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Chapter – 01
The moment the clock tower struck twelve, a dazzling flash lit up the pitch-black night sky. While the police on the ground floundered in confusion at the sudden display of fireworks, only one man’s gaze was not fixed on the sky but on the ground.
“That’s the way.”
Without hesitation, he swiftly moved toward the underground stairs behind a building. His long legs carried him effortlessly. As the man descended a few steps down the stairs,
“I’m here.”
Somewhere in the dense darkness surrounding the stairs, the “phantom thief” announced her presence with only her voice. For a brief instant, a faint look of surprise flickered across the man’s otherwise composed face, but it quickly vanished.
Ha ha. The phantom, noticing the change, let out a playful laugh and continued.
“You’ve improved a lot, Duke. Back then, you would’ve been staring at the sky along with those policemen.”
The voice, clearly mocking, was unmistakably that of a woman with a high-pitched tone. Following her voice quietly, the man known as the Duke responded calmly.
“You’ve given me many chances, so I must show you that I can live up to them. Satisfied?”
“Excellent. You arrived faster than I expected. Since you found me, I’ll grant you one question, just as promised.”
Observing the shadow on the wall in his line of sight, the Duke stopped in his tracks. He knew from experience that this was the distance the phantom allowed.
“…It’s an honor. You won’t tell me who you are anyway.”
“Hearing it from me wouldn’t be as fun, would it? We’re already enjoying this, chasing and being chased.”
“Precisely, I chase diligently, and you toy with me.”
“Oh, how modest. Go ahead, ask your question. You seem to have prepared one.”
“…I want to know the beginning. Why did you start your life as a phantom thief?”
The shadow flinched at the question without hesitation. It wasn’t surprise—it took her a moment to choose her words carefully. The Duke didn’t rush her; he waited patiently for her answer.
Eventually, her voice, now calm, filled the space between them again.
“To put a long story briefly, it started as a personal revenge.”
“The beginning… you mean Sir Sutton? What grudge did you have against him…”
“Not him. Ah, you’ll probably hate me more when I say this… you see, my first theft target was my father. I had suffered greatly at his hands, so I stole something very precious just to spite him.”
“What on earth did he do to you…”
By the time the Duke’s eyes widened in shock at the unexpected confession, the shadow had already vanished. Laughing at the emptiness left behind, the Duke spoke after a moment.
“So, you’re not always right.”
I had never hated her for even a moment.
Slowly, but clearly, the corners of the man’s lips curved into a gentle smile. Meanwhile, the phantom who had left the Duke was also smiling brightly. She lightly leapt across the rooftops below, recalling memories from long ago.
“That… was a real… amazing discovery.”
It all happened six months ago.
To live independently, you need money.
For that reason, 21-year-old Lady Brielle Taylor, daughter of the Marquis, had just snuck into her father’s study. She planned to supplement her business funds by stealing from the safe under his desk.
‘It’d be best if it’s cash… gems are too troublesome to sell.’
With that thought, she approached the target without hesitation. However, the safe had three complex-looking locks.
“Hah… when will I have time to open three locks?”
Her plan to cleanly steal the contents had already failed. Brielle scratched her head and examined the safe carefully.
The safe, at least the size of her torso, must have weighed over 30 kilograms. It was entirely made of thick metal. To make matters worse, the bottom of the safe was chained to the floor.
Brielle took a deep breath, hugged the safe carefully, and lifted it straight up like pulling a radish.
“Oh my, what’s that sound? Did something break downstairs, dear?”
Mrs. Taylor, enjoying her evening tea, muttered in surprise, while her husband silently glanced toward his son, Austin.
With a deliberately annoyed expression, Austin waddled toward the window and mumbled,
“Molley is chopping firewood. That old lady’s strong, huh?”
“Really, shameless woman.”
“Do peasants even know what shame is?”
As soon as this brief conversation revealing the consciousness of the three ended, silence fell over the dining room again. The Marquis adjusted his glasses and returned to his ledgers, his wife continued flipping through a clothing catalog, and Austin busied himself eating biscuits with both hands.
The Taylor household’s daily life, completely unaware of the presence of Brielle, their daughter and older sister, was so peaceful. Watching secretly from the third-floor window, Brielle gave a mischievous, inaudible farewell.
“Down with the Taylor family.”
In conclusion, she successfully ran away, but her theft failed. Inside the safe, instead of gold and jewels, there was only a single sheet of white paper. Seeing it so neatly placed, almost mockingly, Brielle stood in the center of her new home’s garden, letting her gaze fall wearily back onto the safe.
Thanks to Molley’s chopping covering the noise, she might have been caught while breaking into the safe. Despite her struggle, the safe had yielded only one sheet of paper.
‘…What can I do? What’s done is done.’
With a deep sigh, she composed herself and began carefully wiping the axe blade. The battered safe was meant to be discarded. Though unlikely, if the Marquis found the safe, things could escalate. Judging by how quiet it had been, the Taylors clearly didn’t know Brielle had stolen it.
That day, Brielle left footprints around the study, wearing men’s shoes. No one in the Taylor household knew she was strong enough to lift such a heavy safe by herself. From the start, it was a perfect crime.
All went according to her plan, except for the safe’s contents.
Biting her lip at the lingering emptiness, Brielle bent down and pulled out the paper inside the safe.
“…Huh?”
Her previously indifferent eyes gradually widened as she scanned the document. Just then, her new housemate, Molley, came down from the second floor and stopped in her tracks upon seeing Brielle.
‘That face…?’
A sudden wave of anxiety washed over her. It was the same expression she had worn a week ago when she declared she was running away to start a business.
‘What bombshell is she about to drop… let’s run, for now.’
Unlike Brielle, Molley had an ordinary amount of courage, and even this situation was overwhelming. Silently, she retreated along the path she had come.
Meanwhile, Brielle, oblivious to Molley’s movement, remained absorbed in the document. A warm spring breeze blew, scattering her hair gently. She brushed her platinum hair back and stared at the paper as if burning it with her gaze.
“Wow… our Marquis Taylor is really a cruel person. I knew it, but still…”
Familiar with her father’s cruelty, she twisted her face, holding the paper.
Since birth, Brielle had lived under her father’s oppression, enduring abuse. The damp walls of the dark basement were the first memory of her life. There, deprived of anything meaningful, she spent twenty years. Without the compassion of the kind maids, she might have died long ago.
‘The church says that at least this way, my sins are partially cleansed.’
The Taylors used religion as a pretext. Fundamentally, though, their message was always the same: her existence itself was a mistake.
‘You were born with your brother’s umbilical cord around your neck? Horrible, right? That’s you. You almost killed the Taylor heir and your mother too.’
This “kind explanation” was eventually skipped. When in a bad mood, the Marquis and his wife would visit and beat Brielle. Whenever bored, Austin would flaunt all sorts of delicacies in front of her, along with insults and kicks.
After each misdeed, they would whisper the same words to her,
‘By now, God would have taken you.’
Even when the sharp words felt like thorns, Brielle showed no reaction. Sometimes they added,
‘Well, God wouldn’t even want you.’
‘Better you end it yourself than live like a bug. I can help if you want.’
Yet Brielle endured all the hatred resolutely. Thanks to the strong belief she had nurtured in her heart for a long time.
‘They’re just too stupid.’
