Thus, Ertel grew up healthy and strong until the age of 15, completely unaware that Anna was not her biological mother.

“Mother, aren’t you going to the market with me today?”

“No, today you’ll stay home alone. I have somewhere I need to go by myself.”

“You want me to stay home alone? That’s boring.”

“You promised me, didn’t you? Never leave the house alone.”

“Geez, but… I’m not a little kid anymore. I’m not some clueless child.”

“It’s still dangerous.”

Ertel pouted and grumbled.

“What’s so dangerous about this? This beautiful forest is full of delicious figs and kind people!”

Anna immediately realized she had made a mistake. She shouldn’t have mentioned the word “dangerous.”

The child didn’t know she carried a gemstone. There was no need for her to become aware of it, even by chance.

“This forest isn’t as safe as it seems. Listen to your mother.”

Anna had an important place to visit today. She repeatedly told Ertel not to leave the house until she returned.

“Alright, Mom. Come back soon.”

“Yes, I’ll be back early. I’ll bring lots of those baked treats you like.”

Ertel watched her mother walk away, hugging her tightly before she left.

That day, she felt strange.

It was the same back view of her mother she saw every day, yet it felt unusually melancholic. She had a foreboding feeling, as if she might never see her again.

“Yes, Mom. Take care.”

She should have stopped her from leaving at that moment.

That moment became one of the days Ertel would always regret.

>><<

Anna wrapped herself in a cloak, hiding her face completely.

The place she was heading to was the Agnes Marquisate, where she had once served her former master. It had been 15 years since she disappeared without a word.

Making this decision required great resolve.

“What? Anna has returned?”

Adin was startled by the news of her return.

From time to time, he thought about her, who had disappeared with the baby 15 years ago.

Though he wasn’t the type to get attached to his servants, Anna had been one of the most loyal maids of the Agnes family.

Occasionally, he thought it was a shame to have lost such a capable person.

So Adin rose with a somewhat pleased expression.

“It’s been a long time.”

Fifteen years had passed, and Anna, who stood before him, had lost her youthful appearance and looked much weaker. However, her characteristic sharp gaze remained unchanged.

Adin expressed his disappointment to her.

“Why have you suddenly appeared without so much as a letter?”

“I apologize, my lord. Ah… I suppose you’re no longer my lord. Marquis, I have no excuse. Still, I have lived my life burdened with guilt. My loyalty to you has never wavered. I just couldn’t ignore the voice inside me. Please forgive me, Marquis.”

“Forgive you? Does that mean…”

“…I failed to carry out your order.”

“……”

“I couldn’t abandon the baby.”

That was something he had half-expected. Adin’s expression turned bitter for a moment.

“So, in the end… she survived.”

“Yes, I’ve been raising her myself.”

“I shouldn’t have tasked you with it.”

“Didn’t you assign it to me precisely because it was me?”

“……”

“If it had been someone else, they would have abandoned or killed her immediately.”

As expected, Anna had a keen understanding of Adin’s conflicting emotions.

Regardless, Adin didn’t know whether to feel relieved or troubled that his daughter was alive and well.

Before Anna’s arrival, Adin had been living as if he had forgotten about his wife and child. It wasn’t that he had completely forgotten—they were memories he deliberately avoided.

Recalling that day was hell for him.

Anna finally brought up the main reason for her visit.

“I disobeyed your order and suddenly appeared to make an audacious request. I need money. Just until Ertel becomes an adult, I want to continue taking care of her. Ertel is such a lovely and special child. I want to take responsibility for her until the end. Please show mercy and provide the funds to support her upbringing.”

Looking at Anna, who bowed her head toward the floor, Adin nodded bitterly.

The bond formed through raising a child couldn’t be ignored. Seeing his former maid now acting as someone’s mother was a strange sight. Moreover, the child she was raising was his daughter, which made Adin feel even more conflicted.

“Giving you money isn’t difficult.”

“Really?”

“But you know, don’t you? That child’s very existence is dangerous. Because of her, my wife lost her life. Can you guarantee that nothing like that will happen to you? Even if you’ve been lucky so far, what about from now on? When the child turns 23, it will only get worse.”

“Yes, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already staked my life on her. If it’s to save her, I don’t mind giving up my life.”

“Why would you go that far?”

Her blind devotion reminded Adin of his late wife, which pained him.

“…Because I love her.”

“……!”

“She’s practically my daughter now.”

Adin had to admit his own cowardice.

He was the only one who had been a coward.

‘How can Belle and Anna be so brave…?’

Adin ordered the butler to bring enough money to last several decades.

Soon, the butler returned with a heavy pouch filled with money.

At Adin’s nod, the butler handed the pouch to Anna.

“Use this to ensure you and Ertel can live without lacking anything.”

“…Thank you, Marquis.”

“This is your choice, so make sure the hunters never find you.”

“Yes. I will protect Ertel at all costs.”

“Forget that she has noble blood. That’s the only way she can survive. Let her live as an ordinary commoner.”

“Yes. Thank you. I won’t forget this kindness.”

Anna’s steps were light as she left.

With this money, she could move to a safer home, feed Ertel well, and even send her to school.

‘I’m glad things worked out.’

Thinking about living peacefully with Ertel made her happy.

However, someone was following Anna as she returned to Yukai Forest, filled with hope.

It was an assassin sent by Icarus.

Outside the forest, hunters seeking gemstones were everywhere. Unfortunately, she had caught their attention.

Unaware that she was being followed, Anna walked on, focused only on her destination.

Just as she was about to turn a corner—

“!!”

Someone covered her mouth from behind and dragged her under a rock.

Anna immediately realized he was a gemstone hunter.

“Who are you?”

“Shh, keep your voice down.”

The assassin blindfolded her with a cloth to prevent her from seeing his face.

Instinctively, Anna hid the pouch of money under her skirt.

The man spoke in a low voice.

“Your name is Anna Leslie. I know you ran away with Ertel le Agnes. Where is the child now?”

Anna’s eyes widened.

The danger her master had warned her about had already come for her fragile body.

Clenching her fists tightly, Anna struggled.

“Do you think I’d tell you? You’re obviously planning to kidnap my daughter!”

“If you don’t talk, you’ll die here and now.”

“…Kill me.”

Her defiant response caught the assassin off guard. Icarus had ordered him to kill her if she resisted or refused to speak.

Despite looking as fragile as a twig, this woman seemed to fear nothing.

“I’ll ask one more time. Where is Ertel? Even if you don’t tell me, it’s only a matter of time before we locate the Kaiya Stone. It’s just a question of whether it happens sooner or later. No matter how you act, Ertel will end up in our hands. So why not change your attitude and cooperate? When we obtain the Kaiya Stone, your contribution will be recognized, and…”

“Pfft!”

Before he could finish speaking, Anna spat at him. That was enough to provoke the assassin.

“You’re asking for death.”

Anna knew that even if she told him the truth, her fate was sealed.

Even if the assassin spared her, Icarus would relentlessly hunt her down and kill her.

She had heard countless rumors about Icarus—a man as venomous and thorough as a serpent.

“Ugh…”

The assassin’s blade pierced Anna’s neck.

She couldn’t even let out a proper cry of pain before her body trembled.

She resented how quickly her time had come.

If she returned home, her beloved child would greet her. She had just gained the means to provide a better life for her.

Heaven and the gods were truly heartless.

“I’m sorry, Ertel…”

Before she could finish her words, Anna collapsed to the ground, lifeless. She died instantly, her blood pooling around her.

“What a stubborn woman.”

The assassin left the scene, his face twisted in disgust.

>><<

“Mom… why aren’t you back yet?”

Ertel waited for Anna, who didn’t return even as the sun set. She paced by the window, glancing outside anxiously.

The ominous feeling she had in the morning enveloped her. It felt as if her mother and she were connected by a string, and the pain was unbearable.

It was as if Anna’s heartbeat had stopped.

Time passed painfully as she waited. Midnight came and went, and dawn approached.

In the end, Anna never came back.

Though she had no proof, Ertel sobbed uncontrollably.

“Sob, Mom…”

She instinctively knew.

Her mother was gone.

She remembered how Anna always reassured her that they were safe, how she worried even about a single strand of Ertel’s hair getting hurt.

It meant they were always in danger.

But Ertel didn’t know exactly why.

The only thing she understood was this:

Her fate was always to live on the edge between life and death.

And it wouldn’t take long for her to learn of Anna’s death.