RTP 01

Chapter 1

“Lady Fiana, the sky is so very blue today.”

“What color is blue?”

What nonsense. All that stretches before my eyes is endless blackness.

I was born blind. So whenever someone said the sky is blue, apples are red, or light is white, I could never truly understand.

But then, one day, I began to recall memories of a past life.

And with them came an understanding of colors.

It happened when my sister tripped me.

“Ahhh!”
“Can’t even see, and now you can’t even walk properly either.”

My sister, Lena, said that while giggling and walking down the corridor.

When her foot hooked mine and I fell, my head striking the floor, foreign memories rushed into me all at once.

I barely managed to keep hold of myself in the flood of recollections.

It felt like my very identity was being torn apart. I nearly vomited but instead whispered weakly:

“What… is all this?”

I touched my face. Smooth, unscarred skin that had grown flawless. Silky hair that smelled faintly of lilacs, washed every day by a maid.

It was nothing like my former self.

“P-please! Don’t kill me!”
“I spared you because you seemed useful, and now you can’t pay today’s interest? Then you’ll pay with a beating!”
“Nooo! Please!”

In my past life, my face was smeared with grime I couldn’t wash away, my skin blistered and festering. My hair was coarse, tangled, and filthy from lack of food and care, and my clothes were rags that rain or snow could tear apart.

I was a beggar in the gutter.

Always exploited by thugs because of my debts. Even when people’s charity gave me scraps, all I got was a piece of bread once a week.

Then one day, the thugs stole everything I had. After starving for a week, too weak to beg, I was beaten mercilessly.

Even as I lay dying, I begged the other gutter folk to help, but too busy clinging to their own survival, they trembled in fear and ignored me.

That was how I died.

And now… I had been reborn as the daughter of House Lucianos, one of the noble pillars of the Empire.

But the real problem was…

Unlike my past life, in this one I could not see at all.

The blue sky I glimpsed through the cracks of the slums, the lush green of spring, the diverse faces in the capital…

I could see none of it now.

That renewed despair kept me confined to my room for days.

“Don’t you think Lady Fiana’s been strange lately?”
“Yeah… she hasn’t spoken much and hasn’t left her room for four days.”
“Shhh, watch your tongue. Haven’t you heard? She’s got sharp ears.”

I could hear the maids talking beyond the door. Not even loudly, yet my cursedly sharp ears caught every word.

Remembering colors didn’t change the black-and-white world I lived in.

Could I really live as myself?

Hesitating, I reached to my bedside and tugged the bell cord.

Immediately, the door opened and two maids hurried in.

“You called, Lady Fiana?”
“Help me get ready to go out.”
“As you wish.”

Even though my voice was unsteady, they didn’t ask why. With practiced motions they stripped me from my shift into more practical clothes.

“All done, milady.”
“Thank you.”

I couldn’t see, but I felt the fabric—soft against my skin. Judging by the cut of the hem brushing my knees but not the floor, they must have guessed I was heading into the forest again.

“Your cane, my lady.”
“Thanks.”

I accepted it. I’d used a stick to navigate terrain since childhood, so it wasn’t awkward.

Tap, tap.

With no one to escort me, I walked into the woods, cane in hand.

I left the estate and soon reached the forest.

“I’m here.”

My voice echoed. I stepped deeper into the woods, unheeding of the silence.

At last my cane struck something solid. A tree root, perhaps.

A smile tugged at my lips.

Even with my arms outstretched, I couldn’t possibly wrap them around this trunk. It must be enormous.

“I said I’m here. Didn’t you hear me?”

Grumbling, I set my cane down on a pile of stones.

The tree didn’t answer—only the rustling of leaves greeting my arrival.

I stroked the bark and focused.

Birdsong echoed faintly. The leaves swayed in the wind.

The sounds slowed, grew clearer.

Then, at last, the great tree that had stood guard for a thousand years answered me.

“Child, you’ve come.”
“How have you been?”
“I’ve slept until your coming, so I suppose I have been well.”
“Heh. That’s silly…”

Smiling, I plopped down on its protruding root and began chatting with the tree, as always.

My secret, known to no one else—

I could hear the voices of trees.

“Child, I worry for you. Humans must live among humans, yet you spend your time conversing with us, who rot in place.”
“You don’t have to worry. I’ll be fine.”

I kicked my legs cheerfully from the root.

“Someday, I’ll leave this house and find my freedom.”

After regaining my past memories, I had decided—

I would escape this wretched duke’s household.

The tree’s tone grew grave.

“Child, whatever you once were, you are still yourself.”
“I like that you’re always on my side.”
“Trees always lean where the wind blows, child.”
“Knew you’d say that.”

Maybe it was its thousand years, but the older the tree, the more profound it seemed.

But why is my new life such a mess…

I died as a beggar at fifteen. Now I was twenty-three. Altogether, that made thirty-eight years of memories.

I sighed in self-pity.

Rustle—footsteps on fallen leaves. I turned my head sharply toward the sound.

“Lady Fiana, I finally found you.”
“What brings you here?”

A maid’s voice. My unease sharpened.

“My lady, the Duchess requests your presence.”

My body jolted.

The current mistress of the household was not my mother.

“The Duchess… is looking for me?”

Lena, my half-sister, shared only part of my blood.

My own mother, who bore me, was long dead.

The marble corridor echoed with clacking heels and the thump of my cane.

Knock, knock. A servant rapped on the door ahead. “Enter,” came the reply.

The door opened, and the suffocating stench of perfume made me gag.

“Fiana, you’re here.”
“Duchess…”

Her voice was sultry, deceptively sweet. My whole body tensed as I stepped forward.

“My lady, why did you summon me?”

The Duchess chuckled, mocking. As if nothing I did could change anything.

“Fiana, today I called you because there is something to celebrate.”

A derisive laugh came from the left. Judging by the strong floral scent, Lena was having her feet massaged by her maids.

“Fiana Lucianos.”

The Duchess suddenly spoke my full name, and I flinched.

“You lost your mother, can’t see, eat our food while bringing disgrace to this house. If you are truly a daughter of Lucianos, you should at least prove your worth.”
“…I apologize.”

At times like this, only apologies calmed her temper. To protest would only worsen my situation.

Apparently satisfied with my bowed head, she continued.

“Well, never mind. Fortunately, an excellent marriage proposal has come for you.”
“A… marriage proposal? What do you mean?”

I couldn’t help blurting out. A marriage proposal? Decided without even asking me?

“Do you not understand? It means someone is willing to take even a half-blind girl like you.”

Who gave her the right to decide this?

My head throbbed. She and Lena must be watching me tremble pitifully.

“How wonderful, Fiana! I thought you’d rot away here alone till you died, but look at this.”
“Lena…”

Her tone dripped with mockery.

This wasn’t congratulations—it was ridicule. My grip on my cane tightened. If only I could smash their smug faces with it…

“Grand Duke Glacies.”

I froze. Slowly, I lifted my head toward her voice.

“His Grace desires you as his bride. The ceremony will be held at Glacies Castle, so you must depart tomorrow to arrive in time.”
“G-Grand Duke Glacies…?”

The tyrant of the north, infamous for storms of blood. Many had sought his power through marriage, but one such suitor had been executed as a criminal.

I shook violently. This was nothing short of being sent north to die.

The Duchess, clearly pleased with my fear, leaned close and whispered:

“So get out of this house at once.”

And perhaps it was from that very moment—

That the first trace of color entered my gray world.