chapter 01
“So I end up dying without ever even getting to enjoy life.”
At my mother’s rasping voice, I held my breath for a moment.
It was a bitterly cold winter day.
Outside the window, sharp snow blew violently, while my younger siblings slept soundly, unaware of anything.
It was a sacred moment of farewell.
“…Mom.”
Holding back tears, I tightly grasped her hand.
Then I said firmly,
“If Dad went and had three other kids, you’ve already enjoyed life enough.”
“Hmph. I’m saying it because I regret it. I could’ve enjoyed it even more.”
Honestly, she was impossible.
My tears vanished instantly as I flung away her thin, bony hand.
Even before she collapsed from illness, she had seduced every half-decent man around—what regret could she possibly have left?!
“Can you please stop obsessing over handsome men!”
“It’s not me who was obsessed—they were obsessed with me!”
“Ugh. No wonder you’ve never been practical.”
“Bebe. Men are all impractical anyway. If that’s the case, you might as well pick the best-looking ones.”
Well, that’s true.
Without realizing it, I found myself half-agreeing as my mother glanced toward the siblings lying by the bedside.
“And thanks to that, all of you turned out so pretty, didn’t you? I wonder how you all only inherited the best parts of me and your fathers…”
Seriously, what good is being pretty when we’re poor?
We’ll just end up like her, tangled in misfortune.
As a ten-year-old girl who had seen enough of the rough world, I snorted quietly. My mother, however, continued reminiscing as if she were excited.
“Sean was so kind. Hugh looks stiff on the outside, but he’s soft inside—that must come from him. If only that accident hadn’t happened, he would’ve been a good father to you all… My time with Charles was short but fun. And Mickey too. Ah, I wonder how Liam, who gave sweet curly hair to our Dido, is doing…”
“He’s still gambling.”
“That damned bastard. I should’ve cut off his wrist.”
You already broke a few of his fingers and chased him off.
But she still didn’t seem satisfied, grinding her teeth at the memory of the youngest sibling’s father.
He was especially the worst of the bunch—gambling, drinking, and causing chaos.
He had ruined our household completely and eventually even stole the emergency savings my mother had prepared for us.
“…At least we managed to salvage this, I guess.”
I fiddled with the old cord hanging around my neck.
Honestly, it probably wasn’t worth much even if someone stole it.
Shaking my head, I heard my mother mutter through gritted teeth.
“And your father… I don’t even know if he’s alive or dead.”
“I’d prefer it if he were dead.”
I coldly replied as I let go of the necklace.
It would be better if my biological father had simply died somewhere than to have abandoned a pregnant woman and lived freely.
My mother looked at me with warm eyes as I frowned.
Even though her body was paralyzed and she couldn’t move, her golden eyes still shone vividly with life.
“Bebe, your father was on a completely different level from other men. Like a….”
“A prince?”
I had heard that line so many times my ears were about to rot.
That damn prince. Which fairy tale prince seduces a young girl and disappears?
Unlike my indifferent tone, my mother smiled brightly.
“Yes! Truly! He sparkled!”
She looked like a girl in her first love.
I sighed deeply, then ended up letting out a small laugh.
Foolish mother.
I knew she couldn’t forget that “prince-like” first love, so she kept trying to attach herself to one man after another.
And I also knew she had failed every single time.
The window rattled violently as the blizzard worsened.
I glanced around for no reason, then up at the ceiling, scratching my cheek before finally speaking.
“…Thank you.”
“Hmm?”
“For giving birth to Hugh and Dido.”
At that moment, I understood she felt guilty for passing such a heavy burden onto me.
But I was sincerely grateful.
Because I had siblings I would need to support.
Because I wouldn’t be left alone.
“Thank you so much.”
For loving me.
My mother weakly curled her lips upward.
It was a smile that couldn’t quite become a cry.
“…What do I do? My Bebe is still just a baby.”
“I’m grown up. Ten years old is old enough to get a job as a maid. I can earn money. Teacher Morgan said I’m quick with my hands and sharp, so everyone will like me wherever I go. And Hugh and Dido are good kids—they’ll definitely help me.”
As I rambled on deliberately, my mother slowly closed her eyes with a faint smile.
I continued speaking clearly until the end.
“So don’t worry.”
“….”
“I’ll live well.”
It was a vow.
Something that must be kept.
Bebe Flan.
But then… what is this?
“Haah.”
Exactly twenty years old.
I was dying.
From the exact same disease as my mother.
Even the reason was the same.
“If you had just kept drinking black herb tea regularly… you might have been fine.”
Because we had no money.
I gave a hollow laugh at the doctor while lying there like a corpse.
“One root of that costs as much as several pounds of meat.”
“But still…”
“And it doesn’t even cure it, right?”
It was an incurable disease.
The black herb only slowed its progression.
Which meant I would need to spend the cost of several pounds of meat every single day just to keep living in a sick state.
“…Disgusting.”
We were already behind on rent.
I stared at the half-rotted ceiling with dry eyes and said,
“Doctor Morgan, I have a request.”
“Go on.”
“Please sell this.”
I gestured below my neck.
More precisely, to the ring hanging on the old cord.
A shabby keepsake my mother had tied around my neck since birth and treasured.
“It won’t fetch much, but use the money for rent… and please buy new shoes for your daughter Ginny. Hers are very worn out.”
At that, the kind-hearted widowed doctor looked like he might cry.
“But that ring… it was left by your father…”
“Exactly. I don’t need it anymore.”
Maybe I never needed it in the first place.
Even when every coin mattered, why had I stubbornly worn it all this time?
I let out a cold laugh.
Like mother, like daughter—stubborn and foolish.
“…There’s no reason to keep wearing it to find its owner. Please sell it. The living have to survive.”
A home for my siblings and new shoes for Ginny—that was more than enough value for this ring.
Even speaking a few sentences left me breathless.
Time was running out.
My younger siblings, wandering somewhere across the land unaware of anything, flickered in my mind.
My beloved Hugh and Dido.
Do you hate your cruel older sister who sent you away?
When I told you to grow up and earn money, I didn’t mean it.
I couldn’t let you see me die from the same illness as Mom.
I didn’t want to see you sacrifice yourselves trying to save me.
Please forgive this useless sister.
And…
“Sorry, Mom.”
I won’t be living well after all.
I urged Morgan weakly.
“Doctor Morgan, please hurry.”
After a long hesitation, he finally took the ring.
The absence of its dull weight, which I had carried all my life, felt strangely relieving rather than empty.
“Hah… just sell it quickly…”
“Alright!”
Suddenly, Morgan stood up as if he had made up his mind.
“I’ll use the money to send a message to Hugh and Dido! Just wait!”
Then he rushed out of the house.
He must have intended to sell the ring and use magic communication tools.
I tried to speak toward his fading figure.
No. Please don’t.
‘What a waste of money…!’
Do you know how expensive communication is?!
You should be buying Ginny shoes instead, you foolish man!
I’m dying right now anyway!
The moment I raged inwardly, my vision spun.
Ah.
How pathetic.
Money, money, money.
Even at the very end, my life was so miserably bound to money.
“I’m dying without ever getting to enjoy life.”
Ah, Mom.
That was supposed to be my line.
As I drifted toward unconsciousness, chaos suddenly erupted outside.
“Be-Bebe would never steal anything…!”
“Then even more reason to check!”
Morgan and several agitated people struggled as the door of the house burst open.
And the last words that pierced my ears were:
“This is the ring of the missing young master Ambrose!”
Ring.
House Ambrose.
The imperial empire’s greatest noble family?
Then that means I am…
Tears finally slipped down my cheeks as my birth secret was revealed.
Ah, Mom…
“You should’ve told me to sell it sooner!”
And so, I died.
