"It’s a relief, isn’t it, unnie?”

The two people standing in front of her seemed like good people.

Claire found that incredibly strange. Although she was still very young, she wasn’t so naive as to miss other people’s emotions.

From her earliest memories, she had wandered the back alleys. Her oldest recollection of herself was begging on the streets with a dented can, after being caught by the alley gangsters.

The gangsters always scared Claire by saying that bad things would happen if the police caught her. So, while begging on the main street, whenever she saw a police officer in the distance, she would slip into an alley and hide.

Since Claire was still young, she wasn’t given a daily quota, but those just a little older than her were. If they failed to meet the quota assigned by the gangsters based on their age, they would get beaten until their faces swelled. And often, their swollen faces ended up helping them beg more effectively.

However, the reason the gangsters didn’t assign a quota to young children like Claire wasn’t out of kindness or sympathy. It was simply because they knew there was no way the children would meet the quotas, even if they were assigned one.

If they had had any sympathy at all, they wouldn’t have sold Claire to the orphanage for money.

The old woman who regularly visited the gang saw Claire, handed over money to the gangsters, and bought her. Even as a small child, Claire understood she had been sold. She had seen enough exchanges of money and goods to recognize what was happening.

Of course, even though the children brought money to the gang, they were only given moldy bread in return.

“You’ll be sold for a good price,” the old woman had said, smiling, as she took Claire to the orphanage. It wasn’t even that long ago, so the memory was still vivid.

Life at the orphanage, though, was better than being under the gangsters.

Though the porridge had the texture of wet paper, at least she could eat at regular times and fill her empty stomach. As long as she obeyed the old woman, she wouldn’t be beaten. And, more importantly, even when she was beaten, it wasn’t severe enough to leave permanent injuries or scars.

At the orphanage, Claire met her first “good person.”

Sylvia.

The person who carried the last name Black seemed to be the oldest of the children. Although, in truth, the age difference didn’t seem that great. At first glance, Sylvia could have easily passed as someone Claire’s age.

But since the old woman said she was the oldest, Claire simply accepted it. Even when Claire called her unnie (older sister), Sylvia didn’t seem particularly bothered. Although she looked a bit flustered, that was all.

When Claire first heard that Sylvia was the leader of the group, she thought Sylvia might hit the other children, just like the “bosses” the gangsters appointed. If she didn’t want to be beaten, she needed to follow orders.

But… Sylvia was different.

“Are you hungry? Here, eat some more.”

Though the meals were meager, Sylvia would share her portion with the children who stared blankly at their bowls after finishing theirs.

She didn’t hit anyone or shout at them.

She didn’t get angry when someone laughed or made noise. When the children whined, she tried to comfort them with kind words.

Meeting someone like Sylvia for the first time in her life, Claire found her fascinating. In some ways, Sylvia seemed more of an adult than the old woman who had lived longer than all the orphanage children combined.

It wasn’t just Claire who felt this way.

The children followed Sylvia.

Sylvia, usually quiet, would sometimes tell old stories when the children fussed. Most of the stories were similar in content, with only the names, endings, and settings changing, but the children, who had nothing else to do, eagerly listened.

In truth, Sylvia hadn’t been the leader for long. It had only been about a month from when Claire arrived at the orphanage until it burned down.

But to Claire, that short time had been the happiest and most peaceful period in her life.

After the orphanage burned, the old woman died, and the children escaped.

Sylvia led the children into the city center.

And the journey was… nothing short of a series of miracles.

They moved through the city without once catching the attention of the police, who patrolled every street. The alley gangsters never once approached them. Sylvia walked them straight through the heart of the city.

And somehow, she had known to bring them here.

“The children don’t look well.”

A man with a magnificent beard lifted the sleeve of one of the children and examined them.

“It looks like they haven’t eaten for days,” said the lady standing next to him.

Sometimes, passersby would toss a few coins into Claire’s can, showing a bit of pity. But never had anyone gone so far as to check on her condition with such concern in their voice.

“Where are you all from? Are there more children like you?”

“I don’t know.”

The child held by the man answered timidly, and the man nodded before letting go.

“Is there someone who brought you here?”

“Ah, that’s—”

It was Sylvia unnie.

Sylvia had brought Claire and all the other children here.

“It’s a relief, isn’t it, unnie?”

The two people seemed like good people.

Sylvia must have known that and brought them here for refuge.

How she knew didn’t matter. What was important was that they would be safer here than they ever had been at the orphanage.

“...Unnie?”

But the kind voice that usually answered her wasn’t there.

Claire turned around.

Sylvia had been at the back of the group, but—

There was no one behind her.

“Huh?”

She quickly spun around.

People were walking along the main street. Carriages passed by, and the shops were busy with people coming and going.

But Sylvia unnie was nowhere to be seen.

“Unnie!”

Claire shouted, but still, there was no answer.

“What’s wrong?” The lady had approached quietly and asked.

“Was there someone else?”

“Unnie! Unnie’s gone!”

At Claire’s words, the lady’s face immediately grew serious.

“Are you saying there was one more person?”

“Yes, she was at the back of the group…”

The lady exchanged a glance with her husband.

“Don’t worry,” she said, kneeling to meet Claire’s eyes.

“We’ll find her. I’m sure we will.”

“Really?”

Normally, Claire wouldn’t have asked that question. Most of the adults she had met until now hated it when children asked for reassurance.

But she was scared.

She was scared that Sylvia would disappear from her life, just like how she had suddenly appeared.

“Yes. We’ll definitely find her.”

But the lady didn’t scold Claire, nor did she call her a nuisance or curse at her. She didn’t hit her either.

She simply stroked Claire’s head gently.

Claire nodded.

After that, everything went smoothly.

It didn’t take long for Claire to learn that the couple were Baron Grace and Lady Grace.

They took the group of orphans to a newly built orphanage on their estate and welcomed them warmly.

And it didn’t end there. Over time, the number of orphans grew.

All the children were given clean clothes, a safe environment, and proper meals. They grew up healthy.

The education was excellent. Some of the orphans, despite coming from the streets, were able to grow into bright students, smart enough to attend the prestigious Runderium Royal Academy, and some excelled in swordsmanship as well.

One even became so close to the eldest son of the Grace family that they were almost like siblings.

That child was Claire.

At ten years old, Claire was adopted by the Grace family and became Claire Grace. With swordsmanship skills far surpassing those of the Grace family’s eldest son, at the age of fifteen, she entered the Runderium Royal Academy as second in her class.

But even after all that time…

Claire never found Sylvia among the newly arrived orphans.