Dear My Rude Darling With Multiple Personalities

 

Chapter 2

 

Simply put, the orphanage was located on the outskirts of the capital. There are a lot of children, but not many people. The building, which was renovated from an old school, was cold and drafty.

Still, the day the patrons came, things looked quite decent. The children strung flowers made of scrap fabric on the building and wore hand-knitted ribbons on their hair. The nobility and nouveau riche would pat the heads of such children once, and after dropping some money, they left with the illusion that they had become outstanding people. And, like beans in a drought, someone would take away the children one by one.

(t/n: like beans in a drought means, in some rare cases)

Most of them were looking for a young maid or needed a playmate for their child, rather than adopting. It was kind of like taking in a pet. Nevertheless, the children in the orphanage desperately wanted to leave. No matter where they went, it would be better than the orphanage.

People who took the children in always set the same criteria. A bright and kind child, but also very young. Monica met the first two conditions, but she was not young. When she was taken to the orphanage, she was already eight years old. People preferred young children, who could not even tell right from wrong yet.

Even so, Monica's opportunity arrived. One of the baronet families who supported the orphanage said they wanted to adopt a child. The man who visited the director's office said that his wife had been depressed for a long time because she had been unable to have children after a miscarriage 12 years ago.

“Twelve years old. A bright and kind child. A boy would be difficult.... We would prefer a girl.”

Of course, the person the director recommended was Monica.

Monica was quick-witted and intelligent. At the age of twelve, she was already looking after children far younger than herself. As soon as she woke up in the morning, she washed herself with cold water, woke up the children sleeping in the bed next to her one by one, and washed their faces. She also taught the children how to read.

It may be a bit regrettable for the director, but it was much better than sending a clumsy child away as an adopted child, only to have them returned later.

Furthermore.

“And… Black hair would be nice. She would look refined, even without much makeup.”

Monica had black hair. The director answered with a bright smile.

"There is a child exactly like you want!"

“Really? That’s good.”

“Yes, her name is Monica…”

But coincidentally, there was another child hiding near the director's office at that time.

Lizzy.

Lizzy Offen.

As luck would have it, the two of them happened to be cleaning the room across from the director's office that day, so they ended up hearing everything the director and the man said.

Their eyes met.

“…”

Monica could see the envy and sadness whirling in Lizzy's gray eyes. Lizzy and Monica were the same age and both had black hair. However, unlike Monica, who was intelligent and quick-witted, she was slow and sluggish in her actions. 

She finally learned to read and write with Monica's help, and because she lacked the talent, she was not adept at other things. So she always admired and envied Monica.

“Good for you…”

After saying that and closing her mouth sullenly, Lizzy unexpectedly appeared in Monica's bedroom a few days later. One night, when all the children were asleep, Lizzy knelt beside Monica's bed, held her hand, and cried as she beg.

"Monica, please. Could you hand it over to me?" Lizzy pleaded desperately.

Monica hesitated. To be honest, she did not want to give it up. More importantly, it didn't appear to work that way, even if she did want to. So, Monica stammered and answered

"I don't think the director will allow it anyway…"

Even more desperate, Lizzy almost ran towards Monica, and grasped her skirt hem. The old orphanage pajamas were sturdy enough, but Monica felt worried that her pajamas were going to tear.

Lizzy cried and hung on.

“I-! I’ll do something about it! Somehow!”

“But how?”

"A carriage will come to pick you up tomorrow. You just need to hide for a moment. Here's the brooch you always wanted! I will give it to you!"

Lizzy's brooch. Monica's eyes widened. The brooch Lizzy had when she was abandoned was a useless fake jewel to adults, but to children, it was as tempting as oatmeal with honey. A small brooch with a circular emblem inside a faux gem. When exposed to the sun, the brooch shed pink rays of light across the white walls of the orphanage, and Monica always coveted it. When the orphanage children asked to see the light, Lizzy would always reluctantly lend them the brooch just for a while. 

“You just play with the brooch, and I’ll ride in that carriage. Please… Okay?”

“Can we even do something as irresponsible as that?”

"You're smart and pretty. I get scolded by the principal every day. I'll never get another chance. I am a stupid, useless girl! But you'll have another chance!"

A stupid and useless girl. That's what the orphanage director always told Lizzy. Monica swore that if she could travel back in time, she would grab her old self's shoulders and say those words to herself.

But Monica was shaken at the time. Lizzy cried and muttered

"Everyone likes you, but they hate me. I am ugly and stupid. I wish I could be like you..."

Peers expressed praise and admiration unilaterally. Even if it is said coarsely and with apparent intent, children are susceptible to such things.

‘Is that so? I'm smart and pretty, so I'll probably be adopted again soon. Will it be more difficult for her?’ Young Monica's mind was filled with fragmented, unclear thoughts.

Besides, she felt sorry for Lizzy, who would be left alone and scolded every day if she were adopted. Lizzy would hold onto Monica's dirty apron every time the director reprimanded her, causing the wrinkles to never go away. Even Lizzy's cheeks, which were bulging like candy, had thinned out in just a few days.

Monica hid in the attic early the next morning, as Lizzy asked, holding Lizzy's pink brooch in her hand.

 

 * * *

 

She approached the window and held her brooch up to the sunlight. A pink ray of light reflected from the wall. A beautiful, sparkling light. Strangely, she didn't feel particularly excited at the sight. Monica then opened the attic window and glanced down. She still remembered the view from that window.

When the noble family's magnificent carriage arrived early in the morning and Monica was nowhere in sight, the director nearly lost her mind. After a moment's hesitation, the director grabbed the timid girl and held her out to the man in front of the carriage.

Lizzy got into the carriage without looking back. That day, the director beat Monica to the point where her leg felt broken.

“You've got me in big trouble, you dumb girl! Do you really think there'll be another chance?”

Monica, who had fallen asleep crying, cried even harder the next morning when she noticed the bruises on her legs. The bruises seemed to remain for a month.

Instead of hoping for another adoptive parents to show up, Monica began to hope that Lizzy would return.

She even had a dream in which one day that man in the fancy hat suddenly reappeared and said, ‘We were mistaken. The girl we wanted was Monica.’

The director may have been furious at the two troublesome girls, but if someone else wanted Monica, she would have given her up for adoption. However, no more families wanted to adopt a girl over the age of twelve. Lizzy never returned, not even after Monica turned eighteen, when she was chased out and left the orphanage.

“Ughhh...” Monica sighed. Now that she thought about it, maybe Lizzy was the smart one. Wasn't she?

‘She may seem slow, but she’s quick when needed.’

Crying over spilled milk is pointless. Monica wiped her nose.

* * *

The taffeta dress, which covered her wrists, felt a bit warm in the early summer heat. But it was the only decent outfit Monica had. She had to walk carefully because she needed to wear these clothes again tomorrow. La Spezia's commercial streets, unlike the capital, had not yet developed, causing a cloud of dirt to rise whenever she walked.

Madam Olan informed her that the child she would be tutoring was a boy. The youngest and only son was born late into a family that already had one daughter. He has been weak since childhood, so he needs someone to take care of him and deal with emergencies.

Despite having only the title of a third-class noble, they were wealthy, and the lady of the house treasured her son so much as if she believed he would disappear if she held him in her arms or fly away if she didn't. Understandably, the family immediately kicks out any servants who show even the slightest sign of illness out of concern for their son's health.

‘If he gets a cold, it will be serious trouble.'

The most famous thing in La Spezia are the swimming competitions held in the sea. Also, the lake nearby it. She heard that the lake, which is unusually freshwater despite being connected to the sea, is packed with people enjoying boating during the summer. She was hoping that she might be able to sneak a peek if she served the young master, but it looks like it's just a dream.

“Huh…?”

Monica, who had been thinking about that, opened her eyes wide. This was because the surrounding scenery had become unfamiliar. Originally, she was planning to return to the inn near La Spezia train station. 

“...harbor?”

When she realized it, she was walking among the sailors. Monica's mouth gaped.

The wind blew, and the smell of salt filled the air. Several large sailing ships anchored in the distance, showcasing their tall masts, amidst the warm sun and salty wind. The dusty streets were gone, and now Monica was standing on a rough stone floor. Pale-colored tents with water stains were fluttering here and there, and around them, tanned sailors were moving busily.

“Get out of the way, get out of the way!”

“Hey! You swindler!”

“The reward for this voyage is…”

Men in fancy hats, porters with their sleeves rolled up, young boys pulling pack horses, street vendors with parrots and other things that attract the attention of the crowd…

Only then she remembered what Madam Olan had said.

“La Spezia train station was not in use during the war, so the area in front of the station is a mess. There are many cases of people getting lost. The streets are very chaotic.”

She did hear that there was a harbor right next to the train station. She was walking alone, lost in thought, and before she knew it, she had drifted all the way to the port.

“Excuse me, -- La Spezia train station…”

“What? Get out of the way!”

She wanted to ask for directions, but people there were too busy to pay any attention to Monica. The sailor carrying the large box glared at Monica. Monica was frightened, so she stepped away to the side of the road.

Fortunately, after looking carefully along the way, in the distance, she saw the tip of the clock tower in front of the train station that she had seen when she arrived in La Spezia.

‘If I just get there, everything will work out somehow.’

It seemed like she could somehow find her way from the train station. Monica sighed and turned toward it. At that moment.

“Oops.”

As soon as she turned around, something blocked her view.

"Huh." Her surprise was short-lived, as something buried her forehead.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Monica immediately realized that it was someone's chest. Of course, that's also because the person she bumped into immediately grabbed her shoulder. A firm chest beneath soft fabric, a rich body odor combined with a salty aroma. The hand that had grabbed Monica's arm pulled her away easily. Monica looked up, dumbfounded.

“Are you alright, miss?”

She felt dizzy. She couldn't tell if it was the afternoon sunlight shining on the harbor or the blond hair of the young man who was holding her. Breathtakingly beautiful blue eyes looked down at her. Monica opened her mouth slightly.

“Sol… ?”

The man's face became blurry.

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Hello, Nino here! This is the one and only novel TL project on which I'm currently working. And as you can already see, my English is not that good. I'm not a native speaker. I use MTL too, but I can read a bit Japanese, so it helps the accuracy a bit (perhaps by a mere 3-5%??? LOL). But I tried my best to keep the translation consistent, and at least readable (I hope). 

I will be thrilled if someone (a real Korean TL) picks up the novel and gives it the love it deserves. Still, I'll try to translate it to the end if no one shows up or offers to take over.

And please give me your input! I put some relevant manhwa panels, but is it a welcome addition, or do you think it's distracting and unnecessary?