episode_0001

It was one night when the rain and wind were raging fiercely.

Gray clouds covered the sky, and even the streetlights were submerged in raindrops, flickering faintly.

In the cold air, the fiercely blowing wind, and the rainwater that seeped through as if piercing my body, I had only one thought: ‘I must get home quickly.’

Splashing sounds erupted under my feet.

The water seeping into my shoes numbed my toes, but I walked silently, tightly holding my mother’s hand.

My mother was also moving forward, holding my hand tightly without a word.

Our steps were busy, and there was a strange rhythm to our speed.

Originally, we were planning to return by carriage.

However, under my mother’s judgment that the horses might be startled by the rain and difficult to control, we decided to walk back to the mansion.

That decision was not simply a choice to avoid danger, but also consideration for the coachman.

A warm heart, not wanting him to drive the horses in the rain and wind.

Although I was young, I could feel it. So I followed my mother obediently, without any complaint.

Was that choice a blessing or a curse.

It was the moment we passed through the narrowest alley on the way to the mansion.

Water overflowing from the sewer covered the asphalt, and rainwater surged, pushing away street garbage and fallen leaves.

And then— something faintly appeared at the end of the alley.

‘…What is it?’

Instinctively, I stopped walking. The form was unclear, but the presence was clearly in human shape.

It was a sack covered with old cloth. Rough and faded cloth hung limply, and the shape was blurry.

As I took one step, two steps closer, as if possessed by something, I knew it was not a mere object.

It was a person.A girl, who seemed to be my age.

“Oh my, a child in this weather…”

My mother mumbled. My eyes widened too. The child was lying on the ground, without even a twitch.

“She’s not dead, is she…?”

My heart sank. And I instinctively ran towards her.

Without hesitation, I carefully took her shoulder and shook her.

“Are you okay? Wake up…!”

After calling out several times, a faint groan was heard.

“Ugh…”

The girl slowly, very slowly, raised her body. Wet hair stuck to her cheeks, and her lips were pale.

The old rags barely covering her body were torn in places.

Seeing her appearance, I felt both worry and a strange sense of guilt.

I asked carefully.

“Who are you? Why are you outside in this weather?”

But the girl said nothing. She just stared blankly at me.

“Who.are.you? Why.are.you.here?”

I repeated it several times, but no answer came back.

Only then did I vaguely realize.

“…Maybe she can’t speak?”

The girl nodded her head very slowly.

At that moment, something inside me ached painfully. This child was, trulyalone.

As if sensing the situation, Mother quietly opened her handbag.

And she took out her cherished fountain pen and notebook and gave them to me.

“Try talking with this.”

The notebook and fountain pen were precious items Mother used only on special occasions. Seeing her readily give them away like that, it seemed Mother couldn’t just pass this child by either.

I carefully handed those preciousitems to the child.

At first, her expression was one of bewilderment. Onceagain I asked.

“What is your name?”

Only then did she pick up the pen. Her fingertips were frozen by the cold rain, and her handwriting was trembling.

[Moron]

“Moron…?”

[Called]

[Name]

It felt as if my breath was caught in my throat. Not a name, but an insult. The child’s face, describing herself with that word, was so expressionless that it was even more cruel.

‘Why are you here?’

[None]

[Place to go]

Short words. But those words were misery whose depth was unknown. I didn’t know what to say, so I just swallowed my words.

I just stood there blankly, staring at her face.

Then, Mother quietly opened her mouth.

“Perhaps… how about coming with us?”

Upon hearing Mother’s words, she began to tremble terribly Nevertheless, the girl’s expression did not change

“It’s alright, don’t be scared.”

[Me, scared. You, unknown person.]

“We are not bad people. We have no intention of taking you and gaining anything.”

[Can’t believe. Many people, aim for, money.]

At those words, Mother took out her wallet. And she took out the family crest that was inside and quietly showed it to her.

“I am the wife of the Heavenfield family.”

“As I am from a wealthy family, I am not someone who needs money. I simply want to help a child who is alone on the street.”

The girl’s eyes wavered.

And very slowly, she opened the notebook.

[Treat me well, why?]

Mother smiled upon seeing her question.

“Because I have the ability to. And because I want to.”

At those words, after a long moment of thought, the girl wrote down just one character.

[Yes]

I laughed loudly and said.

“Great! From now on, you are our family!”

She looked at me without a word.

Her eyes, seen beyond her wet hair, wereclear and deep purple.

Eyes I had never seen anywhere before, strange yet beautiful.

In those eyes, I felt that something was beginning.

In that something, the life of one child, and perhaps even the fate ofus all—

The rain still did not stop.

However, in the cold darkness, the rain, and the unsettling air of the alley, the body temperature that touched my hand, even if very faint, clearlyproved that she was alive.

The girl headed towards the mansion with us.

Mother carefully draped her own coat over the girl’s shoulders.

She walked carefully beside me, her small, fragile body huddled. Her occasional staggering steps were like those of a wet kitten.

As the mansion door opened and the warm air wrapped around her cold body, the girl blinked several times and looked around.

The warmth of the comfortable interior, the flames burning in the fireplace, the quiet light on the candlesticks, the velvet curtains and thick carpets, and the endless doors leading up the grand staircase.

Everything was an unfamiliar and unbelievable sight to her.

“Welcome. This is where you will live from today.”

Mother’s voice was soft but firm.

I quickly called for a maid.

“Chloe, please bring this child a warm towel and some dry clothes.”

Chloe looked at the girl with surprised eyes, then soon nodded and moved.

The girl stopped on the thick rug she had stepped on for the first time in her life.

As if she had forgotten how to walk, she didn’t know what to do right there. Like a child who had gotten into trouble for the first time.

I carefully held out my hand.

“It’s alright. Everyone will be kind to you. No one will scold you or push you away.”

Only then did she carefully take my hand.

It was a small, thin, and ice-cold hand.

The room I took her to with Chloe was the room I used.

That place, tidied up with new wallpaper, curtains, and even bed sheets, was one of the quietest and warmest rooms in the house.

The girl wiped her body with a dry towel and put on the prepared bathrobe.

Water droplets were still dripping from her hair, and her feet were leaving marks on the carpet.

But she said nothing, and the expression on her face, mixed with unfamiliarity and caution, still did not leave.

While she was standing at the doorway, I went into the room.

And I picked up a small comb that I had prepared beforehand and approached her.

“Should I comb your hair?”

She hesitated for a long time, then slowly nodded her head.

I sat behind her and began to carefully comb her hair.

The thin, countless scars felt between her hair every time my fingers touched it told the story of what kind of life she had lived until now.

Shaking off the dust and foreign matter caught between the comb’s teeth, I erased one by one the questions I knew the answers to without asking.

After the combing was finished, I spoke to break the silence that had been circulating in the room.

“There are dolls in my room. Pick one you like.”

She slightly raised her head and scanned the room.

And, she pointed to a small cat doll quietly sitting on the shelf.

I smiled and handed her the doll.

“This one doesn’t have a friend yet. Take good care of it.”

She carefully took the doll and held it in her arms.

Only then, very faintly, did the tips of her eyebrows seem to relax.

It was a completely different appearance from the expressionless child I had seen just moments ago at the alley corner.

Mother came into the room.

“Are you a little warmer now?”

The girl quietly nodded her head.

“Yes, that’s good. Rest well in this room today. Tomorrow we’ll get new clothes fitted and take care of things you need one by one.”

She nodded her head once again.

And she slowly lay down on the bed.

Mother left the room with a gentle smile, and I covered her with a blanket.

“Sleep well. If you’re scared or uncomfortable, please tell me because I’m next to you.”

Holding the doll tightly, she looked at me.

In her purple eyes, a very small and faint light was flickering up.

It was faith. A very small, but clear faith.