Thunder crashed and the loud noise filled the empty hallway.

The view outside the window was blurry and hard to see clearly. I changed into new clothes and roughly dried my wet hair. It took at most ten minutes to tidy up my face and body.

In fact, there was something more important than washing up. I looked at the quiet hallway beyond the door.

‘Now’s the time.’

Confirming that there were no maids, I ran straight to the study and stood in front of the golden armor that was much taller than me. In my hand was a longsword with a sharp blade.

“You definitely said it was a real blade…”

Due to my father who feared blades, this was the only usable sword in the mansion. Still anxious, I brought all the weapons that could threaten the opponent – sandbags, needles, dart pins, etc.

‘This should be enough, right?’

If I have these weapons, at least I won’t die like a dog without being able to resist the opponent even once.

I was no fool. I don’t make the same mistake twice.

‘I’ll protect my own body.’

I trusted my senses. The gaze I felt in front of the mansion’s main gate was no coincidence. Someone was watching me, and they were probably related to the suspicious woman the employee mentioned.

“Young lady? What are you doing?”

Bitty entered through the open door crack. A faint scent of soap wafted from Bitty, who had brought a laundry basket.

“I’m the owner of this mansion now. I have to protect the mansion.”

“Oh my, how brave of you.”

“It’s true. Bitty, tell the others too. That suspicious woman from earlier is still lingering near the mansion. She’s definitely waiting for a chance to sneak in.”

“Of course. But who could it really be? That suspicious woman.”

“You didn’t hear either?”

When I asked, Bitty nodded her head. She took out the clothes from the basket one by one and hung them on hangers.

“It might be someone with a grudge against Father.”

“That’s a possibility.”

Father was in the real estate business. I don’t know the details, but I know he pulled some strings to handle a few cases. We always had to be wary of people from the underworld who might bring poison at any time.

Or if it’s someone who invested in land trusting Father’s words and lost a ton of money… they would have enough resentment to come to this mansion with malicious intent.

“Still, young lady. Don’t overdo it. Even if there’s an urgent situation, everyone in the mansion will desperately protect you.”

“Thank you.”

“…Ah, that reminds me. Did you read the young master’s letter?”

The young master referred to Rodney, the eldest son currently living in a boarding school dormitory. It had already been over a year since I last saw him after he received his acceptance letter and went to school in the spring.

“You sent a letter?”

“Yes. It’s winter break, you know. He originally planned to stay in the dorm, but since his roommates all went back to their hometowns, he’s coming to the mansion for a bit.”

“…Even so, it’ll only be about a week at most.”

“Don’t think so negatively. It means Young Master Rodney is adapting well to his boarding school.”

I wasn’t even worried from the beginning. It’s Rodney Marsen with his unique playful personality and ability to grasp the situation well.

Even if you throw him somewhere among a pack of beasts, he’ll befriend them all and hang out with them arm in arm.

Now that Rodney’s coming, there’s one more thing I wish time would pass quickly for.

Sometimes it feels like he sees right through my heart, and he can be mischievous, but the mansion becomes harmonious when Rodney’s around.

“…!”

“Young lady?”

While my heart was swelling, I felt that gaze again.

To follow the gaze I felt from outside the window, I opened the window and stuck my head out. I saw the shape of a person. Although the heavy rain obscured the face, the red hair color was distinct.

“Bitty, hurry and block all doors and holes that can enter the mansion! Hurry, quickly!”

“Yes!”

Bitty hurried out the door. I narrowed my eyes to see the figure. It seemed to be a slender woman. She was wearing shabby clothes and was barefoot.

‘It must be that suspicious woman who came to the mansion earlier!’

If she just comes a little closer, I could see her face…!

Contrary to the wind, the woman twisted her body and disappeared far away in an instant. The distorted figure suddenly vanished from my sight. Only the swaying trees moved in my view.

The feeling was strange.

‘What was that?’

Who was that woman who had been watching this mansion with her long hair hanging down? As soon as the woman disappeared, strength drained from my body. Sitting on the floor with limp legs, I recalled the woman’s figure.

I suspect she was looking at me. Fixedly, for quite a while.

“Young lady, are you all right?!”

Bitty discovered my state and approached in surprise.

“…Bitty? The doors?”

“I locked all the doors and windows. The men are guarding the front entrance. The others and I will patrol the hallways together.”

“I see…”

“You look pale. This won’t do. I think it’s best for you to get some sleep, young lady.”

Bitty grabbed my arm.

“No, I’m fine. I’ll patrol the hallways with you.”

“No, please do as I say. You are the owner of this mansion now, young lady.”

“What?”

“It would be troublesome for us if you wander around in this unwell state. Just lie in bed. Just in case, I’ll have the chef guard in front of your room.”

Bitty spoke firmly. Normally I would have been stubborn, but I couldn’t walk the hallways with my strength drained.

Bitty supported my body, moved me to the bed, and pulled the covers up to my neck. After that, she locked all the windows in the room and checked every corner.

“Keep this with you, young lady.”

After inspecting the entire room, she placed the longsword next to me.

“Bitty. Can I really…”

“Young lady. This is originally our job. Please focus on recovering your health.”

“…Be careful. If you need my help, tell me anytime.”

“Don’t worry. Ah, and I’ll keep the door open. If anything happens, you must scream.”

With those last words, she went outside. In the end, I couldn’t do anything and just lay there. With the longsword tightly gripped in one hand. As if it were my lifeline, I didn’t let go.

‘I… I won’t die.’

The me who just let things happen and lost my life back then is different from the me now. I can’t repeat the miserable act of dying without fulfilling a single wish.

‘Damn it. It keeps coming to mind.’

When I closed my eyes, I could faintly see the woman’s figure. Just who was that woman that she tormented me like this with a single glimpse?

* * *

I still vividly remember the day I first saw “The Hero of the Penton Family”. It was during middle school winter.

I impulsively purchased the book I found by chance at a used bookstore. My hands, which trembled even when buying a single workbook, reached out straight toward that book for some reason.

It wasn’t that I liked the cover. For a used book, the cover was too clean and plain.

The only thing I liked was the price. Even so, buying a book I had never heard of, by an author I didn’t know, was unlike me.

I took out the crumpled bills and paid for the book. When the employee asked if I needed a bag, I said it was fine.

I placed it in my heart as if it were a book I had cherished for a long time and headed home.

“Over there, over there!”

As I entered the old residential area, I heard a familiar voice.

In front of the vacant lot where the playground used to be, a group of men were standing and exhaling thick cigarette smoke. My father, who seemed to have just returned from work, gestured toward me.

“Boha! My daughter!”

Father was uncomfortable. It had always been that way.

My biological father passed away and I first met this father when I was four, too young to remember, but being alone with him was always awkward and I had to be cautious. I wanted to turn my steps and pretend I didn’t see him, but I didn’t know what would happen later if I did that.

I slowly approached Father.

“Boha, these are the friends I’m working with this time. Say hello.”

“H-hello.”

“Hi. I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re good at studying? I heard you want to be a doctor. You’ll make a lot of money later.”

“Yeah. She’s not my biological child, but she’s good at studying. Isn’t she smart? She picks things up quickly too. In elementary school, she attended a baduk class after school once, and the teacher called saying she should prepare to be a trainee. But our kid’s dream is to be a doctor, so I refused.”

I held my breath. I had never once dreamed of being a doctor. In my clueless and immature days, I dreamed of ordinary jobs like chef or librarian, but after upper elementary school, I lost any future dreams.

“Trainee? Nah, that doesn’t make money.”

“That’s what I’m saying. That XXX teacher trying to ruin the kid’s life.”

If I had prepared to be a baduk trainee in elementary school, would things have been different?

“Boha, you know now too, right? Baduk, that doesn’t make money. What if you take the pro test later, fail, and go out into society like that? You’ll just suck your fingers.”

“…Yes.”

I nodded at Father’s words demanding an answer. Because of that, I remembered something I had forgotten. I attended a free after-school baduk class about three times.

‘Boha, you’re really good at this!’

Honestly, the baduk class was quite fun.

Maybe it was because I liked the teacher who praised me whenever I placed a stone.

After attending a few classes, the teacher called my parents. I watched Father angrily yelling on the phone with the teacher.

He boasted about his genius daughter, but instead of a baduk player, he spoke of the plastic surgeon who appeared on TV last weekend.

The surgeon lived in a high-end premium apartment.

In an interview, that skilled and reputable surgeon said he gifted his parents a car and a house. Father must have been impressed by that interview, as he blabbered on about being a doctor, which I had never once mentioned.

It was embarrassing. I felt like I could never face the teacher who had always praised me. After that, I never went to the after-school class again.

“Okay. You should go inside now. Dad needs to discuss important matters with his friends.”

I bowed and left. Father’s laughter from far away messed with my ears. My head throbbed painfully.

As if soothing it, something fell on my cheek. It was so cold it brought me to my senses. I looked up at the sky and saw snow falling sparsely.

It was the first snow. At the same time, a chilly wind blew. My cheeks and nose bridge might have turned red as they stung, but the hand holding the book was warm.