Chapter 2

Suddenly, a soft voice echoed from the entrance, and all three men turned their heads at once.

Bansis, in particular, turned pale and shouted in panic.

“You… Miracle! How are you here? You said you were going to bed!”

“But….”

Beyond the three men, an uninvited guest appeared.

“You all left me behind and went somewhere.”

Her long, flowing white hair shimmered around her waist, her skin was so pure and translucent it resembled freshly fallen snow, and her large, violet eyes looked like delicate violets.

A woman as beautiful as snow—completely opposite of my darkness.

The treasured youngest daughter of the House of Lordbell.

Miracle Lordbell.

She puffed her cheeks and grumbled.

Listening to her explanation, it seemed she had secretly followed us after seeing the three men and me leave together.

Normally, anyone would have noticed Miracle’s presence immediately. But today, everyone was too focused on me to realize it.

“That doesn’t mean you should do something so reckless. There was a reason we left you out.”

“He’s right! You’re already weak—what were you thinking?”

As Estio and Bansis scolded her one after another, Miracle pouted.

“Tch, you two nag too much.”

“It’s not nagging, we’re just worried ab—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. In the end, Dad is the only one on my side!”

Miracle immediately ran into Duke Lordbell’s arms.

He welcomed her with a bright smile, warmer than ever.

Bansis and Estio gathered around Miracle.

I stood there, watching them blankly.

It was a picture-perfect family.

And I was the only one left behind in the darkness.

That place… was a sanctuary I could never step into.

…This feeling. It’s familiar.

A happy family—without me.

A perfect family—without me.

Because I wasn’t there, they were whole.

I didn’t even feel miserable anymore.

This is better.

At least this gave me a chance to escape from here.

“Hey, Miracle. Stop talking and go wait in the carriage. We’ll be there soon.”

“No, Bansis, go with her. This won’t take long.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

“Listen to them, Miracle.”

Now that everyone was focused on Miracle, this was my chance.

I didn’t think twice.

—Tak!

I sprang forward.

While they were distracted, I would escape from here.

But—

Huh?

As if she had expected it, Miracle’s gaze met mine.

For a split second, time seemed to stop.

Then—

—Whoosh!

A sudden gust of wind engulfed me.

“…!”

It wasn’t just wind.

By the time I realized it was magic, it was too late.

I caught glimpses of Bansis’s shocked face, Estio’s furrowed brows, and Duke Lordbell’s silent stare.

And then…

She’s… smiling?

Among them, Miracle was looking at me with a smile.

Not just that—her lips moved.

In the last moment, Miracle spoke to me.

“Goodbye, stupid Lucia.”

Smiling like an angel.

That was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

---

Darkness consumed my vision.

It was over. Finally, it was over.

…Is it really over?

I felt both empty and relieved.

At least I didn’t have to struggle to survive or beg for love anymore.

Thinking that should have been comforting, but—

It’s unfair.

Anger bubbled up inside me.

If I had known it would end like this, I wouldn’t have tried so hard to be loved.

Maybe I could have lived differently.

But regrets and resentment were useless now.

I had already fallen into the Abyss.

So, I should just accept it. Disappear quickly.

Just as I was about to close my eyes—

[Huh.]

A voice suddenly echoed through the darkness, and my eyes snapped open.

A low voice, tinged with amusement.

[Something interesting just fell in.]

“…?”

What?

Who’s there?

My mind went blank with confusion.

Who is that?

I shouldn’t be hearing anything.

Because—

I fell into the Abyss.

There was no doubt.

If so, then who did this voice belong to?

Maybe… the Abyss is connected somewhere else?

That didn’t make sense.

If it were connected, I would have hit the bottom by now.

But I wasn’t falling.

My body wasn’t touching anything—it wasn’t even moving downward.

The Abyss was a bottomless pit.

And someone without magic, like me, had no chance of surviving a fall like this.

I should be dead by now.

More than that—

The most undeniable proof that I was inside the Abyss:

It feels like I’m floating.

Like drifting in water, suspended in nothingness.

Yes. This was the Abyss.

As that certainty sank in, a thought crossed my mind.

An impossible thought.

But in the Abyss, maybe it was possible.

“…The Evil God?”

The deity said to be sealed within the Abyss.

Was this voice the Evil God?

[…]

No answer.

Maybe I was wrong.

Then…

“Are you… the Grim Reaper?”

Maybe I had died without realizing it, and the Grim Reaper had come to take me.

At the mention of “Grim Reaper,” the silence broke.

A voice, laced with amusement, responded.

[Does it matter? Whether I’m the Evil God or the Grim Reaper?]

“No.”

I answered without hesitation.

“It doesn’t matter. Either way, you’re going to kill me.”

It didn’t matter if he was the Evil God or the Grim Reaper.

Death was death.

I closed my eyes again, waiting for the inevitable.

If I had one request, I hoped it would be quick and painless.

I was tired of pain—both physical and emotional.

But for some reason, he didn’t kill me.

Instead, his voice, filled with disdain, reached me.

[You’re… weak, aren’t you?]

“…”

His mocking tone irritated me.

Weak?

If anything, isn’t it impressive that I survived this long?

Born in a brothel, barely surviving by begging for scraps.

At nine years old, I was kidnapped and dragged into the Lordbell family, where I was scorned and abused until they finally sacrificed me for their own gain.

If I had given up halfway, I wouldn’t be here now, talking to this being.

I endured everything, holding onto the hope of gaining my independence as an adult.

And yet, this was the outcome.

“Goodbye, stupid Lucia.”

Miracle’s last words echoed in my mind.

She was right.

I was an idiot.

If, by some chance, I had been born with Estio’s swordsmanship, Bansis’s magical talent, or Miracle’s innate gift—

Would my fate have been different?

Who knows.

There was a time I imagined it.

Being loved by my father, bickering with my brothers, becoming friends with Miracle.

A dream of an impossible happiness.

But now I knew—those fantasies only made my reality more miserable.

A bitter laugh escaped me.

I was exhausted.

I closed my eyes, waiting for him to grant me death.

But instead—

[I don’t know whether to call this good luck or bad luck.]

“…”

[The only one who can save me… is a pitiful woman like you.]

He talks too much.

I sighed internally.

Should I just stay silent?

I just wanted a painless death.

Then, suddenly—

“Hey, human.”

His voice shifted.

No longer distant—it rang directly in my ears.

Startled, my eyes flew open.

And then—

“Why do you look like you’re begging to be killed?”

A man smirked at me, revealing sharp fangs.

…Wait.

What?