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To Bunny, life was a battlefield of war.
The era of peace?
That was nothing but bull for the people of the slums.
To survive in that place, they had to learn how to deceive, to threaten, to kill others.
This was what constituted as ‘common sense’ in that world.
Bunny was just a child with no parents to provide for her, no other means to earn money through fair methods.
If she were to be honest, it was a miracle that she survived this far.
After living such war-like days, she got adopted into the Credel family, and everything changed overnight.
But beyond that, no one sympathized with her. She was surrounded by enemies everywhere she looked.
In the meantime, it was nigh impossible to abandon the habits she had taken up throughout those days and suddenly act like a graceful ducal princess.
‘Can you do it?’
They should have asked her first.
They shouldn’t have given her affection. What they should have given her was consideration.
If they wouldn’t heal the wounds, then they should have given her time to heal.
At the very least, if this family was known as the ‘blue moon’, then shouldn’t they have done as much?
She was only eight years old.
At this young age, she had already been branded as irreparable only because she survived through a lowly background.
Wasn’t it only natural for a child who was terribly anxious about being kicked out to take increasingly extreme actions?
‘So many things could have turned out differently if only someone asked Bunny why she made such a choice.’
That’s why.
“Someone like you, I don’t need you either. From the very beginning.”
When Doah muttered this under her breath, her tone forceful, the grand duke slowly let go of his grip.
The warmth that had spread over her hand cooled down in an instant.
It felt as though his hand had lost strength. It was strange.
‘What the. This dream.’
He wouldn’t have come to visit Bunny, to whom he had told that she should live as though she was dead.
‘What a terrible dream.’
It felt like she had encountered a ghost while she was trapped in the spell of sleep paralysis.
It was unpleasant and uncomfortable seeing things that shouldn’t be there.
Grimacing, Doah wiped her hand on the duvet and soon closed her eyes, surrendering herself to slumber.
* * *
A cool, refreshing energy entered her body.
At the same time, her entire body felt lighter as her fever went down in an instant.
The muscle pain, which was rampant all over her, disappeared in just a snap as well.
In her astonishment, Doah opened her eyes.
And her gaze met a boy’s.
“……”
With round eyebrows and round eyes, as though painted by a brush, the corners of his lips were slightly curled up. He was as beautiful as a painting.
His golden hair was shiny, combed out carefully and styled neatly.
As his arms and legs were long, like a tree stretching out to the sun, his posture was straight and upright.
‘With a clear and neat atmosphere like a tree, boys like him are generally born bright and intelligent.’
And with those features, he also had dignified eyes.
It was the face of a typical scholar.
‘At the same time…’
His nose bridge had an angular line, and the tip of his nose was sharp like an arrowhead.
The shape of his ears followed this as well, and his earlobes were narrow and sharp.
This meant that he could be cold-hearted and even cruel, without any attachment to emotions.
He was born with the natural talent of leadership and determination, but because of his personality, it was difficult for him to trust the people around him.
‘At first glance, he looks like a pine tree that grew alone at the edge of a cliff, but…’
Maybe he had this air to him because he was hiding his fangs and claws.
Doah knew exactly who he was.
Angelus, Credel’s eldest son, who turned fourteen years old this year.
‘No way, did you use your powers for me?’
Her body was better in an instant.
There was no other explanation but that.
‘Because Angelus has healing powers.’
This ‘power’ could only be wielded by those who inherited the blood of the imperial family.
And it was a power that manifested while the ‘Avicus Empire’ was still known as the ‘Avice Kingdom’, and from the time when the Grand Duchy of Credel was still just the Duchy of Credel.
This power was almost considered to be a miracle.
If this power could be used over magic, it’s said that they could make a forest.
If this power manifested as healing, they could easily heal those who were at death’s door.
The problem was…
‘Why did you heal me?’
Doah wondered.
“Why should I treat you?”
“I don’t care about your wounds. Take care of it by yourself.”
“Don’t ever try to show yourself in front of me for such a trivial thing.”
She was sure that these were what he said before.
When Bunny had rolled down the stairs and bled before, he didn’t even budge.
Far showing any concern, he just completely ignored her.
‘What the hell is going on?’
Doah blinked, a perplexed look on her face as she looked around.
Light pink wallpaper, fluttering lace decorations, pastel-colored antique furniture.
A cozy bed, fragrant flowers, cute stuffed toys all around her.
It was a familiar room.
This was Ophelia’s room in the central palace.
And she realized again—it was warm.
Unlike the tower, where the cold permeated into her bones even when the fire was lit, this room was so full of warmth. It was like spring had come in this room.
Bunny used to steal things from this room before, stashing them secretly in her own room.
Accessories, Ophelia’s old worn-out stuffed animals, hand-carved wooden blocks, a flower in the greenhouse, a mere stone on the side of the garden’s path.
‘That’s how badly she wanted to be in this room.’
Bunny’s goal had never been money.
She only stole things that radiated of love.
And in her jewel box, she kept them as though they were the greatest treasures.
In the end, even those had been discovered and taken away from her.
It wasn’t that she was faultless.
Theft was still just that—theft.
It was difficult to defend.
‘But for the Credels who only think of Ophelia and Ophelia alone, they might not forgive Bunny for whatever she did.’
Even so, when Doah thought about why the child did such a thing, she could vividly feel just how terrible her past had been, and how desperate she must have felt as she went through those experiences.
And now, she was just… confused.
“Don’t delude yourself.”
At that moment, a faint voice full of anger broke her train of thought.
“Just because you’re in the central palace, don’t delude yourself into thinking that you’ve taken Ophelia’s place.”
Was what Angelus said.
With a disgusted scowl on his face as though he was looking at a worm wriggling in filth.
‘What kind of nonsense, all of a sudden.’
It was all so ridiculous to Doah.
‘Did I come here on my own two feet?’