The sky was cloudy, and then the rain poured down like a flood.

So twelveyearold Evie, looking like a drowned rat, glared at the innocent astrologer who had come to fetch her.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go home as it’s raining a lot?”

“I don’t think of that place as home.”

“Okay, let’s avoid the rain first.”

Despite Evie’s pointed retort, the astrologer smiled, holding the hem of his robe over Evie’s head. He had just shielded her from the rain, but for some reason, dissatisfaction filled Evie’s eyes.

“You’ll catch a cold. It’s cold.”

Evie stubbornly resisted, and the astrologer stroked her wet cheek with the back of his hand. Then Evie finally admitted it. She had failed to run away again today.

The sound of raindrops hitting the leaves was loud.

The forest path was completely drenched, with no place to step. The path Evie had chosen for her escape was the thickest forest in the vicinity, and the sky, filled with rain clouds, was getting darker.

In the heavy rain, the astrologer picked up Evie in one arm and began to stride through the bushes.

“Let’s wait there until the rain stops.”

What the astrologer pointed to was a cabin visible between the thick trees.

Evie wore the astrologer’s robe over her head and sulked.

The cabin looked recently used, and it was obviously locked, but the astrologer unhesitatingly moved forward.

Sure enough, the cabin door was tightly locked. But the astrologer effortlessly tore it open.

Evie shrieked in surprise, but the astrologer calmly swept through the cabin, sat Evie down, wiped her wet hair, wrapped her tightly in a blanket, and even lit a fire in the fireplace.

“Is it okay to use someone else’s house like this?”

“Yeah, I’ll make amends.”

Despite Evie’s protest, the astrologer was calm. Then he handed a hungry Evie a sandwich.

Evie’s face soured at this extreme care.

This isn’t right, this is wrong.

Evie scolded herself with an uncomfortable heart. It was because of a distinct change that had recently occurred to her.

‘I’ve become uncomfortable sleeping on the street. I can’t stand the cold or hunger anymore. I’ve become incompetent. Because of that man……!’

Evie shot the astrologer another glance, blaming him for her laziness and weakness. But the astrologer merely tilted his head without any haste.

She felt guilty. She felt like she had to get up and leave right away. But she couldn’t, because Mrs. Marso’s sandwiches were so tasty.

So Evie looked at the astrologer again, chewing her sandwich.

Though he was also wet from the rain, he was sitting in a chair in his dripping robe, merely watching Evie.

“Mister.”

“Why?”

“Are you going to fatten me up and eat me?”

“No.”

“Then are you going to raise me and sell me?”

“No.”

“Then are you going to rob me, kill me, and bury me in the forest?”

“Fear…….”

The astrologer groaned as if Evie’s aggressive question was dreadful. Then he spoke soothingly to the child who was bundled up with caution.

“No, I won’t do anything you dislike. I promise. I will never do anything bad to you.”

“Why are you making that promise to me?”

But Evie was only more confused. So she asked sorrowfully, as if she had been tormented.

“You don’t need to do that. There’s no gain in doing so. Why are you doing this to me?”

A month ago, Evie was almost dragged away by a backstreet gang.

The astrologer had saved her from that. Not only had he saved her, but he also took her home, cared for her, and treated her.

When she came to live in a strange twostory house, Evie was dumbfounded for a while. Due to severe injuries and a great shock, she was almost soulless for nearly a week.

But with the astrologer’s careful care and Mrs. Marso’s gentle attention, Evie gradually recovered, and one day suddenly came to her senses. And then she left the house immediately.

Not because it was uncomfortable, but because it was unsettling, because it felt like she shouldn’t be doing this.
There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world. Every good thing is a lure, and behind it, there must be a trap set.

At least, that was the case in Evie’s world. The place where Evie was born and raised was a world where one could not survive unless one fiercely distrusted others.

So she left the house as soon as she came to her senses, but Evie’s escape soon failed. It was because of the fortune teller who came when Evie was tired of walking.

He took Evie home, saying, “Stay until your leg gets better.” So when she left the house again a few days later, he brought her back, saying, “You still have a fever.” The same happened next, and again after that.

“Just rest a few more days; it’s almost a new moon,” he coaxed. So Evie reluctantly followed the fortune teller each time.

Thus, a few weeks drifted by, and before she knew it, a month had passed since Evie had been living in that twostory house.

During that time, the bad things Evie had expected had not yet happened. So Evie was more anxious. She felt as if she would suffocate to death in this cozy and distant place without realizing it.

“What do you want from me?”