2

“Cough…”

A terrible death was approaching. Everything around me seemed to become quiet.

‘Ah, so this is death.’

I thought to myself, letting go of my body.

‘I just want to die.’

As I tried to surrender to the darkness, someone roughly grabbed the back of my neck and yanked me upwards.

“Ugh!”

I gasped for air as if I were a newborn baby just pulled from the womb.

‘What is this dream…?’

My body felt so heavy that I could barely move my fingers, and my eyes wouldn’t open.

“Sniff, sniff…”

From somewhere, I heard a child’s crying, and the sobs grew clearer.

“Ranya, stop crying. Isn’t it a great honor to go to such an esteemed household? The teacher always said so.”

“But, sniff. Ranya doesn’t want to part from the teacher…. Waaah!”

“Ranya, you will surely become an exceptional lady.”

The soft voice of a woman and the sorrowful sniffles of a child mixed together.

My eyes, which had been hard to open, finally opened wide as I recognized the noisy sounds.

“Alright, let’s go out now.”

“Yes, sniff.”

As the voices faded, a strange yet somewhat familiar ceiling came into view.

‘What is this? I died…’

Yes, I died in that foul-smelling basement because I couldn’t escape.

Feeling a mix of unease and confusion, I quickly sat up from where I had been lying.

But my entire body ached as if I had been beaten.

‘What is this? Aren’t you supposed to not feel pain after death?’

Yet, the pain I felt throughout my body was very real.

I had died.

Yes, I definitely died, but what is this?

‘Ranya?’

If it’s Ranya, she was one of the children I lived with at the orphanage many years ago.

She was beautiful and smart, receiving full support from the nuns, and was adopted by a baronial couple who had no children.

Later, I heard that her treatment worsened when the baronial couple eventually had their own child.

‘Now that I think about it, my view has been so low from earlier?’

Curious, I lowered my gaze slightly and saw a small hand resting delicately on my knee.

‘…This hand is so small?’

Turning my head in shock, I saw my reflection faintly in the window.

There sat a very small child with a pale face all alone.

So, it seemed, the one I was looking at was me.

“Why…”

Why have I become so small!

I couldn’t help but gape at the window.

And that was when all my memories, lost during the experiments, started to come back.

Yes.

This is an orphanage run by a monastery. And this is the place that sold me to a terrible place.

‘I’ve returned…?’

I bit my lip hard as I looked at my reflection in the window.

“… I’ve really become small.”

I appeared to be around ten years old.

‘I used to look like this.’

As an adult, my skin had melted from the side effects of the experiments, and my body always smelled of decay.

But now, it was different.

I still had my long, waist-length, pale green hair and pristine white skin, and my gray eyes like glass were still in place.

My body was a bit thin with prominent bones, but my face was round and very cute.

I couldn’t believe it, so I pinched my cheeks several times with my hands and then clenched my fists.

‘Have I really returned to the past?’

Going back in time, is that possible? No, more importantly, have I suddenly received such luck?

At that moment, my legs went weak, and I collapsed into a sitting position.

‘Could this mean I’m finally free?’

Does this mean I no longer have to live in that insane laboratory?

“Ha, haha…”

This could be the chance given to me by God.

As deep joy began to well up inside me, I tried to suppress a smile.

However, suddenly I noticed black marks on my arms beneath the loose-fitting clothes that didn’t match my small frame.

‘What is this?’

For a moment, a chill ran down my spine.

Swallowing hard, I tensed my body and slowly lifted the sleeve of my shirt.

As I fully lifted the sleeve, I saw that my small arm was covered with bizarre, ancient black symbols.

I quickly pulled down my sleeve, my face going pale.

‘What is this…!’

These are remnants of the experiments. Also, a sign that heralds the end of my life.

These symbols are marks from a mad scientist’s experiment who tried to anchor his deceased wife’s soul.

“No one would care for a dirty, smelly child like you, except me.”

“You’d be stoned to death in the streets if not for me.”

“I’m taking care of you because only I would.”

He always said things like that, but I still believed and endured. I was sure I would be loved if I was useful.

But once I became useless, the man I had considered a father discarded me immediately.

“Among all the orphans bought from the orphanage, only you survived and were a decent vessel…”

– He said so!

I gripped my left arm covered with those strange symbols with my right hand.

‘Why is this all that remains?’

These symbols on my arm gradually spread throughout my body over time and would eventually take my life.

“Damn it…!”

Tears filled my eyes with sorrow.

My endless misfortune. I thought this time I could lead a better life.

‘But if I’ve returned to the past, it means that person is still alive, right?’

The one who conducted those terrible experiments on me.

‘Alright, this time I’ll destroy his laboratory and his life.’

I won’t die alone this time.

In this life, even if I have to die, I’ll make sure he goes down with me.

“First, I need to win favor here and get a recommendation letter.”

This orphanage is one of the most renowned in the Empire.

Being run by a monastery, they have received various certifications from the Empire.

However, beneath the surface, this place is no more than a facade.

Children who excel in their studies are either adopted by noble families or wealthy merchants, or receive support from nobility and stay at this monastery or get into the academy, while those who don’t suddenly disappear one day.

Just a note that they were adopted.

‘They probably disappeared for reasons similar to mine.’

Like me and my long-forgotten friends who fell into the hands of that mad scientist.

So, my goal this time is simple.

‘I need to achieve good grades and be adopted by a reputable merchant family or receive support from nobility.’

After that, I’ll build a base and get my revenge on that person.

I slapped my cheeks with both hands. The reflection in the window gleamed brightly.

‘I won’t be the foolish, obedient one anymore.’

Then I took a short breath.

Now, I need to think about my safety.

‘As long as I don’t fall into the hands of that mad scientist again. Surely nothing else could happen, right?’

But I should not have overlooked one thing.

Returning to the past, I’m smarter than expected, and ‘impossible’ always manages to attract attention.

***

**Crunch-crunch! Tap-tap-tap-tap! Bang-bang-bang-bang!**

The cheerful clatter of chopping echoed through the kitchen. The children in the kitchen stared in awe, unable to take their eyes off the source of the sound.

Tap.

Finally, the noise stopped, and a small face suddenly emerged from between the towering stacks of ingredient containers.

“Chef, I’ve finished chopping the onions and carrots, portioned them, labeled the dates, and done the dishes. Please check.”

“Hmm, everything seems fine. It’s very neat…”

In fact, the sink and dishes were spotless, and the chopping of onions and carrots was flawless.

“Yes, thank you for checking. May I go and organize the food supplies and items?”

“Ah, go ahead.”

“Okay!”

Even though she was smaller than her peers, the child who had completed her work efficiently came back in less than 30 minutes.

“I’ve organized the food storage too, please check.”

‘Already?!’

Chef Rohan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“…Hmm, there are no issues. It looks like you’ve put in a lot of effort.”

“Yes, I wanted to be a good student and show my appreciation to you.”

Anisha smiled brightly like a ray of sunshine.

Her dazzling smile softened even the chef’s usually stern expression.

He struggled to keep his own smile in check and nodded.

“Ahem, since you’ve completed all your assigned tasks, Anisha, you can leave now…”

The chef still looked at the kitchen with an air of disbelief.

The other children assigned to the kitchen looked at Anisha with envy as they hadn’t yet finished their tasks.

‘This is the first time this child has worked in the kitchen… I don’t understand why she was underestimated.’

The chef was also one of the overall evaluators.

Until the last assessment, Anisha had been at the bottom of the rankings—in history, arithmetic, cooking, etiquette, and embroidery, she was low in all subjects.

‘Can someone change so much in just three months?’

Although all lessons were rotated weekly, the chef found himself wanting to challenge that rule for the first time.

‘I need to ask if it’s possible to keep this child in the kitchen for another month.’

However, he didn’t know.

Over the past three months, many teachers had been eyeing this child due to her remarkable achievements.

***

‘Ah, I’m tired.’

Anisha left the kitchen, lightly patting her shoulders with her fists.

“It looks like my scores are steadily improving.”

In just three months, the teachers had begun to take notice of her.

All the effort and experience she had accumulated, trying to please the temperamental, eccentric scientist and earn his praise, was finally paying off here.

Additionally, Anisha had already nearly completed the training at this orphanage before.

Naturally, simple tasks given to children like these were no challenge for her.

Shangri-La Orphanage.

Here, a small society had formed. There were invisible social classes.

This was a place where children sponsored by nobles and children not sponsored by nobles lived together.

Children sponsored by nobles were the ones with top overall evaluations.

And the other ordinary children were usually divided into three classes. However, children sponsored by nobles were further divided depending on which noble was sponsoring them.

Thunk.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Ah, it’s dirty now. Useless trash…”

Six months ago, or rather before the time reset, I had been exactly in the category of ‘ordinary children.’

Just a slight bump, and yet a boy who looked to be around sixteen scowled and spat out curses.

“Sorry? Is ‘sorry’ enough? Do you think you can talk to someone like me after killing someone? Do you really think trash like you can speak to me?”

Of course, that was something from before the reset. The person I am now has no intention of bowing to anyone.

“Yeah, I think so.”

Anisha replied with a bright, innocent smile that could make someone feel like their world was being turned upside down.