Episode 2
Estella got off the train with the child in a city called Chameron, known as the empire’s “second capital.”
Right outside the station was a grand plaza covered in neatly laid tiles and a towering red-brick clock tower.
It was a beautiful place—but for Estella, it couldn’t have been worse.
“A big city like this is the worst…”
Everything here was expensive, and now she had to start a new life from scratch. Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
“Hoo…”
First, Estella led the child back into the station and headed toward a quiet corner where there weren’t many people.
“Are you hungry?”
The child shook her head.
“Answer with words.”
“…No.”
“Good.”
After the short exchange, Estella took a paper envelope from her handbag—one she had already filled with money—and slipped it into the child’s bag. Then, she set the child’s small suitcase next to her.
“Listen carefully now.”
Estella crouched down so she could meet the child’s eyes.
“Stay here and look for an elderly couple who are well-dressed and look kind. When you see them, go to them right away.”
The child looked up with confusion in her eyes, but Estella continued without softening her tone.
“Anyone who can afford to be at this train station is rich, so it won’t be hard to find someone who looks wealthy.”
“…”
“Out of them, find a nice-looking older couple, and cry—tell them you lost your dad. Got it?”
After a moment of silence, the girl asked quietly:
“…Why?”
“Because right now, anyone who looks at you will think you’re a noble’s daughter.”
That’s why Estella had taken off the child’s black mourning dress and dressed her in something expensive-looking.
“No one will suspect you’re an orphan. Someone will take you in.”
The child blinked slowly.
“Then… What about you?”
“I’m leaving.”
“You’re not… staying with me?”
“Right. No one will take you if we’re together.”
No one takes kids off the streets. But a child who looks like a noble girl? That’s different.
If they’re lucky, a noble family will adopt her. If not, a city guard will find her and send her to a proper facility.
“…”
But the child didn’t know any of this. Her expression turned sullen.
Estella looked down and said firmly:
“Don’t make that face. You’re not a child who’s been abandoned—you’re a child who lost her parents.”
“But…”
“If someone asks about the money I gave you, say it was travel money your family gave you. That way, they’ll believe you come from a good home. Got it?”
She gave a few more instructions:
Don’t mention your father is dead. Say you were here on a family trip.
Avoid women wearing heavy makeup or low-cut dresses.
Honestly, Estella doubted the young girl could remember all that. But out of what little conscience she had left, she kept explaining.
“If you do exactly what I said, you’ll end up in a decent home. That’ll be much better for you than coming with me.”
With those final, almost excuse-like words, Estella turned around.
She quickly grabbed her suitcase before the girl could reach for her skirt.
But the child just stood there like a statue, silently watching Estella walk away.
Her back itched with guilt. Her throat felt like it was stuffed with thorns. But she didn’t stop.
“This is the right thing.”
A woman with a child can’t even get a basic maid’s job.
And a child with a living mother won’t earn any sympathy.
“So this is the best for both of us.”
Muttering excuses to herself, Estella left the station.
Just as she rushed toward the big clock tower in the plaza, something heavy and cold hit her forehead.
Plop. Plop.
“…Ha.”
As if the situation wasn’t bad enough already, the skies had to turn gloomy and start raining. Misery really had no manners.
“Nothing ever goes right…”
With a long sigh, Estella ran under a nearby tree.
The train station was technically closer, but what if the child saw her returning and ran out after her?
If that happened…
Estella shook her head quickly.
“An eight-year-old can survive on her own.”
Estella—no, Stella—had been an orphan from birth.
Of course, she must’ve had a mother who gave birth to her and a father who provided the seed, but as far as her memory went, no one had ever been there.
Her first memory was of digging through a trash bin and getting scratched by a stray cat.
That was five-year-old Stella, surviving completely on her own.
“That kid’s lucky, actually.”
She had nice clothes, and even money to buy herself bread.
“It’s luxury—pure luxury.”
As if trying to justify herself to someone, Estella muttered those words a few times while opening her suitcase.
She meant to take out a coat to keep off the rain.
But the first thing she saw wasn’t a coat—it was a pearl necklace.
“This is…”
It was an expensive piece of jewelry she had secretly taken from the mansion—a small piece of conscience she’d left in the child’s bag.
“Why is this…?”
Then it hit her.
Around eight hours ago, just after they boarded the train, she had fallen asleep without even putting the luggage away.
— Clunk!
— “Ah…”
The sound of rustling baggage and the child’s barely audible voice.
She had thought about opening her eyes, but after everything—yesterday’s funeral, today’s trip to Chameron—she had been too exhausted.
So she ignored the risk of the child rummaging through the trunk.
Ignored the idea that someone might get upset seeing her belongings in a mess.
And slept.
“So then…”
The child must’ve taken the pearl necklace and earrings from her own suitcase and moved them to Estella’s.
With a stiff hand, Estella picked up the ivory-colored necklace.
“Why… would she…”
She had put it in the child’s bag—first, to make her look like a noble’s daughter.
And more honestly, to lessen the guilt of abandoning an eight-year-old alone.
But here it was, back in her own bag…
Estella pressed her lips together and closed her eyes.
“Troublesome…”
Clenching her teeth, she held the necklace in one hand and slammed the suitcase shut.
The rain, which had started as a few drops, was now pouring down in thick sheets, soaking the hem of her dress.
Estella stared at her muddied skirt and muttered again:
“This is so damn annoying.”
The kid.
The situation.
And worst of all—her own clumsy conscience.
“Haa…”
Finally, with her luggage in hand, she charged back into the rain.
Swoooosh—
The downpour blurred her vision.
Whether it was the rain or her emotions, she couldn’t tell anymore where her future was headed.
But the cold, round pearls in her hand still gave off a sharp, unmistakable sensation.
Estella didn’t resist the uneasy feeling.
She ran straight back into the station, holding onto the pearl necklace.
“Haa… Haa…”
Panting heavily, Estella wiped her wet forehead and eyes with the hand still gripping the necklace.
“Ayla…”
With no hesitation, she started walking—no, almost running—back to where she had left the child.
Water dripped steadily from her soaked hair.
“Ayla?”
She told herself that the droplets sliding down her cheeks were just rainwater, and called again.
“Ayla!”
But there was no reply.
There wasn’t even a shadow of the little girl where Estella had left her.
Panic flooded her chest.
Estella ran through the train station, grabbing strangers as she went.
“Have you seen a little girl? Holding a bunny doll, carrying a bag—”
“No, sorry.”
“Have you seen a girl this tall?”
“A girl? Hmm, not sure.”
How long had she been searching?
“Have you seen a young girl alone?”
Finally, one elderly lady narrowed her eyes and seemed to recall something.
“A girl… I think I saw one over there earlier.”
“Where? Which way?”
“Over there, by the west gate.”
The woman pointed to a glass door—on the exact opposite side of the plaza gate Estella had used.
It was as if Ayla had chosen the furthest place from Estella on purpose.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
After giving the old woman a deep bow, Estella ran toward the west gate.
Just before she got there, she saw a small figure sitting in a dark corner—arms wrapped around her knees.
Her face was buried, but Estella instantly knew it was Ayla.
Blood rushed back into her cold fingers.
“Ayla…”
The moment she called her name, a deep wave of relief surged through her chest—as if her heart had dropped and hit the floor.
Estella shouted louder, her voice echoing through the station.
“Ayla!”
The child flinched and looked up. Her eyes grew wide.
“A…”
—M…mom?
She seemed about to say the word, but quickly shut her lips and turned her head sharply to the side.
“……”
Trying hard not to cry, her chubby cheeks trembled, while her little chin wrinkled from the effort.
Estella rushed over and sat in front of the girl, face to face.
“Why are you still here?”
“……”
The girl didn’t answer, still turning her face away as if refusing to even look at her.
But the more Estella spoke, the more Ayla’s eyes filled with tears.
Watching that, it felt like something sharp pierced Estella’s chest—like a nail had been driven into her heart.
“Ayla.”
Letting out a sigh, Estella gently pulled the girl into her arms without thinking.
“I’m sorry.”
