1. The Girl and the Monster

“First, I’ll beat it severely with a whip, and if that doesn’t subdue it, I’ll strike it with an iron rod. How could such a mere creature disobey after that?”

“Hooh. As expected, I knew you would say something like that.”

Ariana frowned as she looked at her father.

Her father was clearly not in his right mind, gazing at her stepmother with loving eyes despite such violent words.

Emboldened by her husband’s praise, the stepmother added more cruel words with triumphant pride.

“If it still doesn’t obey, I’ll have no choice but to kill it with a steel blade.”

“Ahaha! Yes. That’s right. I’ve always loved your fiery passion. So, do you like it? Shall I buy it for you as a gift?”

Ariana looked at ‘that thing’ her father was pointing to with a displeased expression.

A small creature no bigger than her palm. A dirty, matted ball of fur that seemed either black or navy blue. It could barely support itself, as if the mana stone necklace around its neck was too heavy.

Ariana couldn’t take her eyes off the animal for quite some time. However, while the baron showed affection toward his wife, he showed no interest in Ariana whatsoever.

Ariana.

Her name, meaning ‘silver,’ reflected her very status in this household.

An asset nonetheless.

But not as precious as gold.

To her father, who was completely infatuated with the young woman who had been his mistress rather than his first wife’s daughter, she was always second in line, like silver coins in a pocket.

Eight years had passed since the mistress became her stepmother. Since developing a sense of awareness, Ariana had learned her own methods for surviving in this house.

That method was to blend into the background as naturally as possible, like an inanimate object or air, as if she were both present and absent.

Thanks to this survival strategy, although she had been moved to the annex after turning thirteen, she could at least remain in the household.

So even now, when her father, who had completely forgotten her birthday, brought several rare animals into the house as gifts for her stepmother, she had to keep quiet.

“Indeed, you have an excellent eye. This is an animal captured from the Deril Mountains in the north. It’s a monster.”

“A monster!”

This was her first time seeing a monster. Ariana stared at it with wide eyes.

Having succeeded in capturing people’s interest, the merchant began to embellish his story.

The merchant’s voice was raised high with the expectation of making a substantial profit from the nobleman who had ordered him to bring these items.

Although not of particularly high rank, the baron was already well-known among local merchants for his lavish spending on his wife, who had once been his mistress.

“When we captured it from the Deril Mountains, its sibling was with it, but that one was weak and died quickly.”

“I see.”

“Baron, buy this for me as a gift. Please?”

The stepmother was a greedy person.

She wasn’t satisfied with Ariana living like this, holding her breath. The servants whispered behind her back about how she fretted over even a grain of the baron’s fortune potentially going to Ariana.

And the most powerful way for her to protect her husband’s fortune from Ariana was to produce an heir.

However.

This month again, the stepmother had not conceived. Purchasing this small creature was the baron’s gesture to console her.

“Very well. How much is this animal?”

Seeing that the baron was prepared to pay regardless of the price, the merchant became excited.

The dream he had yesterday felt so vivid. It must have been a sign of this windfall.

How much should he ask for? What would be the maximum amount he could extract from the baron?

As the merchant was pondering, a young female voice reached his ears.

“Please give that to me as a gift.”

People’s eyes turned to the source of the sound. It was the young girl who had been standing a step behind, barely noticeable, holding her breath.

“Ariana.”

The baron seemed to have momentarily forgotten that his daughter was even there.

Though she had only uttered a single sentence, Ariana lowered her head deeply, uncomfortable with everyone’s attention suddenly focused on her.

Looking at her with displeasure, the stepmother ‘Wanda’ leaned against the baron’s arm coquettishly.

“Baron, you promised to buy that for me, didn’t you?”

Caught between the two women, the baron was in a difficult position. After looking back and forth between his daughter and wife for a while, he made a decision.

“Ariana, what kind of ill-mannered behavior is this? I’m trying to buy a gift for your stepmother.”

A stern tone. However, the baron, having become aware of Ariana’s existence for the first time in a long while, instinctively felt some guilt.

“Instead, choose something else. I see you must be quite lonely living alone in the annex. I’ll buy you something.”

“Father, I don’t want anything else.”

All the items the merchant had brought were equally magnificent.

Ariana was certain. The other things, unlike the ball of fur, would remain intact even in her stepmother’s hands.

Despite her somewhat rough behavior, she was someone who knew how to appreciate beautiful and splendid things.

But that creature?

Ariana knew her stepmother Wanda’s personality well. She would lose interest in it within a week. Whether it starved to death or was beaten to death for her amusement, its end would certainly be death.

She could have just pretended not to notice, but the moment Ariana’s eyes met with the furball, she found herself committing this presumptuous act before she knew it.

She could feel her stepmother’s sharp gaze without even looking. She was already beginning to regret it, but words once spoken couldn’t be taken back.

Ariana clenched her hands on the hem of her skirt.

“Father, do you remember when my birthday was?”

“Bir-birthday?”

“Yes. Last weekend was my birthday. It’s been several years since I received a birthday gift.”

At Ariana’s words, sympathetic reactions flowed from among the servants.

And the baron was momentarily shocked by his daughter’s words. Had he always just let it pass? Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember celebrating his daughter’s birthday in the past few years.

“Please, Father. Buy that for me as a gift.”

Then, in a respectful tone, she spoke to her stepmother who was about to add a disapproving remark.

“In exchange, I’ll give you something I cherish, Stepmother.”

“What might that be?”

Her tone implied, ‘What could someone like you possibly have that would interest me?’

“The emerald earrings. You admired them when I wore them before.”

The earrings made from cut high-quality emeralds were also heirlooms from her birth mother. Though she had never worn them out since her stepmother took a liking to them, keeping them in her jewelry box.

Wanda’s expression changed noticeably.

Emerald earrings. They were clearly very valuable at a glance.

Certainly worth several times more than the price of buying such a small, dirty ball of fur.

A moment later, having done the calculation, the stepmother hastily changed her expression.

Ariana felt nauseated by the woman who had just been looking at her like a mortal enemy but was now pretending to be a loving mother.

“Darling?”

Her voice was soft as she called to the baron.

“Come to think of it, we’ve been too neglectful of your daughter. I’ll let her have this. As the adult and mother, it’s only right that I should.”

The baron looked at his wife with deep appreciation, as if moved by her words. Unlike his childish daughter who put him in a difficult position, his wife was mature and knew how to consider her husband.

“Are you really sure about this?”

“Yes. It can’t be helped.”

Her gaze toward Ariana contained patience that suggested this charade wouldn’t last much longer.

“How many more birthdays will we have to celebrate for that child anyway?”

The merchant’s dream of making a large profit by selling the monster was completely shattered due to Ariana’s stubborn insistence.

He had hoped that as the baron’s only daughter, she might pay whatever price he asked, but when he named his desired amount, the baron immediately refused the deal.

However, he couldn’t leave without selling the item now.

The merchant stared blankly at the ball of fur.

Originally, this wasn’t something that should have made its way to this rural area. For him, getting even a small amount of money was a much better choice than receiving nothing at all.

In the end, the merchant agreed to sell the item at the baron’s bargain price. Seeing the item that had just been touted as a valuable monster now being traded for a pittance, the baron’s wife completely lost interest in the furball.

“Ah? I almost got stuck with that thing. No wonder it looked so worthless, like a mangy puppy.”

The baron’s wife mockingly waved her fan, ridiculing Ariana’s taste. Ariana stood firmly, looking at the furball as if she couldn’t hear her stepmother’s voice.

“Hmph. I thought last night’s dream was a good sign. But it turned out to be nothing but a dog’s dream. Here you go, Miss. Take it.”

The merchant grumbled to himself as he placed the furball in Ariana’s hands.

It was just enough to fill both hands, and she began to feel its warmth along with its weight.

A small, young thing that, as her stepmother said, hadn’t grown up like a “mangy dog.”

It definitely wasn’t a puppy. It looked completely different.

But Ariana, having never kept a pet before, had no way of knowing this. She simply thought it looked a bit different because it was a monster.

Its fur was dirty with dust, and yellow eye discharge stuck to its eyes.

And yet……

Yet its heart was beating, trying desperately to stay alive. Ariana could feel the pulse of its small heart against her fingers.

To lose her precious mother’s heirloom to her stepmother just to save this ball of fur.

Ariana felt a moment of regret, but soon shook her head.