The mother who gave birth to Chersion took her last breath in a beautiful green room.

The nanny cried, and Kardiel and Euphemina stood in front of the room.

That day, cold and frightening sounds poured fiercely outside the window.

Chersion’s earliest memory, however, was not the moment of his birth.

His mother’s womb.

A place that was warm and cozy, very comfortable but also narrow and painful.

Often Chersion felt the terrible pain inflicted on him and his mother by the man he thought was his father.

At those times, his mother’s anxiety that embraced him seemed as if it would burst through his entire body.

“My baby, shall we just disappear together with mother?”

Mother whispered to Chersion like that.

“It will hurt more if you’re born. It will be harder.”

Nevertheless, Chersion clung to his mother’s womb until the end.

Until the painful air of the world finally made his small chest heave and exhale.

However, the mother who had embraced him did not hold Chersion until the end.

The time to see her beautiful orange eyes was not very long.

When her voice and breathing could no longer be heard.

She no longer opened her eyes.

From the conversations heard around, it was clear that this was death.

Of course, Chersion could not understand what death was that made the nanny cry loudly.

Only when strangers took mother away, laid her on white flowers, and covered her with soil, did he finally realize it was a farewell to mother.

Farewell was a painful thing.

And it was the most intense memory.

“I am your older brother. My name is Kardiel.”

“I am Euphemina…”

Though he parted with mother, he soon met other people.

Chersion remembered their voices and faces. They were the small people standing far away when he first met mother.

There was another encounter.

“Young master. Your new mother will be coming today.”

One day, the nanny who was always by Chersion’s side said.

“You must smile brightly. Understand? All young masters and miss must be loved by the new madam to live long.”

Held in the nanny’s arms who spoke incomprehensible words, Chersion met Lieselotte for the first time.

While all memories are clear, the memory of that day remains particularly vivid for Chersion.

The woman called the new madam had black, beautiful purple hair, and the kindest eyes in the world.

“What is the youngest’s name?”

“Master… has not yet given him a name, new madam.”

“I see.”

A gentle hand stroked Chersion’s head. A warm smile lingered on him for a long time.

“Our youngest, I heard he was born not long ago, yet he’s already smiling brightly. How can he be so cute and pretty.”

Strangely, her voice was more comfortable than any sound heard in mother’s womb.

Chersion burst into laughter without realizing it.

“You haven’t named the youngest yet?”

“Well. I haven’t thought about it.”

“Then may I name him?”

The person called the new madam asked father like that. Shortly after, Chersion met that kind woman again.

“Chersion. Our youngest, have you been well?”

From then on, she called him ‘Chersion’.

Though no one told him, he could tell that was his name.

“I thought long and hard before choosing it. I think ‘Chelsea’ would be a good nickname. How about it, do you like it?”

The woman who always held his hand and rubbed her lips on his forehead.

“I knew you’d like it. Chelsea.”

Chersion liked her. He liked anything she gave him.

“I am your mother. Call me ‘mother’.”

So every day, while looking at the ceiling and turning over, he waited for ‘mother’ to come.

‘Ah, that person is my mother.’

It felt good. He thought that ‘mother’ was bigger, warmer, and came to see him more often than ‘mama’.

A little more time passed.

At three years old, Chersion now knows that she is his new mother.

He knew that his brother Kardiel was wary of mother, and that his sister Euphemina was uninterested in her.

Nevertheless, he knew that mother always looked at the three siblings with eyes full of love.

Because mother would always gaze for a long time at the backs of Kardiel and Euphemina as they coldly passed by.

And Chersion knew other things too.

For example, the things that tormented Kardiel and Euphemina.

That’s why brother Kardiel was always in pain. His brother’s body was full of red lines and dark blue marks made by father.

But since his brother said it was something that shouldn’t be told to others, Chersion had no choice but to keep it a secret from mother as well.

But that day was a little different. It was the day mother skipped breakfast.

Father said he would ‘inspect’ Euphemina today. What is an inspection?

‘Will he hit sister too?’

Kardiel answered, “Who knows.” and Euphemina told him, “It’s nothing.”

When he asked the nanny, she avoided answering with a shocked face.

In the end, unable to contain his curiosity, Chersion secretly hid in Euphemina’s room.

The narrow space under the sofa was suitable for hiding the body of a child smaller than average.

Soon the appointed time came and father entered. Euphemina and the nanny stood in front of the bed.

“Strip her.”

Father said so, and the nanny began to undress sister. Soon Euphemina was naked.

From then on, father began to ‘inspect’ sister’s body.

“Fat has accumulated on the abdomen. Did you feed her snacks?”

“She didn’t eat any at all, master.”

“Then has the meal portion increased?”

“Since the young miss is growing, I slightly increased it compared to before… Kyaak!”

The nanny’s hair was roughly grabbed. Chersion covered his mouth and muffled his voice.

“How many times have I told you? I said to manage her so she never gains weight. If necessary, you should maintain her slim figure even by starving her. Do you still not understand why my wife maintains that beautiful figure?”

“I have erred. I apologize, master. From now on, I will restrict her diet thoroughly…”

“For the next three days, let her have nothing but water.”

Father finally released the nanny’s hair. But the ‘inspection’ did not end there.

He made Euphemina turn around, lie face down, and maintain uncomfortable positions on the bed as he continued his physical ‘inspection’.

“…While I was away, surely no one touched Euphemina’s body? Any who approached her?”

“No, nothing of the sort happened. I ensured that not even a finger was laid on young miss Euphemina by constantly watching over her, even from other servants.”

“Well done. Euphemina’s skin should remain without a single scratch, just as it is now.”

That’s how we can secure the most expensive marriage prospect.

Father said so.

“Then, how should we explain this to the new madam?”

“A mother can spend enjoyable time with her daughter. No, Euphemina will have much to learn by staying with my wife. That woman is truly perfect in self-management.”

At last, Euphemina’s clothes were put back on.

Even then, father kept saying things like tighten the corset more, or her waist needs to be slimmer.

“Euphemina. Listen well to father.”

When the ‘inspection’ was finally over, father said.

“You must ensure that no one but the nanny touches your body. Your body is the most valuable thing you possess. Do you understand?”

Euphemina nodded silently.

“Good, my daughter. My most beautiful and precious daughter, like a jewel… You must grow up well and become like your mother.”

Only then did Chersion understand why his sister’s meal portions were small. He also realized then that it wasn’t because she was a girl.

The world was full of things whose meaning young Chersion could not understand.

The meaning of brother being hit by father, the meaning of sister skipping meals for days, the meaning of brother and sister being wary of mother.

And…

“The youngest young master is truly beyond help.”

The meaning of the tutor tormenting him.

“I’m sowwy.”

“If you understand that you’ve done wrong, you should know what to do.”

In truth, he didn’t know what he had done wrong at that time.

He just remembered that when the teacher got angry, as always, if he lay flat on his stomach and begged forgiveness, it would mostly be overlooked.

But not that day. The teacher approached Chersion in time with the thunderous sound striking with light outside the window.

Soon, an irresistible force stole control of the child’s small body.

“Reflect on your actions in here.”

Thud, as the door closed, his vision went dark.

Until then, Chersion couldn’t quickly realize where he had been put. It was because his surroundings were swallowed by darkness.

His limbs were equally restricted. It was when Chersion struggled to change his position, feeling terribly uncomfortable.

But no matter how much he tried to move, he couldn’t properly stretch his arms and legs.

Only then did Chersion realize he had been trapped in a space as narrow as a coffin.