Chapter – 02
Lost in thought, Solitarie found herself gazing blankly out the window at a sight that seemed out of place in winter.
But that was short-lived. Sensing a contemptuous gaze, she flinched and hurriedly straightened her posture. According to memories etched into her since childhood, such reactions were always met with violence, so Solitarie’s response was only natural.
The time, thin as black ice, had finally ended.
The carriage gradually came to a halt, announcing their arrival. They had arrived not at the main house’s large gate, but at a small side door tucked away in a corner. And in front of it stood a maid, her annoyed expression plain to see. The man looked at her and gave a slight nod.
“Take her to the family head.”
“This dirty thing?”
“If we take the time to wash her, he’ll be angry that we’re late. Do you think you can handle that?”
At his words, the woman scowled deeply and roughly grabbed Solitarie’s wrist, pulling her along. Not only did she lack proper shoes, but her ankle, twisted and swollen from when the man had shoved her earlier, made walking difficult.
“How can someone have not a single redeeming feature?”
Hearing the maid’s reproach, Solitarie gritted her teeth against the pain and quickened her steps. After walking for a while, the maid stopped before a massive and ornate door. Right around then, a loud commotion could be heard from inside the room.
“What? Are you telling me to see *her*?”
With an angry voice, the large door swung open. Fontana, who had abandoned Solitarie, burst out from inside.
Opening the door and coming out, Fontana clearly saw Solitarie, but she filled her eyes with disgust and passed by her own daughter without a word. Inside the room was Seculus, the head of the Lepus family, sighing as he watched her.
“Tch, come in.”
Seculus, who was roughly running his hand through his hair, noticed Solitarie and gave a slight nod. The maid bowed to him and gave Solitarie a rough shove on her back. With no chance to resist, she entered the room. It was dim, giving the feeling that something terrible could happen at any moment.
As if noticing her rigid stiffness, he spoke with a laugh.
“So you’re that child.”
When Solitarie gave no answer, a frown appeared on his brow, as if he were displeased.
“See, this is where a lack of upbringing shows.”
At his sigh-like voice, Solitarie flinched and trembled. As if bored by that reaction, Seculus got straight to the point.
“The reason I called you to the main house is to show you mercy. If you behave quietly for the week of our youngest daughter Una’s party, I will let you leave the Lepus family. I’ll even ensure you have no trouble making a living. You know well enough that staying here any longer isn’t good for you, right?”
His explanation continued, but nothing much registered in Solitarie’s mind.
A celebration for Una Lepus.
A promise to set her free.
In all of that, Solitarie’s own opinion held no weight whatsoever.
It wasn’t as if she was newly shocked by his actions. After all, he was a father she was meeting for the first time, and being hurt by someone like him would be the height of foolishness. Yet, she didn’t know why a coldness was settling in one side of her chest.
“We can’t ruin our Una’s birthday.”
Faced with this non-negotiable demand, she couldn’t open her mouth.
“I’ll take that as understanding. You’ll have to stay confined to a room for a week, but if you endure just this once, you can live the rest of your life comfortably, so keep that in mind and bear with it.”
His mutter reached her back as she turned to leave.
*She’ll be an expensive nuisance.*
His reason for bringing Solitarie to the main house wasn’t to give her a chance. Seeing her hesitate as if she had heard his muttered words, Seculus closed the door roughly without hesitation.
*BAM!* As the loud noise of the door shutting echoed, she turned her head for a moment to look back at the room she had just left. The once-elegant door now resembled the maw of a snake.
“Ugh, I’m busy to death, why did you come out so late?”
The maid who had brought her here was standing in front of the door. After a brief show of irritation, the maid started walking without any explanation. Solitarie followed her, matching her steps. Limping along, a lovely sound of laughter reached Solitarie’s ears. Chasing the sound, she turned her head and saw through a window a child with shining white hair and brown eyes running towards Fontana.
The moment she saw that, Solitarie realized who that child was.
“Una Lepus.”
Unlike her, this was a child born with everything of the Lepus family, a child overflowing with her parents’ love. Fontana, who had wiped away all trace of the cold gaze she had directed at Solitarie, was now smiling brightly as she lifted Una into her arms. Solitarie hesitated, considering whether to call out, moving her lips slightly, but soon had to move on.
Because the maid’s irritated voice had reached her.
* * *
“Stay here. I’ll bring food once in the morning, so don’t even think about coming out.”
Shoved inside by the maid, the space was chilly, unlike the warm hallway. It was a room with an attached bathroom, as if to inform her she wouldn’t be able to leave this place for a week.
There was a simple cot, but cold air seeped through the window frame, and the blanket was a very thin summer one. The food the maid left was just moldy bread and fruit that wouldn’t be surprising to find worms in. It was food that even animals wouldn’t eat if left outside, but Solitarie picked it up and put it in her mouth.
“Trapped in a place like this, how can I not eat…?”
It was resignation.
A sufficient action for a 12-year-old girl without protection. Yet, Solitarie couldn’t let go of the thread connecting her to Fontana that remained in one corner of her heart.
After staring blankly for a long while, Solitarie ate all the food she had been given. And she cleaned her body with water as cold as ice. It was because of a small hope that if, by any chance, Fontana came to see her, she might look more favorably upon her if she were clean.
Of course, Fontana never showed her face. All Solitarie gained from washing with unheated water in the middle of winter was a severe fever and dizziness.
* * *
It was hard for Solitarie to gauge how much time had passed since her confinement. She only knew a day had passed when the maid brought her meal each morning, and she guessed the day was ending when loud noises were heard every night.
“It’s shining again today.”
She looked at something decorating the night sky, making a sound she had never heard before. Shivering from the cold, she wrapped herself in the thin blanket and sat by the window, watching the sky—it was Solitarie’s only pleasure.
“……Wow, it’s pretty.”
An unknown emotion bloomed in Solitarie’s heart. It was the emotion called ‘hope’. Watching those sparkles rise night after night, she felt that if she made a wish, it might just come true.
‘Mr. Sparkles, I have a wish.’
She couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud, only wishing for it in her heart.
‘Please make Mom…… and Dad change their hearts and love me.’
As if in tune with her wish, *Pop, pop, pop*, the sparkles filled the sky. They disappeared quickly, but soon rose again. Every time they appeared, Solitarie wished, over and over, for the wish she couldn’t utter aloud.
Only when the light died down and they stopped rising into the sky did Solitarie feel the cold again.
Her nose was frozen solid, and her lips were tinged blue.
“Ah…… I’m cold.”
Hoping to preserve what little warmth she had, she rolled the blanket into a round bundle and placed it on the bed. Then, she turned into a rabbit and closed her eyes tightly.
At that moment, with an unexpected noise, the door that had seemed like it would never open, swung open.
Startled by the loud sound, Solitarie flinched and opened her eyes.
“What is this place?”
“Eugh, what’s that smell!”
Soon, voices of children around her age filled the space. Solitarie squinted at the door.
Looking at the open door, the hope of being able to leave was fading, replaced by a growing unease.
The boy and girl she saw looked quite mean-spirited. The instincts of a herbivore were screaming.
*Run away, now.*
But they found her faster than Solitarie could run and hide.
“Look, there’s something over there!”
The girl pointed at Solitarie excitedly, and the boy followed her gesture to look.
“A silver rabbit……?”
“What? Where in the world does something like that exist!”
“Disgusting! How can a rabbit be silver!”
“I know, right? But it’s weird.”
Seeing the boy speaking as if entranced, the girl was startled and tried to move away. Ignoring the girl, the boy poked Solitarie, who was crouched and trembling.
Poking her repeatedly with no reaction, the boy laughed mischievously, as if he’d had a good idea.
“It’s probably dirty because it’s silver. Let’s clean it up.”
The boy grabbed Solitarie’s ear and yanked hard. Having transformed into a small rabbit and having had nothing proper to eat during her confinement, she couldn’t offer any resistance and dangled helplessly from the boy’s hand.
The girl, who had been hesitating for a moment, nodded, indicating she would join in.
