The moment her warm breath touched the frost-covered window, the scenery outside came into view.

Large, fluffy snowflakes poured relentlessly from a sky choked with dark clouds.

If I go out like this, I’ll freeze to death…

The clothes wrapped around her body were hardly worthy of being called clothes.

A sweater so worn that the frayed ends had unraveled into loose threads.

Thin cotton trousers that let the icy wind seep straight through.

A coat trimmed with fur, though it offered little warmth.

The only saving grace was her fur-lined boots, which at least kept her feet warm.

Even so… if I want to survive, I’ll have to bundle up more.

Lilliana pulled out a small box she had hidden beneath her old, narrow bed.

Inside were a wool hat, scarf, and pair of gloves she had knitted herself.

She had hidden them in case Tartan found them and burned them.

Once she put on the hat, scarf, and gloves, she felt confident she could endure even the bitter cold.

Picking up the laundry basket, Lilliana quietly slipped out of her room.

The old door creaked.

She paused for a moment, worried the sound might wake someone in the family.

Fortunately, there was no sign of anyone stirring.

Lilliana walked on tiptoe, lifting her heels to avoid making a sound.

It was the dim hour before dawn, when everyone was fast asleep, yet she remained careful—careful not to cross paths with any of them.

The instant she opened the front door, a powerful gust of wind greeted her.

Winter’s chill was merciless.

It was the kind of cold that seeped all the way into your bones.

“Haa…”

Her shallow breath turned into a plume of white mist before disappearing into the falling snow.

Snowflakes no bigger than her little fingernail rained down as though intent on swallowing the entire world.

Between them, the biting wind continued to howl.

Had she not wrapped herself in her hat and scarf, she would have given up on the laundry and turned back already.

All right.

Let’s finish this as quickly as possible.

Having steeled herself, Lilliana stepped into the blanket of pristine white snow.

The drifts were piled so high that each step sank deep beneath the surface, making it difficult to walk.

Paying it no mind, she headed straight for the water pump.

If she delayed even for a moment, she really might freeze to death.

A thick blanket had been wrapped around the faucet to keep the pipes from freezing.

She turned the handle.

Water trickled out with a gentle stream.

Thankfully, it hadn’t frozen.

Lilliana immediately set down the basket and began washing the clothes.

She removed her gloves and tucked them into the pocket of her coat before soaking the laundry.

There wasn’t much to wash, but the cold slowed every movement.

“Ah… it’s freezing.”

The instant the icy water touched her hands, a harsh gust swept over them, making it feel as though her fingers would freeze solid.

If she stopped moving for even a moment, frostbite was inevitable.

Blowing warm breaths into her hands, Lilliana continued scrubbing the clothes.

The piercing wind never let up.

The brutal cold cut into not only her body, but her heart as well.

I want to get out of this hellish place… as soon as possible.

Ripples shimmered across her once-bright golden eyes.

She felt unbearably wronged.

Utterly miserable.

Why do I have to be treated like this?

I never chose to come here.

I never chose to be born into this family.

She had never wanted any of it.

She could swear that not even for a single moment had she ever wished for this.

There had been a time, long ago, when she had briefly wished she could see the world of the novel with her own eyes.

But that wish had come with one important condition.

She had imagined being reborn as someone who lived a life of luxury and privilege.

Lilliana was no such person.

Why did I have to be a Parvane?

Lilliana Parvane.

It was the name she had been given in this new life after losing her old one in a horrific accident that had shattered her body.

Even after dying and opening her eyes again, Lilliana hadn’t realized she had been reborn inside the world of a novel.

The reason was simple.

She was nothing more than a minor character whose name had barely even appeared.

Lilliana didn’t discover that this world was the setting of the romance fantasy novel she had once read until she was around ten years old.

One day, she accompanied her father to the village market for the very first time.

As they walked through the streets, she overheard a group of women chatting nearby.

Amid their conversation, two familiar words caught her attention.

[You know Sazan, the port city, right? Apparently, a Cero has appeared there!]

[Oh my, really? A Cero?]

[That’s right! And not only that—the Cero’s fated Uno has appeared as well. Do you know who it is? Believe it or not, it’s the prince of the Kingdom of Kabar!]

[Goodness, really?!]

Cero.

Uno.

Those two words felt strangely out of place in this world.

They stirred a faint sense of familiarity.

I’ve heard those somewhere before…

But where?

By the time she had been reborn for ten years, the memories of her previous life and those of her current one had become tangled together, leaving her confused.

Deep in thought as she walked, her gaze suddenly landed on the sign of a nearby shop.

Eden.

Cero.

Uno.

Eden.

The moment those three words came together, everything clicked into place.

…Oh my God.

This world is the world of that novel?

The realization struck Lilliana like a bolt from the blue.

She had discovered the truth far too late.

Yet the revelation brought her no joy.

Even if this truly was the world of the novel, it changed nothing about her circumstances.

Eden, the village on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Verona, was the heroine’s hometown.

It was also Lilliana’s hometown.

Yet despite living in the very same village as the heroine for ten years, Lilliana had never realized it.

The reason…

Was her family.

The Parvane family was a noble house that had fallen into ruin decades ago.

The previous baron’s life of debauchery, extravagance, and gambling had brought House Parvane to its downfall.

Even after having their title stripped away, however, his descendants still considered themselves nobles.

Along with that came an unwavering, old-fashioned belief.

“Only sons can restore the family.”

Every head of the Parvane family lived by those words.

They were, after all, the dying wish of the family’s founder.

Yet despite decades passing, no one ever appeared to restore the family to its former glory.

Even so, the belief remained deeply rooted.

The current head of the Parvane family, Paien, firmly believed that the son who would one day be born would revive the family.

So when his first son, Tartan, was born, he was overjoyed.

And when his wife, Sevia, became pregnant once again, he prayed for another boy.

One son was already enough to satisfy him.

But with two, the family would surely rise again.

Instead…

A daughter was born.

Lilliana.

Having longed for nothing but a son, the couple turned their backs on their own daughter.

They continued trying for another child.

Again and again, they failed.

Eventually, they gave up on having more children and poured every ounce of their affection into Tartan alone.

They gave Tartan everything he could ever want.

As for Lilliana…

They tossed her only the bare minimum.

Even that was more than they truly wished to give.

They simply couldn’t allow word to spread that a child of the Parvane family had died, so they begrudgingly provided just enough to keep her alive.

By the time Lilliana was old enough to walk and speak on her own…

Her place within the Parvane household was that of a slave.

She was rarely allowed to leave the house.

She wasn’t even permitted to rest.

She existed solely to remain inside the estate and carry out whatever tasks she was ordered to do.

Naturally, that meant she could never run and play like other children.

She couldn’t receive an education.

Nor could she learn anything about the world beyond the walls of the estate.

Discovering the truth about this world had been nothing short of a miracle.

The only reason she’d accompanied Paien to the village market in the first place was to serve as a porter.

But she was neither a protagonist nor an important supporting character.

In the end, she was merely an extra whose name barely appeared.

No bright future awaited her.

No hopeful destiny had ever been promised.

Lilliana’s entire world consisted of the Parvane family.

Even after learning the astonishing truth about the world she lived in, she had never been able to escape the shackles of House Parvane.

There was nothing a frail, ignorant child could do.

All she could do was struggle to survive, obediently carrying out every order her family gave her.

Her father treated Lilliana like a slave, forcing every imaginable chore upon her.

Her mother openly discriminated against her, ignoring her so completely that she scarcely even looked her way.

And as for her older brother, Tartan…

Lilliana bit down hard on her lip.

Still… I won’t have to stay here much longer.

“Haa…”

By the time she’d finished the laundry, Lilliana placed the clothes back into the basket and breathed warm air onto her hands.

As her sleeve slipped down, a glimpse of her thin, bony forearm was revealed.

Dark, purplish bruises marred her pale skin.

I wonder when these will finally disappear.

The bruises that had accumulated across every part of her body over the years wouldn’t fade so easily.

The beatings had begun when Tartan reached adolescence.

Tartan was violent.

He treated Lilliana as though she were his personal servant, ordering her to do every kind of chore imaginable.

Yet no matter what she did, he always found some excuse to strike her.

Every time, Lilliana curled up her small body and endured the pain.

Not a single member of the family ever tried to stop him.

Frail as she was, she couldn’t even fight back.

Lilliana gritted her teeth and endured.

Even when the agony became so unbearable that screams threatened to escape her lips…

She endured because she wanted to live.

Because she wanted to keep breathing.

Because she wanted to survive.

Even when blood streamed from her wounds…

Even when she was left limping…

She endured for one simple reason.

She didn’t want to die.

A few years ago, she had even tried to run away.

Unable to withstand the relentless abuse and backbreaking labor any longer, she’d fled on impulse.

She truly believed that if she stayed, she would die.

But with a body already worn down by years of suffering, she hadn’t made it very far before they caught her.

And when they brought her back…

Even greater pain awaited her.

After that, she never dared to think about escaping again.

Her mind screamed at her to run.

Yet the pain carved into her body…

That cruel, unforgettable agony…

Had rooted itself so deeply within her that, without realizing it, it shackled her feet.

Still… it’ll all be over soon.

A faint smile appeared on Lilliana’s lips.

It had been more than a week since Tartan had last laid a hand on her.

Since his violence had first begun…

That had never happened before.

The bruises and wounds he’d left behind hadn’t completely disappeared yet, but they had begun to fade.

Even if… I might really die this time…

Bitterness filled her mouth.

She no longer had to fear Tartan’s beatings.

But an even greater ordeal awaited her.

A crisis in which she might truly lose her life.

One week earlier…

On Lilliana’s eighteenth birthday – a day no one had cared enough to acknowledge…

The mark of the Cero had appeared on her body.