Chapter 1 : Usual Day

On a chilly day, when the arrival of autumn could be smelled in the air.

In a remote garden of the Hagulo's mansion.

"We're in for a treat tonight."

With her two hands full of weeds, Amelia's eyes twinkled.

Her body was thin, slender to the point of being unhealthy.

Her fingers are riddled with scratches and bruises. Her skin is overall smoky and dull.

Her reddish hair, which reached to her back when let down, was tied in a bun that was frizzy and tangled at the ends.

Amelia Hagulo was the embodiment of what happens when a person is extremely undernourished and sleep-deprived.

Although Amelia was battered and bruised all over, there was still a glow in her eyes.

"Hmm... what shall we eat tonight?"

Champopo and yomogi, butterbur and chickweeds.

These weeds, which would normally go unnoticed, are a valuable source of nourishment for Amelia.

Champopo and yomogi can be made into salads, butterbur can be boiled, and chickweeds can be boiled.

Combined with the meager meals delivered once a day by the chambermaid, it could last for three days.

It would be nice to be able to get some meat or fish when desired, but it is strictly forbidden to move outside of the remote area without permission.

Amelia's stomach rumbles as she recalls the grilled meat riddled with fish bones and sinew that is occasionally given to her by the chambermaid.

"It's gotten really late."

She'd been hard at work gathering food since past noon, and it was already dusk.

The sky to the west has turned to a hue of orange.

A cool autumn breeze ruffled Amelia's smoldering red hair.

The smell of flowers mixed with the smell of soil made Amelia's stomach growl again.

"I'm almost there."

She had gathered enough food.

Now she just needed to gather some herbs to make medicine.

She had been collecting flowers and weeds for many years now, and could easily tell what she could and couldn't eat.

But every once in a while, a plant grows that she had never seen before.

Seeds from outside the mansion, carried by the wind, fall in the garden and bloom new plants.

This is lucky for Amelia, who is always hungry because she is not fed well, but it is also dangerous.

When you have a large amount of experience in herbivory, you can usually tell if something is dangerous by its looks or smells, but there's no guarantee that you won't make a mistake.

When that happens, it's a huge issue.

If it's numbness, vertigo, or fever, it isn't so bad.

But, it can be life-threatening if left untreated.

Since it is forbidden to go to the main residence without permission, Amelia is the only one in the remote house.

So, she has to make do with the medicine she concocts from the weeds growing in the garden.

「It might have been better for Erin and her stepmother if she had just died while in the remote residence.」

It certainly would've been.

Amelia chuckled.

"Okay, I guess this is enough."

Seeing her basket, which she had woven from tree branches, had been filled with weeds and medicinal herbs, Amelia nodded with satisfaction.

Her scrawny palms and worn-out dress are covered in mud, but it doesn't bother her much.

She figured that she wouldn't have to worry about being hungry for a while.

Her heart was filled with a desire to skip, but her body simply didn't have the strength to do so.

Instead, she just lifted the corners of her mouth a little and walked the way back to her house.

"Are you playing with mud again, sister?"

Her shoulders jerked at the sound of the voice.

The corners of her mouth dropped at the speed of a waterfall.

"... Erin."

She turned around and saw a dainty little girl standing there, who was worthy of being called a butterfly, or a flower.

The girl had a sculpted face and clear jade green eyes.

Her waist-length blonde hair was silky and beautiful, and the dress she wore could be recognized as first-class with a single glance.

Amelia wondered once again how such a difference in appearance could exist between sisters.

Amelia's half-sister, Erin's mouth twisted into a grin when her gaze landed on the basket Amelia was holding.

"Oops, I'm sorry."

"Ah, ..."

The basket was struck by a white hand.

The contents of the basket were scattered on the ground with a peculiar sound.

The food and medicinal herbs, which had been separated into different groups, were now all mixed up.

"Pardon me, my hand slipped."

Erin laughed wickedly with a giggle.

Amelia just sighed internally.

She knelt down to put the weeds back in the basket.

At that moment, a white leg swung down from the top of her vision and made a crumpling sound.

"Excuse me, my foot slipped too."

The fleshy legs, wrapped in clean white socks and strappy shoes, trampled over the weeds she had spent so much time gathering.

It all had been ground up and was no longer edible.

Amelia bit her lip.

It would be easy to defy her.

But Amelia's position did not allow her to do so.

「Same as always...」

Amelia thought to herself, then stood up and opened her mouth.

"... what do you want?"

Erin's expression froze.

She was unhappy that she didn't get the reaction she expected.

As if to relieve her exasperation, Erin even trampled the basket lying on the ground.

There was a not-so-subtle cracking sound, and Amelia winced.

The basket, which was handmade and without much reinforcement, was easily broken.

This time, Amelia showed a hint of malice.

After Erin gave a satisfied glance at Amelia, who trembled her fist a little, she said, as if spitting:

"Father wants to see you. So quickly go to the main residence."

「Father wants to ...?」

Amelia had a bad feeling.