Chapter 2

When Elysia turned seventeen, her father, who had gone out to subdue monsters, never returned.

The first time she saw Yulias May Demint was at her father’s funeral.

“Thank you for coming, Your Grace.”

“Your husband was a knight who always put his comrades before himself. The fact that I could not protect him is my responsibility…”

Black hair that reminded her of a raven.

At first glance, he looked like a full-grown adult, but there was still some youthful softness left on his face.

Yet all it took was one look at the men lined up behind him.

So that’s the Grand Duke.

Wearing a black dress for the funeral, Elysia had put on a hat to hide her red hair.

While speaking with her mother, Yulias turned his head and their eyes met.

Against his all-black attire, his eyes stood out even more.

They were a deep orange, like the colors of a setting sun.

Elysia stared blankly at him until she felt someone tugging at her skirt and quickly looked away.

“Noona! I’m hungry!”

“We’ll go eat after this is over. Can you two wait a little longer?”

It was Joshua, Elysia’s younger brother.

The boy had just turned seven and was rubbing his stomach from hunger.

“How much longer do I have to wait?!”

“Hmm, how about counting slowly to one hundred in your head? Very, very slowly.”

Raised with abundant love and affection from her parents, Elysia treasured Joshua more than anything.

“A child speaking that loudly at his own father’s funeral…”

But other people saw things differently.

Joshua’s booming voice drew disapproving looks.

While gently patting her brother’s head, Elysia noticed the stares and turned her face.

“You seem close.”

“Your Grace.”

Without realizing it, she and Yulias were standing close enough to speak face-to-face.

When Elysia hurriedly tried to bow, he gestured as if to say it was unnecessary.

Joshua, sensing the heavy atmosphere, quickly hid behind Elysia’s back.

“I’m sorry for the disturbance. My little brother doesn’t hear very well.”

“I wish we had known sooner that there was a breach in the fortress. Thanks to your father, the damage was minimized.”

“…My brother admired our father as well.”

“Is that so? It would be nice if my own sibling were even half as obedient as this child.”

He looks young. Is he already married?

As far as Elysia knew, Yulias was exactly twenty years old.

A remarkable man who had fought monsters and participated in battles since childhood alongside his father, and who had even graduated from the Academy early.

That was all she knew about him.

“Excuse me.”

Yulias left first.

Only then did Joshua peek his head out and start chattering.

“That hyung! He looks really, really scary!”

Afraid Yulias might hear, Elysia gently covered Joshua’s mouth.

But Yulias continued walking away without even turning back.

***

Three Years Later

Life had to go on after her father’s death.

However, because her mother had come from another region, she could not avoid discrimination.

“If you’re going to Mother’s family, we’ll come too.”

“Elysia.”

After putting Joshua to bed, her mother called Elysia aside and spoke calmly.

“I want you to stay here and wait with Joshua.”

“But Joshua will look for you… and so will I.”

When Elysia spoke without confidence, her mother squeezed her hand.

“Your father and I loved each other very much. I left my hometown and came here because of him.”

“…”

“I can endure going back alone. But I’m worried they might mistreat you two or make life difficult for you.”

Wouldn’t it still be better if we went together?

Elysia swallowed the words she wanted to say and listened.

“Mom.”

“Your father was part of the Grand Duke’s Knight Order, so we never had trouble surviving. But my family isn’t like that. There are many of them, and…”

She seemed to have more to say but stopped herself.

Before Joshua was born, Elysia had grown up surrounded by her parents’ love and wanted to understand her mother.

“At most, it’ll be two years. Then I’ll bring you to my hometown, and we’ll live together.”

“…”

“I’ll send living expenses every month. Can you trust me and wait a little longer?”

Elysia looked at her mother’s hand as it gently patted hers.

The skin was rough and cracked, covered in small wounds that hadn’t been there before.

Maybe her mother’s hometown would truly be better than staying here and working endlessly while suffering discrimination and delayed wages.

“Okay. I’ll take good care of Joshua. I’ll write to you often.”

“I’ll write often too. I love you, Elysia.”

Wrapped in her mother’s embrace, Elysia finally cried.

Even when her father had died, she had held back her tears.

After crying in her mother’s arms for a long time, they slept together in the same bed for the first time in ages.

Three days later, while Joshua was fast asleep, their mother quietly left.

If she departed during the day, Joshua would surely cry and cause a fuss.

She had said she would board a ship at dawn and return to her hometown.

“It looks like it’s going to rain. Are you sure you’ll be okay? Maybe you should delay your trip.”

“…I’ll be back.”

We’re not parting forever, so why does this feel so sad?

Even though she was twenty years old now, Elysia still wanted to stop her and insist on going together.

After packing a simple travel bag, her mother embraced her one last time and kissed her forehead.

“Mom.”

As she grew farther from the house, she turned back again and again, waving.

Afraid her mother would notice she was crying if she wiped her face, Elysia let the tears fall as she waved back.

Not long afterward, the light drizzle became a downpour.

That very night, after her mother left, news spread quickly through town.

The ship that had departed at dawn had capsized.

Most of the passengers were reported dead or missing.

“Mom!”

Joshua cried desperately for their mother.

It took Elysia a long time to comfort him and convince him that they would see her again.

Elysia never received a letter from her mother.

But she refused to believe she was dead.

She’s just missing.

That’s better. Much better than the alternative.

Clinging to that belief, Elysia fought back the tears gathering in her eyes.

From then on, she alone was responsible for her younger brother.

She was only twenty years old.

But reality was merciless.

“…It’s okay.”

After pulling the blanket over Joshua and tucking him in, she gently patted him and whispered.

The words were meant for him.

But they were also meant for herself.

“It’s okay.”

She repeated it over and over.

Yet despite trying so hard to stay strong, tears eventually spilled from her eyes.

* * *

“Why don’t you try visiting the Grand Duke’s residence?”

“The Grand Duke’s residence…?”

“The Demint Grand Ducal House.”

Feeling uncertain about the future, Elysia shared her worries with Mrs. Denmins, a neighbor.

The woman had known Elysia since the day she was born.

Mrs. Denmins offered a suggestion.

Since Elysia’s father had served in the knight order for many years, she could use that connection and ask for work as a maid.

The problem was that maids serving noble households usually needed recommendation letters or prior experience and rank.

Elysia, at twenty years old, had neither.

“Mrs. Denmins, could you watch Joshua for just one day? I’ll go visit the Grand Duke’s residence.”

She wanted to repay the woman somehow for kindly agreeing to look after Joshua for the day.

But at that moment, Elysia had no idea.

“Elysia, I need you.”

What began as the simple hope of working at the Grand Duke’s residence would become the start of a dreamlike chain of events that would tie her fate to the Grand Duke himself.