Chapter 2 – A New Beginning (Part 3)

Seeing her, the black dog, Fernan, sighed inwardly.  

‘I should have paid more attention.’  

Girtin was a monster that survived by absorbing weaker creatures, using enchantment skills.

The monster’s enchantment skill gave creatures confidence and courage, making them capable of anything.  

If he hadn’t come, Ellerdin would have repeatedly climbed and fallen off that rock until she was on the brink of death.  

That was how the monster hunted.  

But something was bothering him.  

That creature wasn’t one to reveal itself so recklessly just to enchant an ordinary human.  

Seeing this situation, it seemed his guess that Ellerdin wasn’t an ordinary person was correct.  

‘What is your true identity?’  

Fernan’s black pupils focused on Ellerdin.  

Unable to defeat Girtin in human form, he had hastily transformed into any shape he could, only to end up looking just like that creature.  

Polymorph was a skill only demons could use, allowing them to transform into other living beings.  

It was convenient for hiding one’s identity but had the drawback of not being able to fully exert one’s original power.  

He had taken the risk and transformed on purpose, but in this case, it might have been better to remain in human form.  

A black monster and a black dog—Ellerdin was bound to be scared.  

He hoped she wouldn’t run away.  

Just as Fernan sighed, Ellerdin grabbed his fur.  

“Let’s run away!”  

“……Growl?”  

“Hurry!”  

Ellerdin urgently shouted, pulling him. But her hands were trembling, unable to exert any real strength.  

Girtin crouched as if about to descend from the rock.  

“Quickly!”  

Ellerdin, trembling, pushed against Fernan’s massive body. But his body didn’t budge, and Ellerdin shouted in frustration.  

“We might get hurt if we stay here! Let’s run away quickly!”  

‘……Hah.’  

Fernan stared at her.  

‘So she can shout this loudly.’  

‘Why isn’t she leaving me? In this situation, I must be the scariest person to her.’  

‘This human was strange.’  

Thud.  

Girtin descended from the rock.  

Standing face-to-face with Girtin just five steps away, Ellerdin’s body trembled even more.  

This was actually better.  

Without her, he could fight properly.  

Moreover, with her this close, she would have no choice but to run away alone.  

Contrary to his expectation that she would run away alone, Ellerdin picked up a wooden stick from the ground.  

Then she stood in front of Fernan.  

“Go first.”  

Her whispered words were filled with fear.  

‘Why isn’t she running away? What am I to her?’  

Anyone could see that the creature was bigger and stronger than her.  

‘What kind of woman is she?’  

Until now, he had only seen her looking timid, never expecting to see this side of her.  

Ellerdin seemed to shine.  

In the darkened view covered by a black veil, she alone appeared brightly lit.  

He wanted to protect this person.  

Before Girtin could move, Fernan quickly lunged at him.  

Just before his sharp teeth could pierce the monster’s body, Girtin melted into the darkness.  

‘This is annoying.’  

Fernan quickly scanned the surrounding forest.  

Girtin hid in the darkness, waiting for his prey to let its guard down, so he had to find him quickly.  

Just then, he saw a black shadow moving swiftly among the moss.  

Girtin was charging toward Ellerdin.  

‘Ellerdin is in danger!’  

“Bark, bark!”  

Fernan barked to divert Girtin’s attention and ran towards him.  

But Girtin ignored Fernan and headed straight for Ellerdin.  

Ellerdin staggered backward.  

Thud, her back hit a tree.  

With her escape route blocked, Ellerdin closed her eyes tightly.  

Just before Girtin’s teeth could bite into Ellerdin, Fernan bit into Girtin’s neck.  

“Screech!”  

The creature struggled for a while before going limp, its black blood oozing out and drying up.  

‘This isn’t like him.’  

The only reason he could easily capture Girtin was that the monster had solely targeted Ellerdin.  

Fernan, letting go of Girtin, looked at Ellerdin as if to say she should leave.  

A black creature covered in black blood.  

Even he found himself repulsive.  

But contrary to his expectations, Ellerdin approached him without a word and began to stroke his fur.  

“…Thank you for saving me. But next time, please run away.”  

He thought he had misheard.  

‘Even after seeing this, she’s telling me to run away?’  

Fernan tilted his head in confusion, and Ellerdin gently touched the area around his eyes with a faint smile.  

At that moment, light filled his eyes.  

It was so bright that he squinted. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt such brightness.  

When he cautiously opened his eyes, the black veil that had covered his vision was gone.  

In his sight was a world bathed in full light.  

The moonlight had entered the black forest, casting a green glow.  

And he saw her.  

Ellerdin, smiling with crescent-shaped eyes.  

Her spotless white skin and bright blonde hair shimmered under the moonlight, with her mysterious eyes mixing blue and purple.  

Her red lips curved into a bright smile.  

“What’s your name?”  

Ellerdin tilted her head to the left and asked.  

The sound of her laughter tickled his ears.  

‘Oh, making that face with that voice. Isn’t that cheating?’  

“Uh?”  

Their eyes met, and Fernan, startled, let out a gasp and stepped back.  

As soon as he moved away from her, the dark veil covered his vision again.  

Ellerdin, misunderstanding his reaction, awkwardly lowered her hand and apologized.  

“Oh… I’m sorry for touching you suddenly.”  

Seeing her slumped posture, Fernan, flustered, began circling around her.  

‘That wasn’t what I meant!’  

Just then, Mollek and Celine came running, shouting from a distance.  

“Madam!”  

“Mollek? Celine?”  

Celine ran up to her in one stride.  

“Are you hurt anywhere?”  

Celine hurriedly checked Ellerdin’s body.  

“Madam, are you really okay?”  

At Mollek’s words, Ellerdin widened her eyes and pointed beside her.  

“I’m fine. This one protected me.”  

Following Celine and Mollek’s meaningful glances, Ellerdin turned her head and fell silent.  

Fernan, who had been guarding her side, had disappeared in an instant.  

“Who was beside you?”  

At Mollek’s question, Ellerdin waved her hand, saying it was nothing.  

It seemed that the black creature that saved her wanted to hide its identity.  

As she stood silently, Celine urged her to return and helped her put on fur slippers.  

***  

Lying in bed, Ellerdin thought absentmindedly about what had happened earlier.  

It was still before dawn, but too much had happened.  

From taking a long bath for the first night, waiting on the floor, having her legs massaged by him, going to the forest, and meeting a new creature.  

As she recalled Fernan’s touch while massaging her legs, her legs naturally curled up.  

She felt the bandages covering her feet every time she wiggled her toes.  

Though she said bandages weren’t necessary, Celine had wrapped them carefully, looking upset as if she were the one injured.  

‘This place really seems nice. The Duke is kind, and Mollek, Celine, and the other maids are all so nice. So let’s not cause any trouble. We shouldn’t cause trouble. Otherwise, we’ll be kicked out.’  

“Ah….”  

As the fear of possibly being kicked out overwhelmed her, two terrible and familiar voices echoed in her head.  

“Useless thing. The only thing you know how to do is waste food.”

Earl Pure always said that whenever he saw her.  

Hearing that she was studying by reading alone, the Earl rushed over and threw a history book, difficult even for adults to read, at her, commanding her to read it.  

However, there was no way a child who had just learned to read could manage it.  

Eventually, after reading a few words and falling silent, he clicked his tongue and said those words.  

He would always come and belittle her whenever Ellerdin tried something new.  

“Shouldn’t you be able to do at least that? Pathetic. Running over here just because you managed that one thing.”  

Her ex-husband, Baron Brian, was no different from the Earl.  

When Ellerdin brought a solution to a problem the Baron had been pondering for years, he said those words to her.  

The Baron snatched the paper from her hand and glared at her with a look of contempt.  

Moreover, as if he couldn’t stand that Ellerdin had achieved what he couldn’t, he kicked over the wheelchair she was sitting in.  

He seemed to enjoy seeing her fall pathetically to the ground and began to kick her whenever he felt like it.  

“Stupid thing, all you do is eat, you killed your mother. If you can’t even do this, you should just die. Everyone suffers because of you. Everyone would be happy if you weren’t around. How selfish. Ignoring the trouble your mistake is causing others.”  

The voices of Earl Pure and Baron Brian echoed in her head.  

Throb, throb.  

It started to hurt as if her ankles had been cut off.  

She had been able to endure it earlier.  

Suddenly, an unbearable coldness swept over her.  

The warmth of human contact, which she hadn’t felt in a long time, was terrifying.  

Tears streamed down her cheeks.  

“Oh, sob.”  

A profound loneliness enveloped her entire body.  

Ellerdin sniffled and clasped her cold hands together out of habit.  

‘You’re used to this. It’s okay. This is your place.’  

She tried to console herself, but the memory of warmth that had entered her heart wouldn’t easily disappear.  

As a child, clasping her hands together made her feel like she was with someone else, bringing her comfort.  

But now, it just felt like the desperate act of a lonely person.