Chapter 1
Solitaria swallowed a sigh, looking at the still unfamiliar scenery.
It had been almost half a year since she saw the sunlight reflecting and breaking on the water, the fish freely swimming in the water, and the beastkin playing with them, half in human form, but it still felt awkward.
Solitaria sat on a bench in the backyard garden, staring blankly at the thorn-grass flowers. The flowers only grew in the sea, so they never withered and bloomed beautifully every day.
“You’re so pretty like this, what am I going to do?”
The place only those permitted by the sea could enter was somewhere land beastkin were very curious about. An ordinary land beastkin would never be able to come here their entire lives. Her face, who had entered without any cost, looked depressed.
‘I left everything as if I was running away.’
Around her, there were always beastkin who smelled of the earth, not the sea. Moreover, she could not have imagined being in the sea until recently.
“Ah, should I go back now?”
Her shimmering silver hair and eyes, a vivid green matching the light, sparkled beautifully, unaware of her mood.
Just as she was about to trim the thorn-grass flowers, she made a mistake she would never normally make.
She had touched the stem of the thorn-grass flower with her hand.
“Ouch!”
In the end, she was pricked by a thorn and got injured.
To be pricked by a flower so foolishly. Feeling inexplicably ominous, Solitaria tried to bring her finger, from which blood was beading, to her mouth. At that moment, someone snatched her hand.
“Found you.”
A voice was heard that should never be heard, that could never be heard here. At the same time, the companion’s mark hidden on the inside of her wrist appeared.
He held her tightly and inhaled, while she trembled without raising her head.
Solitaria could not help but stiffen her body at the cool yet nostalgic scent.
“M-master?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
As if to confirm his identity once again to her trembling voice, he hugged Solitaria even tighter.
Solitaria was so flustered that she did not have the presence of mind to utter a proper sentence. Perhaps pleased by her appearance, he laughed softly. The sound of his laughter echoed in her ears.
“I came to pick you up. Let’s go home, Sol.”
“…I don’t want to.”
Trembling with fear, she tried to clearly state her opinion. Of course, her answer could not come out.
“By the way, who were you with?”
“Huh…?”
“Hmm? My Sol, my lovely Sol. Isn’t it unfaithful when you have a companion?”
Solitaria became more anxious looking at the corner of his mouth that was rising. That expression was clearly the look he had right before causing some trouble.
Bang. With a tremendous noise, the backyard garden she liked the most was destroyed. She did not know what he had done, but half of the garden was broken beyond recognition, and the thorn-grass flowers flew up, shimmering before her eyes like debris.
The main character who had caused this situation seemed unfazed, holding her captive in his arms and laughing as if he was happy.
Solitaria wanted to cry.
‘I did say I would do everything, but can’t I not be your companion?’
However, the god who always had his own way was not likely to listen to Solitaria.
To understand exactly how things had gotten to this point, one had to go back a long time.
—
Solitaria; there were quite a few things used to call her.
The child who should not have been born, the child who held the color of the disgusting sea, the dead child, the child who proved infidelity, and so on.
“Hey, clean that up over there.”
A maid, who looked more than twice Solitaria’s size, roughly threw a broom and ordered her. Solitaria, holding the broom that was as big as her body with difficulty, moved with effort.
Seeing her move in clothes that clearly did not fit her body felt quite pathetic. The wounds visible between her clothes every time she moved were enough to make one frown. Yet, her green eyes, full of vitality, sparkled beautifully between her dirty silver hair.
The woman who had given instructions with a sharp voice flinched when she saw the eyes revealed through her hair.
“Why on earth did the family head keep this disgusting child alive…!”
Harsh words poured out, but Solitaria, as if accustomed, tapped the floor with her toes and waited for this time to end. Such talk was ‘natural’ to her, so she remained still.
The maid, who had been fuming and pouring out complaints and abuse for a while, soon turned her back and disappeared.
The maids who had been looking around cautiously also one by one threw the mops in their hands at Solitaria and left.
The girl, now 8 years old, began to pick up the mops they had thrown and tidy up the surroundings.
“When will I clean all of this…?”
She moved her small body diligently, but the vast space did not shrink at all. Solitaria let out a deep sigh, looking at the trash that still remained.
—
Solitaria was destined to be the second daughter of the Repus family. That was, until she was born.
The moment she was born, everything that should have been held in her hand disappeared like a mirage.
“How could this happen…?”
“H-honey?”
This was because a child was born who did not have the snow-white hair, the symbol of the Repus family, nor the warm brown eyes that all rabbit beastkin possessed.
“Silver…! How could you…!”
Silver fur. That was a trait not seen on land, a trait only possessed by sea beastkin.
Had she had hair of a different color, they might have been able to insist that a slightly unique child had been born. But that color was the color of the sea beastkin, whom the land beastkin detested. The head of the Repus family felt his vision go dark.
Forcing himself to steady his breathing, the moment he met the eyes of the newborn child, he sank to the floor. He was shocked by the brilliantly shining green eyes.
“That’s a monster. That’s an impossible color!”
Seeing the green eyes, which existed nowhere throughout land and sea, he muttered for a long time before getting up.
He wrapped the newborn child in a cloth and threw it at the mother.
Then he solemnly declared:
“Today, this child died upon birth. Fontana, you have gone mad from losing your child. You are ordered to take rest in the north annex for a while.”
At the thunderous words, Fontana dragged her weak body and prostrated herself at his feet, begging, but it was useless.
—
How long had she been moving her body? About half of the dirty space had been neatly cleaned. Instead, Solitaria, who was already grimy, became even dirtier. Her body rapidly grew cold due to the flowing sweat and the wind entering through the window.
Rolling her eyes to check the source of the cold wind, Solitaria moved her feet towards it. Solitaria opened her mouth and exhaled into the winter chill rushing in from outside the window.
“Haa.”
A white breath came out of her mouth, and Solitaria exhaled a few more times, finding it fascinating. At that moment, her gaze naturally shifted to the commotion coming from below.
“Thus, Fontana Repus is ordered to return to the main building and fulfill the role of the mistress.”
Amidst the large carriage and the glittering people, her mother, Fontana, stood tall alone and smiled.
People she saw for the first time all knelt down at once, showing their respect to Fontana. Fontana let out a bitter laugh seeing that.
“I told you, I would return. I’ve been sick of this for the past eight years. Finally, I’m getting out of here.”
Seeing that, Solitaria was suddenly seized by anxiety. It felt as if her mother was going to abandon her. No matter how many mean things she said to her and raised her hand, she was the only support she had.
A scream-like call burst from Solitaria’s chapped lips.
“Mom… Mom!!!”
Fontana must have heard Solitaria’s cry, but she did not look back even once. After seeing her step onto the large carriage, Solitaria quickly climbed down from the window and began running downstairs.
She ran hard with her small feet, but when she arrived there, no trace was left. The old shoes that had protected her a little were torn, and her cheeks and hands were frozen solid, without feeling.
Everything that had shown vitality disappeared, and only Solitaria was left alone in the north annex.
