To get Lanceil’s heart, Agatha came up with a plan. She would never tell Lanceil that she had a relationship before.
Her role in this game is an innocent lady who doesn’t do anything about love.
Cold man tends to fall in love with an innocent lady, that’s what Agatha thought.
But her plan was ruined.
‘Why did I forget that the kids knew my relationship with Mikhail?!’ Agatha complained inwardly before she looked back at her boss.
When Lanceil caught her in his arms, Agatha could tell that things were going better between them. The mood was great, and it seemed Lanceil would really kiss her that time.
“You have a boyfriend?” Lanceil asked Agatha.
Flustered, Agatha couldn’t answer right away. She broke up with Mikhail so there’s no need to hide it. But she felt scared for a moment. If Lanceil finds one of her secrets, then it feels like he can discover more.
“Yes!” the boy named Jeff, put Agatha’s hand away from his mouth and answered Lanceil’s question instead. “Sister Agatha has a boyfriend! And her boyfriend came here a few times too.”
Lanceil stared down at the kid.
“But her boyfriend doesn’t come here anymore. Sister Agatha brought you here. So, I am curious. Are you my new competitor?”
The two adults frowned.
“Are you Sister Agatha’s new boyfriend?”
The boy threw the offense to Lanceil, who was troubled by the question. He isn’t Agatha’s boyfriend. Yet, he could not bring himself to say no.
Why?
“Sister Agatha! Let’s play!”
The other kids appeared, and they pulled Agatha away from Lanceil.
Agatha was dragged by the kids, but her heart was still beating so loud.
“I am watching you, Sir,” Jeff warned Lanceil.
“What?” Lanceil replied coldly to the kid.
“Even though you are handsome too, I would never give Agatha to you. Okay?” Jeff rolled his eyes at Lanceil and followed Agatha.
“Hah,” Lanceil scoffed. “Who cares if she has a boyfriend or what? It doesn’t matter to me.”
He said that he doesn’t care a little bit. But Lanceil was bothered by the fact that Agatha dates a handsome man too, just like what Jeff said.
Outside the orphanage, Agatha and the children were seen playing. Lively laughter filled the air.
Agatha, who was playing tag, was running here and there, eagerly trying to catch the children.
It was a different appearance when she was working as a maid, and Lanceil couldn’t take his eyes off her.
The bright smile on her face now seemed so genuine. It was then that he heard the voice of Jasfer, who was standing nearby.
“I am so grateful to Agatha. She gives the children an overflowing amount of love. Actually, the children here need that more than money. The children also feel that her heart is sincere, and they obey her more than anyone else.”
He didn’t say anything, but Lanceil agreed to Jasfer. From the moment he stepped into this place, not even a small darkness was visible from the children.
The way they approached him, an adult they had never met before with friendliness, he could tell at a glance that they were children who had been raised with a lot of love.
In the middle of listening to Jasfer’s words, Lanceil had one question.
“By the way, since when did Agatha start to volunteer here?”
“I can’t quite remember,” Jasfer lied. “But she started coming here a long time ago.”
“Were her parents still alive at that time?”
“Pardon?”
“Agatha told me that her parents died and now she’s living alone. If she started to come here a long time ago, then her parents might be alive at that time.”
Jasfer could not tell the truth.
Agatha and her father used to donate a large amount of money to support the orphanage. It is something Jasfer could be proud of. But Agatha asked him to hide this from Lanceil.
“What about you asked her directly?” Jasfer tossed the question.
Lanceil flinched.
“I think Mr. Grim is interested to know more about Agatha. You can ask her yourself.”
The cold boss scowled and denied the accusation. “I am not interested in her.”
“Mr. Grim, I am very thankful that you wanted to support this orphanage financially. But I knew you didn’t come here just to volunteer.”
Jasfer gave Lanceil a smile as if he could read his intention very well.
Lanceil fell into deep thought. ‘Am I really harboring interest toward my maid?’
But his thoughts did not last long. The children who had been playing happily suddenly ran to him.
“Brother! Let’s play too!”
Lanceil quickly looked at Agatha, asking for help. But Agatha played ignorant and looked away.
‘Agatha, you…!’ Lanceil shouted inwardly.
The children dragged Lanceil, and soon he was surrounded by them.
“I am sorry, I don’t know how to…”
Lanceil lost the chance to decline because the kids weren’t even listening. Since he had no choice, he agreed in the end. He was thankful that his secretary wasn’t here to watch him play.
“Let’s catch our breath for a second,” Lanceil begged the kids.
“Play more.”
“Why are you so energetic?”
Lanceil’s face was sweaty from how much he had run around in the yard, and his breathing was ragged. The children, however, were as energetic as ever and didn’t even want to rest for a moment.
“Sir, are you all, right?” Agatha asked Lanceil.
Lanceil said, “Do I look fine?”
Agatha shook her head.
“How do you manage to play like this?” he asked her.
“Well, I can’t do it every day. But these kids don’t get much time with the adults, so I try my best.”
Agatha spoke in a slightly lowered voice, and Lanceil’s gaze fell on the children, who were gathered in groups discussing what to do next. They all had bright smiles on their faces.
Agatha wanted to talk about their unfinished discussion. But more than that, she thought she had to give Lanceil a chance to rest.
And so, she clapped and focused the children’s attention.
“Shall we play something else? How about hide-and-seek? Or play tag?” Agatha offered.
“Yes!”
“Then I’ll count to 100. Hurry up and hide. Not inside the house. Let’s go!”
As soon as Agatha turned around, the children quickly and happily moved away.
“Take this time to catch your breath, Sir,” Agatha said.
Lanceil breathed in and out as he rested.
Looking at him, Agatha chuckled. Lanceil glared, asking, “What?”
“S-Sorry Sir. But you look weaker than you look.”
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s because the children are more energetic than I thought. To be honest, they don’t look like children living in a nursery.”
“They’re unloved by their parents, so I didn’t want them to feel alone. Because the children here are all family with each other.”
After hearing her words, Lanceil’s thoughts seemed to deepen. When he was a child, he wasn’t in a very different position from those children.
‘If I had a place like this at that time, would something have changed?’
Just by looking at his expression, Agatha could see that Lanceil was thinking something deep and she should not ask more.
“Then let’s find them. I think they’re all hidden.”
Agatha walked fast, but suddenly a force made her stop, and she saw Lanceil holding her hand.
She did not have time to ask him anything then, because Lanceil spoke first.
“Now that we're alone, what about we continue what we were talking about before.”
Agatha paused. She knew what it was, yet still, she waited for him to ask again.
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
Her boss would never ask that question to his mere employee. He focused on his own life and work.
And so, why was Lanceil desperate to know if Agatha has a boyfriend or not?
Agatha saw the light of hope. It seems seducing a cold-hearted man like Lanceil isn’t a futile dream. But part of her felt guilty to think that all of this was just a mission.
“Mr. Grim?”
A different voice interrupted.
Both of their heads turned at the same time at the voice and they found an unexpected person standing there.
Too startled to speak, Agatha froze.
“It’s really you, Lanceil,” Brett greeted.