Chapter 03
‘Damn! Did they spot me?’
Startled, I tried to move to run, but my left foot wouldn’t budge, as if it were glued to the ground. Looking more closely, I realized the glittering magic circle was now hovering around my left ankle like a shackle.
“Relic! Go fetch the captain. Tell him we’ve caught the little rat.”
The large man nearby gave orders and then started striding toward me.
“I’ll fix that messed-up mind of yours.”
There was a sinister undertone in the growling of his voice.
He cracked his knuckles, making a creaking sound, and readied himself. As he stomped closer and raised his hand roughly…
Swish!
I grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and flung it at his face with all my strength.
“Argh! Damn woman…!”
It must have hit him. The dirt in his eyes made him stagger and clutch his face. Simultaneously, the magic circle flickered, and my left foot gradually began to move again.
This was my chance. I turned away from the struggling man, dragging my trembling leg, and quickly headed toward the sound of the waterfall.
Whoosh! The massive waterfall roared endlessly, water cascading from dizzying heights down below.
“Damn…”
I couldn’t help but stop dead in my tracks.
I had arrived at the edge of a cliff where the waterfall poured endlessly—a dead-end. What now? Where could I run? My brain spun wildly, unable to think clearly.
While I hesitated, the sound of hooves and the angry search party appeared behind me.
“Found you!”
Under the moonlight, the search party bore terrifying expressions.
“There you are, you little rat!”
Seeing me at the cliff, they quickly blocked my escape routes.
There was nowhere left for me to run.
I became like a mouse trapped in a jar, hesitating as I backed toward the edge.
“Stay still!”
They dismounted and advanced step by step, aiming to grab me. Was I going to be captured? I kept retreating to avoid them.
Step by step.
But soon, I had no choice but to stop. The last step brought nothing but air beneath my feet. I glanced back and realized I was at the cliff’s edge.
A small rock at my feet tumbled over the cliff. If I put any weight on my feet now, I’d fall just like that rock.
“Now, it’s time to stop running, young lady.”
The knight who had threatened to crush my arms and legs sneered at me with a vile smile.
Even if I got caught and adopted into the Rosevelier household, I could still twist the story’s flow from there. Living as a noble’s daughter could, in some ways, be better than surviving as an orphan in the Empire.
Yet strangely, a voice in my mind screamed: You absolutely must not go to the Rosevelier household.
‘No matter what, I can’t go! Not even if I die!’
The way they treated the child who would become their future heir was already suspicious!
I sneered at the knights and threw myself off the cliff.
“No!”
They shouted, watching me fall endlessly.
“Damn! We finally found a test subject, and she ruins it!”
“How are we going to explain this to the duchess?”
Their curses and shouts echoed down into the valley.
I wasn’t caught.
Perhaps it was relief that I hadn’t been captured. My tension slowly eased.
Fatigue built over time finally caught up with me, and I began to lose consciousness.
Please, when I open my eyes next, let all this be a dream. Let me wake up in my dorm bed.
I prayed endlessly.
How much time passed?
I came to as murmuring voices reached me.
Please, let it be my dorm. My dorm!
No one should be talking in the apartment I live in alone. Yet I opened my eyes timidly, clutching at straws.
“Oh! You’re awake, Apostle!”
“You’ve regained consciousness!”
When I opened my eyes, I saw people dressed in white. They were moving busily, urgently calling someone.
I tried to move, but my body felt heavy like waterlogged cotton. I could only roll my eyes.
I was lying on a bed—white and soft, giving off a faint fragrance. Not the filthy, moldy, cockroach-infested bed I was used to.
It seemed this was not an orphanage. Could it be the Rosevelier household?
Anxiety made me roll my eyes again.
“Oh, you’re awake!”
A man appeared before me alongside the people in white.
Wow…! I was speechless at the sight of him.
Was this heaven?
His silken white hair tied neatly, ruby-red eyes, flawless skin, high nose, perfect features—he was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. His beauty seemed divinely crafted, with a radiant aura.
He was crying, yet even so, he looked like a statue.
Why was he crying?
“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”
Somehow, he approached me, apologized, and held my hand. His long, white hands radiated warmth. Drops of water fell from his big, beautiful eyes.
Could falling tears be so beautiful?
Watching them cling to his long eyelashes, my heart ached unexpectedly.
The sight of a handsome man crying could be this heartbreaking.
“I won’t lose you again. I will love you as you said. So please, don’t leave me.”
He pressed my hand to his cheek and cried even more.
Uh… I think you have the wrong person…
I wanted to speak, but my mouth was dry, like sand, and no words came out.
Fatigue and drowsiness crept in. My vision darkened.
“Why… why is this happening?”
Through my slowly closing eyelids, I saw his panicked expression.
“You are not fully recovered, Apostle.”
“Since you were discovered, the physical damage was severe…”
Listening to the murmuring voices, I lost consciousness again, comforted by the soothing darkness. For the first time in a long while, I felt true ease and could finally sleep.
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying alone in a neatly arranged room.
“Huh… what?”
My body, which always felt like lead after the possession, now felt feather-light, like waking up on a peaceful holiday afternoon.
I jumped up.
“Could it be… Korea? Have I really returned?”
But my joy was short-lived. My eyes fell on long, white hair reaching my waist.
Ah, of course. I was still possessed.
I sighed and pushed back the covers.
Even the wounds on my feet, which had been bleeding after falling from the waterfall, had vanished. My arms and legs, bruised from endless beatings at the orphanage, were now clean and milky white.
“What… what is happening?”
Muttering to myself, I checked over my body. At that moment, the door opened.
A small girl, around ten years old, wearing white priest robes, entered.
“Huh. My rank is what, and I still have to do this?”
She grumbled under her breath while carrying a large water jug as big as her body.
Then, she saw me on the bed and froze.
“Ah! She’s awake!”
She screamed as if she had seen a ghost, fell on her bottom, and ran out.
“What… what was that?”
Was seeing me really that shocking? I returned to the bed with a frown.
Lying on the clean pillow, I could smell soap.
Then, there was a knock.
Who could it be? Not the orphanage people or Rosevelier agents, I hoped.
Shaking with unknown fear, I hugged my pillow and turned toward the door.
“Excuse me.”
A soft, low voice followed. The door creaked open slightly, and a kind-looking older woman with graying hair entered, dressed in white priest robes like the girl.
“You’re awake, Sister.”
She made the sign of the cross, joining her hands.
Her neat white clothes and a familiar pendant pattern reminded me of the theological manuals I’d seen in the orphanage.
Who is she? Where am I?
After enduring constant violence since arriving in this world, her gentle, comforting smile felt strange. I didn’t know if she might suddenly become violent.
My voice trembled involuntarily.
“Who… are you?”
She smiled gently.
“My name is Selafi.”
It was the first normal answer I had heard in a long time.
Until now? If I wasn’t beaten, it was fortunate. Usually, vulgarities were mixed in. But this grandmother wouldn’t answer with violence. I relaxed slightly and asked again.
“Where… is this place?”
She smiled and replied,
“This is the Terrina Temple, Zeronia Branch, Sister.”
“Zeronia?”
I had learned enough basic geography in the orphanage to recognize locations.
Zeronia was a port city at the southernmost tip of the continent, a five-day ride from the orphanage.
“How did I get all the way here?” She studied my surprised face.
“Do you remember where you lived, Sister?”
