Psyche.

It was the title given to the noble daughters sent to the ‘monster’—the guardian of the kingdom.

Long ago, this nation had once stood on the brink of ruin. In his desperation to save it, the king sought out a powerful, immortal monster.

In exchange for protecting the country, the monster set a condition:

“The family I choose must send me a bride.”

The monster selected one hundred ten martial families.

They established an order among themselves and, in turn, offered the head of each household’s daughter to the monster.

And so, people came to call the brides sent to the monster Psyche—a name borrowed from myth.

For once, Father—who was always composed—revealed a rare flicker of agitation.

“W-What are you saying? It hasn’t even been that long since Thierry’s daughter became Psyche, and already—”

“Winter died in three months. Rimona barely lasted two. Anouk didn’t even survive a week. Why would Thierry be any different?”

The words were cold. Merciless.

A trace of anger seeped into Father’s voice as he faced them.

“Must I… send my daughter to her death as well?”

“Is Silcania any different from the others? Sir Roland, at best, you’re merely the master of a magic tower.”

“But—!”

“If you don’t wish to send her, then do as you please. We won’t stop you.”

For a brief moment, Father’s expression shifted—subtle, yet unmistakable.

And they laughed, as if mocking him.

“But I wonder what Duke Keith will do, now that he’s angered.”

It was a threat.

Caught at a crossroads, Father could not bring himself to answer.

“Think it over carefully. One daughter—or your entire house. Which is more precious to you?”

“Even so…!”

“I’ll give you fifteen days. If a daughter of Silcania does not arrive within that time, then the name Silcania will vanish into the pages of history.”

Father bit down on his lip.

The members of the royal court, as if offering comfort, gave his shoulder a few light pats.

“Do not think of it as unjust. Nor as the cruelty of a heartless father. It is something every head before you—and every head of every other house—has continued to do.”

Having said all they wished, the royal envoys departed as abruptly as they had come.

Watching their figures recede into the distance, Father clutched his head in anguish.

My older sister quickly approached him.

“Father, what are you so worried about?”

“My child… Hermes.”

Strangely enough, Father pulled her into an embrace filled with affection—an affection he never withheld from her.

It was a sight that could bring tears to one’s eyes.

“I’ve already lost Ripe… I cannot lose you as well.”

“What? Father, why would you worry about losing me?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Violette is here, isn’t she?”

At my sister’s words, Father’s head snapped up, as though my existence had never once crossed his mind.

“What… did you just say?”

“I said, the child who killed Mother is here.”

Without hesitation, my sister dug into Father’s deepest wound.

“That child killed the mother you loved—and the mother I loved. And yet, we’ve allowed her to live here all this time. Isn’t this the perfect chance for her to repay the debt of being raised?”

She clung to Father’s knee—a place I had never once been allowed near.

Her red eyes, which everyone said resembled Mother’s, gleamed brightly.

“That child won’t have any complaints. After all, it’s for the sake of the family.”

Father turned to look at me.

As always, his gaze was so cold it felt as though it robbed me of breath.

“Violette.”

“…Yes.”

“Go, as Psyche.”

It was a firm command.

When I blinked, Father added, almost as if offering an excuse,

“It is for the sake of the family, so do not think it unfair.”

It was absurd.

For the sake of the family? What had that family ever done for me?

Reflected in Father’s frigid eyes, I saw myself—trapped.

A surge of defiance rose within me.

“Why… do I have to go?”

“What did you just say?”

“I asked why I have to go. My sister—the true daughter of the house—is right here!”

Smack.

A harsh sound rang out.

A large hand struck my cheek, snapping my head to the side. Heat bloomed across my face as it swelled red.

“How selfish.”

More than the sting of the blow, it was the familiar cruelty of his words that hurt.

“Your sister is the heir of Silcania. Who would send their heir to such a place?”

Then what was I?

If I was meant to serve the family, then what place did I hold in it?

Hadn’t they treated me as if I didn’t exist from the very beginning?

Father turned away from me, ignoring the resentment in my gaze.

“There will be no reversal.”

His footsteps echoed as he left the room.

And once he was gone, my sister slowly approached me.

“Violette.”

Raising a finger, my sister tapped lightly against my temple. A sneer curled across her lips.

“You… won’t do.”

Tilting her head with affected innocence, she turned and began to walk away.

I stared at her retreating figure—so familiar, yet so distant—then forced my voice out.

“What… what did I do wrong?”

Unexpectedly, she stopped.

Standing there, unmoving, she faced away from me. I asked again,

“What did I do to deserve this?”

“What?”

She slowly turned back.

Her voice, low and sunken, was chilling.

“What did you do wrong?”

Her crimson eyes burned as they locked onto me.

“Do you know this?”

“…What?”

“When you were born, Father may have gained another child. But me? I gained nothing because of you. I only lost things.”

There was an old, festering hatred in her gaze.

“Mother. Blanche. Everything that was naturally mine in Silcania—everything I was supposed to have. If you hadn’t existed, would Mother have died like that? Would Blanche have died so young? Would I have had to live with the constant fear that what’s mine could be taken away again?”

Only then did I understand.

Even for my sister—so young at the time—our mother’s absence had been immense.

A wound too deep to measure.

Just as I had longed to be loved, she too had yearned for the boundless love of the one who was gone.

“And yet you ask what you did wrong to me?”

Her words struck like nails driven into flesh.

Even so, one thing became clear.

“You were wrong the moment you were born.”

To her, I was a sinner.

“And yet, for the first time, I’m glad you exist.”

For once, she smiled gently.

It was the first time I had ever seen such a cruel kind of kindness.

“I’m truly glad. You’ve taken so much from me… that I don’t have to feel guilty for sending you as Psyche in my place.”

I couldn’t answer.

I simply lowered my head and clenched my fists.

And so, I became the one-thousand-three-hundredth Psyche, offered to the guardian they called a monster.

In this house, the only ones who pitied me were the servants.

The same people who had always treated me as invisible now clicked their tongues as they dressed me.

The pure white dress I had once only watched my sister wear with envy—became mine.

The silk felt soft against my skin for the first time, but it did nothing to soothe the unease within me.

A voice I had heard only once echoed faintly in my ears.

“I’ll become your love. So… live.”

Even if that person never appeared before me, I had once believed that marriage would be my escape from this suffocating house.

Though I had lived as an unwanted child, I was still of direct blood.

I thought I could be matched to a suitable family and live on.

Even if I were unloved there, it would be better than the sorrow I endured from my own kin.

But, to think that my future husband would be the kingdom’s monster.

That none of the previous Psyches had lasted more than a few months.

That in the dead of winter, I would be left alone on a cliff, waiting endlessly for that monster.

I had never imagined it.

Just as when I was born, there were no flowers, no gifts, no applause, no words of blessing as I departed.

People merely watched in silence as I was carried away in a lavish carriage.

Farther, and farther until I became nothing more than a distant speck.

“…Ha.”

A hollow sigh escaped me at the pitifulness of my situation.

By now, even tears would not come.

How long could I survive at the monster’s side?

A month? A week?

Perhaps not even a single day.

The monster might decide I was unworthy and k*ll me with a single stroke.

As such dark thoughts filled my mind, the sun slowly set.

Night fell.

And the cries of beasts echoed through the darkness.

Half-mad from the cold, the fear, and the hunger, I barely sensed it when a presence fell over me.

It was a shadow buried in darkness, impossible to identify.

A heavy hand pressed down on me, gripping my exposed shoulder. I flinched—then felt a warm breath brush against my ear.

“It’s been a while.”

At the sound of that gentle voice, I thought I had heard it somewhere before.

I lifted my head sharply.

In the thick darkness, the black silhouette seemed to be smiling.

“I promised you, didn’t I? That I’d become your love.”

Ah… ah.

At the resurfacing of that distant promise, my tear-filled eyes slowly rose.

The figure cloaked in darkness matched the one faintly etched in my memory.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

His hand brushed my cheek. The fingers that wiped away my tears were unbelievably warm.

“I’ve come to keep my promise, my Violette.”

Back then—when I was still a child—if he hadn’t appeared before me, I truly would have hanged myself.

I would have thrown away a life filled with resentment and longing without a second thought.

But he… he was the first person who ever said he would become something for me.

That he would become the reason for my life.

The meaning of my existence.

The reason I would keep living.

No one had ever said such words to me before.

Having lost the pillar of my life, and with even my father turning his back on me, I had no room left for doubt.

I could only take the hand he offered—without question.

There had been something I wanted to say when we met again.

But now, I couldn’t remember any of it.

In that moment, as if spellbound, I simply reached out and took his hand.

He, breathtakingly beautiful to the point my eyes stung, smiled at me in quiet rapture.

And just like that, we met again.