Chapter 1
Chapter 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Sickly Dad and the Thief
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Plop.
The large, elegant hands of a man wringing out water from his damp silk robe.
But in stark contrast to the grim determination on his pale face, with veins bulging, all that dripped to the floor were a few droplets, barely more than dew.
'Is it really that hard to wring out my clothes?'
Watching the scene with pity in my eyes, I let out a short sigh and smacked my forehead with a small hand, making a sharp thwack.
"Daddy, don't push yourself too hard. You'll get another nosebleed..."
No sooner had the words left my mouth than a sound like raindrops pattering down echoed from his utterly bloodless face, and the floor stained red with blood.
"N-Nosebleed...!"
Don't panic! I'd prepared for this exact moment!
I pulled out a handkerchief and scurried over to Daddy on my short legs.
Daddy naturally lowered himself to my eye level without a word.
Thanks to that, I could staunch the bleeding without any trouble.
"See? I told you not to overdo it."
As I spoke, those black eyes—which seemed cold and sharp at first glance—met mine.
His black hair fell to his chest, his skin was snow-white, and even up close, his handsome features never faded. This man was my daddy.
'Though he's so sickly that wringing out his seven-year-old daughter's clothes gives him a nosebleed.'
As I mentioned earlier, my daddy was a weakling.
No, he was the weakest of the weak.
Is it even possible to get a nosebleed from wringing out a child's clothes?!
'I've heard people like my daddy get called weakling fish in some places.'
I, Seol Cheon-seong, am seven years old this year, and I have a weakling fish for a daddy.
For as long as I can remember, we've lived just the two of us in a small village far from the central districts.
'So when I was even younger than now, I thought Daddy was normal...'
But hanging out with friends my age made it clear.
My best friend Ik-seon's daddy or the biggest rascal in the village, Un-ha's daddy—they don't get nosebleeds from doing laundry.
'They chop firewood all day or come home drunk, yelling and staggering through the neighborhood, and they're fine.'
From observing all the village men around Daddy's age, his stamina was even worse than Ik-seon's mom.
'Look at him now, exhausted just from having me on his lap. And why won't this nosebleed stop?!'
As I diligently pressed the handkerchief to his nose, I felt Daddy's hand touch my back. He'd scooped me up out of habit as I got close. His large hand trembled faintly.
'He shakes every time he holds me, so my weight must be too much for him.'
"Am I heavy, Daddy?"
"Not at all."
Daddy denied it flatly, his face saying it was no big deal.
'But... isn't his hand shaking even more now?'
Despite his touching act, the trembling didn't stop.
"You sure... you're okay?"
Swish.
As Daddy leaned down to ask, his long, soft hair brushed my cheek.
I tucked away the bloodied handkerchief and looked at him—with far more worry than he showed me.
'If anyone's uncomfortable, it's him... Good thing the nosebleed stopped.'
Even though it was clearly a strain, Daddy had never once set me down first.
As long as he held me, warmth seeped through his cold demeanor, and his pallid white hands felt endlessly tender.
'I worry about Daddy's condition, but I love being in his arms the most.'
I took in Daddy gazing at me with eyes full of unwavering affection.
'No helping it.'
"Daddy, I'll always stay by your side."
So I could rush over anytime he had a nosebleed.
I'll protect you, Daddy.
I swallowed the rest—for the daddy who always hid his fragile body with all his might in front of me.
In response, Daddy silently extended his long pinky finger.
"Why the pinky promise all of a sudden?"
I asked, puzzled, and he parted his lips—the one part of him with any color.
"Promise me. What if you say that and then leave me all alone, Star?"
Star.
That's what Daddy called me.
The pet name he gave me, meaning the shiniest, most precious star in the world.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise, then."
'Why is Daddy so anxious?'
His shadowed face held real unease as he looked at me—not just empty words.
'He looks like he'll lose me any second.'
Despite his frailty, Daddy rarely lost his composure, with a natural talent for acting. But now he seemed on the verge of crumbling.
'I have nowhere else to go, and he's my only family.'
According to Daddy, Mommy went to heaven after giving birth to me for some important reason.
"So you married a fairy from heaven, Daddy?"
"She was mysterious. Beautiful and wise."
A woman impossible not to love.
When I asked when she'd come back because I missed her, a longing deeper than mine would flicker across his face before fading into a wistful smile.
I never got a straight answer, but instinct told me.
'Mommy's not coming back.'
It made me sad back then, but I'm okay now.
I have Daddy.
Daddy, who loves me more than anyone!
"Got it! Promise!"
I hooked my pinky with his, and Daddy raised his thumb with a serious look.
"Seal it."
'He won't get scammed anywhere.'
"Seal!"
Only after pressing our thumbs together did Daddy finally hug me tight, looking relieved.
'Suddenly feeling sleepy.'
Maybe from the nosebleed fiasco or the warmth of his touch, drowsiness washed over my relaxed body.
As I struggled to blink my heavy eyelids, I soon drifted into deep sleep in Daddy's cozy embrace.
'Thirsty.'
How long had I slept?
When I opened my eyes, I was tucked under the blankets in our darkened bedroom.
'Right, I fell asleep in Daddy's arms. Must've slept straight through.'
I stretched like a kitten, feeling much lighter.
'Where's Daddy?'
We always slept side by side, but he was nowhere in the room.
'At this hour, he doesn't have many places to go. What if... he collapsed in the outhouse?'
'H-Help! Star, glub glub!'
Imagining Daddy flailing and screaming after falling into the latrine, I bolted upright, kicking off the covers in horror.
'I can't let Daddy fall into the toilet!'
I dashed out of the bedroom to find him.
"...greetings, my lord."
As I hurried through the kitchen first, a stranger's voice came from where the floor met the living room.
'Not Daddy's voice. Never heard it before, and it doesn't sound like anyone from the village...'
The unfamiliar voice made my fur stand on end instinctively.
'No way... a th-thief?'
In this rural village where everyone doused the lights and slept at sunset like clockwork, no one visited Daddy late at night.
'Definitely a thief.'
If it really was a thief, Daddy was in danger.
'If a thief attacks my daddy—who gets a nosebleed from laundry—he'll drop dead like a weakling fish!'
I pictured Daddy fainting at the mere sight of the thief and screamed silently in my head.
'...No! I can't let Daddy die suddenly! To save him, I have to catch the thief before he attacks! But... how?'
Wracking my brain, I spotted two wooden mallets in the kitchen corner.
Laundry bats for smoothing clothes.
'Perfect!'
Nothing better on hand.
I took a determined breath and struggled to hug one—about my size—with both hands.
'Wanted one in each hand...'
This was my limit.
'But it's so heavy, one good swing to the legs from behind might work!'
Recalling thief-repelling tips Ik-seon heard from her dad, I tiptoed toward the voice.
"Keep your voice down."
I froze at the next voice.
'That's Daddy. So the thief's with him?'
Panic overrode hesitation, and I rushed toward the voices.
"Star has sharp ears. Just like me."
There stood Daddy facing a man in an Asura Mask.
The mask's red face and red eyes were strikingly captivating.
'No time to gawk at the Asura Mask! It looks evil! Daddy's in danger, no doubt!'
As I calmed my pounding heart and waited for the moment to strike...
"...I see."
Unlike my expectation of an attack, the masked man replied calmly, his voice utterly sincere.
'That Asura Mask is way shorter than Daddy. The voice sounds young, height like the older kids in the village...'
Thinking it over, I remembered stories of hungry orphan kids stealing food.
'Is the Asura Mask a starving thief here for eats? But why's Daddy talking about me to a thief?'
Sensing something off, I hid behind a large potted plant in the living room and watched breathlessly.
"Sigh... I've heard that story a hundred times."
Couldn't see the thief's face under the mask, but his weary tone said it all.
"Anyway, I've brought the item you ordered."
The masked man promptly pulled a silk-wrapped box from his bosom and handed it to Daddy. It looked precious.
"The medicine's stronger this time, so nosebleeds will be more frequent."
"Got it."
Daddy tucked the box away after the warning.
"Then I'll take my leave."
The masked man bowed to Daddy as if departing.
"Heavenly Demon."
'Heavenly Demon...?'
That was the moment the stranger's title slipped from the black-masked lips.
When unknown memories began flooding my mind wholesale.