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Chapter 1
‘I knew I felt sick since this morning.’
Reina pressed a hand to her forehead.
By noon, the fever had truly set in, her skin burning as if it were on fire.
She wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the sofa right away, but she endured.
‘He’ll be back soon anyway.’
Just as Reina expected, it wasn’t long before the person she was waiting for returned to the reception room.
It was Lucius Ingersoll, the Grand Duke and head of the Ingersoll family.
He had been traveling all across the empire in search of his missing younger brother.
To make matters worse, his brother had been diagnosed as terminally ill—his body already weak. It was a truly pitiful situation.
Reina had been helping him.
Of course, it wasn’t simply out of sympathy that she had gotten involved with a man she had no prior connection to.
“What happened?”
At Reina’s question, Lucius shook his head.
It meant that once again, he had failed to find his brother.
As if he had expected this outcome, Lucius approached her with a calm expression.
“You look exhausted.”
He studied her face as he continued,
“To be honest, I didn’t expect you to come this far with me.”
They were currently at an orphanage in a remote rural area at the far eastern edge of the empire.
The journey there had been rough, but Reina hadn’t hesitated in the slightest to follow Lucius.
Because she, too, was just as desperate as he was.
Though her reason was… somewhat—no, very—different.
“I’m fine. Let’s head back.”
Reina forced a small smile and turned around.
But suddenly, dizziness surged up, and her body staggered.
She tried to grab onto the table, but Lucius was faster.
He caught her arm and steadied her.
“Ah, thank—”
Her words trailed off as her eyes widened.
She had ended up in Lucius’s arms.
Startled, she tried to pull away, but he didn’t let go.
“As expected, you’re not well. I can feel the heat even through your clothes.”
Without another word, Lucius guided her to the sofa in the reception room.
When Reina obediently sat down, he instructed a staff member of the orphanage to bring her some water.
While waiting, Reina leaned her elbow against the armrest and pressed her forehead.
Throbbing pain—now even a headache had set in.
Lucius watched her for a moment before walking toward the window.
There was no leisure in his gaze as he looked out at the garden.
His eyes were dark, filled with a tangled mix of emotions.
It looked as though he was barely holding something back that could burst at any moment.
Soon, the staff member returned with a glass of water.
“I’ve brought the water.”
“Thank you.”
Just as Reina reached out to take it, her hand slipped.
Crash!
The glass shattered loudly at her feet.
At that very moment, Lucius’s patience shattered as well.
“Don’t touch it.”
At his firm voice, Reina froze, her hand halted just before the broken shards.
Perhaps because of the fever clouding her mind, she had almost made the foolish mistake of grabbing broken glass with her bare hands.
The startled staff member hurried off to fetch cleaning tools.
Lucius pushed the shards aside with his shoe and knelt in front of Reina.
Seeing the thin cut on the top of her foot beneath her dress, his brows furrowed deeply.
“I’ll check the wound.”
Before Reina could even refuse, he removed her shoe.
Her pale foot was revealed, and he examined it carefully with gentle hands.
In the heavy silence, Reina began to feel both burdened and embarrassed.
“…Why?”
Lucius spoke, still holding her ankle.
“Why are you going this far?”
“Pardon?”
“You’re so sick you can’t even hold a glass properly. Why did you insist on following me?”
“Well… I wanted to help you, even if only a little—”
“That’s exactly why I don’t understand.”
Lucius cut her off and raised his head.
Reina flinched unconsciously.
His golden eyes gleamed.
They were as beautiful as jewels, yet carried an indescribable chill.
“Reina. Tell me.”
The grip on her ankle tightened.
“Why you’re hiding my brother, Calix… and telling lies like this.”
“……”
“Why you pretend to help me, while deceiving me.”
Reina’s lips parted slowly.
Her heart pounded violently, pumping blood through her body, yet her face had gone pale.
‘Please.’
Only one thought filled her mind.
‘Just faint… please!’
Lucius’s interrogation terrified her so much that she wanted to lose consciousness right then and there.
Whether the heavens answered her wish or her fevered body simply reached its limit—
Her vision darkened, and her body collapsed forward.
“Reina!”
Lucius called out urgently, catching her in his arms.
As her consciousness faded, Reina thought,
‘Poor Calix.’
I tried my best, but it seems… both you and I will die like this in the end.
Behind her tightly shut eyelids, her past flickered like a passing panorama—
Going all the way back to the day she first met Calix.
* * *
“Reina! My lovely little sister!”
A man with sun-tanned skin pulled Reina into a tight embrace.
He was her one and only older brother, Jonathan Krolot.
A cadet at the naval academy, he had returned home during a short leave.
However, the only one there to greet him at the mansion was Reina.
The Count and Countess Krolot had gone to visit relatives, unaware that he would return earlier than expected.
Even Reina, the only family present, did not greet him particularly warmly.
She merely stood stiffly in his embrace, but Jonathan didn’t seem to mind at all.
“You must be so overwhelmed with happiness that you’re speechless.”
He had no doubt that his sister loved him dearly—she just didn’t show it.
“Do you remember the day I entered the academy? Even now, it still breaks my heart.”
Letting her go, Jonathan looked at her with affectionate eyes.
“You were so sad you even developed temporary mutism.”
No.
I just stayed quiet because I didn’t know what novel I’d transmigrated into.
Reina answered inwardly.
‘The day Jonathan left was the day I realized I had transmigrated.’
Her decision to stay silent until she understood the situation had been a wise one.
Her new family was… a little unusual, after all.
She needed time to adjust.
Reina glanced past Jonathan’s shoulder.
Her attention wasn’t on her brother, but on someone standing behind him.
Noticing her sideways glance, Jonathan grinned.
“You noticed?”
He stepped aside, revealing the person behind him.
“I prepared a gift for my little sister, who would surely fall into despair once I return to the academy.”
That so-called “gift” was—
A boy.
He looked about ten years old.
Small and frail, with a pale complexion.
Instead of the plump cheeks typical of a child, his face was gaunt, his eyes shadowed darkly underneath.
His ruby-colored eyes were fixed on the ground, so dull and lifeless that they made anyone who looked at him feel gloomy.
‘A gift…? Giving a person instead of an object?’
And a child who looked like he might collapse at any moment.
Reina was horrified, but she kept her expression calm and asked,
“So… you kidnapped this child for me?”
The reason she forced herself to remain composed was, as mentioned earlier—
The Krolot family was a bit… unusual.
The Count and Countess who governed the Krolot territory were known among nobles for their generosity and good nature.
Their son and daughter had inherited their striking looks and carried themselves with elegance.
From the outside, they appeared to be a normal, harmonious family.
But the problem was…
“Yeah. Look—doesn’t he resemble that stray cat you used to adore when you were little?”
Their sense of morality was seriously, deeply flawed.
