Chapter 02
I didn’t remember everything from my past life with perfect clarity.
In that life, I had been constantly crushed under the weight of assignments given by my professors. It was partly my own fault too—I had foolishly signed up for an overloaded schedule just to rack up credits.
And unfortunately, I died before I could even fully bloom in my youth.
My past life started with assignments and ended with assignments.
Still, it was far better than being despised for being a black cat, locked up all day, experimented on, and beaten.
At least in my past life, I wasn’t experimented on, and I wasn’t alone.
Sadly, just because I remembered my previous life didn’t mean anything around me suddenly changed.
In novels, when someone regains memories of their past life, their parents suddenly repent, shower them with affection, or the male lead appears out of nowhere with a dramatic entrance.
But even after remembering everything, nothing around me changed.
I still couldn’t step outside my room except under the pretense of running errands—and even then, someone would always follow me from a distance, watching.
There was nothing I could really do.
My life wasn’t going to suddenly turn into a warm childcare story or a romantic fantasy.
…Well, there was one change.
I realized that this place was the world inside a book.
And that book was a hopeless, miserable story with no dreams, no hope, and no innocence.
Worse, it was unnecessarily long.
The plot was simple:
The female lead, who wandered through the slums, inherited a hidden fortune from her grandmother and bought land. By sheer luck, that land turned out to be a mine, and she built a merchant group and achieved massive success—
Only to be imprisoned one day by a completely insane male lead.
And in this book, you could forget about any sweet, innocent romance between them.
Even the plot logic was completely thrown out the window.
Everything ridiculous in the story was explained away by “coincidence” and “fate.” It was obvious the author used the word “fate” as a cheap tool to stitch together a plot that made no sense whatsoever.
They didn’t even explain why the male lead fell in love with the female lead.
Instead, the story focused on his insane obsession, a bunch of unnecessary events before they met, and endless background descriptions.
…Honestly, I wasn’t even sure there was love at all.
No matter how I thought about it, it was an astonishing book.
Why had I even read it back then? Was it just to see the male lead’s madness? Or was I just trying to waste time?
I still didn’t know.
Anyway, the important part was this:
I was one of the people from the Simonde family—the ones who get brutally slaughtered by the male lead before he even meets the female lead.
Realizing that I remembered my past life and that this world was inside that book was a huge shock for a twelve-year-old girl.
I cried all night.
And then I made a decision.
‘Run.’
Run away the day before this trashy family gets destroyed by the male lead.
Run away, start a business, and live as a rich, unemployed person.
…That day, I set the biggest goal of my life.
‘The male lead wipes out the Simonde family around… this time, right? …When exactly was it?’
In the book, it only said that he slaughtered the beastfolk of the Simonde family in the middle of winter—it didn’t specify the exact date.
I walked aimlessly, staring at the ground. With each step, the thick snow sank deeply under my feet.
‘Ah… looking at the snow makes me want shaved ice.’
The pure white snow suddenly made me crave it.
Shaved ice. Rice cake shaved ice. Red bean shaved ice.
Scoop up snow, add red beans, rice cakes, drizzle condensed milk…
Thump.
The snow I kicked scattered in all directions.
‘Life is meaningless.’
Yeah. It’s all pointless. What’s the use of remembering my past life when I can’t do anything?
‘I should just run away the day before that insane bastard destroys this family.’
Lost in random thoughts, I trudged through the snow-covered mountain, searching for a flower.
But there wasn’t even grass visible—everything was buried under white snow.
The mountain, empty and nothing but white, felt like it was mocking me.
Are we playing hide-and-seek or something?
‘Come find me~.’
That’s what the flower seemed to be saying.
“Come find me” instead of “catch me”? Weird.
Well, if something here yelled “catch me,” it wouldn’t be a romantic chase—it’d be a life-or-death pursuit with some wild beast.
And it would end with a scream.
‘Perfect.’
Wow. Everything looks so twisted. Did I suddenly get late-onset teenage angst?
But cut me some slack. If you wander around a snowy mountain in winter without eating, looking for flowers, anyone would start seeing the world in a cynical way.
As I looked around while walking, I spotted a small red dot buried in the snow in the distance.
‘Huh? What’s that?’
With faint hope, I slowly approached it.
Maybe it’s a flower?
As I got closer, its identity became clearer.
‘Found it!’
A beautiful red flower in full bloom.
The recent warm weather must have made it bloom despite the season.
I must be lucky today to find it so quickly.
I gently picked up the flower—the one that would soon be crushed under Celestine’s feet—and held it in my mouth.
Well, I’m a cat. I can’t exactly carry it in my paws and walk upright, can I?
Have you ever seen a cat holding something in its front paws while walking on its hind legs? No, right?
If that were possible, it’d belong in “Beastfolk Chronicles – Strange Phenomena Edition.”
As I stood there holding the flower, a sharp wind sliced through my fur.
‘Ugh. Cold.’
I shivered as the cold brushed down my back.
Looking around, I saw trees swaying violently in the harsh winter wind.
‘It’s winter, but they still have leaves.’
Even the flower in my mouth swayed helplessly in the wind.
It looked just like me.
‘A flower that barely blooms in a harsh winter, only to be trampled and burned… and me, destined to be brutally killed by the male lead.’
‘We have the same fate anyway.’
For some reason, I felt a strange sense of kinship with it.
‘Hope you get a better life next time.’
After briefly mourning the flower, I carefully made my way down the mountain.
‘I’ll take good care of it until I hand it over to Celestine. It’s a rare flower blooming in winter, after all.’
At least until it meets its terrible end.
‘So I should—’
“SKREEEEEEE!”
A horrifying scream, like someone wringing a cricket’s neck, pierced through the air.
‘…What was that?’
It sounded like someone screaming in agony.
My fur stood on end.
As I’d thought earlier, this mountain wasn’t exactly safe—it was home to wild animals.
If unlucky, you could run into a tiger, wolf, or wild boar… and become their meal.
A bad feeling crept over me.
I quickly hid behind the nearest rock.
But it was too late.
Thud thud thud.
The ground began to shake.
Peeking out, I saw a wild boar charging toward me from afar.
‘…Just go away.’
Please.
“Gweeek!”
The grotesque sound grew closer.
Heart pounding, I slowly turned my head—
And locked eyes with it.
The boar slowed down.
Thump. Thump.
My heart raced.
It stopped and looked around—
Then our eyes met again.
‘No way.’
Right?
The moment that thought crossed my mind—
Its lips curled upward grotesquely.
It looked… satisfied.
Like it had found its prey.
‘…I’m lunch, aren’t I?’
‘It’s just my imagination.’
It has to be.
But the way it looked at me—
No. Definitely not.
The boar turned toward me.
And charged.
‘Shit. Of course it’s not my imagination!’
I kicked off the ground and ran.
Through the snowy mountain, without stopping.
‘Why me?!’
Aren’t boars supposed to have bad eyesight?!
I darted between tightly packed trees, weaving through them.
Behind me, I could feel its relentless charge.
Then—
Thud!
A crash.
“Gweeeek…”
I stopped and looked back.
The boar wasn’t coming.
Looking up, I saw it sprawled in the snow—
With a huge bump on its head.
‘Of all things, it hits a thick tree…’
Well, lucky for me.
After making sure it was out cold, I stuffed snow into its nostrils—just in case—and hurried down the mountain.
I must have run far, because soon I saw the Simonde mansion in the distance.
‘…Why is it so quiet?’
Too quiet.
No maids sneaking out, no servants waiting to torment me, not even animals.
It was as if everything had sensed danger.
Silent.
Still.
Only the sound of wind rustling leaves echoed.
An eerie silence.
‘If something feels off, I can just slip back out.’
Tilting my head, I entered through the small hole in the wall.
While maids struggled to squeeze through it, I slipped in easily.
Being a kitten had its advantages.
‘Wha—?!’
The moment I came out—
A pair of black shoes filled my vision.
Thunk.
I collided with them and rolled across the ground like a ball of fluff.
I scrambled up, shaking myself off.
Then—
A strange pressure hit me.
Something felt… wrong.
Dangerous.
My instincts screamed a warning.
