His name is on the plaque, which means he's a benefactor. The aim was to have him be the largest benefactor, which means his stake in this is purely philanthropic. As the orphanage gains more patrons and press from nobles, merchants and common folk, they'll constantly remember that the orphanage is being backed by someone, who gains nothing from it. The Grand Duke. He'll increase in popularity because he doesn't own the orphanage and thus gains nothing but infamy for his donations.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I must have missed that detail while reading because I was so confused. That makes a lot of sense. Ebony coming in with that logic~
Yep! She states this some chapters back - but since I caught up all in one go, I could explain easily lol. Yeah she straight up asks him "you have an opportunity to be the largest benefactor". Ebony is so smart I'm
Here's what I don't get: in chp 61, Ebony said that her running the orphanage would be beneficial to the Duke by increasing his popularity if the ward under his care starts a philanthropic business, but if Gillian is now advertised as the Director of the Orphanage, would the credit be attributed to her? Or is it because the Duke owns the land they've started the Orphanage on, and that's what would boost his reputation? Thoughts?