Maria awoke in her simple bed and looked up at the low-hanging ceiling, letting out a deep sigh. Last night was the night Maria was supposed to be forced into volunteer services, but despite that being the case, that nightmare never came to pass. Of course, she wasn’t always scheduled for volunteer services on fixed dates. It was just the opposite; things would be conducted on dates that weren’t fixed, as well. It was actually rare that she wouldn’t have her services scheduled to someone. And the night Ristia showed up happened to be one of those rare days. It basically meant that the nice young lady that turned up at their doorstep with an angelic smile might be singing a sadder tune today. Despite Maria’s repeated warnings, Ristia just wouldn’t listen to her. If she’d tried any harder to dissuade her, Director Georg might have taken it as disobedience, and the other children would be put in danger. That was the reason that she couldn’t warn her in a more direct manner... but, be that as it may, it didn’t change the fact that Maria silently knew that something terrible would happen to Ristia. That fact still tormented the fifteen year old girl’s heart.
I’ll at least go fetch a bucket and towel for her, Maria thought to herself, but... it wasn’t just so she could atone for her actions. If Ristia walked around the orphanage after being “violated,” then the other children might end up knowing about the dark secret of the orphanage Maria fought so desperately to keep under wraps. Plus, Maria was alone in keeping this secret from leaking to the other children, so she might be able to share the pain with Ristia, seeing as how she went through the same turmoil. With all that serving as her purpose, she visited Ristia’s room with a bucket and towel in hand... only to find an angel sleeping soundly on a princess-style canopy bed.
“...Huh? What? What’s going on here?” Her mind was literally boggled. She had expected the fact that Ristia would be asleep, of course, but the way she pictured it was more... unconscious—a slumber brought on from mental and physical exhaustion. She certainly wasn’t expecting her to be sound asleep in a spotless, untainted bed. In fact, the room as a whole was odd. There was a fancy chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the room was warm, and the air inside of it was fresh. Not only that, but a soft and fluffy carpet adorned the floors, lace curtains hung from the windows, and the plain and rather firm bed had been replaced by a bed fit for a princess. “...What in the world is going on here?” Maria whispered to herself, as this was something she was seriously lost on. However...
“Good morning, Maria,” Ristia, the girl that was snoring a second ago, greeted Maria in reply to her murmur, making the her practically jump from her skin.
“R-Ristia, you were awake?!”
“No, just woke up.”
“Oh, um... do you mean that I woke you up?”
“Yes, but don’t worry about it~ I can normally function without a few days’ worth of sleep.” Maria, who couldn’t have possibly known that Ristia literally didn’t need sleep to function, thought that Ristia was just trying to console her, which made guilt wash over her face.
“I really don’t mind. Plus, you were worried and came here to check on me, right?”
“Huh? Does that mean that they...?” she asked, implying the question of whether Director Georg came to her room last night or not.
“Yeah, they were here. Director Georg and another person—a burly-looking man.”
“...!” Maria found herself biting her lip. Director Georg was bad enough, but that other man was someone Maria hated, since he was especially violent. She lamented Ristia’s misfortune of being forced to deal with both of those unsavory characters right from the start.
...Huh? But if that’s the case, then why does Ristia look so unaffected? Is she just really experienced with all this and just doesn’t show it?
“Hey, Sister, would you happen to be in the business?”
“I’m just a normal girl.”
“Then... how are you doing so fine?”
“Because what you think happened never happened.”
“What in the hell do you mean by...” It was worth noting that Maria’s un-fifteen-year-old-like conduct was a sort of defense mechanism. In her mind, since she was an older sister to everyone else, she had to endure the work for their sakes. And as a result of deceiving herself like that, the mature way she spoke to others just stuck with her. Maria was still a child on the inside, however, and she found herself confused by what Ristia was saying. To make matters worse...
“I’ll get right to the point, then. As of today, I’ll be running this orphanage.” Ristia ended up saying something even more incomprehensible.
“Um, um... What do you mean by that?”
“I mean exactly what I said. Director—Former Director Georg handed over the position of Orphanage Director to me. That’s why, as of today, you’re under my supervision~”
“I... see...” Maria was confused, but the fact sunk into her. If Ristia was the director here, then all of the despicable acts she was forced to endure this whole time might cease. She was relieved that, at the very least, comfort levels would be at a newfound high. Once that all processed in her mind, Maria made a sigh of relief. “......Huh? Ristia, Sis, you’re the director?”
That was when she finally realized that the statement that Ristia had inherited the title of director in itself made no sense. Maria had come here in the first place to console Ristia, thinking that she went through the same terrible experience she herself had, so why the topic suddenly shifted to being about how Ristia took over as director of the orphanage made absolutely no sense.
“Umm, I’m sorry. I’m afraid I don’t follow, Sister. So, Ristia, you’re going to be the new director?”
“Indeed I am~ Got the letter of authorization and everything. See for yourself.”
“This does look like the director’s handwriting, but... No, wait, wait, wait. ‘Indeed I am~’? Cut it out! What in the world happened that led to this?!”
“What happened? Well, he lost his right hand, for starters?”
“...Pardon?” Maria would never assume that a person had literally lost their arm, and she instead took that to mean that Ristia had found a weakness in the man who served as Director Georg’s righthand man.
“Anyway, the orphanage is mine now, and that’s a fact. There might be people who will say something about the switch, but I’ll deal with them if that happens, so don’t you worry.”
“...Really?”
“Yup, really really.” Maria rushed out of the room to verify whether Ristia was telling the truth or not and knocked on adjacent door leading into Director Georg’s office, but what she received was...
“No response, right? That room is empty now,” Ristia told the girl after chasing after her. Despite her assertion, Maria wasn’t so easily convinced. It stood to reason, considering the years upon years of hell the director put her through. And so, Maria rushed in through the door inside to find... not a single person inside, just furniture and whatnot that was slightly strewn about.
“The director... where did he go?”
“Director Georg left town after regretting all of his crimes.”
“Left town after regretting his crimes...?” The idea of the director she knew regretting his crimes was incredibly unbelievable, to say the least, but it was also unthinkable that Director George wouldn’t be in his office around this time of day, under normal circumstances.
Reason aside, the fact that he skipped town may be true. Maria thought, putting things into perspective and finally considering that Ristia might be telling the truth.
“Then... you’re the director here now, right?”
“Yup, sure am.”
“Th-Then... um, then what about all of the... volunteer service that I was forced into doing this whole time?”
“If that ‘volunteer service’ was something that Director Georg forced you into doing, then you don’t need to ever do it again. And even if anyone else were to tell you to, I wouldn’t ever allow it to happen.”
“B-But he said I have to keep working, or we won’t have the money to feed the others...” —We won’t be able to make the money to feed the children unless you work. Otherwise, the only other option is to put the other children to work or throw them out. That was the threat Director Georg posed to Maria which made her bend to his will. And the financial difficulties of the orphanage weren’t going to be changing even if the one taking charge as director did, but...
“Don’t worry. Even if that was the case before, I promise that I will make do for you all.” That brilliant, angelic smile illuminated Maria’s inner darkness.
“...I really, really don’t have to do that stuff anymore?”
“You really, really, really don’t.” Ristia extended her right arm toward Maria, and once the girl saw it coming toward her, she brushed it aside, just like the first time they interacted. It wasn’t based on a hatred for Ristia, either; it was simply a reflex brought about from memories of all the repugnant acts she had to perform night after night.