Chapter 2
“Why does Father want to see me?”
Yoo Seol-a's father wasn't exactly portrayed as someone who cared much for his family in the story.
If anything, he constantly sent Yoo Seol-a into dangerous Gates and treated her so harshly it was as if he wanted her dead.
Yoo Seol-a's story had a distinctly tragic, almost-ruinous feel to it, and her father was largely to blame.
“I'm not sure…? I was only told to bring you to the main house, miss….”
It was always like this.
In the story, Yoo Seol-a's father would summon her to the main house through her maid, Yura, without explaining why, and simply issue an order.
And what awaited her was something like a death sentence: an order to go clear an extremely difficult Gate.
If Yoo Seol-a hadn't had the potential to become an S-rank Hunter, she surely would have lost her life in one of those Gates.
—But had he really been treating her this way even when she was still an aspiring Hunter?
“I don't have to go, do I…?”
“Ah…. I'm afraid that would be difficult. They informed us that someone would be sent from the main house….”
What a calculating bastard.
I couldn't refuse in the first place, but I never imagined he'd send someone to fetch me.
Was it because Yoo Seol-a had always gone obediently in the story?
“Ugh….”
A sudden, intense headache washed over me.
At the same time, a memory came back to me.
『“—So the girl who devoured her own mother is still alive and well. I hoped you'd die when I heard you'd caught a bad cold.”
“Cough, cough…!”
“If you hadn't had so much mana, I would've killed you long ago, without the elders getting in my way. But I will kill you someday. So train, and train some more. If you don't want to die, that's all you can do.”
Whoosh!
On the day I came down with a terrible cold, Father looked down at me, hurled the cruelest words I'd ever heard, and walked out.
It was because I was born by killing my mother.
Father doesn't see me as his child, as his daughter, because I'm a demon who devoured my mother and was born.
He wants nothing but my death.
As long as I had mana, I could become a Hunter. And if I did, he would surely throw me into countless deadly situations to kill me.
Into the deadly situations known as Gates—.
But I didn't want to die.
After Yura, my personal maid, told me about the things ordinary girls my age did, I wanted to fall in love and live happily ever after with the person I loved.
That's why I'd train with every ounce of determination I had, until my skin peeled and my bones broke, just so I wouldn't die.
And I'd act as obedient as possible toward Father, keeping my sharp claws hidden.
So I could take revenge on the man who wanted to kill me—my father.』
The memory had been brief and fragmented, but its contents were things I'd never seen in the story.
That's right.
This was a real memory, one that was practically a part of Yoo Seol-a's life.
And it was a wretched, tragic memory of her own flesh-and-blood father declaring that he would kill her.
I had guessed why Yoo Seol-a's father hated her so much based on the story, but I never thought the reason would be this ridiculous.
‘What could a child possibly have done wrong….’
I wanted to punch that obnoxious face right then and there.
But just as Yoo Seol-a had thought in the memory, I had to act obedient for now and sharpen my claws even further.
He might have an obnoxious face, but he was one of the very strongest A-rank Hunters in South Korea, with skills worthy of representing the country.
If I recklessly picked a fight with him, I'd give him an excuse to kill me and Yoo Seol-a before we could do anything.
And Yura, too—.
“Miss, are you all right!?”
“Oh, yeah…. I had a headache for a moment…. I'm fine now.”
“Should I bring you some headache medicine? Or perhaps you should refuse today's summons after all….”
Yura looked terribly worried when I suddenly showed signs of a headache.
I told her I was fine, but she was still so restless that I could understand why Yoo Seol-a had felt so at ease around her in the story.
How should I put it?
She was almost like a real older sister.
“I'm fine now, so don't worry. Please get me ready to go to the main house.”
“If you say so, miss…. But if the symptoms come back, you really must rest, all right?”
“Yes. I understand.”
I finally managed to calm her down and got ready to go to the main house.
About five minutes later—.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
Through the intercom, I saw a man in a black suit with an expressionless face.
“The head of the family sent me.”
He had come from the main house to pick me up—or rather, to pick up Yoo Seol-a, the original owner of this body.
I was a little nervous, but I looked at Yura and nodded.
At my signal, Yura turned on the intercom.
“We'll be right out.”
“Understood. The car is waiting out front, so please come to it.”
After that stiff exchange, Yura and I put on our coats and went outside.
We crossed the small yard.
Past the yard, we opened the gate and found a luxury sedan parked out front.
“Please get in, Miss Seol-a.”
Click.
The man I'd seen through the intercom earlier, who was standing beside the car, opened the door.
“Miss, please get in.”
“All right, Yura.”
I swept my long hair back and got into the car as elegantly as I could.
“Would the young lady's personal maid please take the seat beside Miss Seol-a?”
“Understood.”
Only after Yura had gotten in did the man take the driver's seat.
I had only just gotten into the car, and I was already mentally exhausted.
I couldn't let my guard down for even a moment, so it couldn't be helped, but it was still exhausting.
My heart ached at the thought that my favorite character, Yoo Seol-a, had to endure this every time.
“We'll be on our way, then. It'll take about an hour to reach the main house, so you may sleep if you're tired.”
Yeah.
I'm absolutely not sleeping.
◈
“We've arrived.”
We arrived at Yoo Seol-a's main house exactly one hour later.
The main house, located between Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, was as vast as the estate of a European noble.
Just a few days ago, I had been an ordinary person, and I couldn't even begin to guess how much the land here was worth.
It was that enormous, and every sculpture I saw around the grounds looked incredibly expensive.
I knew Yoo Seol-a's family was tremendously powerful in the story, so I expected the estate to be impressive, but reality was beyond comparison with my imagination.
It was four or five times larger, and far more impressive.
“I've been waiting for you, Miss Seol-a.”
““Welcome, Miss Seol-a.””
When I got out of the car, an elderly man in a black suit and women in elegant maid uniforms standing on either side greeted me.
“The head of the family ordered us to wait here and escort you to him as soon as you arrived. This way, please.”
“Where's Yura?”
“The head of the family instructed us to have your personal maid wait in a private room for the time being.”
It was a conversation between a father and daughter, so of course a maid wasn't allowed to listen in.
Still, hearing that I'd be separated from her made a little anxiety creep over me.
“Can't she come with me as far as the door?”
“The head of the family's orders are absolute. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that's not possible.”
“I see….”
What a suffocating household.
Still, I had to tread carefully, so I decided to follow his instructions for now.
It wasn't as if I was parting with Yura for good.
“See you in a little while, Yura.”
“I hope your conversation goes well, miss.”
After saying a brief goodbye to Yura, I followed the old man until we reached the head of the family's office.
A truly grand, massive door stood right in front of us.
Knock, knock.
The old man knocked cautiously.
Then he called through the door.
“Head of the family, I've brought Miss Seol-a.”
“Send her in.”
A deep, commanding voice came from beyond the door.
Perhaps it was this body's instinctive wariness, but my heart pounded just from hearing his voice.
Wouldn't it pound even harder once I saw his face?
But I couldn't run away now.
That would give him an excuse.
So I did my best to remain calm.
“Please go in, Miss Seol-a.”
Creeeak.
The massive door opened, and I stepped inside with a confident stride.
A fierce-looking man sat behind a wide desk, sorting through some documents.
That was him—.
“You're here.”
“Yes, Head of the Family.”
He was Yoo Seol-a's father, ‘Yoo Ho-ryeong.’
Perhaps it was this body's instinct, but the word for head of the family came out on its own instead of father.
Maybe that obnoxious man had treated her harshly since childhood so she wouldn't call him father.
“I called you here for a reason.”
He set down the pen in his hand and fixed me with a sharp gaze.
“You're to be engaged.”
“Pardon?”
“At last, even you, a useless girl who does nothing but enjoy the elders' protection, have some use. Isn't it about time you stopped wasting my money?”
What the hell was he talking about?
An engagement, all of a sudden?
And he was the one who couldn't stand the sight of me, kicked me out of the main house, and set me up in a separate home. Now he was accusing me of wasting his money?
Did this man have no conscience at all?
“Your prospective fiancé will come to see you tomorrow, so stay here today and tomorrow. Understood?”
Of course, I hadn't had any choice from the start.
I'd just have to do as I was told.
“Yes, Head of the Family….”