I Ran Away And The Reverse Harem Started Chapter 126

When Ralph started to pout, Sasha hurried to calm him down.

“No, honey, I didn’t mean it like that! You know that, right? You know how I feel. Are you really upset? Hmm?”

Ralph had always been sweet and gentle, but once he got sulky, it could last for days. In that way, he was a lot like Lucas.

Still, it was strange to hear those two—who’d grown up as runny-nosed kids alongside me—calling each other honey and dear. Behind me, I heard Lucas mutter under his breath, “Ugh, what a cringe-fest,” but I pretended not to hear it.

As the two of them continued with their lovey-dovey mood, Lucas finally gave up and turned his head away.

“Ugh… I can’t take this anymore…”

“Bear with it, Lucas,” I said.

After sending the kids upstairs, Sasha and Ralph closed the produce store on the first floor and set up a space for us. We gathered around the old wooden table.

Ralph brought over five cups of tea and spoke.

“Still can’t believe it. Rosieta, you’re alive… Do you know how worried we were? Where have you been all this time?”

“It’s a long story… But I’m the one more surprised. I mean, you two got married. And those kids upstairs…”

I glanced up at the wooden ceiling where the second floor must be. I could hear the faint sound of footsteps and kids’ laughter.

“They’re not your kids… They’re orphans, right? What happened?”

“It’s a long story for us too… but if I had to sum it up—it’s just something we wanted to do.”

“What do you mean?”

Sasha took a few sips of her tea, pausing for a moment before giving a soft smile. Her brown eyes seemed deeper than usual.

“…Honestly, Holis Orphanage wasn’t the best place, but it’s the reason we’re still here. We couldn’t be actual parents to the kids, but we still wanted to help them. That’s why Ralph and I started this orphanage together.”

“Ah…”

“There’s only about ten kids for now, but we’re doing alright, huh?”

Ralph nodded as he sat beside her.

The two of them—around my age—were raising kids not even related to them. I never would’ve imagined it. Back then, I could barely feed myself.

Even though they split every coin they made from the produce shop, their faces glowed with warmth. It felt like they were each other’s pillars—quietly holding hands across the table.

As we sat and watched them, Sasha looked at me seriously.

“But honestly, none of this would’ve happened if it weren’t for that fire. It’s all thanks to you, Rose.”

“…What? Me?”

I blinked in surprise, and Sasha slowly nodded.

“You saved our lives during the fire.”

Everyone in the kitchen turned to look at me.

“All of the kids who survived that day owe you their lives. But you didn’t make it out with us… So Ralph and I made a promise—to repay that debt by taking care of other orphans. We agreed on that before we even got married.”

“Calling it a debt… you’re giving me too much credit.”

“No, it’s the truth.”

I felt my face warm with embarrassment and started fidgeting with my fingers. Sasha laughed gently.

“Most of the other kids ended up scattered. Not many of them keep in touch.  But I’m sure they’re all doing okay—even now.”

“…”

“It’s all thanks to you. But you vanished out of nowhere, got everyone worried… then poof, just show up one day!”

“Yeah… I’m sorry.”

“Forget it. Don’t apologize.”

Sasha reached out and gently wrapped her hands around mine.

“I’m sure you had your reasons.”

“…”

Her warmth made me freeze up a little.

It felt like she had been waiting years just to say those words.

Then Sasha perked up, looking around with a mischievous smile.

“Hey, how about we do that thing? For old time’s sake?”

We all immediately knew what “that thing” meant.

Sitting in a circle around the table, we reached out and joined hands.

Even Daniel, who always looked annoyed, and Colin—who used to teach us math when we were kids—joined in. Lucas, who used to whine all the time, and me, Sasha, and Ralph too.

Back when we lived at Holis Orphanage, the headmaster used to make us hold hands like this and pray. Of course, we usually just talked about what we wanted for lunch instead.

But now—for once—it felt like we truly wanted to give thanks.

Just surviving, living one day at a time, felt like an incredible achievement.

Meeting again like this… was nothing short of a miracle.

We sat quietly, holding hands, looking at one another in silence.

And I thought to myself:

I’m so glad I could save everyone.

And I’m so, so glad I’m still alive too.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Sasha surprised me with some unexpected news.

I had been wondering whether I should just leave Holis with the orphanage long gone and no word from the others, letting the memory rest in the past.

“Wanna check out the second floor?” Sasha offered. “Ralph and I really wanted the place to feel like the old Holis orphanage when we decorated it. We put a lot of love into it.”

When they set up the second floor as an orphanage, they had recreated the layout to match the one we grew up in—out of nostalgia.

And… the new orphanage that Sasha and Ralph had built also had a library.

“Wow… it’s exactly the same…”

I whispered in awe.

After dinner, while Sasha and Ralph put the kids to bed and the others were off in their rooms, I snuck away to find the library.

The library they made was an almost perfect replica of the one I used to visit in the old Holis orphanage. The layout of the shelves, the window’s placement, the soft round carpet—everything down to the floor panels felt familiar.

But it was even cleaner than before, and there were more books. Just from the warm colors and cozy design, I could tell how much they cared for the kids.

I let out a quiet laugh. The resemblance stirred something in me—something deep. I walked toward the shelves, drawn in by the memories.

Seeing the scene recreated so perfectly was… strange.

Was it nostalgia? I had never missed that awful orphanage, but even so, all those years there had become a part of me. Those days had shaped who I was now. I couldn’t deny that.

For a second, I thought I could hear the kids playing through the rain outside, like back then.

“Colin always read here… He read the same thirty books over and over…”

Most of the books had been donated—worn and secondhand. I slowly wandered the little library, trying to pull the memories out from the past.

The spotless shelves—probably cleaned while teaching the kids tidiness. The polished windows, the soft pink curtains, the checkered blankets stacked neatly in the corner…

The well-used books and small stools showed signs of many eager hands. And then, my eyes stopped on something.

“…Oh. This one…”

Among the children’s picture books was “The Ash-Covered Girl”—a fairytale about a girl mistreated by her stepmother who goes to the palace with a magician’s help and meets a prince.

Before I knew it, I was kneeling on the carpet, flipping through the pages of one fairytale after another.

As the soft rain kept falling outside, I quietly followed the trail of memories through the library.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

The rain stopped only around dinnertime. It had come and gone quickly—just enough to wet the ground. Darkness fell early in place of twilight.

Daniel stepped out of the produce shop in just a light shirt. To his eyes, the small village of Holis looked exactly the same as it had years ago.

People too busy with survival to care about a small orphanage down the alley. And yet, the kids still survived—huddled like alley rats, finding ways to keep going.

Even after becoming an adult, Daniel had sometimes felt a twisted sense of relief when he thought about the old orphanage burning down.
Sure, it hurt to think about the girl he’d lost that day… but it wasn’t like the orphanage held any happy memories.

Most of the kids there had no idea who had abandoned them. And even if they did, it didn’t change anything.

Following Rosieta’s memories had brought him back to where the orphanage once stood. And for a moment, Daniel thought he might feel satisfied seeing it completely wiped away.

But instead… it felt empty.

He could still picture Sasha, Ralph, and the other kids sharing what little food they had. That image lingered in his mind—clear as day. But the building? The place itself? Gone, without a trace.

“Hey, where are you going?”

A little girl asked as Daniel stood outside the shop, looking at the damp ground. She was one of the five kids from earlier in the empty lot.

Her name was Lize. She didn’t have that gloomy aura most orphans did. Even when we asked if she had parents, she’d just snorted without a care.

Daniel found himself overlapping her with someone from his past, then ran his hand through his curly brown hair.

“Looking for someone.”

“Your sister?”

“Yeah.”

Lize sucked on her lollipop and looked up at him. Then she pointed toward the spot where the orphanage used to be.

“She just left a minute ago.”