Though it had been an impulsive act, the weight of life she felt in her hands made it impossible to back out now.

‘Mom would have praised me too.’

It was something she hadn’t even taken out of her jewelry box for a long time anyway, wary of her stepmother’s eyes.

Rather than keeping it that way, saving one life before her was a more valuable choice. Her mother would surely have wanted that too. Ariana comforted herself with these thoughts.

“Miss, let me give you one piece of advice.”

Having lost interest in the monster, the baron’s wife chose the most impressive animal from the others the merchant had brought. A small, cute puppy that wagged its tail while nestled against the baroness’s ample bosom, looking utterly adorable.

When the adults left, distracted by their new amusement, the merchant whispered to her.

“You see, monsters are very ferocious. If that mana stone doesn’t suppress its energy, it will regain strength and harm people.”

This was the first time she had heard this, but Ariana nodded.

“Without that mana stone, it will surely go berserk.”

In short, he was telling her never to remove the necklace.

Perhaps because he had witnessed with his own eyes that Ariana was the black sheep of the family despite being the baron’s legitimate daughter, the merchant’s tone was insufferably arrogant, as if lecturing a subordinate.

But instead of being intimidated, Ariana straightened her back and looked directly at the merchant.

“You’re saying not to remove the necklace. I understand.”

Dignity isn’t something given by others. It’s something you find and cultivate yourself. That’s what her mother used to tell her when she was young.

Although her clothes were outdated by several years and faded, and had become much shorter due to her growth, her dignified appearance was no less than that of any noble.

Startled by Ariana’s response, the merchant looked around. His secretive manner suggested he was checking if anyone was eavesdropping.

The merchant again warned her about the necklace. But this time, unlike before, he used a more respectful tone.

“Miss, I’m saying this because I’m genuinely concerned. You understand my meaning, don’t you? You must never remove that necklace. Even if it dies.”

It was strange. Why would a merchant who had completed his sale make such a fuss?

But Ariana had also heard rumors about monsters k*lling people in neighboring countries.

It was clearly an unsubstantiated rumor. A common ghost story that might be attached to unsolved cases where the culprit couldn’t be found.

But remembering the tantalizing story told by a maid, Ariana couldn’t help but feel frightened.

The merchant repeated several times that if it died, she should throw it away with the necklace still on. Even then, he seemed unsatisfied and looked at Ariana with anxious eyes.

“I could just sell this and run away, but I’m telling you this because I feel sorry for you.”

Run away?

She thought it was a strange expression for a merchant who was supposed to return after making a sale, but Ariana had to nod several times at the merchant’s insistence.

⁕⁕⁕

“Hey.”

Not long after Ariana returned to the annex with the furball, the door to the isolated annex, where no one but her ever entered, opened.

It was her stepmother Wanda, adorned in elaborate clothes that seemed out of place in the perpetually dark annex surrounded by dense forest.

“You’ve come, Mother.”

Ariana quickly bowed her head. It was a servile gesture that made her look more like a maid than a stepdaughter.

However, her stepmother didn’t seem interested in pretending to have a mother-daughter relationship with Ariana in this place where her father wasn’t present.

“Hand it over quickly.”

“Pardon?”

“This? Are you pretending not to understand? Hey, if you made a promise in front of your father, you should keep it.”

“Ah……”

As soon as she opened the door and entered, the stepmother immediately held out her hand to Ariana.

The stepmother expressed her irritation, treating Ariana like a shameless person as she stared with round eyes, not understanding what was happening.

She was certainly diligent when it came to filling her own pockets.

Knowing that Ariana couldn’t resist her anyway, she had rushed over less than an hour after the promise was made, making a fuss about handing it over immediately.

Though thinking this inwardly, Ariana unlocked her jewelry box. If she had to lose the item anyway, resisting would only lead to worse treatment.

The jewelry box had always been locked. The baroness watched with anticipation as Ariana unlocked it with a key.

Finally, when the lock clicked open, the stepmother pushed Ariana aside. Ignoring her stepdaughter who was helplessly pushed to the side, the baroness carefully examined the few pieces of jewelry inside.

“Hey, will you give me this too?”

As soon as her mother died—or more precisely, as soon as her mother’s funeral ended—her father took a new wife. It was the woman who had been publicly rumored to be his mistress.

After that woman became the mistress of the baron’s household, the funds allocated for Ariana’s living expenses rapidly shrank. Under such circumstances, Ariana would not have been able to purchase new jewelry.

This meant that everything in that jewelry box was precious heirlooms from her mother.

The jewelry in Ariana’s box wasn’t extensive. The new baroness probably had at least ten more such boxes.

Yet she managed to find the most valuable piece in the box. It was a bracelet made by connecting rubies and diamonds one by one.

“That……”

“What? Can’t you give it up? Is it too precious?”

The baroness’s sharp voice fell like lightning on Ariana as she trailed off. Ariana knew this state of her stepmother well.

No matter how she schemed, she was a woman who always got what she wanted in the end. As someone who couldn’t be satisfied without possessing what she desired, things had never been peacefully resolved through dialogue, not even once.

First, it was her father’s love. Then, the title of baroness. And finally, she had taken control of the baron’s household affairs.

Taking a few pieces of jewelry like this was easier than twisting a child’s wrist.

“No. Please take it.”

“Hmph!”

Pleased by Ariana’s compliant answer, she continued rummaging through the jewelry box without further comment.

However, apart from the bracelet she had chosen, the remaining jewelry consisted only of pieces with smaller stones of inferior quality compared to what she usually wore.

Her business was finished.

The new baroness finally looked around the annex where the former wife’s daughter lived. It was a place more suited to be called a warehouse than an annex.

Unlike the main building, which was always gleaming and decorated with luxury items, this place was filled with old, unused things.

Old furniture……

Old bedding……

And an old person. The daughter of the former wife.

The annex was the last stop for old things in this household. Things awaiting disposal. This fact pleased the baroness.

“The air isn’t good here, so I can’t stay long. I’ll be going now.”

“Yes. Take care, Mother.”

“You, be careful not to let that monster thing catch my eye. I’m worried it might harm our Jessie.”

The baroness had already named the small puppy the baron had bought instead of the monster Jessie. Ariana quickly nodded.

“I’ll make sure it never goes near you, Mother.”

“Good. That’s right. You obtained it by trading your mother’s jewelry, so it would be a shame if it died by my hand.”

The baroness spoke casually, not taking her eyes off the splendid bracelet on her arm. Then she left the annex.

She didn’t want to spend any more time in a place full of old things. After all, where she belonged was over there, filled with bright and splendid things.

Only after the storm had passed did Ariana breathe a sigh of relief. Now that her stepmother had gotten what she wanted, she wouldn’t set foot in the annex again.

Ariana glanced at the furball lying beside her. Its body, moving up and down with labored breathing, was slightly smaller than two of her fists put together.

‘How much longer can it live?’

Even without much knowledge about monsters, she could tell at first glance that the furball was in an extremely weak state, on the verge of death.

The merchant had earnestly insisted that she must never remove the necklace under any circumstances. His tone suggested that it would soon die, like its sibling that he said had died on the way and been thrown out.

When she placed her palm on the barely moving furball’s body, she could feel its skin slightly sticking to her hand and then releasing. The movement was so faint, as precarious as a candle flame in the wind.

“A name. I should give you a name.”

She couldn’t keep calling it furball forever. Come to think of it, her stepmother’s pet had been named Jessie.

Even if it was an animal that might die soon, she wanted to give it a proper name. Even if it died tomorrow, for Ariana, it was the warmth of another being that she had felt after a very long time.

Whenever it happened. However quickly.

Ariana instinctively knew that when the furball left her side, she would miss it for a long time.

After thinking about a name for a while, Ariana murmured a few names with her lips.

Withro. Jayden. Ediden. Ebit.

Then she remembered a name from a book she had read a few days ago.

“Remus.”

Remus was the name of a mythical hero who founded a country and was raised by wolves. The name of the twin—her small monster was similar to that story in some way, as its sibling had also died.

“Wolf, really.”

It’s too grand a name for such a small furball.

Despite being a monster, how weak it must be to be so easily captured by human hands.

But since it was a name she would call alone, and hear alone, it didn’t matter if it was too much. Having something to smile about after so long, Ariana smiled.