Chapter 2

After confirming that even her new mother ignored the girl completely, Soso questioned one of the maids.

That was how she learned the shocking truth.

“Ah… That’s Miss Arin. She used to live in this room, but she’s one of the Twelve Zodiac descendants who can’t perform beast transformation.”

Only then did Soso realize that she had taken Arin’s place.

And if Arin ever succeeded in Beast Transformation, Soso would have to give everything back.

She had only just found a warm and comfortable life.

She couldn’t let anyone take it away.

So Soso decided to drive Arin out of the family.

Only to protect her own future.

***

After seeing her mother that day, Arin cried herself to sleep every night.

Her mother’s cold eyes, completely lacking warmth, haunted her every evening.

Who was that girl beside her?

The girl, about Arin’s age, had called her mother “Mother.”

She was also wearing Arin’s clothes and jewelry.

Arin couldn’t understand what it all meant.

One day, while quietly spending another lonely day in the detached building, she sat in the yard as usual, absentmindedly counting the leaves on a tree.

Suddenly, something dropped from above.

“Huh?”

Surprised, Arin ran over and found a golden mouse lying on the ground, bleeding.

Squeak…

It seemed to have twisted its leg and couldn’t stand.

One of its ears had been torn by something sharp, and blood was still dripping from the wound.

Seeing the little mouse whimpering, Arin felt sorry for it.

It must have been chased by a cat.

Its fur was almost golden, perhaps because it was a mutation.

Such unusual fur would make it an easy target for predators.

In a way, it was just like Arin herself, a strange child who had become the Hong Snake Family’s biggest problem.

They said the animals of the twelve zodiac signs should be treated with respect.

Unable to leave it there, Arin gently wrapped the mouse in her handkerchief and carried it inside.

She cleaned the blood from its wounds with fresh water and carefully applied ointment.

The ointment had been one of the few necessities her nanny gave her before she was locked away.

When she finished treating it, she laid the mouse on a soft cushion and covered it with her handkerchief.

She was worried it would be cold in the chilly bedroom.

“There.”

Then Arin lay down beside the little mouse.

Its body was wonderfully warm.

To someone who had always been alone, that warmth felt precious.

Leaning against it, she quietly fell asleep.

When she woke up…

“It disappeared.”

The golden mouse she had treated so carefully had vanished without a trace.

“You could’ve at least said goodbye. You shouldn’t be moving around so soon.”

She gently stroked the cushion, searching for its remaining warmth.

But it had already gone cold.

***

Lately, strange things had been happening in Arin’s daily life.

Every morning, snacks mysteriously appeared on the small table beside her bed.

Each day it was something different, as though someone had secretly stolen them from the kitchen.

At first she thought it was just a coincidence.

But after it continued for an entire week, she became desperate to find out who was doing it.

So one night she pretended to fall asleep early and kept her eyes closed.

Around midnight, between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.,

She heard a rustling sound.

A small figure quietly slipped into her room.

Arin slowly opened her eyes.

The fluffy little back shone like gold in the moonlight.

Recognizing the mouse with the soft golden fur, she immediately sat up.

“Oh! It was you!”

Squeak!

Startled, the golden mouse fell onto its back, and a honey cookie rolled across the small table.

Its wide, surprised eyes were unbelievably adorable.

It looked much healthier than before.

Did it come to see me?

Arin’s eyes sparkled with delight.

“Your ear is all better now! I’m so glad.”

She lit a candle to examine the mouse more closely and smiled brightly.

The golden mouse twitched its whiskers and stood on its hind legs, looking up at her.

For some reason, it seemed even more dazzling tonight.

“You didn’t have to repay me. So you’ve been bringing me snacks all this time.”

Squeak, squeak.

The mouse shook its head as if it understood what she said.

Then it even bowed its head as though thanking her.

Arin couldn’t hide her surprise.

“Can… can you actually understand what I’m saying?”

She wondered if loneliness had finally made her imagine that a mouse could understand human speech.

Instead of answering, the mouse walked toward the window.

The cold night air had covered the glass with fog.

Just as Arin thought it was leaving, the mouse suddenly raised its paw and wrote on the fogged window.

[Why are you here?]

“Wow! You can write too? You’re so smart!”

Arin smiled brightly.

But her expression soon became gloomy.

“I’m being punished because I’m defective.”

She knew that if she had succeeded in beast transformation, she never would have been abandoned like this.

Thinking about her situation again, her eyebrows drooped sadly.

“They said someone from the Twelve Zodiac who can’t transform isn’t really one of the Twelve Zodiac. I think Father, Mother, and my older brother have all forgotten about me.”

The moment she admitted she had been abandoned, tears welled up in her eyes.

She wiped them away with her sleeve and tried to sound cheerful.

“But… at least they still feed me and give someone defective like me a place to sleep, right?”

The golden mouse looked stunned.

Those weren’t words a young child should ever have to say.

“The White Dragon Family asked us to investigate the Hong Snake Family’s daughter. Go and observe what kind of child she is.”

The golden mouse was actually a sacred creature raised by Yeoryeong, the Divine Maiden of the Twelve Zodiac Gods.

Its job was to carry out her errands.

Yeoryeong was the eldest servant of the Zodiac Gods and the only Divine Maiden responsible for the affairs of the Kingdom of Yeonha.

No one knew where she had come from or even how old she was.

With her divine power alone, she had become the teacher of every zodiac family.

Every heir of the Twelve Zodiac Families had to pass through her guidance.

Without her approval, no one could officially become the head of their family.

By her command, the golden mouse had come to the Hong snake family.

It had heard there was only one daughter.

Strangely, however, it found two girls living there.

One was clearly treated like a precious young lady.

The other was locked away in the detached building like an exile.

After secretly listening to the servants’ conversations, it learned the truth.

The real daughter was Hong Arin.

The girl who had failed Beast Transformation.

How strange… Such overwhelming spiritual energy is flowing from this child. How could she possibly have failed Beast Transformation?

To the golden mouse, Arin’s aura was far stronger than that of the newly adopted daughter.

Just standing near her made one feel energized.

Of course, the power of the twelve zodiac signs couldn’t be judged by aura alone.

If her Spirit Core had never awakened, all that energy was useless.

What was certain, however, was that the Hong Snake Family was deceiving the White Dragon Family.

They were hiding their real daughter and planning to marry off a girl from a branch family instead.

If this were reported, the engagement between the Hong Snake Family and the White Dragon Family would effectively be canceled.

A week earlier, the golden mouse had finished its investigation and was preparing to leave.

Unfortunately, it had been caught by Hong Ahyeon, the family’s son, who used it as target practice.

After barely escaping, it collapsed as soon as it reached the quiet, detached building.

The one who rescued and cared for it was Arin.

What a waste. If only she could perform beast transformation, she would make a wonderful mistress of the White Dragon Family.

The golden mouse couldn’t stop thinking about the lovable little girl.

That was why it had returned one last time just to see her.

After getting caught, it had no choice but to reveal its identity.

[I’m returning to my master now.]

“So you really do have an owner. Well, I’ve never seen a mouse with such beautiful golden fur before.”

At that moment, the golden mouse’s eyes nearly popped out of its head.

It had actually used magic to disguise its fur so it looked like an ordinary gray mouse.

But Arin still saw its fur as golden.

Never before had it met a human unaffected by its magic.

The golden mouse was completely shocked.

Then Arin said something even more astonishing.