Chapter 2

Looking at the blurry coffin before me, I thought:

Could this be my funeral?

Maybe my regrets were so deep that I had become a ghost.

‘No, this is…’

I blinked slowly.

A tear that had gathered in my eyes fell to the ground along with a white snowflake.

This made no sense.

It was summer right before I died, so why was heavy snow suddenly falling?

And why was my viewpoint so low to the ground?

As I blankly looked around, even more unbelievable sights came into view.

The cemetery that had disappeared years ago due to redevelopment.

The neighbors struggling to dig through the frozen ground.

And my young siblings, clinging to me and sobbing.

Good heavens.

How could I ever forget this day?

‘It’s Mom’s funeral.’

Was this a dream?

Or some cruel illusion?

But the winter air piercing through my bones and the freezing wind felt completely real.

I was still blinking in confusion when—

Cough!

The sound of coughing snapped me back to my senses.

Looking down, I saw my siblings, only three and five years old, shivering from the cold.

Ah, my little Hui and Dido.

Instinctively, I knelt and pulled them into my arms.

Yes, I remember.

After Mom’s funeral, both of them came down with terrible colds.

It was cold, we were grieving, and we didn’t have enough money to buy firewood.

At one point, I was terrified they might die too.

‘I remember how helpless I felt…’

And it wasn’t only then.

No matter how hard I worked until my hands blistered, there was never enough money.

As my siblings grew, I was always a powerless guardian.

Rustle.

The neighbors, including a much younger Morgan, began burying Mom’s coffin.

The cheap coffin slowly sank beneath the cold earth.

Soon, a crude cross made from two wooden planks was placed on the uneven grave instead of a proper tombstone.

Just as shabby as I remembered.

‘…I really came back?’

To the past?

Why?

How?

A sharp pain suddenly flickered through my head.

Ah, it feels like I’m about to remember something…

“Aaaagh! Damn it! I can’t die like this! It’s too unfair!”

Actually, maybe it was better not to remember.

For a brief moment, I saw an image of myself crawling around somewhere like an inchworm.

Nah.

That had to be my imagination.

I shook my head and pushed away the uncomfortable feeling.

Whether this was a miracle, magic, or some trick of the gods, I needed to deal with the reality in front of me first.

“Bebe…”

My siblings, their faces covered in tears and snot, buried themselves in my arms.

Then they whimpered while looking away from the grave.

“Sniff… cold.”

“When is Mommy coming back?”

The sight of my tiny siblings made my throat ache.

I never thought I would see you again.

Not like this.

With my smaller hands, I gently stroked their frozen cheeks.

At this rate, these poor children, who didn’t even understand what death was, would become gravely ill all over again.

There was no time to think.

I pulled the necklace cord out from beneath my thin coat.

A rusty ring with no decoration dangled from the end.

‘This is the Ambrose…’

Even now, it was hard to believe.

No matter how much you cleaned off the rust, it was nothing more than a plain silver ring.

Yet the shop I tried to sell it to had recognized it immediately.

‘There must be magic on it.’

I had once heard about such things while working as a maid in a noble estate.

Accessories that changed appearance only when commanded by their owner.

Technically they were magical artifacts.

Either way, this ring could certainly serve as proof of identity.

I looked at the ring, my siblings, and Mom’s grave in turn.

Mom.

I still don’t understand what happened.

But I think I know what I need to do next.

Taking a deep breath, I said,

“…Let’s go.”

To our new home.

But first, I needed something.

Just then, the village’s official soft-hearted fool approached with red eyes.

Morgan.

“Children, it’s over now, so let’s go ho—”

“Teacher Morgan.”

“Hm?”

“Can you lend me some money?”

I’ll pay you back with interest.

* * *

People usually named three reasons why the Atera Empire had prospered for so long.

First, the temple where a great archangel descended.

Second, the estate of the legendary archmage.

And lastly—

“That is the Ambrose Estate.”

The greatest wealthy family in history.

The head of a colossal merchant organization whose influence extended beyond the Atera Empire and across the entire continent.

Whenever there was war, famine, demon invasions, an empty treasury, or even the threat of imperial bankruptcy, they always appeared to solve the problem.

That Ambrose Ducal Estate.

And now, a shabby rented carriage stopped in front of it.

“Thank you.”

Carrying my sleepy youngest sibling on my back and holding the second child’s hand, I jumped down from the carriage.

We had traveled nonstop since the morning after Mom’s funeral, and now the setting sun was painting the sky orange.

Of course, the travel expenses had been paid using money borrowed from Morgan.

‘Honestly, that man is struggling too, and yet he handed it over immediately.’

Despite hardly ever receiving proper payment for his medical services.

That was why, despite technically being a physician, everyone in town treated him as the neighborhood pushover.

Shaking my head, I looked ahead.

So this was it.

The Ambrose Estate in the heart of the capital.

I had heard the Imperial Palace was just a stone’s throw away.

‘Is this the Imperial Palace?’

Even the front gate was ridiculously grand.

It was on an entirely different level from the slums where I had lived all my life or even the baron’s estate where I once worked as a maid.

The building itself radiated intimidation.

I was starting to feel overwhelmed when one of the guards at the gate spoke.

“What business do you have here?”

“Ah, I’m Bebe—”

No.

I cleared my throat and corrected myself.

“I’m the daughter of Young Master Ambrose. Please allow me to meet the head of the family.”

Then I reached into my clothes for the ring.

The guard stared at me in shock.

Then—

“Hey! You can’t do this here!”

He chased me away.

This was a disaster.

The sky was already darkening, and the weather was getting colder.

After struggling with the guard, who was determined to drive me away from the gate, I finally sat down near the wall with my siblings.

As if mocking us, snow that hadn’t fallen inside the capital suddenly began swirling around us.

‘Even the heavens are making fun of me!’

I brushed the snowflakes from my siblings’ heads and bit my lip.

I’m telling the truth, so why won’t anyone believe me—

Clink!

A copper coin rolled toward me.

Reflexively, I grabbed it.

A passing pedestrian clicked his tongue sympathetically.

“Poor children. Trying to beg in weather like this…”

I guess that’s what we looked like.

I looked down at our ragged appearance.

Honestly, there was no way children like us would be allowed into a mansion like this.

But I couldn’t go back.

Because—

‘I have no money.’

I clenched the coin in my palm.

Money.

Money.

Money.

Even after dying and coming back, it was still ruining my life.

I let out a self-mocking laugh.

Then suddenly, the guards became restless.

Beyond the curtain of snow, a massive carriage was approaching.

At that moment, my instincts screamed at me.

This was my last chance.

“Hui, stay here with Dido.”

“Bebe…?”

Handing the youngest over to my brother, I charged forward.

Straight toward the enormous carriage.

The coachman and guards spotted me and shouted.

The four powerful horses pulling the carriage continued racing forward.

For a moment, I thought I might get trampled.

But strangely, I wasn’t afraid.

The thing I feared most was money.

Look at us now.

Money was the reason my siblings and I were about to freeze to death on the streets.

Screeeech!

And money would be what saved us.

The luxurious carriage finally stopped right in front of me.

The coin had slipped from my hand and now lay barely an inch from the horses’ hooves.

Haah. Haah.

My breath mixed with the falling snow.

After catching my breath, I gathered all my strength and shouted loudly.

“I am Labine Ambrose…!”

Loud enough for the people inside the carriage, who clearly belonged to this noble estate, to hear.

As if I were announcing it to the entire world.

With frozen hands, I snapped the old necklace cord.

Then I raised the rusty ring high into the air.

“I’ve come to reclaim my life!”

So please.

Let me in.

I stood firmly before the still-closed gates.

The horrified guards rushed forward to drag me away.

And at almost the same moment—

The carriage door opened.

“L-Lady Naomi!”

The person who stepped out was a woman who appeared to be in middle age.

Her expression was as cold as ice, and the guards immediately became even more nervous.

“We apologize. We’ll remove her at once—”

“Step aside.”

Her voice was as cold as her appearance.

Dismissively brushing the guards away as though they were chasing off a nuisance mouse, she walked toward me and slightly bent down.

“Little lady, may I take this?”

“…I’m only lending it to you.”

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

She accepted the ring and returned to the carriage.

Soon, the wheels began turning again.

From inside the carriage that passed by me without hesitation, a deep, dignified male voice spoke.

“Let them in.”

Clank!

At last, the gates opened.