The gas had been cut off a week ago. Today, the electricity was finally cut off as well. My toes were numb from the cold, losing all sensation. It was said that the temperature would drop to minus 12 degrees Celsius tonight, and it was so cold inside the house that I could see my breath. Having failed a few times to light the gas stove, I had no choice but to put on a few more old clothes. There was nowhere to go at this hour, so all I could do was huddle as much as possible. I sat on the cold blanket, holding onto my phone with a barely charged battery. In the cramped house, the dim light from my phone was the only thing that faintly illuminated the room.
"I'm freezing to death..."
The heat emitted by the phone was the last warmth I had left. If even this were to die, I would have to endure the long night with only my body heat. I absentmindedly checked my messages and found a bunch of unread messages.
"Yuna, what are you doing? We're going to the ski resort, do you want to come?"
"Why haven't you been in touch? Are you dead?"
I scrolled through the messages and then turned off the screen.
A sigh escaped me. I was grateful for my friends' concern, but our situations were different. I had no leeway. To put it simply, I had no money. If I went to the ski resort my friend mentioned, I might have to go without food for nearly a month. But out of pride, I had never told my friends about my situation.
'Sorry, I'm busy. Let's hang out later.'
I always made up excuses like this. It was better to be a busy and indifferent friend than to reveal that I was dirt poor and had a father with a criminal record and a drinking problem. My mother, after working as a housekeeper for a few years, eventually divorced my father and left me behind. 'I don't blame her.' If I were in her shoes, I would have found everything unbearable too. I understood that I would have been too much of a burden for her to take. I spent most of my childhood under my father's shadow and barely managed to escape. But somehow, he always found me and would come to the house and cause trouble. Because of him, I lost all the money I had saved for college tuition and had to cancel my enrollment, working part-time jobs to make ends meet. My father, who had saddled me with a huge debt, spent most of his days in and out of prison. I had received a letter saying he was in prison, so he probably hadn't been released yet.
"If I hadn't gone to the emergency room, I wouldn't be in this mess."
Another sigh escaped me. Unexpected expenses from being taken to the emergency room last month had left me unable to pay the electricity and gas bills. No matter how much I worked part-time, it was barely enough to cover rent and living expenses. As I wrapped myself tighter in the blanket, warmed by my body heat, a loud noise startled me.
My heart raced at the familiar voice. The man, whose voice was hoarse and reeked of alcohol, was someone I knew all too well.
He was supposed to be in prison. When did he get out? But my father didn't give me a moment to think. Bang! Bang! He pounded on the door without any hesitation. Afraid that the landlord might come up, I quickly ran to the front door and opened it.
"Hey! You almost froze to death. What took you so long to open the door?"
With each angry word, a mix of foul odor and alcohol wafted towards me. I resisted the urge to pinch my nose and looked at my father. His old coat, which looked like it hadn't been changed in a while, was covered in unknown dust, and his shoes were caked with mud.
"Yesterday. But listen, if you have any money, give me some. I need another drink."
He held out his hand as if it were a given. I shook my head.
"I don't have any. I can't even pay the electricity and gas bills right now."
"Don't lie. I know you have something. Just give it to me, or I'll take it by force."
My father raised his hand threateningly. Knowing what kind of pain that hand could inflict, I involuntarily shrank back.
"If you don't give it to me, I'll find it. Just wait there, Yun Yuna."
With that, my father, still wearing his shoes, entered the house and started rummaging through the drawers. I took the opportunity to run out into the freezing wind.
Realizing I was escaping, my father started chasing me. I ran down the stairs, but the icy floor made me slip and fall.
A groan escaped me. By the time I fell, my father was right behind me. I panted heavily, pushing myself up with my hands. My knees and palms, which had been scraped, stung. I tried to go down the stairs, but it was too late. Our apartment was on the top floor, so I ended up at the edge of the roof. Whistling wind blew my hair wildly.
"Why are you running? Just give it to me, and I won't hit you."
"I really don't have any."
All I had was 20,000 won, which was my living expenses until my next paycheck in two weeks. If I lost this, I wouldn't have anything to eat tomorrow.
"If you don't have any, why are you running? Stop lying and give it to me now!"
My father took a step closer, yelling. I tried to back away, but there was a railing behind me. His sharp eyes glared at me fiercely.
Just as my father's large hand was about to strike me.
I felt a sudden sensation of floating. When I opened my eyes, I saw my father's face getting farther and farther away. His eyes were wide with shock. What were the chances of surviving a fall from a five-story building? Even if I survived, I would die from lack of medical treatment. After struggling so hard, my end was going to be so dirty. The things I had worked hard to save slipped through my fingers like sand. Because of my family. The harmonious families and loving parents that others had were something I could never have. I didn't deserve them.
'So, I don't need anything anymore.'
'I just want to be at peace now.'
And then, everything went dark. ***
A voice and a sensation of floating in the air. Unfamiliar hands gently cradled me and started to soothe me. Mabel, Mabel. The unfamiliar voice repeated what seemed to be a name.
A soft laugh, and a finger gently tickled my lips. Despite it being a language I had never heard before, it sounded like my native tongue, with no awkwardness at all.
I tried to open my eyes to understand the situation, but everything was blurry. I could only distinguish slight differences in light and dark. I blinked, trying to see, but eventually, I fell asleep from exhaustion. My thoughts kept breaking off. I couldn't even focus on a single thought. I could feel someone holding and rocking me, but I couldn't even hold my head up, swaying weakly.
"It's been a few days, and she's grown so much."
"Thanks to everyone's care. It's fortunate that the princess is healthy."
A man's and a woman's voices alternated. Could I have been reborn?
'If so, are these people my parents...?'
Tears welled up in my eyes. It wasn't from the joy of having loving parents. When I was very young, my father, who later turned into a violent drunk, used to be happy whenever he saw me. I was just tired of being reborn. When I was about a month old, I realized I could think clearly. The realization that I had been reborn with my memories made me burst into tears.
"Oh, it's not mealtime yet. What's the matter, Your Highness? You're such a good girl."
That's right. I had been reborn. As a princess in a country I had never heard of before. At first, I thought "princess" was just a term of endearment, like "our princess," but it turned out I was a real princess. I initially denied the reality, but after a few days of the same routine, I had to accept it. 'Mabel Gadenia Ermano.' That was my new name. The word "Mabel" had been repeated so many times that it felt like brainwashing. The country I was in was the Great Empire of Ermano.
'Being a silver spoon is obviously better than being poor, but isn't this a bit too extreme...!'
Thinking about how my death as Yun Yuna was over a mere 20,000 won made me feel hollow. Regardless, I had been reborn. As the second child of the Emperor of Ermano. From what I gathered, my mother had passed away shortly after giving birth to me. In novels, when this happens, the father usually neglects and ignores the child who caused his wife's death. Would the Emperor do the same?
'Well, if I'm neglected, that would be fine.'
Before I could think clearly, I often heard a man's voice calling me, but I couldn't tell if it was a dream or reality. The woman I thought was my mother turned out to be a nurse, so the man might not be my father either. Being trapped in a baby's body at the age of 20 was truly terrifying. I spent almost the entire day eating and sleeping, with nothing else to do. After crying for a while and falling asleep, I woke up to a hand touching my cheek.
"Look, Madam. It's almost as if she's looking at me. Oh, our eyes met just now."
The first thing I saw was a pair of blue eyes looking down at me. Startled by the unfamiliar face, I froze.
"The princess seems to recognize her father. She was crying a lot just now, but now she's so well-behaved."
Confused by the nurse's words, I wondered,
He looked too young to be my father. I thought he was lying. He looked more like an older brother, someone much younger than a father. Blue eyes, neatly cut silver hair that just covered his neck. His features were somewhat intimidating, but he was smiling at me, making him look quite gentle. Then, the man reached out his hand towards me.
I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting a blow. But there was no pain. I slowly opened my eyes, feeling a soft touch on my head.
The man was still smiling, looking genuinely happy.
"Of course, she's my daughter. Recognizing her father so early, she's very smart, isn't she?"
The man was nothing like what I had expected. Had I watched too many dramas? Usually, in such situations, the father would neglect the child, saying, "You killed my wife!" But then, the man's hand slowed down slightly.
"…If Sianna were still alive, she would have been even happier."
From the sad conversation between the nurse and the man, I easily deduced that Sianna was my mother. The man's gaze was on me, but it seemed he was thinking of his late wife.
"Mabel. I promise to protect you, no matter what."
The man's thick finger touched my slightly open palm. Without realizing it, I curled my hand and gripped his finger tightly. It wasn't intentional. Babies instinctively grab onto things that touch their palms, a fact I learned in school. But why was the man smiling so brightly?
The man looked genuinely happy, looking at his finger I had grabbed. But I found his overwhelming affection very burdensome. Being treated as if I were the only one in the world, the most precious daughter, was something that could change at any moment. I had always been unlucky, so I couldn't be sure I wouldn't be abandoned this time. I didn't want to hope for a family's love.
'Yuna. Our beautiful Yuna.'
The father who used to kiss me and show affection whenever he saw me later turned violent and hit me without hesitation. If he hadn't said he loved me, I wouldn't have had any expectations. My heart was moved by the man's caring attitude, but I recalled my last resolve before dying.
'I don't need anything anymore.'
So, this time, I won't have any expectations. I'll live quietly and leave. Life is ultimately a solitary journey, after all. *** The Emperor of Ermano, Esteban Nis Ermano, had two major concerns recently. One was the high-profile hostage captured from the enemy country Devlin after a border conflict. The other was his month-old daughter, Mabel. Esteban put the hostage issue aside for the moment.
'Nothing is more important than Mabel.'
The cause of his concern was the priests who claimed Mabel was a divine child and demanded to take her to the Holy Kingdom of Abellardo. They used a prophecy that came down on the day Mabel was born as an excuse.
Esteban gritted his teeth. The prophecy had caused the priests to storm the palace daily. —At the end of the east, a seed to save the world was planted. The Great Empire of Ermano was located at the easternmost point, and everyone knew that a bright lightning bolt had struck the sky of the palace on the day Mabel was born. Esteban, holding the hand of the sweating Queen Sianna, had heard the sound while waiting for the birth. The ministers congratulated him, saying the princess was extraordinary, but Esteban was not happy at all. It had been just over two weeks since Sianna, who was too weak to withstand the aftereffects of childbirth, had passed away. Mabel was a very special existence to Esteban, who had not yet recovered from the shock of losing his wife. A daughter who resembled Sianna and was so lovely. Esteban's gaze was sharp as if it could pierce the letter from the priest. He eventually tore the paper to shreds.
The advisor, who had been watching, sighed and covered his face with his hands. Esteban glanced at the advisor and coldly said,
"Tell them it is rejected without reconsideration."
He planned to ignore them for now, but he wasn't sure how long he could hold out. The Holy Kingdom would continue to demand. Since there was already a first prince, Oscar, the chances of Mabel inheriting the throne were slim, so they wanted to take her. He needed to find a way to thwart the Holy Kingdom's intentions within the limited time. He needed a convincing reason, as they wouldn't back down easily. Esteban tore another letter from a priest and, sensing someone at the door, looked up. He nodded to the waiting servant, who quickly opened the door.
The sudden opening of the door made someone stagger and let out a scream.