Episode 2

A fortnight ago, Rose Bell was leaping through the messy alleyways.

“It’s said he has been found at a gambling house called the Night Owl.”

After weeks of searching, she finally found her father’s whereabouts.

Rose’s tied-up auburn hair swayed back and forth. With each movement, a few loose strands of hair bounced out. Rosiness adorned her soft cheeks, and sweat formed on her round forehead.

Thud. Rose opened the pocket watch she held in her hand. It was three o’clock. The <Social Dance Etiquette: Intermediate Class> exam was scheduled for five.

She swallowed a dry gulp. The taste of metal lingered in her throat.

‘Hurry… I need to hurry.’

If she missed her father now, she didn’t know when she’d see him again. She wasn’t particularly thrilled to see her father’s face, but the documents he carried were the issue.

Rose’s father, George Bell. A man who had been Baron Verden until eight years ago.

It had been quite some time since George got involved in gambling. Even in Rose’s earliest memories, George was someone who frequented gambling halls.

His descent had been gradual. Not only did he fail to maintain his nobility, but there were days when he pawned possessions.

There was never enough money for heating, and the house was always cold. Rose’s younger sister, Ellie, fell ill with pneumonia back then. Their lives were worse than those of commoners. Even when the family was struggling, George was absent from home.

And then one day, George suddenly returned with a substantial sum of money. He claimed to have sold his noble title and lineage to a common merchant.

The act of gambling was undoubtedly illegal. In these times of increasing fallen nobility, it was happening in secret, but if reported, one would have no choice but to be dragged before a judicial officer for public order.

Still, it was better than starving to death. The entire family changed their names and fled to a distant northern region called Quilts.

They began a new life where no one could recognize them. Using the money from selling their titles, they bought houses and cattle.

Rosalie Verden became Rose Bell. She kept her nickname as her name.

For a while, it seemed George had regained his senses. He eked out a living by doing odd jobs in the village.

But not long ago, George fell back into gambling. Despite the family’s efforts to dissuade him, it was in vain.

It all started with him secretly selling a cow. After that, George went as far as stealing pots and pans to gather gambling funds.

And finally, a few weeks ago, he vanished with the documents.

‘Why on earth…?’

Rose clenched her lips tightly. She resented and despised George.

Was he willing to sell even the house in Quilts? That would leave the family on the streets. Did her father no longer care about the family? She couldn’t fathom her father’s intentions.

Rose’s eyes welled up, but she held back her tears and ran even faster.

Berkley Academy was situated right in the heart of the capital. The gambling den where George was found was on the western outskirts. It was a slum where laborers from various regions had migrated and settled.

The scenery gradually turned chaotic and grimy. People cast fleeting glances at the schoolgirl in the white uniform. She was a figure that didn’t quite match this alley.

She had a petite stature compared to the average, and her face held an innocent charm. Every exposed part of her body was slender, yet her gaze remained resolute.

Arriving at the “Night Owl,” Rose wasted no time and pushed the door open.

It was a third-rate gambling house where anyone, regardless of class, could enter. Three in the afternoon was when gamblers had the most leisure. Inside the house that had been swept over by the madness of the night, a disreputable atmosphere hung in the air.

The house guard, who had been dozing off in front of the bar, woke up in surprise at her presence. He opened his bleary eyes and scanned Rose. His gaze stopped at the collar of her clothing.

‘Isn’t that the Berkley uniform? The one only rich folks’ kids wear?’

The academy emblem was prominently attached to the right collar.

On the opposite side, it was customary to display the family crest. However, Rose had left that area blank.

The guard twitched his eyebrows and spoke.

“This is not a place for a lady to be.”

Rose suppressed the pain that felt like her chest was tearing apart and steadied her breath.

“I… I’ve come to find someone.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know George Bell?”

The guard hesitated for a moment, then got up from his seat and approached Rose. He was a man more than twice her size.

Rose twisted her neck to meet the guard’s gaze, trying not to be intimidated. Her round, downturned emerald eyes radiated determination.

Showing fear would make her seem weak. Surviving as a poor commoner in Berkley Academy wasn’t easy. Rose had constantly refined herself year after year.

Transparent skin, large irises, petite stature. Though she appeared delicate, almost like a small animal, Rose had never shed a tear since coming to the capital.

The guard quietly scanned Rose’s face.

“George? Why would that fellow…?”

“He’s my father. Is he here?”

“…George has a daughter like you?”

The guard immediately changed his tone.

“I thought you were a noble.”

Upon closer inspection, Rose’s and George’s eyes were strikingly similar.

“By now, he’s probably passed out from drinking and sprawled somewhere. He’s likely in the far room on the second floor.”

“Thank you.”

Rose nodded her head and quickly ascended the stairs. She dashed down the foul-smelling corridor and reached the far room on the second floor.

The door was slightly ajar. Even through that small gap, the scent of alcohol wafted out.

Rose pushed the door wide open. Immediately, the foul stench assaulted her nose. It seemed like a place where the lower echelons of society who frequented various gambling houses would stay.

Five men were haphazardly entwined on the floor, sleeping. None of them had a healthy complexion, and they exuded a strong smell of alcohol. There wasn’t a single sober soul among them.

Amidst them all, Rose caught sight of George’s face for the first time in a long while.

“Father…”

He looked like the typical image of a worn-out gambling addict. Rose’s heart tightened with emotion. Her breath quivered beneath her throat.

She recalled the words George had spoken when she brought the admission permit to the academy.

“I know what Berkley is like. Do you think you’ll graduate from there? Don’t waste your time. Even if you do graduate, what will you do? You’ll probably help out the family business for a bit and then get married.”

Leaving Quilts was deemed as abandoning the family, and neglecting her duty as the eldest daughter.

What about her father then? Rose wanted to ask George. Suppressing the surging emotions, she carefully maneuvered through the scattered men.

For a lady, it was inappropriate to enter a room where men were sleeping.

‘Mother would faint if she saw me now.’

But Rose Bell’s life was far from relaxed enough for her to always uphold manners and propriety.

Life was a battlefield. No one amid a battlefield leisurely sipped tea, engaged in cultured conversations, or danced social dances.

Navigating between the men, Rose made her way toward George.

“Father.”

She squatted between the people and roughly shook George’s shoulder.

“Father, wake up.”

“What’s thaaat….”

George’s eyes fluttered open, his brow twitching as he woke from his slumber.

“…Huh? Rose… Is that you, Rose?”

George was still half asleep, struggling to differentiate between dream and reality.

“Why are you here….”

“But father, why are you here? Mother is looking for you. And grandmother too.”

“Oh, no, this is… What on earth….”

Just then, a man lying beside them groggily opened his eyes and squinted at Rose with irritation from being awakened. Upon hearing their conversation, he was jolted from his sleep, and upon seeing Rose, he smacked his lips in disdain.

“Who’s this girl? She’s, she’s cute though.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

George hurriedly led Rose out. Thud. He closed the door and cleared his throat a couple of times unnecessarily. He combed his disheveled hair with his hand, adopting a dignified voice as he spoke.

“How did a girl end up in a room where several men were sleeping… Did Anna teach you that?”

At the mention of her mother’s name, Rose’s shoulders trembled. She despised how George continued to act as if he were still noble, despite living a life like a commoner.

“The house documents, where are they?”

“Big deal.”

“Did father take the house documents? Perhaps he already pawned them off or sold them as collateral…”

“House documents? That’s news to me.”

“Father.”

“I’ll be back home in a few days, so just know that. You go back. If it gets out that a girl was seen here, it’ll be a disgrace to the family.”

“I can’t face any greater disgrace than this…”

Rose muttered under her breath.

“What did you say?”

As George opened his eyes, ready to chastise Rose, the man who had woken up earlier in the room emerged.

He was of a similar age to George. An odor emanated from his unwashed body, and his hair was greasy.

His shirt rode up, revealing a hairy belly, yet the man seemed oblivious to any sense of modesty. He even scratched his belly with his hand.

Trembling, Rose turned her gaze away from the man. The intoxicated man, lost in a haze of hangover and sleepiness, mumbled in a groggy voice.

“Hey, George. I think… I think that scumbag, that Wonder Laquoi, must’ve cheated somehow… Otherwise, it’s ridiculous that he’s winning every single round…”

George spoke awkwardly, glancing between the man and Rose. Nonetheless, it seemed he felt a slight embarrassment in front of his daughter.

“You haven’t fully woken up yet. Go back in and lie down some more.”

The man ignored George’s words and grumbled to himself.

“Hey, I’ve been thinking. That guy who looks like a nobleman… Wonder Laquoi, he’s a cheat. I’m sure of it.”

“Alright, let’s go inside.”

“George, when did that guy say he’s coming again? I probably need to visit the pawnshop. I’ve run out of gambling money… Are you coming too? We need to recoup our losses and get out.”

“No, I…”

“You said you have something to leave behind. Was it house documents? Land documents? Anyway…”

As Rose listened to their conversation, her eyes turned redder and she glared at George.