The Count’s family would never let Serena go willingly.

To them, with their fanatical faith, she was a sacrifice more precious than anything.

Having grown up suffering ab*se, there was no way she could persuade them.

Her only remaining option was to run away.

She’d only attempted it clumsily before turning ten, but she rose to her feet without hesitation.

‘It would be nice to know when I regressed to.’

Since she did nothing besides getting beaten or tormented, she knew the Count’s household routines inside and out.

So if she just knew what day it was, she could plan her escape more carefully.

The problem was that her room had no clues to guess the date.

It made sense, in a way—she had no daily routine to speak of.

Judging by the room’s appearance and her physical condition, it didn’t seem too long before her death, but that was all she could guess.

The situation was dire, but she didn’t hesitate.

She didn’t want to stay in this hellish place even a moment longer.

She had no possessions she was attached to, so aside from the crude ring she never removed from her finger, she grabbed anything that looked like it could be sold.

She didn’t forget to survey her surroundings while packing.

Given how quiet the Count’s estate was, it was clearly late at night when everyone was asleep.

The only ones guarding the mansion at this hour were the knights stationed at the entrance and main gate, and Serena knew about the back door the maids used.

So if she just avoided running into the occasional patrol, there was definitely a chance she could escape safely.

‘There’s a place where they store laundry next to the back door.’

She could steal and wear the maids’ clothes on the way, then change once outside the estate.

If she disguised herself as a maid running a late-night errand, fooling the knights at the main gate wasn’t impossible either.

She didn’t forget to grab a worn-looking shawl to hide her distinctive silver hair that would draw attention.

The situation made her anxious, but there was nothing more she could do.

If she failed, she could just try again—with that thought, Serena opened her door.

And came face to face with the person who would make this situation the worst it could be.

“Kyle.”

“……”

Cool eyes turned toward her.

After meeting her gaze silently for a moment, they moved slowly, scanning her entire body.

The snake-like, skin-crawling movement sent chills down her spine.

Kyle Ashterton.

With neat brown hair and deep green eyes, he had risen to the position of the Prime Minister’s secretary at a young age thanks to his exceptional mind.

He could have lived a comfortable life on the Ashterton name alone, but he wasn’t satisfied with that and devoted himself ruthlessly to his work.

Because of this, the days he stayed at the estate could be counted on one hand.

‘And of all times, it has to be now.’

The timing was infuriating enough to make her curse, but on the other hand, it gave her a sense of how far back she’d regressed.

He had briefly come to the Count’s estate about two months before her death.

Serena’s expression darkened further at the fact that it was only about two months ago, not further back.

She swallowed dryly as unavoidable impatience surged through her.

Unlike usual when she’d be busy reading the room, Kyle, who had been watching her lost in other thoughts, quietly parted his lips.

“Did you just call me Kyle?”

His voice, cold like frost, settled in the empty corridor.

“I’m sorry, brother. I was so startled that I misspoke.”

She quickly bowed her head.

She intended to apologize and move on before he could make the situation a mess.

If she didn’t, Kyle was the kind of person who could kill her right here and now.

His eerily unreadable green eyes trapped her relentlessly.

Kyle was different from the Count and Countess who had abused her to make her the perfect sacrifice.

He despised her utterly.

She didn’t know where that hatred came from.

Back when she was still too young to even realize that what they were doing to her was ab*se, Serena had to endure his vicious torment without knowing why.

Pushing her down the stairs or obtaining poisonous mushrooms to secretly slip into her food was routine for him.

Not to mention locking her in an old attic where no one came, or suddenly dragging her to some unknown place, abandoning her there, and returning alone—these things happened constantly.

The places he took her were always deep forests without people or slum-like areas, so Serena had no choice but to wait, soaked in fear, for someone to come rescue her.

The Count and Countess, who would never let Serena die, would search frantically with their eyes blazing whenever she disappeared, and would urgently summon a physician whenever she collapsed.

Thanks to them, Serena survived in the end, but during that time, she had to face near-death experiences because of Kyle almost daily.

‘But if I died, they’d lose their sacrifice.’

Even while abusing her cruelly, the Count and Countess never did anything that would truly threaten her life.

It made sense—they needed her alive.

In that regard, Kyle was very different from them.

He truly tried to kill her.

‘—Please spare me, Kyle! I don’t want to die!’

Meeting him after so long brought back memories she’d forgotten.

It was the day he said he’d take her to the lake, even though Serena was strictly forbidden from going out.

Looking at her with his prettily curved eyes, young Serena had gotten excited, forgetting all the torment until then.

Back then, his torment hadn’t been too severe yet.

Whether because Kyle and she were both young, he’d only act indifferent, use light violence, or hurl insults—she’d never actually been threatened with death.

So Serena followed him without any suspicion.

And as punishment for not suspecting him, she learned what death was.

More than the water pouring through her mouth that she couldn’t keep closed, flooding past her throat into her lungs, Kyle’s retreating figure hurt.

Him turning around lightly, like someone who’d finished what they had to do.

His hair swaying like a butterfly in the spring breeze.

‘Maybe I knew from the beginning.’

Whenever she recalled that nightmare-like scene endlessly, she’d even think that.

Perhaps even knowing he hated her, she couldn’t let go of her attachment to that kind smile she’d seen for the first time.

‘But thanks to that, I realized something important.’

Only after that incident did Serena truly understand that the Ashterton couple and Kyle weren’t her family.

Even while enduring constant ab*se, she had believed they were her family.

Having never met anyone other than them, who dominated her life, they could only ever be her entire world.

If they weren’t family, then she was utterly alone.

Not wanting to be lonely, Serena weakly believed they were her family.

And that belief was shattered to pieces thanks to Kyle.

As he grew older, his torment gradually subsided.

Whether because Serena, who had realized that everything they did was ab*se, became more careful, or because his social reputation became important, he began to hide his hostility toward her.

Thanks to that, she hadn’t even seen his face in recent years.

But she was still more afraid of Kyle than anyone else.

“You seem busy.”

His red lips twisted.

At the same time, his gaze turned to the bag in her hands.

“I have something to move for a moment.”

“Where to?”

“Mother told me to take some items that need organizing to the maids.”

She blurted out the excuse she’d prepared in case she ran into someone.

Since the most likely people to encounter were actually the servants, her plan was to hand over the bag with the excuse of Mother’s orders if they seemed suspicious, and escape with just her body.

The items she’d packed were mostly dresses she didn’t wear, with a few music boxes and jewels mixed in, so she judged it wouldn’t seem odd at a glance.

But Kyle, who would never believe her, had a cold glint in his eyes.

“At this hour?”

“I forgot. It’s my oversight. I’m sorry.”

She added an unnecessary apology to avoid suspicion and trembled her shoulders.

To look scared enough that she wouldn’t even dream of running away.

She fixed her gaze on his feet.

Amid the heavy silence, his shoes, spotless and gleaming even in the middle of the night, evoked a strange sense of dread.

“How dare you lie to me.”

The moment his words fell, her head snapped up.

The familiar hatred filled his green eyes that she reflexively met.

“No, it’s not. I’ll go back to my room. Even if Mother scolds me tomorrow, I’ll stay put, so…”

“Mother won’t scold you. Because you just lied to me.”

“How could I dare lie to you, brother… It’s a misunderstanding, so please.”

At her desperate plea, Kyle’s eyebrows contorted.

He looked down at Serena with disgusted eyes, like he’d seen a filthy insect.

She knew this kind of begging wouldn’t reach him.

She just hoped things wouldn’t escalate.

Of all people, she had to run into the one person she needed to avoid most.

Kyle barely came to the estate once a year.

She was furious at the damned odds, but that was something to think about later.

Right now, getting out of Kyle’s attention was the top priority.

‘He hasn’t directly tormented me in the past few years, so maybe he’ll let it go.’

She didn’t know why he was so certain she’d lied to him, but there was a chance he might not react at all.

He hadn’t shown interest in her lately.

Not just no interest—he hadn’t even passed by her.

But that faint hope was crushed by his single sentence.

“I’ll have to lock you up.”

His blood-red lips curved prettily, like that day long ago.