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Prologue
“Hello, Adel.”
It was not particularly late, yet outside the window darkness had already swallowed the world.
The fierce snowstorm battered the glass, while the eerie winter wind sweeping through the valley shrieked around every corner of the little house like a mournful cry.
He sat there as still as a painting, watching her with a gentle smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Adel couldn’t move.
It felt as though her feet had been nailed to the creaking wooden floor.
As she continued to stare at him in stunned silence, he let out a quiet sigh before rising from his chair and walking toward her.
“My lovely Adel. Did you really think… I’d never find you?”
Before she realized it, Karl was standing right in front of her, his shadow falling over her slight figure.
The room was warm from the fire that had been burning for hours, yet Adel shivered uncontrollably, unable to shake the icy chill creeping through her body.
Karl reached out and gently lifted her drooping chin.
Seeing her tiny chest rise and fall like a frightened bird trapped in his hands made him chuckle in quiet satisfaction.
With his thumb, he slowly caressed her pale face as she trembled helplessly like prey caught in a hunter’s snare.
This was no longer an illusion.
He buried his face against her slender white neck and inhaled deeply.
His fingers slipped into her soft golden hair, stroking it gently, and he felt her flinch beneath his touch.
After pressing a light kiss against the nape of her neck, Karl lazily gazed into her emerald-green eyes.
She looked only at him.
He wished time itself would stop.
From somewhere far away, it sounded as though a blackbird was crying.
Chapter : 1
Even though it was midday, the sky was as dark as night.
Heavy gray clouds, as dull as a sewer rat’s hide, loomed over the Heightsrind Estate, and despite it being June—the beginning of summer—a thin, relentless rain had fallen since morning.
Bailey, who had served as a maid at the estate for many years, muttered that she had never seen weather this gloomy at this time of year.
“…All the roses in the garden will be ruined after finally blooming.”
The rose garden of the Heightsrind Estate was considered the most famous in all of Pforzheim.
Every May and June, people would peer through the gaps in the estate’s towering walls just to catch a glimpse of the roses in full bloom, since the magnificent golden gates of Heightsrind were never opened to ordinary visitors.
The servants busied themselves polishing the drawing room, staircases, banisters, and every piece of furniture they could find.
The ominous sky seemed to reflect the mood of the mistress of the house, Duchess Clausen, who looked to be in particularly poor spirits.
Everyone worked diligently, doing their utmost not to provoke their employer.
Though, truthfully, there was hardly ever a day when irritation and disdain were absent from the Duchess’s face.
“The atmosphere in this house has already been tense enough, and now even the weather is like this. Has His Grace gone out?”
“Yes. He left before dawn without saying where he was going…”
“I believe the young master is due to return in about ten days, isn’t he?”
“That’s right. The kitchen has already become chaotic. They’ve filled the pantry with all of Lord Karl’s favorite foods. Just the supplies ordered from Bern’s Shop alone…”
Thinking they finally had a moment to catch their breath, the maids chatted away, adding details no one had even asked for.
That was when—
The roar of a car engine cut through the sound of the rain.
The servants immediately put away their cleaning tools and hurried to line up by the entrance.
The Duke, who had left before dawn, had returned.
At the butler’s command, the loyal household staff formed neat rows to welcome their master.
“Welcome home, Your Grace.”
The head butler, Norman, bowed deeply before the Duke of Clausen.
As he straightened his back and looked toward his master, he noticed a small blonde girl standing just behind him.
“Your Grace… you’ve brought a young guest.”
“…Her name is Adelaide Baden. From today onward, she will be living here with us. She is the daughter of a dear acquaintance. See that she is treated with every courtesy.”
At Norman’s subtle nod, Bailey immediately stepped forward and gently guided the little girl to stand beside her.
She looked to be around ten years old.
A tiny girl with wavy blonde hair that barely reached her shoulders.
It looked as though someone had cut her hair carelessly, leaving each side uneven.
The dull gray homespun dress she wore matched the gloomy weather rather than the bright-haired child herself, and it was so small that it fit tightly even on her tiny frame.
Her pale legs, exposed beneath the short skirt, looked cold despite the early summer season.
Bailey couldn’t help thinking she resembled a little mouse.
Rain continued to fall softly outside, leaving tiny droplets clinging to her bright golden curls.
On a normal June day in Pforzheim, that beautiful hair would have shimmered brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
Today, however, there wasn’t a single ray of light to illuminate her.
Only the gas lamps hastily lit for the Duke’s return flickered against the walls.
As Bailey led the little mouse-like girl beneath one of the lamps, the orange glow illuminated the child’s face.
Only then did Bailey truly see her features.
She froze.
Her aged heart nearly leaped out of her chest.
Good heavens…!
She knew a young woman who possessed that dazzling blonde hair…
Those delicate features…
Cream-white skin…
And those striking green eyes.
It had been more than ten years ago.
…How could this child resemble her mother so perfectly?
Bailey’s hands trembled ever so slightly.
The girl blinked her bright green eyes as she looked up at Bailey.
Seeking reassurance, Bailey glanced toward Norman.
It seemed he had only just recognized the resemblance as well.
Even the ever-composed head butler, a man who remained calm no matter what happened, could not hide the shock on his face.
“Your Grace… Miss Adelaide is…”
He looked toward the Duke in confusion.
Just then—
The sound of a long dress brushing against the stairs echoed through the drawing room.
Descending the grand staircase from the second floor was Duchess Clausen.
Her dark sapphire-blue gown contrasted sharply with her pale face, which had turned even colder than the dress itself, as she appeared against the deep mahogany staircase.
“So they say old habits die hard. Well done indeed. Anyone can see exactly whose child that is. It seems Your Grace truly has no sense of shame.”
Behind the furious Duchess stood her devoted maid, Dayna, her head respectfully lowered.
The moment the little girl entered behind the Duke, Dayna immediately understood who she was.
She knew exactly whose daughter the child was.
The woman who had driven her mistress nearly to madness.
And now…
A little girl who looked exactly like her.
Seeing the Duke openly disregard his wife in this manner filled Dayna with rage.
She quickly studied the Duchess’s expression the moment she saw the shameless girl the Duke had brought home.
“Daniela,” the Duke said calmly, “you’re being unreasonable. I understand what you’re trying to say, but there is a young lady here, along with the entire household staff.”
He continued in an even voice.
“You know as well as I do that Sir Baden, Adel’s father, and I have been business associates for many years. Until yesterday, she was living in a charitable school. Both of her parents are dead.”
He looked directly at his wife.
“I ask only for your generosity.”
Whether the Duke genuinely hoped for his wife’s compassion was impossible to tell.
Yet as he requested her generosity, the cold look in his eyes carried the faintest trace of disgust.
Blue veins bulged across Daniela’s pale hand as she gripped the crimson mahogany banister.
Her trembling fingers looked ready to crush the polished wood beneath them.
And so…
Adelaide Baden became a member of the Heightsrind household.
“Ma’am… are you my new nanny?”
The tiny girl standing before Bailey gazed up at her with wide, innocent eyes.
Bailey was speechless.
Everyone else had been trapped between the Duke and Duchess, unable to decide what they should do.
Bailey herself had no idea where she ought to take the child.
The silent struggle between husband and wife continued for several long moments.
Then, without another word, the Duchess abruptly turned around and walked back upstairs.
Her footsteps made almost no sound.
Yet to Bailey’s ears, it felt as though a raging storm erupted from the folds of the Duchess’s deep blue dress.
Each sweep of its trailing hem across the crimson staircase felt like a cold blue tempest tearing through the Heightsrind Estate.
Only after the Duchess had completely disappeared upstairs did the Duke cast Norman a meaningful glance.
Norman, in turn, nodded toward Bailey.
The entrance hall seemed weighed down by an atmosphere as heavy as molten mercury.
Unable to bear it any longer, Bailey hurried away with the mouse-like little girl and led her to a guest room on the first floor.
Calling it a guest room was generous.
It was actually used as temporary lodging for laborers hired whenever the estate was short-handed.
Located at the far western end of the mansion and close to the kitchens, it was both noisy and cold.
The room had been unused for quite some time, leaving it damp and stale.
Bailey quickly lit the fireplace, allowing warmth to spread through the room.
Outside, the wind had grown stronger, rattling the shutters while rain beat steadily against them.
As she tended the fire, Bailey quietly thought,
If I take this child to one of the guest rooms on the second floor, the Duchess will faint from outrage. I can’t push Madam any further than she already is. This room, tucked away where she’ll rarely be seen, is the safest choice. If His Grace objects later, I’ll move her then.
It was simply the instinct Bailey had developed after serving the estate for so many years.
She silently arranged the bedding, straightened the sheets, and made the bed.
Then the little girl asked,
“Are you my nanny?”
Bailey let out a long sigh before answering.
“What did you say your name was, Miss?”
“Adelaide Baden. Everyone called me Adel.”
“Very well. Then I’ll call you Adel too. How old are you this year?”
“My birthday was last month. I’m twelve now.”
Bailey had thought she looked no older than ten, perhaps eleven at most.
She was much smaller than expected.
Then again…
Her mother had been quite petite as well.
A lovely young lady with waist-length golden curls and deep green eyes.
Even after all these years, Bailey could still picture her vividly.
She truly had been breathtakingly beautiful.
“Twelve isn’t exactly a young child anymore,” Bailey said. “My name is Bailey. I’ve worked at Heightsrind for many years. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you may ask me.”
She paused before continuing more seriously.
“But if you’re going to stay here, there is something you must remember.”
“This is not the Baden household.”
Bailey took a slow breath.
“You are not a servant here. But neither are you one of the masters of this house like the Duke, the Duchess, or Lord Karl.”
She looked directly into Adel’s eyes.
“You are simply a guest, allowed to live here through the Duke’s kindness. You must understand your position and behave accordingly. Most importantly, the Duchess you met earlier does not tolerate mistakes.”
The word unwelcome guest nearly escaped Bailey’s lips.
But it seemed too cruel to use toward a child looking at her so innocently.
So she softened her words.
Even so…
That was exactly what Adel was.
An unwelcome guest.
“I heard you came from a charitable school,” Bailey continued. “Life here will certainly be better than it was there. But never forget what I said about knowing your place.”
“Never draw the Duchess’s attention.”
“Take care of your own responsibilities.”
“You’re twelve years old now. I’m sure you understand.”
Her words were cold.
Yet beneath them lay genuine concern and worry.
Everything Bailey had said was true.
They were rules this small child would have to follow if she wished to survive in the Heightsrind Estate.
Adel gave a firm nod.
Her emerald-green eyes slowly filled with tears.
