I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 68

Chapter 68

I stepped into the orphanage yard, but there was not a single child in sight. I strained my ears, but there was no sound of children’s voices either.

“Miss…”

Ignoring Panya’s anxious voice calling out to me, I hurriedly walked into the building, and then I finally heard voices.

“Now, push your tongue back and pronounce it. ~R!”

“~R!”

“~R!”

“Roll your tongue a bit more. Again, ~R!”

“~R!”

“~R!”

It seemed like a teacher had come, and the children were studying.

As I realized that the reason there were no children in the yard was because it was study time, a sigh of relief escaped me involuntarily. If they were studying, then Lara would surely be inside.

Approaching slowly, I glanced through the window and finally confirmed the teacher I had only heard about before, and I looked at the children studying diligently. Familiar faces met my eyes.

Nicole, Peter, Robin…

As I looked at the children’s faces, my expression darkened. They were all older children. Lara was nowhere to be seen.

Of course, for foreign language lessons, only older children would attend. The younger ones who couldn’t even speak properly yet would learn basic language and arithmetic first.

Where could those younger children be? Were they studying somewhere else?

“Lara isn’t here.”

Panya murmured, echoing my thoughts. My heart started pounding again.

“I should check the director’s office.”

“Oh! Miss Bianca!”

As soon as I entered the office, I was greeted by the pale-faced director of the orphanage. She looked at me as if I were the person who would rescue her from despair in a pit of calamity.

The nervous fluttering in my heart turned into a heavy thud this time.

“Lara… she’s missing isn’t she?”

The headmistress looked surprised at my question, then nodded.

“What happened?”

“After the morning roll call, after washing up and having breakfast, all the children were here. But when it was time for classes, and they were divided into groups, that’s when we realized Lara was missing.”

“So, between breakfast and class time, Lara disappeared?”

“Yes.”

“Did you report her missing?”

At my question, the director shook her head. And in that moment, I noticed tears welling up in her eyes.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to report it. She couldn’t.

“No one pays much attention when an orphan goes missing. They assume they ran away or went to find their parents.”

The director spoke with a voice that seemed to have experienced this several times before, with a sense of resignation.

“However, Lara is too young for that. She’s not old enough to run away, and she doesn’t have any parents to find in the first place.”

“It’s even worse for younger children. They might say she’s playing hide-and-seek or sleeping somewhere in a corner. They don’t bother looking for a child who’s been missing for only a few hours.”

“So, when do they start looking for the child?”

“The disappearance must be certain. When it’s not clear whether the child is sleeping somewhere or hiding to surprise the adults.”

“But by then, it might be too late!”

“But that’s the reality. If a noble’s child were kidnapped, there would be an uproar, and if it were a commoner’s child, the neighborhood would band together to search. But our children… sigh…”

While I was bursting with frustration, the director merely sighed, seeming to have no energy left for anger.

“Did Maria visit today by any chance?”

“Maria?”

The mention of Maria seemed to catch the headmistress off guard, her eyes widening in surprise. If I were to suggest that Maria had taken Lara, her eyes would widen even more. Moreover, if she thought I was involved, they might widen to an alarming extent.

“No, she didn’t come today.”

“Did anyone see her with the other children?”

“Well, I didn’t ask. I told the older children to attend classes and the younger ones to play together in one place. But if Lara doesn’t turn up soon, we’ll have to search with the children.”

“Do you mind asking the children if anyone saw Maria today?”

“Do you suspect Maria has something to do with this?”

“I’m not sure. It’s just a hunch.”

I thought about showing the director the paper but decided against it. It wouldn’t prove that Maria took Lara. Explaining why Maria’s mother’s death concerned me and why I needed to investigate was even more complicated. There was no need for the director to know all that.

“Maria offered to sponsor our orphanage, but I declined.”

“You declined?”

The refusal to sponsor was unexpected. With Ricardo and me sponsoring, the orphanage shouldn’t have financial issues. But wouldn’t more sponsorship be better for such a facility?

“Maria’s conditions were difficult for us to meet.”

“What conditions were those?”

“I’m a bit hesitant to say…”

The director avoided my gaze with an awkward expression. While I did mention Maria in connection with Lara’s sudden disappearance, discussing the backstory of her association with the aristocrat might have felt uncomfortable.

“Anyway, please ask the children.”

If the condition mentioned was indeed related to Lara’s disappearance, I believed the director would have mentioned it. So, for now, I decided to let it go.

“Okay, understood.”

As the director left the office, leaving me alone in my restless thoughts, I suddenly halted my steps.

What if Maria were doing something harmful to Lara even now? Lara was a scared child who would undoubtedly be crying. Handling a crying child like that wouldn’t be easy.

Surely she wouldn’t do anything to the child out of spite? Lara was too young and fragile for that!

“It might be my fault.”

Guilt weighed heavily on me as I imagined Lara, trapped and crying.

Perhaps I provoked Maria too much, leading to this. Maybe it would have been better not to provoke her at the royal tea party.

It might have annoyed her that I kept insisting I didn’t kill Megi. My failure to see the truth about Maria, my insistence that she look for it or find it, might have angered her.

Although I acknowledged Maria’s change, I was frustrated with myself for being too complacent, not considering what she might do.

“Still, it’s too much to do this to an innocent child! Th-this!”

I wanted to curse vehemently, but I didn’t know how. Saying it was bad wasn’t enough. Calling it wicked wasn’t enough.

Someone who kidnapped an innocent child deserves far worse curses. Unfortunately, I didn’t know those words.

Frustration built up as I bit my innocent lips.

“Excuse me, Bianca.”

While I was gnawing on my lips, lost in thought, the director returned to the office.

“No child saw Maria today. I asked again, but none of them saw anyone suspicious.”

Tears welled up in the director’s eyes as she replied.

“Got it.”

Wasn’t it obvious that someone had conspicuously kidnapped a child?

“Wait. I’ll go find Lara.”

“You? Do you have any idea where to look?”

“A little. And I’ll have the Croft family’s private soldiers loose around the orphanage right now, so when they arrive, give them a good description of Lara.”

“Okay, understood. Please take care of it. Thank you.”

The mention of mobilizing troops seemed to give the director a glimmer of hope, as she bowed her head and thanked me.

“Panya! Let’s go to Wensbury Manor right away!”

As soon as we boarded the carriage, that was the first thing I said. Panya seemed to understand, tightly sealing her lips and nodding her head.

Taking an innocent child who knows nothing and doing something like this! I can’t bear it… No, wait.

Even if we storm Wensbury Manor right now, can we find Lara? We don’t even know if Maria is there, and I doubt she’d take the kidnapped child home.

Moreover, if Lady Wensbury sees Lara, she’ll undoubtedly ask where she came from, and Maria will have a hard time answering.

The location of Maria at Wensbury Manor had not been disclosed yet. There must have been limitations to what she could do.

Even if we went to the manor, if Lara wasn’t there, it would be pointless. Without Lara, Maria would surely deny any involvement, and if we couldn’t find Lara, it would be even more futile.

“Panya, turn the carriage around.”

“What?”

“We need to go home first.”

“Okay, understood!”

As Panya informed the coachman of the change in destination through the small window, I started to think more frantically.

What could Maria have done to Lara?

Where could Lara possibly be right now?

“Lara…”

Nothing came to mind. All that filled my head were the affectionate, warm brown eyes and bright smile of Lara.

“Smile Love”