Nine-year-old Roxana loved her maternal grandparents’ home, a place that seemed to have stepped right out of a fairy tale. The small two-story wooden house, surrounded by azaleas, rhododendrons, Japanese cedars, and palm trees, sat atop a cliff. When the curtains were pulled open, the dazzling white sand and jade-colored sea spread out in full view.
Roxana preferred this tiny house to the grand marquis’ mansion paved with massive marble stones. She liked her mother’s home more than her father’s estate, where young maids and servants in uniforms bustled around. It was a house where a kind, gentle elderly couple once handled everything themselves.
This was her first time back since her grandparents had passed away two years ago. Roxana knew her parents often fought. When her father left for the capital, her mother—her health worsening—used convalescence as an excuse to take Roxana and return to her hometown. Roxana, unaware of the complex circumstances, was simply glad to escape the suffocating castle.
“Mom, I’ll go to the beach today and collect some seashells! When you hold them to your ear, you can hear the ocean!”
“Don’t go far. The wind feels strange today—stay nearby, alright?”
Her mother sometimes said strange things. Though puzzled, Roxana nodded.
“Of course! I’ll be back soon!”
She kissed her mother’s pale cheek, quickly put on her coat, and headed out. As she was going down the path, she encountered a man hauling groceries up the hill with a young colt and a wagon. It was an old man with sun-darkened skin. When Roxana smiled brightly, he returned the smile.
“Miss, where are you off to?”
“To the beach, just down there!”
“Don’t go too far. It’s almost dinnertime. And here—take this.”
The old man chuckled as he took off his straw hat and handed it to her.
“The sun’s strong today. It’s a bit big, but wear it.”
“Thank you, Grandpa Hans! I’ll be back soon!”
Roxana waved both hands enthusiastically and skipped down the steep cliff path like she was flying.
The jade sea beyond the white sand beach was calm. The waves tickling her feet were cool and refreshing. While collecting seashells, Roxana used a stick to draw her mother’s face in the sand.
It was a peaceful expression, unlike the one she wore at the castle. Next to it, Roxana drew her own face.
“Should I draw Father’s face too…?”
She muttered but quickly shook her head. She could only remember him with an angry expression. Her mother always looked gloomy around him. Roxana decided she’d only draw herself next to her mother.
“No!”
A sudden gust of wind blew the hat into the sea. Roxana, startled, ran after it. She thought she could grab it easily, but the once gentle sea breeze had turned rough, pushing the hat farther into the water.
“Ugh!”
By the time she realized something was wrong, the water had reached her chin. She tried to turn back, but a strong wave crashed over her head. The heavy current wrapped around her tightly. The frigid sea felt like it was freezing her to the bone.
Save me!
She screamed internally, but no sound came out. Roxana stretched her arms desperately above the surface. But the more she thrashed, the weaker she became. Seawater filled her nose and mouth, and her consciousness began to fade.
Am I going to die like this?
Just as she was losing consciousness, a figure slightly larger than her appeared. Through her blurry vision, she saw dazzling gray eyes. Like a mermaid cutting through the rough waves, a boy approached and grabbed her.
But just as she tried to see his face, someone shook her shoulders urgently.
“Miss! Wake up!”
Nineteen-year-old Roxana opened her eyes. The cold wind piercing through the castle walls drove away her drowsiness, and she saw a worried face.
“Mary?”
“There’s no time for this. We have to run—now!”
It was her maid, Mary, who had woken her. Roxana shot up. She opened the shutter to check the situation and heard booming commands.
“Reinforce the lines and bolt all the gates! Load the cannons on the towers! Do not let them through!”
“Protect the Lord and regroup the guards at the central tower immediately!”
It was the knight commander shouting orders at the lined-up soldiers. Some hadn’t even finished arming themselves and stood frozen under the red torchlight. Roxana was stunned.
“What’s happening? What do you mean?”
“Armed knights just attacked! They’ve already breached the outer gate and are heading this way!”
Mary’s words made Roxana hug her shoulders tightly. In the distance, a mass of torches approached. The invaders in jet-black armor looked like a giant raven, one that would pick its prey clean.
Her legs gave out as the reality hit her. Mary reached out to steady her.
“We have to run—miss?”
“I’m alright. But Mary…”
She pushed Mary’s hand away, managing to calm her trembling voice.
“My father… What about the marquis?”
“I… I don’t know…”
Mary hesitated. Roxana bit her lower lip. There was nowhere to run—just a steep rocky mountain behind them. Her father had likely hidden himself deep inside the central tower. Whether his only daughter lived or died, no matter how many servants bled, his own safety was all that mattered. That was the kind of man he was.
“Miss, we don’t have time…”
Mary bounced on her feet in panic, urging her. Roxana closed her eyes and made a decision.
“Mary, I’ll show you the castle’s secret passage. While the knights buy time, get the servants and maids out, one by one.”
“What?”
“It’s been ten years. Ten years since the last time our knights went to war. The commander may still be sharp, but the rest are soft and complacent. They can’t face those troops.”
She was absolutely right. Since suppressing a rebellion during the previous marquis’ time, the Dalton knights hadn’t been deployed.
And under the current marquis, the knights had turned from a protective force into mere thugs—hunting dogs that abused and exploited the people. Many honorable knights had left in disgust, leaving behind a disorganized mess.
“Then what about you, Miss?”
Mary, hesitating, finally nodded. Roxana smiled faintly at the only person still worrying about her.
“I have somewhere I need to go. Once that’s done, I’ll join you.”
—
“Please spare us!”
“Have mercy! Aaah!”
“Kyaaaah!”
The clash of steel, screams, the smell of blood, and blazing flames filled the air. The complacent knights were no match for the sudden attackers. Roxana watched the marquis’ castle, the place she had lived her entire life, burn.
The towering fortress that once loomed over everything was now engulfed in flames. Everything was turning to ash.
There was no room for regret or anger. Her father was simply paying for his sins.
Roxana did not cry. Though her arms and legs were bound and she knelt on the cold ground, she felt a peace she had never known.
“You bastards! How dare you touch the Dalton marquisate!”
But the butler, Harold, who was also captured, was the complete opposite. His rage overtook his fear, and he spat curses through gritted teeth.
“You wretches will be damned! Our lord is a great man!”
Roxana turned away from his outburst.
“Butler.”
Harold snapped his head toward her.
“That’s enough.”
“Miss…!”
“It’s over. The commander is dead. Most of the knights and soldiers surrendered. My father…”
He had hidden in a secret room but was soon discovered. While fleeing, he tripped and fell to his death. A pitiful end for a man who once held such power.
“Miss! It’s not over!”
Harold couldn’t let go of the luxury he’d enjoyed under the greedy marquis. He refused to accept reality.
“No, it’s not over. We still have the young duke!”
“Harold…”
“They won’t kill us yet. They’ll send us to the capital. That’s our chance—send a message, ask for help. Lord Enoch is His Majesty’s nephew! The emperor arranged the engagement himself!”
“No… he won’t help us.”
Roxana shook her head with a bitter smile. Her fiancé, Duke Enoch Ferentz, hated her
. It had been ages since they’d last seen each other.
The reason was simple: her family. Reviled by all, the fastidious duke regarded the Dalton family as filth.
