Early in the morning, Elise ran to her mother’s bedroom, excited for her arrival home. As always, the door was firmly closed and the maids were standing in front of it. On a normal day, Elise wouldn’t even think about seeing her mother, but this day was different.

“Miss, you can’t come in right now, the mistress has told us not to let anyone in.”

“It will only take a moment. Mother will already be up by now.”

“Yes, but today…….”

The maid stood in her way, and Elise shot her an arrogant look.

“Get out of my way.”

Cold sweat broke out on the maid’s forehead as she struggled to hold onto Elise. She spoke in a pleading tone with a hint of embarrassment.

“Miss, please, if you go in now, not only will we be in trouble, but you will be in trouble with the madam.”

“What? How dare you threaten me?”

“It’s not like that…….”

“Get out of my way now. If you don’t let me in, I’ll tell her you’ve ruined my favorite dress.”

Elise pushed the poor maid out of the way and opened the door.

The moment the large doors swung open, the early morning sun stung her eyes. Elise squinted for a moment. The back of her mother’s head was in the doorway. It was the first time she had seen her mother in two months. She was sitting at her ornate dressing table, her back straight and unmoving.

“Mother! I’m back!”

Overcome with joy and excitement, Elise burst into the room.

During her summer vacation, she chattered away with interesting stories, her cheeks blushing bright red. Meanwhile, her mother never looked back once, but Elise’s eyes, busy with her endless speech, sparkled with joy, although no one had asked her to speak.

“Please let me get a puppy too. Please, I can take good care of it, okay?”

Elise squeezed her mother like never before.

Not long ago, at her cousin’s cottage for the summer, she’d seen a small puppy chasing after its owner. The dog had belonged to her cousin Rosaline, and it had been adorable, running up to her with its tail wagging and licking its food when she put it in her palm.

And Rosaline had three younger siblings. They were all overly energetic, causing a lot of laughter in the house. Elise was bitterly envious, but she knew how badly Duke and Duchess Bernhardt got along, and she wished she could have a puppy of her own.

Just as Elise’s giggles died down, Duchess Bernhardt stood up from her seat.

“…….”

She was always impeccably dressed, but it didn’t make her beautiful; it merely accentuated her arrogance and stubbornness. The tiny buttons on her black dress were fastened all the way up to her neck, and a brooch symbolizing her family’s majesty sat atop it.

“Are you done?”

The Duchess’s eyes turned to Elise, a cold glint in them. The same emerald-colored eyes that had once shone with beauty were the only part of her that resembled Elise’s.

Elise stiffened in horror at the sight of her parched lips and haggard features. It was something she’d never seen in her mother, who was so perfect that she couldn’t even see the flaws.

“Who let you in? Surely I have told the servants not to let anyone come in.”

“M, Mother, but I just came back after two months.”

“So?”

Her icy gaze immediately shut Elise up.

“What’s the big deal about you coming back, does that mean you can ignore my words?”

The look on her mother’s face was unfamiliar, to be sure, but the waiting form in her hand was all too familiar. The Duchess always carried a long rod in her hand, and whenever Elise or one of her servants misbehaved, she punished them mercilessly.

At the sight of it, Elise’s rosy cheeks quickly flushed with fear, and thick, hooded tears fell from her beautiful eyes. She fell to her knees, clasped her hands together, and begged.

“I’ve done wrong, I’ve done very wrong, Mother.”

“If you did wrong, you must be punished, right?”

“Please, I won’t do it again.”

Elise shuddered and pleaded into her mother’s distant eyes. She had made the same mistake again. It was the kind of mistake she would make again, no matter how much she was cautioned or scolded.

Elise had always forgotten the chilly atmosphere of the house when she was in the company of Rosaline’s harmonious family. Maybe it was a foolish expectation, mixed with fantasy, that this time, when she returned home, things would be different, at least a little, even though they weren’t.

?You’ve been spoiled by your time at the cottage, and it doesn’t matter how many times I teach you, you’re no better than an animal.?

Elise memorized the words from her mother’s mouth as if by heart. Soon her white thighs would be stained with blood. She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched the hem of her dress with trembling hands. But a long time passed, and nothing happened.

Elise gently opened her eyes and raised her head toward the black shadow overhead. Her emerald eyes, parched and dry, were empty. She simply stood there, staring down at her, saying nothing.

“…….”

Elise saw an indescribable emotion in those eyes.

The Duchess soon looked away and called for her maid, who was shivering outside.

“Beatrice.”

“Yes, yes, my lady.”

“Take Elise out at once.”

*

Elise quickly returned to her normal routine. After the fun and excitement of the summer vacation and the horror and fear of meeting with her mother, everything was boring again. The big house with no one her own age felt like a prison to her.

“I’m so bored to death.”

Elise sighed, complaining incessantly.

“Miss, you should go for a walk.”

“Should I?”

Momentarily encouraged by the maid’s words, Elise’s shoulders sagged again.

“My mother would say no anyway.”

The Duchess was very reluctant to let Elise leave the house. She thought she might do something wrong out of sight, especially after her summer vacation.

“There is nothing in this house that I can do as I please.”

Elise muttered to herself and pulled at her hair. A few strands of shiny blond hair and a black ribbon in her hair fell into her grasp.

“I can’t even pick a ribbon to wear in my hair.”

Elise hated the color black. A dull, dark, unbeautiful color.

It was her mother’s color.

“I hope my father comes back soon.”

Elise’s father, Duke Bernhard, was often away from home, but when he returned, he sometimes brought Elise fun toys as gifts. When Elise received them, she always hid them from her mother. She knew she would hate them.

Just when Elise felt she could no longer endure the dull days, Duke Bernhard returned, as if on cue.

“Father!”

With an unexpected gift.

*

“Give your greetings to Lady Elise.”

Elise opened her eyes wide.

‘No way.’

For the first time in her life, she realized that a human being could have such jet-black hair and dark eyes. Of course, it wasn’t just the color of his hair and eyes that shocked her.

The nameless orphan was a beautiful creature. She had never seen such beauty before.

She felt like this was what an angel looked like she had heard about. He didn’t feel like a fellow human being at all, which may have had something to do with his strange demeanor.

“E, Elder!”

He cried out a name she hadn’t recognized from the moment he’d seen Elise, struggling to crawl to his feet. Holding the orphan tightly, the village elder sighed and shook his head. The lines on his brow deepened with irritation.

“I can’t keep him still!”

“Elder? Who is that?”

The village elder hesitated for a moment.

She, Elise, could hardly be described as a prostitute in a den filled with gamblers and drunken revelers. An Elder was a woman who had given birth to an orphan, and she was originally a runaway slave from a very foreign land.

Of course, the aristocratic young lady in front of them was also very beautiful. Her lustrous blonde hair and flawless skin, her rosy cheeks and emerald eyes, and her whole being exuded an almost painterly elegance and grace.

But she bore no resemblance to a harlot Elder, and he could not understand why the orphan would do this.

After much deliberation, the village elder decided to answer modestly.

“I think he’s calling for you. He doesn’t know how to speak properly yet.”

“Elder, Elder.”

Elise looked at the orphan with interest, squirming as he was held back by the village elder, unable to get close to Elise. In a very generous gesture, Elise extended her hand toward the orphan.

“You may come closer.”

The orphan, as soon as given permission, ran over and clung to Elise. He was like a puppy, rubbing its head against Elise’s leg. No, there could not be a prettier puppy in the world. Unable to hide her delight, Elise pushed the orphan’s head away and giggled.

“Stop tickling me.”

The orphan snatched her hand away and frantically pressed his lips on it. The squeak startled Elise, but she quickly broke into a pleasant laugh. His soft, red lips were like a piece of fruit on a sweet cake.

“No, such rudeness to a lady!”

“It’s okay, it’s because he’s no better than an animal.”

Elise forgave the orphan’s rudeness with a generous tone. As she recalled Rosaline’s puppy, which would stick out its tongue and lick her cheek for a long time, the orphan even began to feel special to her. It had taken the dog quite a while to recognize its owner, so they say.

“He’s just like a dog, isn’t he?”

“Well, yes, but…….”

“I like him, I’ve never seen anything so pretty.”