UMH 01

Chapter: 01

The pouring rain was so heavy that she could barely see what was in front of her.

Serena wiped the rainwater streaming down her face with a numb hand that could hardly feel anything.

Only then did her vision clear.

She stared blankly at the enormous ducal estate before her, then let out a small sigh rising from deep within her core.

“Ha……”

Even that small breath made her whole body throb as if it were about to shatter.

She raised her thin arm, which looked like it might break at any moment, and fumbled at her side, groaning softly.

The pain surged stronger than usual. Serena bit down hard on her lip, swallowing the groan that threatened to escape.

It felt as if her father’s furious voice was still ringing in her ears.

‘Do you even realize what you’ve done?!’

The one-sided beating had begun with him throwing documents at her.

Touching her ringing ear, Serena let out a crooked smile.

Her silver hair, which once flowed like waves, was now disheveled like a broom. Smiling in such a state made her look somewhat eerie.

‘His Majesty the Emperor is planning to impose sanctions on casino operations. Do you understand now what you’ve done?’

A mere five years wouldn’t shake a ducal house, but the Emperor must have simply been irritated and chosen to vent his anger on her.

And so, that anger had been directed at her instead.

She had been beaten, but she still felt good.

Because all of this was part of her plan.

She quite liked the sight of him jumping in rage like that.

Perhaps it was because she had been standing in the cold winter rain for so long—her body suddenly staggered.

Now that she thought about it, her teeth were chattering as well. Her body was crying out that it could no longer endure.

Maybe she should have built up her stamina.

Though she tried to distract herself with other thoughts, the pain spreading throughout her body was far from light.

Soon, her thoughts broke apart, and Serena let out a faint groan.

Normally, she would have been told to come inside by now, but it seemed he was especially angry this time.

It didn’t look like she would be allowed to return quietly.

“Ugh—”

Her vision spun, and her body swayed. Everything blurred as if her sight might flicker out at any moment.

That was when he appeared.

“Theo—Your Highness.”

Despite the deafening sound of rain that seemed capable of swallowing voices whole, he turned his head as if he had heard her call and looked at her.

He was a man clad entirely in black.

From head to toe, everything about him was pitch-black. If this were a battlefield, his appearance alone would have earned him the name of a grim reaper.

But there seemed to be a reason for that appearance.

His face was twisted as if he were about to cry at any moment.

“Your Highness, how are you feeling? Have you decided to marry today?”

The man, Diego, looked at Serena—her face bruised and swollen from being beaten, yet smiling more brightly than anyone in the world—and slowly wiped the rain from his own face with a gloved hand.

At her question, Diego was momentarily at a loss for words before he spoke in a suppressed voice.

“My lady…”

He tried to say something but closed his mouth again.

Her body was like that of a fragile glass doll, yet covered in wounds—it looked as though she might shatter at any moment.

He tore off his cloak as if ripping it away and draped it over her, who was soaked through in a thin ivory dress.

A faint light flickered in Serena’s eyes as she silently accepted his gesture.

It worked.

Just as she had planned.

Though he hadn’t answered aloud, the act of placing his cloak over her signaled his acceptance.

“Your Highness.”

But she needed to hear it in words.

When she called him again, urging him, Diego bit his pretty pink lips and finally spoke.

“…Very well.”

“You’ve made a wise decision. I will place that beautiful and noble position into Your Highness’s hands.”

Serena whispered into Diego’s ear with a voice filled with exhilaration beyond mere joy—

and then collapsed into his arms.

He carefully wrapped the cloak tighter around her so that not a single drop of rain would touch her, then lifted her lightly and began to walk.

The day Diego gave his answer was exactly one month after Serena had begun her strange yet fervent courtship of him.

It was no different from any other day.

A father who disapproved of her,

and a younger sibling who delighted in tormenting her.

Even with his cold gaze, he was still the first father she had ever had.

And though her brother teased and humiliated her, he still called her “older sister.”

“You can’t even control a single bit of magic, and that’s the state you’re in?!”

The Ashik ducal family was a lineage of mages passed down through generations.

As fewer children were being born, heirs had become precious—so her father had brought her, an illegitimate child, into the family.

“I-I’m sorry……”

That was why she had to do well.

She had to be grateful for even this.

‘Don’t forget that your mother’s life is also in your hands.’

Those were the words the Duke had spoken to her on the first day she arrived.

They still echoed vividly in her ears.

Because those words had taught her what cold reality truly was.

Once again, she had failed to properly control her magic.

Why?

She could do it just fine when practicing alone.

But the moment someone else was present, she couldn’t use it at all.

She needed to be able to use magic to have any value.

She felt anxious and restless.

Tap. Tap.

“To think you can’t even fix one habit. Tsk.”

At her father’s click of his tongue, her fading consciousness snapped back.

It seemed she had been flicking her fingernails again without realizing it—a habit she developed after coming here.

“I’m sorry……”

She spoke in a barely audible voice, lowering her head deeply.

To ten-year-old Serena, her father was an overwhelming and terrifying existence.

Watching him throw the report he was holding at her, she bit her lip tightly.

‘My baby… I’m sorry.’

I have to endure it for Mother.

Clenching her small hands tightly, Serena lowered her gaze.

Her mother suffered from a rare disease that caused her to cough up blood periodically as her internal organs slowly rotted away.

Because it was rare, both medicine and treatment were extremely expensive.

They had barely enough to eat, let alone afford treatment.

Just as her mother was dying before her eyes, the Duke appeared.

In exchange for Serena joining the Ashik ducal family, he would provide all of her mother’s treatments and medicine.

If Mother can live, that’s enough.

I can endure anything here.

That was what she believed.

“You may leave now. I don’t even want to look at you.”

The Duke, still fuming, spoke coldly.

It was fortunate that it didn’t continue further, but—

“I suppose I should reconsider your existence.”

No—perhaps it would have been better if he had continued to vent his anger.

If the Duke lost interest in her—

she had to prevent that at all costs.

“I—I’ll try harder! Please give me another chance…!”

Serena quickly raised her head and took a step or two toward him.

“I’ve given you enough chances! You’re the one who failed to seize them!!”

“I-I’m sorry! Just one more—!”

“I’m sick of it!”

Thud.

Her vision spun, and she heard something fall to the ground.

“Ah……”

Though she staggered from the impact, she didn’t fall.

With a pale face, she forced her mind to process the situation.

If I cry or collapse here, Father will only think I’m even more pathetic.

Only the Duke’s legitimate son could cry or throw tantrums before him.

He had no intention of caring for an illegitimate child born from a one-night mistake.

“—Hk……”

Despite the overwhelming pain, Serena forced herself to remain silent.

Her exhausted body trembled as if it might collapse at any moment, but she bit down on the soft flesh inside her mouth and endured.

She had to endure.

“Hmm……”

After some time, the Duke’s voice broke the silence.

“Good. That appearance is tolerable.”

To say that a ten-year-old child barely enduring pain was “tolerable”—

Her stomach churned, and something rose up her throat, but she swallowed it back down.

Her head spun violently.

“I will take my leave.”

Lifting the hem of her dress, she bowed in perfect noble etiquette.

Watching her, the Duke curled his lips in thought.

Even if she doesn’t become a mage, I can just sell her off in a political marriage. Her looks aren’t bad—if I refine her from now on, she’ll be useful.

Thinking that, his anger subsided.

“Very well.”

As Serena lifted her head and reached for the doorknob—

The door suddenly burst open, and someone rushed in with force.

“Ugh…!”

Already dizzy, she was struck in the back by the doorknob, and unbearable pain spread through her body.

“Father!”

“Oh, Klaus, you’re here.”

As she struggled to hold back her tears, a long shadow fell over her.

Looking up, she saw the Duchess staring down at her with eyes full of disgust, as if looking at an insect.

Despite the pain, Serena hurriedly lowered her gaze and greeted her.

The Duchess passed by without a word.

Through the closing office door, Serena saw them—

a perfectly happy family.

Loving parents, and their cheerful son.

There was no place for her anywhere among them.

Consumed by envy, Serena turned toward the stairs—

and the moment she stepped down, her body tilted.

Pain exploded through her entire body.

Her vision spun wildly before stopping.

When she managed to open her heavy eyelids, she saw a ceiling adorned with a dazzling chandelier.

“Ah……”

And then—

memories that could not possibly be hers forced their way into her mind.

Like an uninvited guest, they broke in—

and finally caused the tears she had suppressed to spill over.

For the first time, words of resentment toward God escaped her lips.

“Dear God… this can’t be…”

If these memories were real—

then this world she lived in was a story within a book.

And in that story—

she was destined to meet a miserable death.

“That can’t be… that can’t be…”

But her thoughts couldn’t continue.

The impact to her head, combined with the fall down the stairs, overwhelmed her.

As she faintly heard the servants murmuring in the distance—

Serena’s vision went completely dark.