I didn't know how I had ended up in such a situation, where I actually had to make a choice like this.
When the heroine and the villainess looked at me with expectation, I, honestly speaking, became completely confused.
What should I do now? One way or another, I had already become convinced that tonight I wouldn't manage to sleep on the floor. Which meant I would still have to make some kind of choice. But which one?
In fact, I didn't see anything wrong with spending the night together in one bed. I considered it normal for friends, especially since we were children. So, even if it was a little inconvenient, the prospect of sleeping with one of the two of them wasn't so bad.
Only with whom?...
While I was pondering this, I actually arrived at a decision quite quickly. After all, it was obvious. I think that in such a situation it would be reasonable to choose to sleep with Erica. Simply because she was younger, and therefore more compact than me. Thus, it would be easier for us to fit together if we shared one bed.
And since I saw nothing wrong with it, I opened my mouth and said completely calmly:
"All right. Then tonight I'll sleep with Erica."
Nevertheless, at the moment when I said this, Amalia's expression froze for an instant. Erica, however, chuckled quietly.
"Hazel, sometimes even you can think correctly."
Hey... was it really necessary to say that in such a sarcastic tone?
After all, the young villainess was completely incorrigible!
In any case, after the decision was made, I was going to lie down in the same bed with Erica.
It was already quite late, so we really shouldn't have lingered and should go to sleep as soon as possible.
The beds in the orphanage were narrow and designed for one person.
Erica and I lay down in one bed, and, honestly, it wasn't as bad as expected. Despite the fact that we wouldn't be able to move freely in our sleep, I think I could fall asleep if I just lay still. So, I was already prepared to close my eyes and sink into sleep, but...
"You don't mind if I also lie down with you, do you?"
Huh?
Honestly, I was stunned when Amalia unexpectedly joined us. The girl completely unceremoniously climbed into our bed and forced us to move over even more.
The young villainess hissed like a wild cat.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Erica protested. "Do you think there was a lot of space here even without you?!"
"Erica, don't be greedy. If we're having a sleepover, then we should do everything together, right?"
"What..."
"And we should sleep together too."
Honestly, I don't know how it happened, but in the end the three of us ended up together in one narrow bed. If I were to compare it to similar sensations, it was like being sardines in a can. We lay pressed tightly against each other, and naturally there could be no talk of comfortable sleep under such conditions. And besides...
"...Hey, don't push me!" Erica protested. "You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?"
"What are you talking about? There's just not enough space here."
"If there's not enough space here, then why did you come here? Do you have nothing better to do?"
"Erica, don't be so grumpy," Amalia explained calmly. "Since this is our first sleepover together, we should have many good memories from it."
Erica snorted.
"If you push me off the bed right now, then I guarantee I'll leave you the most unforgettable memories!"
Well, what can I say...
Besides the fact that it was already cramped for us to lie together, these two also managed to push each other. Honestly, the whole situation was truly unusual. But at the same time... at some point I couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
Then both Amalia and Erica, who had finally been distracted from their bickering, stared at me in surprise.
"Hey, Hazel, what's wrong with you?"
"Exactly," Erica snorted. "What's so funny here?"
But I couldn't even explain it to them and just continued laughing loudly. It was the first time I had laughed like this since I had entered this world. And that was because right now I was absolutely happy. Happy simply because I was here and now.
Finally I couldn't hold back and even wiped a tear from my eyes.
"Ha ha... don't mind me... it's just so funny..."
While those two watched me in genuine bewilderment, I really couldn't stop.
Perhaps only at that moment did I realize how valuable a thing friendship was. And that in this world there is nothing more fun than spending time with friends. How I wished that while we still had time, we would have even more moments like this.
In the end the laughter subsided. Amalia and Erica stopped pushing each other and simply lay pressed against me from both sides. The warmth of their small bodies warmed me better than any blanket.
I closed my eyes.
Let this moment last forever, I thought. Let nothing change. Let us always be together. The three of us. Like now...
Even if I knew that it was impossible.
***
The orphanage director was stunned, for today she had to face a circumstance she definitely could not have expected.
"This request..." she asked nervously again. "You mean that it was definitely sent by the Blackwell family?"
"That is so."
"But how..."
"The Blackwell family is asking for permission to visit our orphanage. Director, what are you going to do about this?"
When one of the orphanage caretakers asked her this question, she, honestly speaking, couldn't even answer it.
No matter how you looked at it, this precedent was too shocking to accept calmly. Not long ago the count's younger daughter had paid them a visit, and only recently had the consequences of that scandal finally subsided. And now it was the Blackwell family... which, frankly speaking, was a hundred times worse.
To speak frankly, the director would have more readily believed that the imperial family itself had somehow deigned to visit their orphanage. Even that would have been more likely than what was happening now.
This was something that could never be expected from the "villains of the empire."
Even if no one called them that aloud, everyone thought of the Blackwell family exactly that way.
A family of villains with whom no one wanted to have dealings. And even the imperial family could not control them and preferred to keep their distance. Was there any criminal industry in which this family had not yet put down roots?
And people like them, who have neither blood, nor tears, nor conscience, suddenly decided to visit some orphanage!
It was even less believable than if news had thundered that a meteorite would fall on their empire tomorrow.
While the orphanage director was in complete bewilderment from the document before her, the caretaker meanwhile continued to report:
"In addition to the visit, the Blackwell family has also expressed a desire to become a sponsor of our orphanage. They have already sent us the terms of the contract for signing. And they also want to personally visit the orphanage to see how the children live here and learn what they need."
Hearing this, the director was dumbfounded.
Not only a visit, but also sponsorship?
What the hell is going on?!
While the director was thinking intensely about this, dark guesses came to her one after another.
Could they want to buy the children as slaves? Sell them for organs? Use them in some experiments? Or some other terrible things?
All these guesses made the orphanage director break out in a cold sweat. And meanwhile... she herself understood perfectly well that she had no choice.
Who was she to refuse the Blackwell family?
Even if they had sent a request for permission to visit the orphanage, in reality it was simply a warning about their visit. Who in their right mind in this empire would dare refuse them?
And the director was no exception.
She sighed deeply.
"All right..." she said in a mournful voice. "Send a message to the Blackwell family that we are ready to receive them."
Agreeing to this proposal, all she could do was hope that everything would go well.
And pray that the Blackwell family's visit would not bring her children anything bad.