Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Oh, that’s a lot more than I thought.At the most, I thought it would be about 100,000 gold, but it seems that the proceeds from the bazaar were quite successful.“Next, we will reveal the uniforms of the Felixium Academy.”The host, who had captured the list of sponsors, snapped his finger to signal, and the four children came up to the podium.The children were wearing slightly different clothes, one for spring and autumn, one for summer, one for winter, and the last child was wearing a training uniform.All school uniforms were designed by Madame Florence.“If they all wear the same clothes, how do you tell them apart?”“Exactly. The design is also plain.”“It’s best for children to be comfortable in their clothes.”“I don’t look bad either.”The opinions of the ladies who attended the opening ceremony were mixed.There were opinions that the design was disappointing, and there were also comments that it was not that bad, but it didn’t bother me because it didn’t relate to the purpose of introducing school uniforms. ‘She’s wearing the same thing again.’‘It stinks. Does she even wash it?’ When I was in school, the most difficult thing was clothes.The elementary school I attended wore plain clothes, but my stepmother didn’t take care of me, so I had to wear the same clothes all the time.I was often teased by the kids, and at one point, I even wore my less dryer clothes to school because I didn’t have a change of clothes after doing laundry.So you don’t know how happy I was when I went to a middle school with uniforms.‘There must be children like me here.’Even among the common people, there is always a gap between the rich and the poor.“The clothes are beautiful.”Helios whispered to me after hearing the ladies’ comments..Noticing that it was a consideration not to worry about it, I asked calmly.“Does that look okay?”“Yes. They look comfortable, and the fabric is fine. Did you make it?”“Madam Florence did all the designs, and I just chose them. I’m glad it was okay.”I rolled my eyes gently.After the children had finished introducing their uniforms, the teachers rushed up to the stage.In line with the opening of the Felixium Academy, the teachers who took charge of the new children enthusiastically announced their subjects and class outlines.Viscount Espenser’s edited curriculum vitae attracted the attention of many ladies.In particular, the Countess Turner, who sat behind me, showed great interest.“If it goes like that, I think it would be much better than Primus Academy, right?”“Of course not, the original plan was grandiose.”I folded the corners of my eyes and opened my eyes.‘I’ll have to give Viscount Espenser one more pen tip.’Finally, the opening ceremony ended with a brief explanation of the future career directions of the children who graduated from the academy.“This concludes the opening ceremony of the 1st Felixium Academy. If you wish to register, please come to the Central Administration Office on the 1st floor of the main building. Thank you.”After the moderator’s remarks were over, people approached me one by one.“It was a very impressive opening ceremony.”“Thank you, Marquis.”“You must have done a lot of preparation after all that running around.”“It is thanks to the help of the Marquis.”The Marquis Hallstein smiled and pulled a check for ten thousand gold from his wallet.“It’s not much, but add it to operations.”“No. You donated so much to the bazaar…”“That one and this one is different. I’m doing it for a good reason, please take it and put it to good use.”“If you say so… Thank you. This donation will be used to purchase food for children.”I took the check from the Marquis of Hallstein and thanked him.The madams who gathered around me also readily expressed their intention to donate.Money is money, but there were also a lot of people who would support school supplies and food for children to use.Of course, I know that they are not willing to give donations because they agree with the purpose of the academy.Well, even if the real purpose of the donation is to put an eye on Grand Duchess Crawford, there is no reason to refuse the money they give.“Thank you, Marquis of Kensington. Thanks to you, I think this academy will go up to the next level.”I gladly welcomed their donations.We chatted for a while after that.“If you are curious about the curriculum, you can visit the class….”I noticed a few dozen shabbily dressed people wandering around the auditorium.One of them was Aaron, the blacksmith of Kingston.“Aren’t those people? The ones who were protesting day and night in front of the Imperial Palace…”“I think that’s right. Why did they come here?”“Maybe they’re trying to make a spectacle of themselves by holding an event here after what happened to their children?”“Excuse me.”I ran to the blacksmith, leaving the nobles behind.“Welcome, sir. You’ve come to the right place.”“… I enjoyed the opening ceremony. The facilities have improved a lot.”“It will get better in the future. I’m going to make it that way.”“I’m sure madam will do a great job.”He said, trying to control his emotions, as if he didn’t want to break the mood.His face showed how difficult it was to come this far.I looked down for a moment in a feeling of crying and then called the servant.“Go to the main office and bring me all the boxes. Hurry.”“Yes.”The servant who received the instructions ran out of the auditorium.After saying goodbye, the blacksmith turned around.“Then we’ll leave—”“I have something to give you, so please wait a minute.”I grabbed him as he turned to leave.The servant soon returned with a pile of boxes.I handed him a box with the blacksmith’s son’s name on it.“Take this.”“What is this?”The blacksmith’s eyes fluttered as he checked the box with a puzzled face.“…….”Inside the box were a new school uniform, a nameplate, and an honorary diploma with the children’s names on it.“This….”“I wanted to do something for you, but I couldn’t think of anything.”The blacksmith’s throat was sore.The servant handed out boxes with the children’s names to the parents.“I know this won’t bring you any comfort, but it’s the last place where he was, so I thought it might be good….”“……”“And, at the entrance of the building, we hung a sign board with the children’s names on it.”“……”“Everyone will never forget they were here.”A tear fell from his eyes.Others sobbed while holding a nameplate with their child’s name on it.“It must have been hard, but thank you for coming today. If you need any help, feel free to contact me.”“… Thank you, madam.” ***** The news that the Dillua Academy was transformed into the Felixium Academy caused a stir in the Imperial capital.People’s attention was focused on Felixium Academy as there were rumors that it would provide facilities comparable to the Primus Academy, the best academy in the Empire, the introduction of uniforms that Primus Academy doesn’t have, and even take responsibility for the career path after graduation.Add to that the fact that the academy had adopted a dormitory system and didn’t charge tuition, and the academy was inundated with inquiries.And as the academy became famous, people lined up to donate.Needless to say, Grand Duchess Crawford, the head of the academy, and Lenia Anthemion, the woman who runs it, became household names.Lenia’s reputation was especially enhanced when it became known that she had presented the parents of the victims with uniforms and diplomas, and even had a plaque made and hung with their names on it.The people who had been protesting in front of the Imperial Palace to take responsibility day after day did not appear after that. ***** “How about making friends with the Duchess of Anthemion?”“What do you mean?”At the suggestion of the Emperor, the Empress raised her eyebrows.The Emperor politely opened his mouth.“I hear Duchess Anthemion’s popularity is soaring thanks to the new academy, so why don’t you meet her and have a little chat with her?”“There’s nothing to talk about.”“Empress.”The Emperor lowered his voice and called out to his wife.“I hate to say this, too, but the Empress doesn’t know that the perception of the Imperial Family is not good because of what the Duke of Eaton did.”“……”“The relationship with the nobles became estranged because of the last political meeting. If it goes on like this, it will have a negative impact on Fred’s future.”“So you’re telling me to flatter the Duchess of Anthemion to make her see my good side.”The Empress was in tears as if her pride had been hurt.“That’s not what I meant, Empress.”The Emperor sighed and took her hand.“I’m saying that since the Duchess of Anthemion is gaining popularity, it would be nice if the Empress could learn it and change public opinion about the Imperial Family.”The Empress bit her lip.It made sense, but bowing down to Lenia was something her pride wouldn’t allow.“If she’s popular, then Grand Duchess Crawford is higher, right?”The Emperor smiled bitterly and continued.“My sister is a person who is not swayed by personal emotions, and aren’t you shy in front of my sister?”The Empress, who had been holding back, was forced to part her lips.“… All right, I will do as you said, Your Majesty.”