Chapter 213: Hilde
The pale morning sun filtered through the high windows of Sunflower House,
casting long, dusty beams across the dining hall.
A nun with flaxen hair stood in the kitchen, her apron a battlefield of flour
and stray batter. The cacophony echoing from the main hall made the veins in her
temples throb with rhythmic precision.
"Sister Hilde! Thomas stole my toy!"
A seven-year-old boy skidded into the kitchen, clutching the hem of her habit,
his face a mask of practiced tragedy. Hilde didn't even turn her head, her
wooden spoon continuing its rhythmic circuit through the pot of wheat porridge.
"And did you, perhaps, steal Thomas's toy first?"
The boy blinked, then puffed out his chest with a look of terrifyingly honest
pride. "I did!"
Hilde's spoon halted. She turned slowly, staring down at the defiant little
face. She took a deep breath, reciting a silent mantra. No. These are the
flowers of the Empire. The pillars of our future. I cannot strike them.
She buried her face in her hands, her voice muffled by her fingers. "I remember
being much more well-behaved when I was a child..."
Hardly had the words left her mouth when the hall erupted into a chorus of jeers
from the older children.
"Sister Hilde was never well-behaved!"
"That's right! Sister Anna told us Hilde used to hide extra bread in her
pillow!"
"And she used to steal candles from the Cathedral to take home!"
"Anna said Hilde could eat enough for three men in a single sitting!"
Hilde's face flushed a vivid, localized crimson. "You... you little runts!"
She abandoned the spoon, throwing her arms wide and lunging toward the group of
ringleaders. The children shrieked with delight, scattering like startled
sparrows as the hall filled with the chaotic music of laughter. Hilde gave chase
for a few steps before nearly tripping over a discarded wooden block.
Defeated by gravity and domestic chaos, she sighed and retreated to the kitchen.
The porridge was bubbling now, letting out soft, rhythmic glups. She stirred in
a generous dollop of honey and a handful of sliced apples.
It had been three months since The Sunflower Merchant Guild funded the
establishment of this home. Currently, only she and Sister Anna had been
dispatched from the Evernight Cathedral to look after twenty-three orphans. To
say it was exhausting was an understatement.
But Hilde never entertained the thought of quitting. She knew too well what kind
of lives these children would lead if the Evernight Empire didn't exist. She
knew what it was like to be a ghost in the shadows.
"Alright, you lot! Table! Now!"
Hilde emerged from the kitchen lugging the massive iron pot. The children
swarmed like a flock of hungry fledglings, finding their places along the long
wooden table. Once every bowl was brimming with porridge, Hilde took her seat at
the head.
"What do we do before we partake?"
Twenty-three voices, high-pitched and earnest, rose in a practiced unison that
echoed off the rafters.
"Glory to the Sovereign of Evernight! We thank him for his providence!"
Hilde watched them pray, a warmth blooming in her chest that had nothing to do
with the stove. She lowered her head, offering her own silent gratitude. Thank
you, my Sovereign. For ensuring they never have to learn the weight of the dark
as I did.
Breakfast was followed by the "Morning Chore War." The older children tackled
the mountain of bowls, while the smaller ones armed themselves with rags to hunt
for dust. Hilde stood over them like a general, barking directives.
"Mia, use the dry cloth after the wet one! Do not leave streaks on the
Sovereign's table."
"Thomas, I can see the dust bunnies under those chair legs. Don't test me."
"Emily, two hands on the ceramic. It's slippery with Mana-soap. Good girl."
Just then, a five-year-old girl with shimmering eyes skipped over, brandishing a
sheet of parchment.
"Sister Hilde! Sister Hilde! Look what I drew!"
Hilde took the paper. It was a chaotic array of stick figures, all looking
identical in their skeletal simplicity. Hilde squinted, trying to discern a
narrative in the scribbles.
"Lycoris, this is... abstract. What am I looking at?"
The little girl puffed out her chest. "It's everyone in Sunflower House! And the
Sovereign!"
She pointed a tiny finger at each stick. "That's me, that's Thomas, that's
Mia..."
Hilde's confusion only deepened. They all looked the same. "And... which one is
the Sovereign?"
Lycoris pointed without a shadow of a doubt to the figure in the exact center.
"That one!"
"Why that one?"
"Because he's in the middle!" the girl explained as if talking to someone
remarkably slow. "The Sovereign is the strongest and the best, so he has to be
the center of everything!"
Hilde paused, then reached out to ruffle the girl's hair. "A masterpiece,
Lycoris."
"I know!" The girl snatched the paper back and ran off to boast to the others.
Hilde watched her go, her smile softening into something melancholic. These
children were the lucky ones. They would never know what it was like to huddle
under a freezing eave in the dead of winter. They would never fight a stray dog
for a scrap of gristle. They were being raised with dignity, food, and the
warmth of a home.
This was the order brought by the Empire.
Hilde turned toward the supply closet. There were floors to scrub, a mountain of
laundry to defeat, and two more meals to conjure out of thin air. Sister Anna
had traveled back to the Evernight Cathedral today to file their quarterly
reports and wouldn't return until nightfall. Today, the fortress was Hilde's
alone to defend.
Time bled away in a flurry of soap and steam. The sun reached its zenith and
began its slow slide toward the horizon.
By dusk, the heavy front doors of Sunflower House groaned open. Before Anna
could even draw breath, she was swarmed by a miniature infantry.
"Sister Anna!"
"You're back!"
"Did you bring us anything from the city?!"
Anna laughed, patting heads as she waded through the sea of children. "I brought
gifts, but they are reserved for those who finish their vegetables at dinner!"
A cheer went up. Anna ducked into the kitchen, finding Hilde over a steaming
cauldron of stew.
"Hard day? Managing the horde alone?"
Hilde waved a hand dismissively. "I've survived worse. How was the Cathedral?"
Anna sat on a stool, reaching for a knife to help with the vegetables. "The
priests are pleased. They say our home is a model for the others. Oh, but they
did mention something... a 'Big Shot' has arrived in Leaffall City."
Hilde's hand paused over the ladle. "A Big Shot?"
"Mmh. An official from the Imperial center," Anna whispered, her eyes wide.
"They say they're here to inspect the Sunflower operations. If we impress them,
the Sovereign might decree the opening of a hundred more homes across the
territories."
Hilde nodded, her expression turning solemn. "Then we must be beyond reproach."
Dinner was a boisterous affair, followed by the distribution of honey-drops Anna
had brought back. Then came the nightly ritual of herding the children to bed.
The smaller ones succumbed to sleep quickly, while the older ones whispered into
the dark about the "Big Shot" and the future of the Empire.
Hilde patrolled the halls, ensuring every blanket was tucked and every candle
extinguished. By the time she descended back to the main hall, it was well past
midnight. She found Anna hunched over a ledger by the dying embers of the
hearth.
"Still awake?"
"Calculating the winter budget," Anna said, rubbing her aching eyes. "The
Sunflower Merchant Guild is generous with the gold, but inflation in the city is
rising. The kids are growing fast; they'll need new woolens before the first
frost."
Hilde sat beside her. "Need a second set of eyes?"
"No, I'm nearly done." Anna closed the book and stretched. "Tomorrow, I'll head
to the markets for the winter coats. You'll have to hold the fort again."
"Understood."
They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound the crackling of the fire.
Hilde looked around the sturdy stone walls of the hall. It was a good life. A
busy life. But looking at the peace on the faces of the sleeping children in the
rooms above, she knew it was a life worth every drop of Od she possessed.
She closed her eyes and, for the first time that day, felt truly at rest.
☆☆☆
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