She Was Condemned as a Villain, But After Baking Bread She Changed Her Job To Become A Saint!? - Chapter 1.5

Chapter 1.5

Standing in the hallway, the High Priestess looked up at me and smiled.

“You shouldn’t let them get too used to this. Wasn’t it you who said that we shouldn’t spoil them with charity? Just because someone doesn’t have parents doesn’t mean they’re pitiful. Therefore, we must not instill in them the idea that they are ‘pitiful children without parents’.”

“ Furthermore, we must not give them the impression that it is natural for “pitiful children” to receive charity. Because that ideology won’t work once they leave the orphanage. Whether or not they have parents, life is a path they must carve out for themselves. It’s very much like happiness—something they must seize for themselves with their own power. That’s what we need to teach them,” the High Priestess said.

Ah, so this is the reason. It’s because of the High Priestess’s strong teachings that Annie and Riri, the older girls, looked so confused when I said, ‘Can I bring you more bread?’ They probably didn’t think it was a good thing to get something for free.

“That is why you must make good use of their labour. This way, the ‘delicious bread’ from earlier can be considered compensation for their labour and not a handout.” The High Priestess said:.

“You never cease to amaze me. Who would have thought that you were the infamous Lady Avaricia of Ashenford, the villainous duchess? It really goes to show that you can’t believe all the rumours you hear.”

“Oh, no, it’s not like that.”

I’m a little hesitant when asked if the rumours are true because I don’t think they’re wrong either. After all, Avaricia was the villain, and I was acting according to the script until that day two years ago.

But I guess the word “villainous” is a bit strong. It’s the heroine who doesn’t speak poorly to people of lower status, who doesn’t touch the royal princes or noblemen casually, who always nags and insists that we follow the rules of etiquette and respect the hierarchy, who always interferes and criticises Avaricia’s overly familiar behaviour towards the crown prince, who’s engaged to Avaricia. Wouldn’t anything against all that be “evil” from the heroine’s perspective?

But it was also true that Avaricia’s entourage of young ladies had been bullying people under her guise.

I had pretended not to see it, afraid that the scenario would change, but that was still “evil” on my part. There’s no doubt about it.

“Your Holiness, you’re quite mistaken. I am not a good person. After all, I’m not doing this for those children. It’s really just for me.” I shook my head, smiled, and put my index finger to my lips.

“There’s no better advertisement than word-of-mouth. So wouldn’t it be fair to say that the key to my success is in the hands of those children?”

In other words,

“I’m using those children for my own benefit.”

Is it “evil” to use innocent children for one’s own desires?

“Fufu. Alright then, let’s just leave it at that.” The High Priestess deepened her smile.

“I’ve also sent your share to the temple, so please try it. If you like it, I would be very grateful if I could hear your thoughts.”

As you can see, what I’m doing is neither charity nor a donation. It’s an investment in getting my store off to a good start.

“Of course. They look very delicious. I promise you’ll hear my thoughts on them soon.”

“Thank you, your holiness!”

I smiled and bowed deeply.

“Then I’ll be on my way to distribute bread in town with the children. We’ll be back in about two hours.”

The High Priestess waved me off as I ran out.

“Have a safe journey. May the blessings of the god Soar be upon you.”

“Oh, I’m so full!

My heart feels so warm and fuzzy. My steps were light as I walked home.

It had already grown dark in the forest. I was up before dawn to make bread today, so its natural that I’d be pretty tired by now, but I don’t feel that way at all!  I must be in really high spirits. As I went about town with the children from the orphanage handing out mini butter rolls, I mostly focused on giving them out to children, and to my surprise, it was a huge success!

The countless lines of “It’s delicious!” from the children were even brighter with their smiles!

That was within my expectations, but it was a little unexpected that most of the children said, ‘I want my family to try it as well, so please, where I can get some?.’

When I told them that the bread had been baked by me and that I was planning to open a store soon, most of the children said, “Please tell me more about the store.”

Should I start handing out flyers along with the bread?

Since so many children wanted their families to try it, maybe I should also hand out bagged bread in addition to the ones they eat on the spot?

Somehow, like takeout, you know.

Or if I’m going to bag it anyway, maybe I should include a few different kinds of bread.

Not just mini butter rolls, but sliced baguettes and… or maybe batards? Coppepan would be good too.

They were surprised by the butter rolls at first, but they were also quick to accept them. Would it be good to make the bread for the children even more outlandish next time?

As I walked along thinking about it, something big under the oak tree caught my eye, and I immediately stumbled backwards.

“Eh…?

W-What? Is that a beast?