Chapter 1: The Father Sold His Daughter

[To you who are abandoned, and to you who are unforgiven]

On that night, young Rena went to her father’s study with excitement.

“Father, did you call for me?”

“Come in.”

Rena bit her lips and smiled at the voice coming from behind the door.

Rena’s father, Viscount Rubel, was an amazing person. He had always been recognized for his good looks, amiability, and capability. His only flaw was that he neglected his family for work, but Rena loved her father even with those flaws. It was the first time for her father, whom she was so proud of, to call for her personally.

“Why did he call me? Did he know that I was praised in violin class? Or is it because of my birthday?”

Perhaps he had prepared a special present because next Wednesday was Rena’s twelfth birthday. Rena stepped into the study in anticipation.

However, what her father had prepared was not some pretty gifts, but a cold despair.

“The child’s here,” said her father in a lowered voice as Rena came into view.

“That’s the girl?” An unfamiliar voice chimed in.

Rena flinched in surprise and turned toward the voice. There was someone whom she had never seen before sitting in her father’s chair. He was a man as beautiful as an angel in a Renaissance painting.

“What a pretty child. Do you really not mind? It looks a little wasteful to use her as an offering,” asked the man as he looked at Rena. “Please decide carefully. It will be difficult to hold a funeral since not even her body will be left.”

Rena doubted her ears.

Body? Funeral?

Rena looked at the lunatic with astonishment, while her father held her by the shoulders.

“I’ve already made a decision.”

“Father?”

Rena was completely bewildered because of the adults’ inexplicable joke. She looked up to her father but to no avail. The face of her father, Viscount Rubel, was serious without a smile.

“She’s ten years old this year. She’s healthy and has never been sick. She will certainly be of help to the Imperial Majesty,” said the viscount as he pushed Rena forward.

Rena’s expression became dazed in comprehension. She couldn’t understand the situation she was in and felt like she was dreaming. Amid her distracted mind, the words of the viscount lingered in her ears.

—Ten years old this year

—Healthy

—Hasn’t been sick.

None of that was true.

Young Rena was weak enough that she would cough even just from the cold wind. Because of that, even if the day got only slightly colder, the servants would ready pickled ginger in honey and prepare clothes made of cotton for her. This was but an insignificant misunderstanding, the real problem was the other statement.

The viscount’s daughter was twelve years old this year, not ten.

Rena stared at her father who didn’t even know her age, let alone her birthday.

However, the viscount wasn’t looking at Rena at all, and only pressed his daughter’s small shoulders down. The heavy touch awakened Rena. She could not believe it, and yet, there was no way not to believe it.

The father sold his daughter.

That night, Rena was abandoned by her father whom she had loved and had respected more than anyone else.

It had been six years since then.

* * *

Human beings are valuable. Even more so if they are young, and especially expensive if they are beautiful. Human trafficking was becoming a trend and stain in the empire that had turned into a den of thieves. Missing people was a common occurrence in the empire, and because of this, normally women and children did not wander through the streets. Therefore, the appearance of a beautiful young lady sitting alone in the square was a very strange sight to the citizens.

“My lady!” A strong voice rang in the dreary square. It came from a child in a maid’s uniform.

“My lady, are you hungry? Have some of this.” The maid, who looked around ten years old, came running and held out a sandwich.

And so, the young lady who was sitting on the bench smiled softly. People glanced at the unusual beauty, but the young lady seemed completely unaware of it. The young lady looked at the sandwich the maid had brought over and asked with a tilt of her head.

“Why is there only one? What about you?”

“I’ll be okay.”

“Did we run out of money, by any chance?”

“Mm, unfortunately, yes.”

The young lady’s expression hardened at the maid’s, Yuni’s, answer. As a response, Yuni eagerly presented the sandwich she had bought from a stall.

“So you should have this, my lady. I’m small, so it will be okay if I don’t eat!”

“Since you’re small, you have to eat more to grow up. It may not be enough, but let’s share,” the young lady smiled tenderly. She split the sandwich in half and returned the larger part, and Yuni received it with a smile.

“I will enjoy this meal!”

“Me too.”

The beautiful young lady and the adorable child sat side by side and started eating. In the meantime, many eyes set their gazes on them.

“What are those kids doing?”

“Do they not have a guardian?”

“Just what are they thinking?”

Most of the comments were excessive worries coupled with criticisms. The citizens directed their wagging tongues toward the fearless woman and child, then hurried along while urging their daughter or sister by their sides.

“Is she a noble?”

“Hey, would a noble do something like that?”

“Why don’t you try talking to her?”

On the other side, a bunch of young men were busy whispering among themselves in the midst of their work. Everyone seemed to be attracted to the woman, but because they were aware of their own physical unattractiveness, they only wondered from a distance. One of those who were observing the young lady was a tall young man standing at the entrance to the plaza.

At that moment, with everyone watching, a man in a uniform spoke to the young lady.

“Can I see your identification?”

The young lady raised her head toward the unfamiliar voice and the shadow covering the setting sun. The stranger, who had approached, was looking down at them. Judging from his outfit, he seemed to be the city guard.

“Identification?”

“There was a report of suspicious individuals. Please show me your identification.”

“I-I don’t have it at the moment…” As if she was frightened by the word “report,” the young lady stammered.

Because of that, the eyes of the guard narrowed. “Where is your residence?”

“We’re not from this city.”

“So you’re visitors? Do you have company? What’s the reason for your visitation to our city?”

“I don’t have company, and we’re only passing by…”

“So it’s just the two of you?”

The young lady answered with sincerity, but the guard crossed his arms in doubt. He then asked again in an interrogative manner.

“What is your status?”

“I am the marquis of the North’s—”

“The lady of a marquis’s household wanders around the plaza, accompanied only by a single maid? As if that makes any sense,” the guard interrupted the young lady’s words and laughed at her. The young lady’s face paled.

“It’s not like that, I—”

“You will be investigated for having unknown identity and impersonating a noble until the charges are resolved. Follow me!” The guard suddenly seized the young lady by the wrist at once.

“What are you doing!?”

“Yuni, it’s fine!”

“My lady—!”

“It’s fine, it will be fine. They just need to investigate some things.” The young lady reasoned with the child and got up from the bench to follow the guard. Yuni, who was still fuming, quietly shut her mouth.

The guard dragged the innocent young lady and the child away. There were many people in the plaza, but everyone avoided their gaze as if they were already familiar with such a situation.

* * *

The place where the guard led the lady was not the guard office, but a quiet alleyway. There, he laughed for the first time, “Isn’t this too easy?”

Nasty-looking men who had been hiding around the area revealed themselves as the guard spoke, “Hey, where did you get this?”

“Look at that fair face. Now this is a real woman.”

As the filthy men approached with grins pasted on their faces, the young lady looked at the guard with a frightened face.

“A-Aren’t you the city guard?”

“Yeah, that’s right. But my pay is kind of low, so every once in a while I do a side hustle as well.”

“Then—”

“So why do you go traveling alone so fearlessly? It’s dangerous.” The man chuckled, pretending to be worried, while the young lady’s shoulders slumped at his sleazy attitude.

Then one of them muttered, “Hey, won’t this get us in trouble?”

The woman was too gentle. She looked like a precious daughter of a rich family.

The guard laughed at his colleague’s worries, “You fool. Would a precious lady of a renowned household go outside without escorts?”

“What if she went out in secret?”

“Stop thinking so much. It will be over once we sell her!” The guard reached out in a rough way.

Yuni screamed, “You bad man! Don’t touch my lady!”

“Hahaha!” The men burst into laughter when the child shouted. “This will sell well. Those perverts will like it.”

“Don’t do this. Please let us go.” Amid the disturbing mockery, Yuni clenched her teeth, while the young lady enveloped Yuni in a hug and pled. It could have been better had she not done it.

The trembling voice aroused their already twisted mind. The men laughed freely then stretched out their arms as if trying to grab the young lady.

Just then, Bang!

The man who had been blocking the alley fell backward with an unexpected sound. Everyone turned their heads in surprise and stiffened at once as if in agreement.

At the end of the alley, there was a man standing under the sunset. He was a tall man in a black cloak, with a mask covering his face, and beneath his feet lay the man who had been the lookout.

“What’s with this punk?!” The men shouted at the uninvited guest.

The unidentified assailant did not answer and stepped on the head of the man who had fallen under his feet. There was a sound of cracking bone, but the man underneath did not move a muscle.

“This guy—!” Another man rushed in and threw his fist.

The mysterious assailant dodged, grabbed, and broke the man’s arm.

“Aaargh!” The man sank to his knees like a tree falling. Then as if he had been waiting, the assailant smashed the man’s chin with his knee.

“Kugh—!” The man’s body fell helplessly under the ruthless assault.

As their colleagues fell one after another, the rest of the men took a stance to withdraw. The assailant raised his body and stretched his shoulders.

No one had realized because he had been moving around, but right after he stood, the assailant looked big. In addition, his eyes, which were exposed through the gap of the mask, were filled with killing intent.

The men flinched at his overbearing frame and the sharp glint in his eyes, and in the end, they could only curse, “Damn it!”

A frightened dog barked. The group of angry men retreated and escaped. As they fled, the alley became quiet in an instant. But the young lady and the maid were still embracing each other tightly. This was because the man in the cloak seemed just as dangerous as the guard and his group.

The pitch-dark shadow of the mysterious man approached, then he quietly asked the young lady and the maid, “Are you all right?”

It was an ordinary warm voice.

When the lady was surprised by the unexpected voice, the mysterious man lifted his mask.

“Ah…” The young lady was once again surprised at the face that was revealed. Unlike his aggressive actions, his appearance was neat. His face and features were fair like the moon, and his deep, black eyes were composed, unlike before. It was hard to believe that this gentle-looking young man was the one had wounded those people severely.

The young man spoke as the young lady blinked, “I saw you in the plaza and followed you. You can’t follow the guards blindly, it’s dangerous.”

Then he said calmly and reached out to the still-stiff young lady, “I’ll take you.”

“Huh?”

“Not to your house. Just somewhere nearby.”

“But we’re not from this city,” the young lady replied in a breezy voice. “We’re only stopping here for a while. We’re heading to the capital.”

“Just the two of you?”

As the young lady nodded, doubts rose within the eyes of the young man.

“My father is in the imperial palace.” Under the man’s gaze, the lady confessed with her beautiful but uncertain face.

“My name is Rena Rubel. The Northern Marquis, Cardo Rubel, is my father.”

Rena Rubel, the young lady who had just spoken, looked not that much different from six years ago. She was just as fragile and pitiful as when she had been abandoned by her father.