It was at that moment when Georg, who had become penniless in an instant, encountered unexpected fortune.

He ‘coincidentally’ met a broker who would arrange work at the ducal castle.

When the man said there were no positions available and they were only looking for maids, Georg impulsively mentioned his daughter whom he had already sold.

However, at the same time, another thought crossed Georg’s mind.

‘Just because I sold her once doesn’t mean I can’t sell her twice. That contract with the merchant can be settled by just returning the money I received.’

Jobs at the ducal castle were famous for paying high wages. He began to regret selling Aila for the measly price of one hundred twenty silver coins.

When the broker showed interest, Georg sensed the possibility and boldly threw out additional conditions.

“But you see, that girl can’t do without me, her father. She’s never been separated from me before. But… how much is the wage?”

The salary for both of them for half a year was eye-popping.

It was naturally more than the bride price he had received from the merchant.

He couldn’t let this opportunity slip by. Georg succeeded in persuading the broker through persistent and tenacious pleading.

Going even further, he made an agreement to sell Aila outright as a maid after one year when the employment contract ended.

Georg, who had seized the fortune he had desperately hoped for, grinned and asked one last question.

“By the way, could you advance me some of the payment?”

* * *

Behind the house where Aila used to live was an old, cramped storage shed.

The place where winter firewood and farming tools were piled always smelled of damp mud and mold.

The interior, which didn’t even let in sunlight, was dark and gloomy even at midday, and somehow had a chill even in midsummer.

Aila was always scared and afraid of that place. She considered being beaten unconscious preferable to being locked in the storage shed.

Then one day it happened.

Someone who didn’t belong at all in that filthy storage shed entered the place where she was often confined.

Aila still sometimes recalled that person like a phantom. Or she would grope through dreams to bring back the memory.

That beautiful face somewhere between boy and young man.

The face she had encountered eight years ago had faded and become blurry with time. But in that cave-like dark storage shed, the golden hair that had shone more brilliantly than a ray of sunlight was still vivid.

So were the cool, shining blue eyes beneath that hair.

Even while trapped in a beast’s cage with his life threatened, he remained composed.

That leisurely expression, contemplative gaze, and noble attitude. Even to the eyes of an uneducated poor girl, one fact was crystal clear.

He was special. He was fundamentally a different being from herself.

He couldn’t be compared to her weak self who had surrendered to reality and given up resistance.

When the boy escaped, no, when he left, Aila had to be beaten nearly to death by Georg who blamed her for it, but she only felt sorry toward the boy.

That guilt might have been self-hatred directed at her cowardly self.

“I told you.”

The boy who had leisurely escaped from the barred cage looked down at her arrogantly. Having cast off his shackles and regained his freedom, he wore the complete face of a ruler.

His intense gaze flashed like a leopard before a hunt.

“That it would end up like this anyway.”

Gasp…!

Aila opened her eyes, breathing roughly.

She was panting like she had been running. Her pale, cracked lips parted and created white vapor in the air.

Her frightened eyes rolled around, scanning her surroundings.

She could see scattered household items and lace. The chill seeping up from the floor hit her belatedly.

She must have fallen asleep.

Before she knew it, night had passed and the pale blue light of dawn was seeping into the house.

She didn’t know when her father would return. She had to clean up the messy house before then. There was no time to relax.

Dragging her body that was heavy and painful like waterlogged cotton, Aila began cleaning.

Every time she moved, the shackles on her ankles made clanking sounds, and the rotted wooden floor creaked and groaned.

These were familiar noises to Aila.

Cleaning up the broken and chaotic house had also become ingrained in her body like a habit.

But there was one thing that she could never get used to: the pain.

Every time she bent her waist to pick up objects, every time she crouched down to wipe the dirty floor, every time she moved her arms constantly, endless pain arose throughout her body.

Even so, she couldn’t stop.

She knew that if she didn’t clean everything up before her father returned, she would be beaten even more severely then.

While enduring the pain and mopping the floor, yesterday’s events came to Aila’s mind.

“This is the man who will become your husband. Why aren’t you greeting him quickly?”

A middle-aged man she had never seen before came to the house with her father.

The man slowly looked her up and down like viewing an object rather than a person, then twisted his lips and grinned lewdly.

“Lift up your skirt once.”

“Pardon?”

“Just do what you’re told instead of talking back!”

Before the startled Aila could ask again, Georg snapped at her from the side.

She trembled as she grasped the hem of her skirt. It was so frightening and humiliating.

Looking at her white legs and the thin ankles with shackles, the man licked his thick lips and exclaimed before saying:

“Let’s make a deal.”

Only then did Aila realize that her father intended to sell her.

Her father, who had repeatedly vented his anger saying that useless beta girls brought low bride prices, had finally found someone to his liking.

“Father, please…”

After the man left, Aila pleaded with her father for the first time.

She said she didn’t want to marry, that the man was too frightening, and begged him to reconsider.

But what came back were fierce punches and kicks.

“Stupid girl! You devour all the luck there is! Nothing works out because of you!”

Georg’s violence only stopped after Aila finally begged, saying it was all her fault and that she would marry.

‘Father probably… went to collect the money…’

Aila imagined her pitiful future of being sold soon. Even so, she couldn’t stop mopping.

The house gradually returned to its original state.

Just as Aila wiped the last soup stain from the floor and was about to put the mop in the washing basin.

Clatter.

The door burst open with a rough sound.

Startled, she turned around to see Georg’s flushed face.

“F-Father.”

Aila stammered without realizing it. Her father in an excited state was unpredictably moody. She couldn’t tell which way he was leaning now.

Hastily looking around the house, fortunately the cleaning was almost finished. This much probably wouldn’t get her beaten, but she couldn’t easily relax.

“What are you standing there staring at so stupidly?”

Georg strode across the house, glanced at her, then shouted instructions.

“This isn’t the time for that, so pack your things quickly!”

“P-Pack?”

“Yes. We’ll be away from home for a while.”

At his abrupt words, Aila was startled with fear.

‘Are we going to get married already?’

But Georg had clicked his tongue, saying he would have to keep her for a few more days after seeing her battered state.

So she had to ask, even knowing she might get beaten for questioning her father’s words.

“Why so suddenly…”

“Why do you think? I found a good job!”

Though he had never properly explained, Georg shouted irritably.

“We’re going to work as servants at the ducal castle, understand? I specially arranged for you to work there too, so stop complaining and get moving. Most things will be there, so just pack what you need.”

“B-But…”

Aila moved her lips hesitantly.

“Yesterday you said I would marry that man soon…”

“Don’t worry about that! Just do what you’re told!”

However, when Georg raised his fist angrily, she had no choice but to close her mouth.

‘If we’re going to the ducal castle… I won’t have to marry.’

While Georg’s sudden change of decision was confusing, Aila felt secretly relieved.

Moreover, being a servant at the ducal castle was such a wonderful job opportunity.

However, in truth, a faint anxiety was sprouting in a corner of her heart.