Chapter 10: The Girl’s Story

The girl regained consciousness in the deep, dark hours of dawn.

“Ugh… ah…”

Though she was aware of her surroundings, her vision began to blur again.

In the dim haze, a faint but warm light shimmered before her.

Not much farther now.

She didn’t know who lived in that “orphanage,” but surely, it was a place where an injured, homeless child could stay for a short while.

Or perhaps not.

Maybe, as in the cities, everyone—even beggars on the street—would gaze at her with eyes full of disgust.

But she had no choice.

She had to go.

Clinging to the faintest glimmer of hope was the only thing she could do.

“…”

But, frustratingly, her body wouldn’t move.

Just a little further.

Just a little more, and she would have made it.

Her feet refused to carry her.

“Am I going to die here?”

She had fought so hard to survive.

Was she going to perish here, in an unknown countryside, freezing and writhing in pain?

Slowly succumbing to the darkness?

Thud.

She collapsed again after only a few steps.

She had no strength left to rise.

Even the strength of an infant, as they call it, had long since been spent.

No, she realized.

She had never even had the strength of an infant to begin with—her infancy had no such moments.

“Ah…”

She had always been alone.

Or, to be precise, from the moment she could form coherent thoughts, she had been alone.

Was she abandoned?

Or were there unavoidable circumstances?

No one knew.

Not even the girl herself.

“Come to think of it, it’s been this way from the start.”

The girl lived in the imperial capital, a city known for its splendor and magnificence.

But she was a beastkin.

And she lived in the back alleys.

Those two facts clung to her like shackles.

“Dirty traitor! Where do you think you’re trying to go?”

“…What’s that smell? Do all those alley rats stink like that?”

“Disgusting.”

“…”

She didn’t even know why she was called a “traitor.”

Yet, she endured day after day in a world filled with discrimination and contempt.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from the trash bins?”

“Ugh… gah…!”

Even digging through garbage bins for scraps—rotted and festering leftovers that could barely be called food—invited violence upon her.

She was beaten countless times each day.

But she never gave up.

She hid her cursed ears and tail under a black robe.

She spent hours washing herself secretly by the river, scrubbing tirelessly to rid herself of her grime.

All so she could survive.

“Here, this should help.”

“Wow! Thanks, big sis!”

“It’s nothing.”

“Big sis, you’re so nice! Here, take this.”

“This is…?”

“It’s a bracelet I made myself!”

And then, one day, she helped a small child who had fallen on the street.

When she received heartfelt thanks in return, the girl was overjoyed.

But…

“Ugh, the wind… “

“Huh?”

“Ah.”

At that moment, when a sudden, inexplicable gust of wind briefly swept away her black robe—just for a moment.

“Are you okay?”

She hastily pulled the robe back over herself.

But it seemed the beastkin ears she had tried so desperately to hide had been seen.

The look on the child’s face changed in an instant.

“M-mommyyyy!”

“…Ah.”

“T-there’s a beastkin over there!”

The stark contrast between the child’s reaction now and the gratitude shown just moments ago—when they had gifted her a handmade bracelet—was painfully clear.

“What’s that?”

“How dare you show up here? Get out, right now!”

“No, I just…”

“I knew something smelled foul around here…”

The child’s fearful cry and the sudden hatred in the eyes of passersby reminded her of a harsh truth.

No matter how hard she tried, she could never escape the chains of her birth.

It was then that she decided to seek entry to the Mage Tower.

The Mage Tower, which was said to accept only those with “true talent,” was her one hope.

She believed that there, at least, she would be treated equally and judged solely by her abilities.

“A beastkin? Trying to enter the sacred Mage Tower?”

“We need to make our entrance exams stricter.”

“Stupid beastkin. You must’ve cheated to pass this test with such high marks.”

Unfortunately, the Mage Tower did not live up to her expectations.

To them, beastkin didn’t even qualify as “people.”

Even though she had taken the test and scored the highest in history, their reaction was cold and dismissive.

They didn’t acknowledge her as a legitimate candidate.

“…I’m such a fool.”

Even after being betrayed by people, she had trusted them again.

How foolish of her.

There wasn’t a beastkin as foolish as her.

The girl closed her eyes.

She had been falsely accused of cheating, which led to her right leg being injured.

Then, she was abandoned in this remote forest.

Tears welled up and spilled over. For the first time in her life, the girl cried.

It hurt.

It was unbearable.

What had she done to deserve such cruel treatment?

“Ha… it’s warm.”

Warmth.

For the first time in her life, she felt something warm.

It was probably the heat from the blood flowing from her injured leg.

In the cold and hateful life she had endured, it was ironically her own blood—spilled in the face of death—that introduced her to warmth.

Her blood was far warmer than any person she had ever encountered.

“Damn you, God.”

With her vision fading, the girl cursed God one last time before shutting her eyes.

She thought the flame of her life would flicker out right then.

Yet strangely, it seemed the heavens had other plans.

“Hey, are you… okay?”

How much time had passed?

As her dying consciousness drifted, a small, gentle voice reached her ears.

“…Ah.”

A small, delicate voice.

Someone who appeared to be a young girl was standing beside her.

Maybe… if she asked for help, she could survive?

Help… me…

The girl tried to speak, but for some reason, no sound came out.

Still, she desperately moved her body, attempting to open her mouth.

“She’s a beastkin?”

And then, at the moment she heard those words—”She’s a beastkin?”—her entire body went limp.

She understood immediately.

This person was just like the others.

Just like that child back then, just like the people of the capital, just like the ones in the mage’s tower.

They wouldn’t help her either.

Should I just die…

She recalled the warmth of the blood pooling beneath her.

If living only meant more pain, then perhaps it was better to simply let go and embrace the release of death.

“I’ll save you—just hang on a little longer!”

But at that moment, a voice reached her ears.

A voice she thought she would never hear again.

“What…?”

Stupidly, the girl couldn’t help but hope.

“It’s a promise!”

Clinging to hope that wouldn’t come true was foolish.

It was idiotic, naive, and short-sighted.

But because of that.

Because beastkin are foolish.

Because they are so foolish that even a single warm word can surpass the warmth of blood pooling beneath them.

…Fine.

No matter how many times they’re betrayed, no matter how much they’re scorned, they cling to the hope before them.

“Done!”

How much time had passed?

It seemed the treatment was successful.

The girl realized that the relentless pain in her leg had subsided.

“Ugh, why are you so heavy…?”

“…”

The “someone” who had just saved her was now struggling audibly, grunting as they moved her.

Even though her body was light from lack of nourishment, being called heavy felt both absurd and oddly touching.

How frail must this person be to struggle so much with her slight weight?

That thought brought a pang of sadness.

Amid the whirlwind of emotions—gratitude, sadness, and faint embarrassment—a question lingered.

Why?

Why was this person helping her?

It didn’t make sense.

“Hah… done! This new blanket I just got yesterday feels a bit wasted, but… no, what am I saying?”

Why would this person let a “beastkin” lie on their own bed, especially a brand-new one?

It was baffling.

“They’re sweating a lot… hmm, do I have a towel somewhere?”

Why?

“Ah, forget it.”

Why was this person…

…Did I just hear fabric tearing?

Why were they being so kind?

It didn’t make sense.

And above all.

Even though her blood had stopped flowing, why…

Why did it feel so warm?

The girl drifted in and out of consciousness, caught between overwhelming exhaustion and the ebb and flow of pain.

Eventually, she came to her senses.

“…”

“Snore… snore…”

She heard the sound of someone sleeping.

“…” “Mmmnya…” “…” “Snore… grilled skewer…” “Too noisy.”

Feeling like she’d been forcibly woken up, the girl opened her eyes.

Though at first, the joy of simply being able to open eyes she thought might never open again washed over her, that feeling was fleeting.

Her gaze quickly fell on the small child sprawled across her stomach, fast asleep.

“…Their clothes.”

The child wore white clothes, torn to the point of being ragged, and their equally white hair framed their face.

Beside them lay a thoroughly soaked washcloth and a bowl of food, likely left after tending to the girl through the night.

Was this the one who saved me?

“So small…”

The child was tiny.

Even compared to the girl, whose own growth had been stunted by years of malnutrition, the child was noticeably smaller.

And beautiful.

So much so that the child could easily be mistaken for one of the “dolls” the girl had occasionally glimpsed in the Imperial capital.

Ethereal and adorable, the child seemed almost otherworldly.

As the girl stared blankly at the child, she noticed their golden eyes slowly opening, bright like a shining sun in the sky.

The eyes fixed on hers.

“…Mmm, huh? Oh, good morning… you’re awake,” the child said, stifling a yawn.

Still groggy from sleep, the child looked at the girl and offered, “Hungry? Want me to bring you something to eat?”

“…”

“Huh?”

“…Why did you save me?”

The girl’s voice trembled slightly as she finally gave voice to the question she’d held within.