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Chapter : 2
Perhaps it was because she was sleeping in an unfamiliar bed, but Adel tossed and turned restlessly.
Although it was much smaller than the bedroom she had once used, it was still far better than the charity school, where more than a dozen girls had been forced to share a single room for nearly two months.
Thanks to the firewood Bailey had lit, a pleasant warmth filled the room.
Living at Heightsrind still felt unfamiliar, and this room had yet to truly feel like her own. Even so, simply having a space that belonged to her brought Adel a small sense of relief.
There was even a shuttered window that opened to the outside.
When she peeked through it earlier, she had found herself looking upon a breathtaking rose garden.
To a twelve-year-old girl like Adel, it was almost irresistibly tempting.
She shifted into a more comfortable position and stared up at the ceiling.
Everything that had happened over the past few months felt unreal.
If it had all been a dream, it was the kind she never wanted to have again—a never-ending nightmare.
Until then, Adel had believed she lived a happy life.
She had a beautiful, gentle mother.
A kind, dependable father.
And she herself was a beloved little girl who received all the love they had to give.
She had never seen a mansion larger than her own home, and anything she wanted had always been within reach.
It had been a childhood without want.
Then tragedy struck.
It was last year, when Adel turned eleven.
Her father, Michael Baden, had not been born into nobility, but he was widely recognized as an exceptionally capable businessman.
Beginning with mining rights in the New Continent, he steadily expanded his ventures until he became one of the most influential investors in the country.
Most of his businesses were successful.
More than ten years earlier, everything had begun to change after the Wirth Constitution was proclaimed and the nation transformed into a republic.
The boundaries separating kings, nobles, and common citizens began to crumble.
The constitution abolished the class system and legally prohibited discrimination based on social rank.
Nor was this change unique to the Ervin Republic.
It reflected a broader shift taking place throughout the world.
As society changed, the newly wealthy middle class—those who had amassed fortunes through commerce and industry—rose to become the center of the republic.
Michael Baden was one of them.
The noble titles disappeared.
The political system became republican as well.
Some nobles, quick to recognize the changing times, took advantage of their remaining influence and reinvented themselves as businessmen.
Though they still valued bloodlines within their own circles, even they understood one undeniable truth.
The world was changing.
Power no longer belonged to noble birth.
Power belonged to wealth.
It was an era of rapid transformation and uncertainty.
Yet through all of it, Adel’s own life had remained peaceful and secure.
Only now did she understand that it had all been because of her father’s tireless efforts and her mother’s loving protection.
“Adel… my precious daughter.”
“I’m so heartbroken to leave you behind.”
Her mother’s final words echoed vividly in Adel’s mind.
Gone was the elegant lady everyone had admired.
Lying in the bed instead was only a frail, emaciated woman exhausted by childbirth.
Her beautiful mother had died while giving birth to Adel’s younger sibling.
Since her father spent most of his time traveling between the New Continent and the Southern Lands for business, caring for Adel’s mother, Rene, had fallen to the servants of the Baden household—and to Adel herself.
Her mother delivered a baby boy before completing a full ten months of pregnancy.
The infant cried weakly.
Soon afterward, before he could even nurse once, he stopped breathing.
Even now, Adel could not forget the sorrow on her mother’s face…
…or the bluish, lifeless face of her tiny brother.
Her mother had been sickly throughout the pregnancy, spending most of her days confined to bed while struggling with depression.
But Adel had never imagined she would leave her and her father behind so soon.
Her father’s grief was overwhelming.
He had loved her mother more than anyone.
Returning home in great haste, he embraced the only family he had left and wept bitterly while holding Adel in his arms.
For the sake of his only daughter, Michael Baden forced himself to endure.
His business had already begun to falter, and he struggled desperately to keep it alive.
Then, three months ago…
He lost his own life to a tropical disease he contracted in the Southern Lands.
It had been raining that day, just as it was today.
Far too much rain for an ordinary spring shower.
And from that day onward…
Everything in Adel’s life changed forever.
On the day of the funeral, crowds dressed in black gathered outside the Baden estate.
The people who had invested in Michael Baden’s businesses learned that his enterprise had collapsed.
They were unwilling to accept their losses.
Each of them scrambled to recover even a fraction of what they were owed.
They made calls.
Sent messages.
Gathered together like a swarm of black ants.
The valuable furniture and possessions inside the Baden mansion were smashed apart.
Michael Baden’s companies were carved up piece by piece.
It became such a massive scandal that newspapers across the country carried it on their front pages.
Standing in the middle of what had once been her home, Adel cried uncontrollably.
None of the creditors cared who remained in the Baden household.
They cared even less that the only person left was a little girl still too young to take care of herself.
They stormed into Adel’s bedroom.
The pretty hairpin her mother had once given her.
The ivory jewelry box her father had brought back from the Southern Lands.
Everything was taken away.
They called Adel…
“The daughter of a thief.”
But to Adel, they were the real thieves.
Not a single keepsake from her beloved parents remained.
Unable to bear the loss, she sobbed until she could hardly breathe.
Her dark-skinned nanny from the Southern Lands wrapped her tightly in a comforting embrace.
“It’s all right, Miss.”
“I’m sure Master and Madam are together again now.”
“They won’t suffer anymore.”
“Isn’t that a blessing?”
“So please don’t cry.”
“Those wicked people will surely receive divine punishment from Bashu.”
“Don’t look them in the eyes.”
“People possessed by evil spirits only bring misfortune.”
Holding Adel as though she had become a frightened little child once again, the nanny whispered gently in clumsy Ervin.
Listening to that familiar, comforting voice soothing her over and over…
Adel eventually lost consciousness.
When she finally woke again…
Her nanny was gone.
She had disappeared.
Someone she did not know took her by the hand.
That was how Adel was brought to the charity school.
The memory ended there.
Adel squeezed her eyes tightly shut.
The two or three months she spent at the charity school were the worst period of her entire life.
Not once had she been able to sleep peacefully.
Even the long hair she had always treasured was cut short against her will.
Her mother used to brush those soft, wavy golden locks with a gentle brush.
Even Adel herself thought they had been beautiful.
Hair that had once reached her waist was mercilessly chopped off in the name of hygiene and discipline.
To make matters worse, the scissors were dull.
The person cutting her hair had no skill.
The shoulder-length hair that remained was uneven and jagged.
As one memory led to another, tears slipped down Adel’s cheeks before she even realized she was crying.
They flowed endlessly, soaking her pillowcase.
No matter how hard she tried, they would not stop.
Finally, Adel forced herself to stop thinking.
She buried her face in her pillow.
Tomorrow morning…
Her eyes would surely be swollen.
