Chapter 01

It was a day of late winter rain.

“I’m Anton Schnauder of the Panyu District 4 Security Corps. Are you Miss Rodia Prokheit?”

Rodia couldn’t understand why it was a city guardsman from Panyu—and not the university chancellor—who had come looking for her.

Still, she obediently took out her identification card and handed it over.

“Yes. I’m Rodia Prokheit.”

The card displayed her photograph, national registration number, and the address of the dormitory where she currently lived.

It was the national ID issued after Heint’s political system had changed five years earlier.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

The man returned her identification before continuing.

“The reason we’ve come is that you’re currently the only member of the Prokheit family still in Heint who can verify the identity of Mr. Piagen Prokheit.”

The moment he finished speaking, thunder rumbled across the sky that had been pouring rain all morning.

“Verify his identity? But… my father should have his own identification card…”

“Well… circumstances have arisen.”

The officer hesitated awkwardly.

At that very moment—

Flash!

Lightning split the dark sky.

Rodia’s heart suddenly began pounding.

An inexplicable sense of dread welled up inside her.

Circumstances?

What circumstances?

Something happened to Father?

“Um…”

“…”

“…A man believed to be Mr. Piagen Prokheit was found dead this morning at the mouth of the Seine River.”

“…What?”

Rodia stared blankly.

“Our investigation indicates that he accidentally fell from Wiblang Bridge early this morning. Unfortunately, the current was strong enough to wash away most of his belongings, including his identification.”

“…”

“So… we need a family member to accompany us to officially identify the body.”

Even after the officer finished speaking, Rodia remained silent.

She simply couldn’t process what she’d heard.

Over the past several years, her father had become the worst father imaginable.

Gambling.

Alcohol.

Drugs.

He’d thrown himself into every vice he could find.

Even so…

He was still her father.

Her mother was already gone.

She had no idea whether her only older brother was even alive.

Piagen was the last blood relative she had left.

Yet here was a security officer standing at her university, calmly telling her that her father was dead.

“…That can’t be.”

“…”

“It isn’t true.”

“…”

“He probably lost all his money gambling on Beint Street… got drunk… went home… and passed out.”

“…I’m very sorry.”

“What do you mean, you’re sorry?!”

She shouted.

“How can you tell me my father is dead? You expect me to believe that?”

“…”

“No… You’ve made a mistake.”

“He’s home… He’s definitely at home…”

“…”

“No… No… That’s impossible…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence.

Only moments earlier, she’d been in an excellent mood because of the dream she’d had at dawn.

Until she’d been summoned to the chancellor’s office, she’d thought she was about to enjoy a wonderful day.

Instead…

This impossible news had been waiting for her.

Like an old film rewinding, her memories carried her back to that morning.

* * *

It was a garden shrouded in darkness.

Only lanterns illuminated the pathways.

Rain fell steadily from the sky.

Drops splashed onto the little red ribbon tied to a pair of bright yellow children’s shoes, staining the cheerful color with muddy spots.

“I… Who are you?”

Beneath the small yellow umbrella Rodia held stood another child.

The sound of the rain made it difficult to hear the child’s voice asking for her name.

When their eyes met, the Rodia inside the dream saw eyes the color of emeralds.

Faded blond hair.

Emerald-green eyes.

Lips that moved as though saying something.

“…”

Rodia suddenly opened her eyes.

She instinctively drew in a deep breath.

“…What was that?”

Her voice was rough with sleep.

Yawning, she rubbed her eyes.

What time is it?

Still dazed, she turned her head.

Across the room, her roommate was fast asleep.

♫~

Right on cue, the alarm clock on her desk began ringing.

Frowning, Rodia got out of bed.

So I woke up before the alarm…

Somehow that felt unfair.

No—

Really.

Really unfair.

If I hadn’t been dreaming, I would’ve woken up when the alarm went off!

She hit the alarm button, but the crease between her brows refused to disappear.

“Ugh… What time is it… Why is it still so dark…?”

Her roommate, awakened by the alarm, mumbled sleepily.

Rodia pulled back the curtains.

“Seven o’clock. And it’s dark because it’s raining.”

“A lot.”

“Ah… I think I’m dying…”

Listening to her sleep-deprived roommate complain, Rodia headed toward the bathroom.

As she furiously brushed her teeth, she found herself thinking about the boy from her dream.

It’s been so long since I saw him.

She smiled unconsciously.

Faded blond hair.

Emerald-green eyes.

They were the unmistakable features of her first love—

The boy she’d met exactly once when she was very young.

“It’s been a while.”

“Hm? What?”

“Oh—nothing. I was just talking to myself.”

Her roommate, barely awake, wandered into the bathroom.

Rodia waved her off and continued brushing.

Come to think of it…

It had been around this same time of year when she’d met him.

A winter day.

Rainy weather.

Meeting her first love again in a dream after so many years somehow made her heart lighter.

She had a feeling today would be a good day.

“Ridi! My class starts at nine, so I’m leaving first! See you later!”

“Take your umbrella!”

Rodia waved at her friend’s retreating back.

As she leisurely got ready after her roommate left, thoughts of the mysterious boy continued drifting through her mind.

That day had been the royal palace’s Founding Festival banquet.

It was also the first formal ball young Rodia Prokheit had attended as the daughter of Baron Genedin.

Her grandmother, Eugena Prokheit, had once been awarded the title of Madame Flora by the former queen and had served as Queen Chatrinne’s chaperone.

In other words…

Her grandmother had possessed enormous influence within high society.

Holding her grandmother’s hand, little Rodia had wandered into the palace’s central garden—

Where she’d met the boy from her dream.

And fallen in love at first sight.

“…The assignment!”

“Ahhh! No!”

Halfway through eating a piece of bread while thinking about the dream, Rodia suddenly remembered the assignment she had to finish before her eleven o’clock lecture.

She stuffed the remaining bread into her mouth, sprang to her feet, and threw open her wardrobe.

Pulling on a blouse and skirt, she grabbed the fashionable tailored jacket she’d recently bought and dashed out of her dorm room.

“Ridi! Over here!”

Friends who had already claimed a table in the library waved at her.

Completely out of breath, Rodia hurried over.

“I’m dying… Whew… I start here, right? Article 107? Was mine about violations?”

“No.”

Isolesia answered without lifting her head from her book.

“You’ve got Articles 103 through 105—including the violations. Most actions covered under Article 103 are automatically considered absolutely void, so read carefully.”

“Why do we always wait until the last possible minute to do these assignments?”

Rodia sighed as she opened her notebook.

None of the other three students responded.

Rodia Prokheit.

Nineteen years old.

A fourth-year law student at Promboat University, the finest university in Heint.

Graduation was only around the corner.

“Wow… It’s really coming down.”

Someone glanced toward the window.

Rodia followed their gaze.

Dark clouds filled the sky.

Rain pounded against the glass.

Heavy thunder rolled every so often.

As though by silent agreement, the four of them watched the storm for quite some time.

The silence was finally broken by an announcement echoing through the university’s central library.

“Would fourth-year Law student Miss Rodia Prokheit please report to the Chancellor’s Office immediately. Once again…”

“…Did you do something wrong?”

“Why would the Chancellor be looking for you?”

Rodia shrugged.

“I have no idea.”

Even so, she stood up and made her way toward the administration building.

Rain blew through the open-air corridor.

The sky remained black with storm clouds.

It didn’t look like the rain would stop anytime soon.

As she walked, her thoughts drifted back to that distant memory.

Her grandmother’s title of Madame Flora gave the family immense prestige in noble society.

But it hadn’t been enough to erase the stain surrounding Rodia’s birth.

“Is she really Baron Genedin’s daughter?”

“Genedin…? Isn’t that the family whose heir married a foreigner?”

“That’s right! My parents said she’s Madame Flora’s granddaughter.”

“How disgusting. Mixed blood with some foreigner whose background nobody even knows…”

“Who knows? Maybe her mother’s side are commoners… or even worse.”

“Is it really safe for us to breathe the same air as her?”

“I’m leaving. Sharing a room with a mongrel is humiliating.”

That night…

After being cruelly mocked by children her own age, Rodia ran away in tears.

She wandered into the palace’s central garden by chance.

There…

She met him.

The boy had reached out his hand to the crying little girl with bright blue eyes.

After hesitating only a moment…

Young Rodia took it.

Remembering that moment made her stop walking without realizing it.

The emotion she had felt back then returned vividly.

It was something she had never forgotten.

No one had wanted to befriend the little girl branded a “mongrel.”

Except one boy.

He alone had reached out his hand.

He alone had taken hers.

Faded blond hair.

Brilliant emerald-green eyes.

Little Rodia had smiled at him with all her heart.

“Your eyes were so beautiful…”

Murmuring to herself, she knocked on the Chancellor’s Office door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Rodia Prokheit!”

* * *

That was everything that had happened before Rodia learned of her father’s death.

“…What about Damian?”

“I have an older brother.”

“Where is he?”

“My father has two children. How can I be the only one who can identify him? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Tears filled Rodia’s blue eyes.

Seeing her pitiful expression, the officer silently sighed before answering.

“Mr. Damian Prokheit departed through Palermo Harbor one year ago.”

“He has not returned to Heint even once since then.”

“One year…”

Damian had abruptly left home three years earlier after discovering something in the Prokheit family’s old castle.

If records showed he had only left the country one year ago…

Then he had remained somewhere within Heint for two years after disappearing.

Yet he had never once visited Rodia or their father.

“How could he…?”

A tear fell from her lake-blue eyes.

Soon more followed, rolling down her pale cheeks before collecting beneath her chin.

Her father’s death…

And now the realization that her brother had seemingly abandoned the family without a single visit…

The sense of betrayal slowly spread through her heart.

At that exact moment—

The Chancellor’s Office door burst open.

“It’s not what you’re thinking, young lady.”

The man who strode in pushed the door open with enough force to nearly break it.

Removing his black hat, he walked straight toward them.

He was an exceptionally handsome man with rich golden hair that looked as though it had been woven from sunlight itself.

“Excuse me… could you possibly be…?”

The officer stared at him in disbelief.

The newcomer smiled brightly.

“Allow me to introduce myself.”

He reached into his coat and presented something to the officer.

Rodia saw the officer visibly startle the moment he looked at it.

“Ah! As I thought!”

“It’s an honor to meet you, sir!”

Rodia wiped away the tears still clinging to her cheeks.

Like the officer, she had begun to guess who this man was.

Looking at him with confusion, she asked,

“I think I know who you are… but do you know me?”

The man turned halfway toward her.

He stood at least two heads taller than she did.

“My name is Histein Roat.”

“Beginning today, at Damian’s request, I am your legal guardian.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Who… did what?”