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chapter 43
‘What’s the point of thinking about it now?’
She quickly shook off her thoughts. Her parents had died, leaving her behind when she was still young, and the one who made her who she was now had been her grandmother, with whom she had lived since the age of seven.
“P-please… just one coin…”
People who had collapsed onto the streets begged passersby for even a single meal.
“Please…”
There were countless homeless people, and even the houses that did exist looked as if they might collapse at any moment.
Chloe walked past the beggars with practiced indifference.
She hadn’t even walked far when she spotted the red shack in the distance.
Her steps grew heavy.
It felt as if a lump of lead had been tied to her feet.
‘If I go inside… will Grandma still be alive?’
Unable to bring herself to enter, she instead wandered around the house.
What if she had already passed away?
What should she do?
The image of her grandmother—who showed no signs of recovery—kept flickering before her eyes.
‘Still… I was able to endure this hell because I had Grandma.’
If she went in right now, it felt like she would be met with a cold corpse.
She was afraid.
So she lingered outside, trying to delay going in as long as possible.
Tap. Drip.
She vividly saw a drop or two of water fall onto her hand.
It was as if the sky was urging her to go inside.
‘Ah… I have to go in.’
But her feet wouldn’t move, as if they had been nailed to the ground.
With reluctant steps and an anxious heart, she finally entered the house.
Creak—
The door opened with an unpleasant metallic groan.
Inside, everything was a mess.
As if thieves had come and gone, the few belongings she had were scattered all over the floor.
A familiar moldy smell brushed past her nose.
The sound of water dripping from the roof, and the silence that always greeted her.
And amidst it all, faintly—
Breathing.
Relieved, Chloe collapsed to the ground.
“…Grandma.”
If her grandmother were gone too, she would truly be alone.
There would be no one left.
She murmured softly.
But there was no answer—only irregular breathing that sounded as though it could stop at any moment.
It was fragile. Barely holding on.
If only I could earn more money.
If only I could earn enough to cure Grandma.
Then it wouldn’t have come to this.
A familiar sense of self-loathing washed over her.
“Ha…”
She sank down, dragging her hand across her face.
Someone beside her was in critical condition, yet there was nothing she could do.
No matter how much she worked herself to the bone, the money she earned was pitiful.
The amount she saved in a month didn’t even compare to what nobles spent on a single dessert.
Even as someone precious to her was dying, there was no way to save her.
Nowhere.
Reality was cruel.
That truth rendered Chloe powerless.
And that helplessness—being able to do nothing—made her feel miserable.
It felt like walking through a pitch-black tunnel, heading toward a light she couldn’t even see.
Is this right? Am I doing the right thing?
Questions with no answers only deepened her despair.
Everything was suffering. Everything was agony.
Tap. Drip.
The poorly built roof began to leak.
Raindrops fell one by one from the ceiling onto the floor.
She heard the sound of droplets hitting the scattered objects.
Used to it, she picked up one of the buckets lying around and quickly placed it under the leak.
Shaa—
The rain began to pour heavily.
Water streamed down from all over the ceiling, as if someone were dumping buckets from above.
Aside from the sound of rain and faint breathing, there was nothing.
The house, without even a single light, was dim under the dark clouds outside.
Chloe stared blankly at the dripping water.
Then—
“Is anyone there?”
A small voice came through the heavy rain.
“Hello?”
‘Another beggar…?’
She grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open.
Creak—
The door opened with a harsh scraping sound.
“We don’t have any food today either—”
No.
This person wasn’t dressed like a beggar.
‘…Why is someone like that here?’
A girl stood outside, wearing a raincoat, soaked in the rain.
“May I come in? I can stay outside once it’s morning, but right now the rain is too heavy.”
The girl pointed at the sky and smiled gently.
‘What on earth is she talking about?’
Chloe stared at her in disbelief.
To show up out of nowhere and confidently ask to enter someone else’s home…
She almost opened the door without thinking, swept up by that boldness.
The girl, who looked about her age, stood there watching her.
Messy light brown hair. Brown eyes.
An utterly ordinary beastkin—someone you could find anywhere.
But this was not a place ordinary people came to.
Rather, this was a place where ordinary people became something unusual.
Which meant—
That girl was not “ordinary” here.
‘Why is someone like her here?’
Still holding the doorknob, Chloe looked at her warily.
But the girl simply waited.
As if telling her: it’s your choice.
Standing in the rain, the girl added quietly:
“This is your last chance before your grandmother dies.”
‘What… did she just say?’
Chloe’s eyes widened.
“There’s not much time left. You know that, don’t you?”
“Otherwise, your grandmother will die.”
“Just like ‘that time’ nine years ago… when your parents did.”
Her pupils dilated as she recalled the contents of the suicide note.
‘Even most information brokers don’t know about that incident.’
Was it a guess?
Or not?
She hesitated for a moment, then tried to turn away.
“I think you’ve come to the wrong place.”
But the girl’s eyes—calm as she spoke—were different.
They looked like eyes that knew everything.
As if they even knew the future.
“Are you going to just stand by and watch again?”
“With nothing but regret?”
They were the eyes of someone omniscient.
The girl looked straight at her one last time.
After a brief hesitation, Chloe stepped aside and let her in.
The wooden floor creaked unpleasantly.
Rotting planks stood out everywhere.
The girl glanced at the dripping water filling the bucket, then spoke:
“You have pheromones, don’t you?”
“…Enough to block out sound so others can’t hear. Should I call it an ability?”
Hearing that, Chloe quickly activated her pheromone ability.
Only between her and the girl.
“How do you know that? Even the information guild wouldn’t tell you.”
Her voice came out sharper than intended.
The girl’s clothes were plain—not something luxurious.
There was no way the information guild would sell such secrets to someone like her.
“Well…”
The girl trailed off.
“Top secret.”
She smiled and took off her raincoat.
“But I’m the only one who knows. I guarantee it. In my name.”
She said it simply.
Then she rummaged through her clothes and pulled out paper and a pen.
“Ah, here it is.”
“Take a look.”
Chloe hesitantly accepted the neatly folded contract.
“…3. Party A shall cover all expenses required for treatment if Party B or her family falls ill. This includes the cost of medicine.
- Party B shall faithfully fulfill her duties as the vice leader of the <Felix> merchant group…”
Chloe’s eyes trembled as she read.
No matter how many times she reread it, there was nothing strange.
If anything, the terms were overwhelmingly favorable—to her.
‘…No matter how I think about it, this is suspicious.’
The overly good conditions made her wary.
“How do you even know me to offer something like this?”
Vice leader?
She wasn’t capable of that.
She was only fit to do odd jobs in other people’s homes.
If anything, it made more sense that this was a scam.
The girl in the hood stared straight into her eyes.
Though the room was dim, her eyes were clearly visible.
Vivid.
“Are you not going to save your grandmother?”
“Are you just going to leave her like this?”
The faint, fragile breathing echoed again.
Why choose me, when there are so many more capable people?
“Why me…?”
Her voice trembled at the unbelievable offer.
“You don’t get to decide your worth right now. I do.”
“All you have to do is choose between two options.”
It felt like the girl could see straight through her.
“Accept it… or don’t.”
Her ordinary appearance didn’t feel ordinary anymore.
It didn’t belong in this decaying house.
The girl stepped closer.
The floor creaked.
“And you’re someone I need.”
There was blind confidence in her—toward a potential Chloe herself didn’t even see.
‘…Accept it, or don’t.’
Was it that confidence that made her shine?
They were about the same height.
Yet the girl felt so much bigger.
“Isn’t that reason enough?”
A small giant.
She really felt like a small giant.
Silence filled the house.
Tap. Drip.
Only the sound of rain remained.
Water trickled down from the broken window.
“Let’s make a deal.”
The girl smiled brightly, dimples forming.
At that moment—
Her appearance changed.
Her plain light-brown hair turned into black strands like threads woven from the night sky.
Her brown eyes became clear, light green.
The contrast between the dark hair and pale green eyes captivated Chloe completely.
“I’ll treat you well.”
At some point, the rain had stopped, and sunlight peeked through, illuminating her.
It was dazzlingly beautiful.
Chloe saw nothing else—not the scattered belongings, not the broken fragments.
Nothing.
‘Ah… I want to stay connected to her.’
Instinctively, she knew—
The person before her would become someone precious.
‘At the very least… I won’t lose anything.’
Her intuition told her so.
This was the opportunity of a lifetime.
“So?”
Chloe stared at the girl as if enchanted.
