Chapter 5

To Bunny, life was a war.

The era of peace?

Such words didn’t resonate with those from the trash heaps.

To survive there, one had to deceive, threaten, trample, and kill others.

That was the common sense in that world.

Bunny had no parents to feed her, no opportunity to earn money through legitimate work; she was just a child.

Honestly, surviving was miraculous.

After living through such war-like days, she was adopted into the Kredel family overnight.

Not only that, no one pitied her, and enemies surrounded her.

In the meantime, it was nigh impossible to abandon the habits she had taken up throughout those days and suddenly act like a graceful ducal princess.

‘Is that even possible?’

They should have asked her at least once if she was okay.

Even if they didn’t give her affection, they should have shown some consideration.

Even if they couldn’t heal her wounds, they could have given her time for the wounds to mend.

At the very least, if this family was known as the ‘blue moon’, then shouldn’t they have done as much?

She was just eight years old.

At that age, being stamped with the irreparable mark of being from a humble background was heart-wrenching.

Wasn’t it natural for the child, fearing being chased away, to become increasingly extreme?

‘If only someone had properly asked Bunny why she made those choices, many things might have been different.’

So.

“Someone like you, I didn’t need. Not from the beginning.”

As Doah muttered in a heated tone, the Grand Duke slowly released the hand he was holding.

The warmth that had enveloped her hand quickly turned cold.

It felt as if the strength had suddenly left her hand, and the sensation was peculiar.

‘What is this, a dream?’

He wouldn’t have come to visit Bunny, to whom he had told that she should live as though she was dead.

‘Dreaming such an absurd dream.’

It felt like seeing a ghost under a pair of scissors.

It meant that it was so unbearable and uncomfortable because it was something he shouldn’t have seen.

Doah wiped her face with an expression, then closed her eyes and surrendered to the approaching slumber.

* * *

A refreshing energy surged in.

At the same time, the entire body cooled down, and the fever subsided in an instant.

Even the muscle pain that had been throbbing and pounding disappeared in a moment.

Doah was startled and lifted her eyelids.

She met eyes with a young boy.

“….”

The eyebrows and eyes were round, and the slightly dried-up corners of the lips were gracefully drawn as if painted with a brush.

The golden hair gleamed, neatly arranged and stretching smoothly, giving an impression of a tree reaching out toward the sun with its straight trunk and long branches.

‘Such individuals are generally born with the pure and clean energy of a tree, and they are intelligent and sharp.’

In addition, a noble gaze.

He had the typical look of a Priest.

‘At the same time…’

A graceful line extended from the bridge of the nose to the tip, sharp like an arrowhead.

The shape of the ears was like a hare’s, narrow and pointed, suggesting a lack of sentimentality, a coldness, and perhaps even a cruel side.

Born with leadership and decisiveness, it might be difficult for him to gain trust in his surroundings due to his personality.

‘At first glance, he looks like a pine tree that grew alone at the edge of a cliff…’

Maybe, in reality, he could be hiding fangs and claws.

Doah knew who he was.

Angelus, the eldest son of the Kredel family, who turned fourteen this year.

‘Could it be that he used his healing powers on me?’

Her body improved as if it had been washed in an instant.

Apart from the healing powers, there was no other way to explain it.

Angelus can use the healing powers.’

“Healing Powers” is a power that manifests only in those who have inherited the blood of the aristocracy.

Since the Abyss Empire became the “Abyss Kingdom” and the Cradle Duchy became the “Kredel Duchy,” the power has been an almost miraculous ability.

If it was possible to make flowers bloom with magic, with the healing powers, one could say it was possible to create a forest.

The ability to revive someone on the verge of death could easily cure illnesses like a common cold.

The problem was…

‘Why did he heal me?’

Doah was puzzled.

– Why should I heal you?

– Your wounds are none of my business. Take care of yourself.

– Don’t you ever come to me with such a frivolous request again.

He’d said as much.

He didn’t even flinch when Bunny rolled down the stairs and bled.

He wasn’t even concerned, just completely dismissive.

‘What the hell happened?’

Doah blinked in confusion, then looked around.

Pale pink wallpaper, light lace trim, and antique furniture in pastel shades.

A bed that seemed to hug your body, the smell of flowers, and cute stuffed animals.

The place was familiar.

This was Ophelia’s room in the main palace.

I realized it was warm.

Unlike the tower, where no matter how many fires she lit, the chill seeped into her bones, this room was filled with warm air, and it felt like springtime.

Bunny used to steal things from this room and secretly hide them in her room.

Trinkets, Ophelia’s worn-out and tattered stuffed animal, a block of wood with handprints, a single flower from the greenhouse, and a meaningless garden stone.

‘She must have wanted to stay here that badly.’

Money wasn’t Bunny’s goal.

She only stole things that bore the marks of love.

And she kept them in her jewelry box as if they were treasures.

Eventually, she was found out and they were all taken away.

So it’s not like she didn’t do anything wrong.

Stealing is stealing.

It was hard to wrap my head around.

‘On the contrary, for Kredel, who thinks so horribly of Ophelia, it may be impossible to forgive Bunny for what he did.

It’s just that when I think about why he would do something like that, I can’t help but feel for him and the horrible past he’s been through.

It was just… getting out of hand.

“Make no mistake.”

At that moment, a voice with a faint hint of anger broke through her reverie.

“Just because you’re in the main palace, don’t think you’ve taken Ophelia’s place.”

Angelus said.

His brow furrowed in disgust, as if he were looking at a twisted piece of filth.

‘What nonsense.’

Doah was dumbfounded.

‘Did I get here on my own two feet?’

She fainted, then opened her eyes, realizing that no one had brought her here.

She couldn’t understand why she was in the main palace, so she was just puzzled.

However, Angelus seemed to think that she was satisfied with Ophelia’s room.

‘Well, I’m used to it.’

Bunny was not used to it, but Doah was.

She was also more seasoned.

“I’m not mistaken.”

Doah replied like a knife.

He hadn’t expected Bunny to say that.

Angelus looked her up and down with wide eyes, as if questioning my hearing for a moment.

He acted as if he was going to criticize me for breathing, and then he was speechless when I gave him the answer he wanted.

“…….”

But it was only for a moment.

Angelus’s blue eyes held blatant disbelief.

“You’re playing games.”

He doesn’t believe me.

Since she hadn’t expected much, Doah didn’t really blame him.

“You’d be better off being honest.”

He said, his voice sinking low.

“Then you could turn my insides upside down and ask me if we’re officially family from now on.”

“…..”

“You must be so happy that Ophelia kicked out her favorite maids and ended up here, as if the world was yours.”

It was a statement telling him not to be pretentious, as he already knew what he was thinking. Even Doah, who had been responding sluggishly, couldn’t help but furrow his brows at this statement. Angelus had spoken as if Bunny had intentionally orchestrated this situation and schemed something.

“The maids were expelled because of the words you shared, Young Master. I just found out now thanks to you.”

By saying ‘just found out now,’ Doah emphasized that he had awakened not long ago. He stared at Angelus without expression and continued.

“You can’t be accused of being a jewel thief.”

“Have you ever been falsely accused before?”

“….”

With all that Bunny had done so far, unfortunately, there was no room for justification.

Doah felt like a shepherd boy who had never existed in the palmistry. But, at least this time, she was clearly the victim.

“Do you know what the maids have been doing to me all this time?”

At this point, his smooth forehead showed a slight furrow.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“….”

You know Bunny was abused?

He knew, and he said it like that.

As Doah stared as if in amazement, Angelus spoke confidently with his fist clenched.

“That issue is clearly a mistake on our part, so we were thinking of compensating separately.”

“Compensation…?”

There was really nothing to say.

Doah clenched his fist, closed his eyes tightly, and bit his lips.

‘At first, I wondered why you healed Bunny… Now I get it.’

He had simply aimed to make her capable of conversing.

No need to go to such extremes.

Doah thought to herself.

It’s fortunate that she’s the one hearing these words, not the real Bunny.

It’s fortunate that she, Park Doah, who wouldn’t be affected by any poison or words, is the one hearing them.

“The important thing is what scheme you pulled off, my father has decided to bring you into the main palace.”

What?

She raised her head with a surprised expression.

Although she had been vaguely anxious since waking up in the main palace, she never expected it to be true.

‘So that’s why she was so twisted inside.’

For the commoner, who had been so eager to take his sister’s place, had finally returned to the main palace and claimed Ophelia’s room.

Just a room.

Bringing Bunny into the palace meant many things.

At the very least, it meant that she would be presented in public and treated as the official Ophelia substitute.

‘Is the Grand duke insane?’

Bunny had been acting like a ticking time bomb, not knowing when it would go off.

She was a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment, and Grand duke Kredel had completely ignored her. It was as if he had no intention of taking her under his wing.

‘And now you want to bring her into the palace?’

I refused.

The Kredels looked like they’d been cut from a plate.

I’d already been betrayed to death by someone of their ilk once, so how could I trust them again?

‘I don’t care how much money you have or how many rituals you offer me.’

It wasn’t a free ride, and whatever she did would be watched, and she would have as many obligations as she would be treated.

Besides, with the things Bunny had done in the past, there was nothing but enemies around to bite.

Starting with the one right in front of her.

“You said you’d make it up to me.”

Doah said, her big doll-like eyes glowing red.

The corners of Angelus’s mouth turned up at an angle, as if he had expected that.

“Is there anything you want?”

“Yes.”

Your wish, obviously.

It seemed to say so.

There was a flash of contempt in his eyes, frozen like a winter lake.

“I’ll tell you up front, you’ll never be Ophelia’s replacement, even in death.”

“…….”

“Don’t call me brother unless it’s a public situation. It is an unauthorized title for you.”

He said.

Doah looked at Angelus in disbelief as he spoke in his own delusion.

“I don’t want you to ever call me that, even in public.”

“What?”

And then she drove a wedge.

“I want you to get me out of the castle.”

And.