unbearable.”
The old Arthur wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But now, Arthur Pendragon knew pain. And the person suffering was probably younger than him.
As memories of prison torment resurfaced, Arthur winced, as if biting down on something bitter.
