The bright, warm sun hung high overhead.
In the northern part of the continent, the summer weather was mild and pleasant.
The moment Rosily stepped into her own yard, she caught the earthy and grassy scent carried by the breeze.
Compared to when she had just opened her eyes in the morning, she was now full of energy after a hearty meal.
She wandered around the stone-piled fence, curiously observing it.
Moss grew between the stones, and some small, colorful wildflowers had even sprouted.
Rosily picked one and sniffed it.
There was a faint fragrance.
She stared blankly at the tiny white flower—barely the size of a fingertip—then held it to her lips and licked it with her tongue.
She couldn’t taste anything, so she popped it into her mouth.
She had barely taken a bite when a sour and bitter grassy flavor exploded on her tongue.
“Blegh!”
Rosily scrunched up her little face and spat it out onto the ground.
Her pink tongue rubbed against her teeth, trying to scrape away the awful taste.
The few small garden plots in the yard had only been tilled, with nothing yet planted.
Naturally, Rosily’s gaze wandered past the stone fence.
Facing the front of the house was a small villa district.
On the other side lay an open field, and farther beyond that, a dense forest.
Rosily looked down at her own legs.
Enya had prepared plenty of clothes for her.
After washing her clean that morning, she dressed Rosily in a pretty little dress, mostly black and white in color.
It was summer, so she wasn’t bundled up, and the cool air didn’t bother her at all.
Earlier that morning, Rosily had felt awkward using her legs—like she was walking with them for the first time.
But now, it felt as if those legs had belonged to her for over ten years.
A gust of wind blew by, lifting her pale golden hair into the air.
Rosily moved a few meters—five or six—from the stone fence and came to a stop.
Facing the fence, she took off running.
One step, two steps, three steps—on her seventh step, Rosily leapt.
Her heart pounded faster and faster, and her blood surged through her body.
Rosily gazed ahead, soared with the wind, and laughed joyfully, feeling free and light.
Her past felt like a beautiful dream.
Whether it was real or not didn’t matter anymore.
She knew her present was real.
Three meters—that was how high she jumped after her running start.
While airborne, she even spun once.
But when she landed, her foot slipped, and she landed on her butt with a thud, tumbling a few times.
Tears welled in her eyes from the pain.
Yet she still giggled foolishly.
Rosily got up, brushing the bits of grass off her dress.
She turned to check her clothes and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw they hadn’t gotten dirty.
“Will Mama be mad if I mess up my clothes?”
She thought back to this morning when she’d woken up only to get smacked—because she’d broken the bed.
So Rosily figured she should probably be more careful.
But those thoughts vanished from her head almost instantly—gone within a few breaths.
Right now, all she could think about was: Play!
Before her stretched a vast, open meadow—and no one could resist running wild across it.
“As long as I get home before dark, it’s fine.”
That’s what Rosily told herself, completely forgetting the other instruction: “Don’t run too far.” She took off across the grass, letting her boundless energy run free.
She sprinted all the way to the top of a small hill and was amazed to see a small river running east to west.
A wooden bridge spanned the river, and beyond the bridge stood a windmill.
Driven by curiosity, Rosily ran straight down the slope, reaching a carriage path and following it to the bridge’s edge.
She glanced at the clear flowing water below and couldn’t help picking up a clump of dirt to toss into it.
After hearing the splash, a strange sense of joy bubbled up inside her.
“Ớ ₃ờ~ Hoo-hoo.”
Rosily hummed a little tune as she skipped and hopped toward the windmill.
The windmill’s blades were already tattered.
Its door stood wide open, and inside were overgrown weeds and cobwebs.
The wooden walls, weathered by wind and rain, had turned grayish-black, speckled with patches of green mold.
It looked like no one had used this place for a very long time.
Rosily stepped inside and saw only two round stone grinding plates and some broken wooden debris.
She looked up at the wooden structure above—some kind of mechanism—but she didn’t really understand it.
After leaving the windmill, she followed a dirt path that hadn’t yet been overrun by grass.
It led straight into the forest, disappearing into the distance.
Maybe it was a route to somewhere important?
Suddenly, movement in a nearby bush caught Rosily’s attention.
Instinctively, she gave chase.
Soon enough, she got a good look at the creature darting through the woods.
A gray rabbit—leaping left and right at high speed, trying to evade her pursuit.
Maybe it had strayed too far from its burrow, or maybe it was hoping to escape its predator by wearing her out.
Rosily stuck to its trail relentlessly, never letting it get too far.
The distance between them held steady—neither side could gain or lose ground.
The girl’s agile figure darted through the forest, her movements becoming more coordinated with each step.
She quickly analyzed the terrain and, seizing the perfect moment, burst forth with astonishing speed—tackling the gray rabbit to the ground.
But because she had rushed in too fast, she lost her balance and tumbled down a slope—rolling all the way to the bottom.
When she finally came to a stop, Rosily slowly opened her eyes and looked around.
She had landed in a small ravine deep within the dense forest.
The rabbit kicked its legs a few times in her arms.
Rosily quickly tightened her grip, carefully grabbing the rabbit by the scruff of its neck.
At first, it resisted, but once it realized there was no escape from the girl’s grip of steel, it stopped struggling.
Rosily looked at the rabbit and thought, I’ll show it to Mama!
But then she looked down and saw her dress—filthy and torn from the slide down the hill.
Suddenly, she had a new thought: Mama might praise me… but she’ll definitely scold me first.
“Ugh…”
She wiped her nose and was just about to head back when she heard a sudden noise.
Lifting her head, she saw a man in a black cloak tumble down from the opposite slope—in broad daylight.
The man reeked of blood, and Rosily frowned.
He struggled to his feet and spotted the golden-haired girl about six or seven meters away.
He quickly grabbed the sword that had fallen beside him and pointed it at her warily.
Rosily and the strange man stared each other down.
The man didn’t dare move—worried this girl who’d appeared out of nowhere might be some kind of hidden powerhouse.
Then… Rosily ran.
She ran even faster than the rabbit.
The man blinked in confusion for a second, then gave chase.
Even he wasn’t sure why he was running after her.
Tftc!
Your mother will definitely scold you, son.And that guy will get in trouble haha