Chapter 11
Unlike Lucy, Kanna had no one.
So when she was little, she would grit her teeth and endure every illness in silence. She was afraid that if she cried about being sick, her family would hate her even more, so she never said a word.
Then one day, she couldn’t hide her cold any longer and started coughing violently.
How had Kallen reacted back then?
“Tch.”
That sound.
Even now, she could vividly remember the young Kallen clicking his tongue in annoyance. Even the contempt in his eyes as he looked at her.
“Please don’t come near me, Sister.”
“I’m begging you. Please stay out of my sight.”
“No one wants to see you… especially not when you’re sick. So don’t leave your room.”
His voice had been so cold.
A memory she had forgotten for so long resurfaced with startling clarity, as if it had happened yesterday.
Kanna’s face instantly turned icy.
Her eyes, which had been scanning the pages of the book, darkened.
That’s right.
The polite young man sitting before her now…
…was once the boy who had treated her like a filthy insect.
What an unpleasant memory to remember.
Still, a memory was only a memory.
She had no intention of drowning in pointless sentimentality.
Kanna immediately pushed the recollection aside and returned her attention to the book.
Fortunately, Kallen remained silent after that.
Only after quite some time had passed—
“I found them!”
Thankfully, every medicinal ingredient she needed was listed in the encyclopedia.
Kanna wrote down the names and handed the list to Kallen.
“Go get these.”
After reading it, Kallen frowned.
Some of them were famous medicinal herbs from the Eastern Continent, renowned for their effectiveness.
Others, however, were things he had never even heard of.
“Can Lucy really be cured with these?”
“More importantly, can you actually get all of them? Some might never have been imported from the Eastern Continent.”
“That won’t be a problem.”
Right. Of course it wouldn’t.
She had only asked just in case.
After all, what was there in this world that the Addis family couldn’t obtain?
Patting her stiff shoulders, Kanna said,
“Let me know once everything’s ready. Until then, I’ll be downstairs in the laboratory. My room and the lab are still the way they used to be, right?”
“Yes.”
“…”
What?
What had Kallen just said?
Kanna slowly lifted her head.
As though reading the question on her face, Kallen answered once more.
“They’ve been left exactly as they were.”
Kanna blinked in surprise.
She hadn’t expected much when she asked.
They were untouched?
After hearing that no one had even been allowed inside, she had naturally assumed every trace of her existence had been erased.
“Father locked both rooms himself and forbade anyone from entering. Please take the key.”
Kanna headed to her bedroom first.
Wow…
It felt as though time itself had stood still.
The bed and table were coated with a thin layer of dust.
Books lay scattered everywhere, and a shawl was still carelessly draped over the sofa.
It’s exactly how Juhwa left it on her last day.
The very day she had left this place to marry Sylvien.
Everything had remained frozen exactly as it had been then.
She had assumed her father would have cleared everything away long ago.
Why leave it like this?
It almost looked as though someone wanted to remember the room’s owner.
Or perhaps…
…someone had been waiting for her to return at any moment.
That’s ridiculous.
Kanna let out a small laugh.
Her father wanted to remember her?
Her father had been waiting for her?
There couldn’t possibly be a more absurd thought.
No way.
There had to be some other explanation.
There was no chance her father had intentionally preserved the traces she had left behind.
Brushing away the foolish sentiment, she headed straight for the underground laboratory.
This place is unchanged too.
Kanna’s eyes trembled as she looked around.
Before she had possessed Juhwa’s body, nearly her entire life had been spent here.
Alchemy.
Alchemy had been the only thing she had.
The one good thing about returning to this body…
…was that she could practice alchemy again.
Alchemy requires mana stones… and those simply don’t exist in Korea.
Kanna slowly wandered through the laboratory, overwhelmed with nostalgia.
She brushed her fingertips across the thick books piled high on the desk.
Their corners were worn smooth.
Some were older than she was.
Others had become so frayed because she had carried them everywhere under her arm throughout her childhood.
Perhaps because of that, these alchemy books felt like old friends.
No—
They truly had been her friends.
Alchemy had been the only companion that stayed with lonely little Kanna.
It’s been so long…
Just as she was happily looking around the laboratory—
Footsteps echoed through the basement.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Someone was hurrying down the stairs and crossing the hallway.
Why?
A sudden instinct struck her like lightning.
It wasn’t a maid.
It wasn’t a servant.
It wasn’t Kallen.
At the very same moment—
The laboratory door burst open.
“Hey, trash.”
A familiar way of addressing her.
A familiar insult.
The moment she heard it, a quiet sigh escaped her lips.
Even the joy of reuniting with alchemy vanished like smoke.
Just as I thought… bad feelings never miss.
Well… I knew we’d meet eventually.
This is his house, after all.
She had expected it.
But…
She hadn’t imagined it would happen this soon.
Kanna slowly turned around.
Her eyes met those of the man staring directly at her.
“So it really is you.”
His sharp features resembled Kallen’s.
But they were rougher, more masculine.
His towering physique alone was enough to intimidate.
His unruly crimson hair spread like a lion’s mane.
His green eyes resembled those of a carnivorous beast.
The moment she met that violent gaze—
Memories flooded back.
“You pile of filth! You should just kill yourself! That’s the best thing you could do for this family!”
“Where do you think you’re running?! I’m not done beating you yet!”
Then came the countless accusations that had pierced her like arrows.
The merciless slaps.
Every blow.
Every insult.
She remembered.
Orsini.
Orsini Addis.
The younger brother who had brutally abused her throughout her childhood.
“I heard you crawled back here on your own. I thought it couldn’t possibly be true.”
Step by step.
The boy from her memories had grown into an overwhelmingly imposing man as he advanced toward her.
“So the trash of an older sister has really returned.”
Kanna’s legs refused to move.
No—
She couldn’t move.
It felt as though heavy chains had wrapped around her entire body.
The violence.
The insults.
The abuse Orsini had inflicted upon her.
Just remembering them made her hands tremble.
Because she was so—
So incredibly—
Angry.
That worthless bastard… trampled all over me.
He hit her.
Again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Then hit her some more.
How much had it hurt?
How utterly miserable had she been?
Kanna’s trembling lips slowly curled into a smile.
She couldn’t help smiling.
After all—
She had finally reunited with the person who had made her childhood a living hell.
“It’s good to see you, Orsini.”
“…What?”
The expression disappeared from Orsini’s face.
Kanna smiled even more deeply as though she wanted to engrave every one of his features into her memory.
A shiver raced from the tips of her hair all the way down her spine.
Because she was happy.
So unbelievably…
Unbelievably happy.
“It’s really good to see you.”
Returning to being Kanna had just gained another advantage.
“I’ve missed you so much.”
I’m so glad I found you again.
“I truly mean that.”
Because the day I met you again…
I swore to the heavens—
I would make you pay.
Orsini Addis returned home before the rest of the family.
After attending banquets for several days straight, he had grown thoroughly bored.
Then—
“What? Kanna Addis… No, Kanna Valentino has come back?”
The moment he heard the news…
It sobered him up instantly.
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