Chapter 1 – Even a Mouse Hole Gets Sunlight Someday

There’s an old saying: Even a mouse hole gets sunlight someday.

Cecia thought this was exactly the moment that fit that saying.

This was like a pumpkin rolling in unexpectedly, discovering a gold mine while walking, or money raining down from a clear sky. No matter how many situations were used, nothing could precisely express what Cecia was facing right now.

“I think I need to consider it a bit more.”

But people have pride and dignity.

No matter how tempting the offer, she couldn’t just accept it without hesitation.

“I’ve never really thought about the North.”

Cecia spoke with a haughty tone.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely a lie.

The North? She hadn’t even considered such a place.

The proposal she received was incredibly sweet, but the one thing that bothered her was the [North].

The North.

“When should I give you an answer?”

Cecia glanced at her father sitting beside her.

Her father was restless the whole time.

He couldn’t hide his anxiety and nervousness, afraid that Cecia might refuse.

‘If only Father hadn’t made any trouble, none of this would have happened……’

Just looking at her father made her face automatically harden, but today there was a guest.

Cecia greeted the guest with a bright smile.

Tap.

As soon as the guest left, Cecia closed the door and quickly ran to the window.

She saw the carriage carrying the guest leaving beyond the window.

“Hey, you’re going to do it, right? You’re going to get married, right?”

Ignoring her father’s nagging, Cecia looked up at the stairs leading to the second floor.

Her younger siblings clung to the banister, peering down at her with wide eyes.

“Sis, did the guest leave?”

“Sis, can we come down now?”

“Sis, your dress is pretty.”

“Dummy, it’s borrowed, so she has to return it quickly.”

Cecia gestured for her siblings to come down from the banister.

“Sis, when do we eat?”

“Sis, can we eat that?”

Her siblings pointed to the fruit basket left behind by the guest who had just visited.

Meat would have been better, but no one brings meat when delivering a marriage proposal, so fruit was the only option.

It was fortunate the guest didn’t bring flowers; otherwise, they’d have to chew on flowers today.

“Yes, you can eat it.”

“Wow! Fruit!”

“There’s wine too!”

“Ah, no, guys, you can’t drink wine! No alcohol!”

Cecia quickly took the wine bottle away from her siblings, feeling her father’s gaze fixed on the bottle in her hand.

“No. I’ll sell this and buy bread for dinner.”

Her father’s face fell at her refusal.

But she couldn’t let herself be swayed by that expression.

Tonight’s dinner was more important.

“Guys, return the borrowed clothes, and I’ll go buy bread. Wait quietly until then, okay?”

“Yes! Sis!”

“Sis! Get delicious bread!”

Cecia went to her room to change clothes and left the house.

The silk dress she wore earlier wasn’t hers; it was borrowed.

Cecia didn’t own a dress.

She didn’t even own the clothes she was wearing now—she’d been patching them for three years.

Cecia Benoit.

Even though she was a Viscount’s daughter, she was poor.

Known as the poor young lady of a ruined Viscountcy, Cecia Benoit.

The Benoit Viscountcy wasn’t always poor.

It wasn’t because her grandfather or father lived recklessly and squandered their fortune.

The reason the family collapsed was the hospital bills for her late mother.

Cecia’s mother passed away five years ago.

She suffered from a rare illness that couldn’t even be named, battled it for nearly three years, and finally passed away. Her father, who loved her mother dearly, searched for every famous doctor and hospital to save her.

To pay for those hospital bills and medicines, he first sold the livestock from the ranch, then the land, and then mortgaged the mansion.

Despite all that, after her mother’s death, all that remained for Cecia’s family was a mountain of debt.

To pay off the debt, they sold the big mansion and moved into a small rental house.

Even after selling the mansion and all the inherited paintings, ceramics, furniture, and jewels, it was hard to pay off the debt, so they sold dresses, hats, gloves, and shoes as well.

They managed to clear the big debts, planning to pay off the smaller ones as they went along.

Cecia, who grew up as a viscount’s young lady and had never done any rough work, quickly realized she was the only one in the family who could work as their situation worsened.

So she found a job as a tutor, commuting daily, and at night, she worked at a nearby polo club taking care of horses.

Before the family’s downfall, Cecia’s mansion had several horses.

She loved riding since she was young and cared for the horses herself.

Thanks to that experience, she was lucky enough to get a night job caring for horses.

Working day and night, she almost paid off the remaining debts and managed to put food on the table. But two months ago, her father got into trouble.

Her father, thanks to inherited wealth from his grandfather, had never done hard work, was naïve, and trusted people easily.

In other words, he was the perfect target for fraud.

He got scammed badly.

He was told he could make a fortune by investing in a gold mine in the South, so he borrowed money from everyone he knew and invested a huge amount, but the scammer disappeared with all the money.

Suddenly, all their money was gone, and now the creditors were demanding repayment—but there was no way they could pay.

Cecia’s tutor salary and polo club wages were taken as soon as she received them, and the family survived on thin soup for two months.

She brought home some bread from the polo club and sometimes received bread from her tutoring job, sharing it with her siblings.

The siblings, unable to eat properly, had skin rashes, and rent was two months overdue.

If they couldn’t pay rent this month, they’d have to leave the house.

There was a place offering a large advance payment, but it was a high-end salon for gentlemen, so she refused.

Even if she starved, Cecia had no intention of working in such a place.

The so-called high-end salon was really a place to sell one’s body.

While she was worrying, a suspicious marriage proposal arrived.

The guest who visited today was the agent of that suspicious suitor.

It was her first marriage proposal, so she borrowed a dress and cleaned the house for minimum etiquette.

She kept her siblings upstairs and met the agent, who offered perfect terms.

Except for one thing.

The suitor’s name was Marquis Adam Sinclair.

A Marquis with his own estate was an automatic pass.

Honestly, what more could she ask for than a young marquis with no marriage experience?

According to the agent’s marriage terms, the bride needed no dowry, the Marquis would cover all wedding costs, and the Marquisste would fully sponsor the bride’s family.

This [sponsorship] meant moving to a bigger mansion, paying for her siblings’ education, clearing current debts, and covering all future living expenses.

In short, if she married, Marquis Sinclair would take care of Cecia’s entire family.

What could be more perfect?

Except for one thing—the Marquis’ estate was in the North.

The North.

Cecia had never been to the North.

The North had a notorious reputation for many reasons.

It was cold, winters were long, it snowed heavily, and most critically, during winter, the region was completely cut off from the outside.

When the snow started falling in the North, people prepared months’ worth of supplies and locked their doors.

They didn’t leave the house until spring, when the snow melted.

Winter to spring—meaning a third of the year was spent locked indoors, making the North a place that inspired fear just by hearing about it.

And Marquis Sinclair’s estate was in Aeon, the most northern part of the North.

If she accepted Marquis Sinclair’s proposal, she’d have to live in Aeon.

Cecia’s current home in the southern capital never saw snow.

She lived in the South, where flowers bloomed year-round, but now would have to move to the North? Normally, she wouldn’t even consider it, but now she was desperate.

She had no choice but to go, North or anywhere else.

She couldn’t afford to be picky.

It wasn’t a remarriage, the family wasn’t declining, and the man wasn’t old.

In fact, it was strange—almost suspicious—that Marquis Sinclair proposed to her.

[However, the Marquis has a slight disability. It’s not serious, just a minor one.]

The agent cautiously mentioned this today.

A slight disability.

But didn’t specify what kind.

That bothered her a bit.

‘Disability… what kind of disability…’

[It doesn’t affect daily life, and he doesn’t need help from others. So you don’t have to worry too much about it.]

He said not to worry, but how could she not worry?