Chapter 66
I was angry at my sisters for abandoning Fabian in such a dark forest, and at my parents who pretended not to hear my cries.
But in the end…
That anger turned on myself.
How ugly I must be, how unbearable—so much so that even my blood relatives came to hate me.
Maybe, if I had never been born, Adrian might have been born healthy, just as Mother said.
But…
But… I ask myself. Still… What could I possibly have done? If I had done something differently, would Adrian still be alive now?
In the darkness of the forest, my thoughts lost their way and tore through my heart.
Curled up on a tree stump, I mulled over countless thoughts until exhaustion overcame me, and I nodded off.
Then, I woke up to the sensation of something poking my shoulder, repeatedly.
“Ouch…”
What is that? A branch stirred by the wind jabbed me? But it felt far too forceful.
Floria, suddenly alert, opened her eyes in surprise and raised her head.
“What…?”
From the murky gloom, a voice reached her—definitely a man’s voice. “Seems you’re not dead.”
Startled by the sound, Floria opened her mouth and rose to her feet. “It’s a person.”
She looked up at whoever had poked her.
There, a towering man astride a horse, clad in helmet and armor, looked down.
The object that had pierced her shoulder was the shaft of his spear. “Are you even human?”
the man asked. “To be resting so leisurely in such a deep forest at this hour…
I thought you were a corpse or a ghost.”
His assumption was understandable—night had nearly fallen, and even the shadow of the man before her was blurred.
A lone girl sleeping in a forest like that would seem strange under any circumstances.
Still dazed, Floria managed to speak with moving lips.
“I’m neither a ghost nor a corpse. My name is Floria.” “Floria.”
He repeated her name, letting it roll off his tongue—there was a faint accent.
The man’s body was immense, unlike anyone she had ever seen.
His deep, unfamiliar voice made her tremble strangely.
Though his face was almost entirely concealed by the helmet, she knew he was studying her.
This man on horseback could be the last chance she had to survive. With her mind clearing, she tried to assess the situation coldly.
Her mother, who would hate her forever for losing her precious son; her father, who had stood idly by; her sisters, who mocked her… no one might even look for her.
Maybe they even wished she’d vanish. Mother’s words echoed in her mind.
“Black cats have always been said to bring misfortune, haven’t they?”
“…”
“You should just forget Fabian or whatever his name was and live your life.”
That was what Mother had said. Maybe she hadn’t meant Fabian—maybe she meant me.
Her heart pounded with pain. A bringer of misfortune. Someone easily forgotten.
That felt like Floria. Her twin brother, born on the same day, hadn’t even drawn a single breath—yet he remained an unforgettable wound in her family’s heart.
Missing and painting them always.
But I am different.
If I disappear, maybe everyone would be happier.
Perhaps that’s why they abandoned Fabian—thinking I would chase after him into the forest and abandon me. They abandoned me.
There was no way such a family would come looking for me. If the man before her abandoned her now, that would be it—all would be over.
Yet even so, Floria still wanted to live.
There were still so many things she wanted to do.
A desperate plea broke from between Floria’s teeth.
“Please save me.”
“…”
“Save me, please.”
The man continued to regard her suspiciously, staring at her for a long time.
With his expression hidden, she couldn’t read his mind, and her heart pounded.
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