Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: To My Dear Wolf
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“Lara.”
It was a night of pouring snow.
Lara stared blankly out the frosted window.
‘Heard the rumor? Lara’s getting sold off! They’re coming to take her today.’
‘Who?’
‘Dunno. Helen said he’s super old, fat as a pig, hunched back, and...’
Snow was falling outside.
Even in the pitch-black night, it was bright as day.
It was coming down in sheets.
“Lara... Lara!”
The child calling her again approached when Lara didn’t focus, then kicked over the dirty mop bucket with her foot.
Only then did Lara tear her gaze from the window and stare down at the filthy puddle on the floor.
“Lara, you useless girl. I’m talking about you right now. Are you deaf or something?”
The girl placed her hands on her hips, mimicking the director’s voice remarkably well. The other children burst into laughter and swarmed around in an instant.
“Yeah, today’s finally the day, huh? How’s it feel getting sold off to some old geezer?”
Helen said, looking down at Lara.
“You don’t wanna go either, right? This is your last chance. Once tonight’s over, you’re off to that old man.”
“......”
“If you don’t wanna go, get on your knees and beg me. I might ask my mom to make an exception for you.”
But Lara didn’t kneel and beg Helen.
Lara ignored the crowding children entirely and began wiping up the flooded floor. She righted the toppled bucket, wrung out the soaked mop tightly.
Helen bristled at Lara daring to ignore her, the director’s daughter. Her hand shot up high as she huffed in anger.
“You ignoring me right up to the end?”
Helen grabbed a fistful of Lara’s hair and yanked her head back, revealing the girl’s mismatched eyes staring right at her. In that moment, a chill ran down Helen’s spine.
Mismatched irises. That girl’s eyes were a symbol of misfortune.
“Y-you, you jinx of a girl.”
Feeling uneasy, Helen let go and spat out the words her mother always used.
A jinx, creepy, unsettling girl.
That’s what Lara was always called at Laden Orphanage.
Misfortune clung to her like a shadow.
Freed from Helen’s grip, Lara silently finished her task.
“This is boring...”
“She’s always like that. C’mon, Helen, let’s go.”
“Ugh, so annoying!”
In the end, Helen tired herself out and left with the other kids, heading back to the dorm.
The noisy surroundings fell quiet once more.
Lara paused her mopping and let out a slow breath.
She lifted her head and gazed out the window again.
‘When it snows, everything goes quiet.’
Lara liked winter.
Her tiny bed, barely big enough to curl up in, offered no shield from the winter night’s chill, but the white snow visible through the frosted window was beautiful to her.
On nights like this when the snow poured down, the world felt especially still.
Just watching it fall and breathing steadily made all the world’s noise fade away.
Lara loved that feeling.
It was like only she and the snow existed in the world.
‘That’s why I like it.’
Lara liked snowy days.
She wished she could bury herself in the snow instead.
“I’ll take this one.”
The fat old man made his decision.
It was all predetermined.
A longtime patron of Laden Orphanage, he was some noble from a prominent family. He’d come seeking a girl to serve as a handmaid.
The Laden Director had rubbed her hands eagerly and pushed Lara forward.
The old noble took a liking to Lara’s translucent silver hair and her delicate features, rare in these rural parts.
But when he noticed her mismatched eyes, he grimaced—until the director quickly launched into her prepared spiel.
“My lord, she may look frail, but she works tirelessly. She’s endured this harsh winter for years. A little flaw like that? It’s nothing. In fact, taking in such a pitiful child will boost your reputation. Think long-term. And if she really doesn’t suit you... well, an eye’s just an eye. You know how it is, my lord.”
The old noble nodded at the director’s words.
“Hm. Well... not bad. Pretty face, and plenty useful in other ways, I’d wager.”
The old man eyed Lara brazenly as he twirled his cane—this seemed to be a habit of his.
Every swing of that cane made Lara’s heart freeze. He reeked of stale, nauseating booze, and his domineering air cowed her.
“Name’s Lara, eh? Obey well, and you’ll get good meat at my house. Sound good? Better than rotting here, right?”
Lara’s expression faded further at the man’s grating voice.
“She always this quiet? Like a doll. She does know how to talk, doesn’t she?”
“Oh, no, she speaks just fine. Not an idiot. Lara! Answer the lord properly.”
Lara blinked vacantly.
What was she supposed to say?
“Hurry up, say you’ll work hard for him! She’s not mute, this one.”
“......”
“Lara!”
As Lara said nothing, the director gripped her shoulder harder.
It hurt. But no words came.
Offended, the old noble swung his cane again.
“Hmph, whether the wench answers or not hardly matters. Fine, fine.”
“S-sorry, my lord.”
The director’s face flushed red as she pressed down on Lara’s shoulder and bowed.
Lara bit her lip to stifle a cry of pain.
The old noble relaxed his expression and yanked Lara roughly toward him again.
“I’ve donated a fortune for you here, so behave at my house from now on. No slacking or funny ideas. And don’t even think about coming back to this orphanage. Got it?”
“My lord, you must depart now to arrive on time. Otherwise, the master...”
“Shut it! Don’t you dare mention the wife, you omen!”
The old noble swung his cane at his attendant and bellowed.
The director beamed and extended her hand to the attendant.
He dropped a worn-out ring into her palm.
Clink. The sound rang clear in Lara’s ears.
That was the donation—the price for taking Lara as a maid.
The booze-soaked old man swinging his cane wildly suffocated her just by existing.
‘In Saint Frey’s name, protect the children with nowhere to go...’
The director recited the prayer.
‘Bread for the hungry, comfort for the abandoned...’
It took money to take a child from the orphanage. When one went to a wealthy home, the Laden Director pocketed a fortune.
That was the sole reason she’d founded this place.
Money. Money. All the money the children would bring in.
‘A hand for the wretched...’
In that sense, Lara—who’d gone unsold for seventeen years—was nothing but a rice-wasting headache, slowly draining resources.
Thud thud—
Late at night, heavy knocks jolted the dozing duty teacher’s head up.
“...Laden Orphanage. Are you a guest?”
The teacher eyed him suspiciously as she rose.
A visitor on a night like this? Damn snowstorm outside.
Probably some drunk vagrant. Better chase him off quick.
She muttered a curse and approached the door.
She secured the chain and cracked it open. Even that sliver let in a blast of cold wind and snow.
“We’re closed now—come back tomorrow morning...”
The teacher trailed off, eyes widening.
The man at the door was nothing like she’d imagined.
“I’d like to see the Laden Director.”
His voice was endlessly low.
That chilling presence made Lara stiffen as she stared at the man by the door.
‘That person...’
Lara had work to do. The director had ordered her to bring her luggage down.
But Lara couldn’t tear her eyes from the enigmatic stranger who seemed to carry winter itself.
The tall, broad man had hair black as the night sky, and eyes an eerie blood-red.
“...Planning to leave me out here forever?”
The dazed teacher finally unchained the door at his words.
Somehow, his voice carried an irresistible pressure.
She hurried off to fetch the director, who appeared sooner than expected.
The director scanned him quickly and bowed.
“Welcome, my lord. We’ve kept such a noble guest waiting.”
She greeted him with utmost deference.
Everything about him screamed high nobility.
Impeccable poise, fine coat. Thick leather gloves symbolized wealth.
The director’s lips curved in greedy anticipation.
“I’m the director here, Laden.”
“I’m looking for a child.”
The man cut straight to it.
Color bloomed on the director’s face.
A noble seeking her out directly? Rare for this backwater orphanage, always last on the list, frequented by pretenders at best.
She could hear the money rolling in. Seize the chance. Her eyes gleamed with avarice.
“We have plenty of poor children here. We care for them in Saint Frey’s name.”
“Is that so?”
She made Saint Frey’s sign; he replied indifferently. Eager now, she cooed sweetly.
“What kind of child are you seeking? One for chores? We have girls perfect for maids or footmen.”
The director prattled on, trying to read why this handsome young noble had come to their rundown place.
“They can do anything, even dirty work. Stable hand, kitchen duty—no problem. I’ll show you any child. Take your time deciding.”
“‘Take your time deciding,’ huh...”
The man echoed her slowly. A faint, odd smile ghosted his cool features.
“Sounds just like picking out merchandise.”
Clunk.
Before she could respond, an irritating noise interrupted.
The director shot an annoyed glance at the stairs. Lara again, that wretched girl.
“...Lara, we have a guest. And I told you to pack your things, didn’t I?”
“......”
The director forced a kind tone, but Lara stared endlessly at the man as if deaf to it.
A person she’d never seen before.
Tall, all black. And...
‘Beautiful.’
He was a beautiful man.
Especially those red eyes—mysterious, almost inhuman.
‘Like my eyes...’
Lara thought of her own one red eye. The director hated it, called it creepy. A symbol of misfortune. A jinx bringing bad luck.
But his eyes didn’t feel that way.
“Lara, set that filthy thing down and fix your clothes. What kind of sight is this in front of a guest?”
The man finally noticed the girl flinch at the director’s voice and watched her quietly.
A scrawny girl, maybe fifteen at most, had been staring at him blankly.
Her long hair was a silvery ash, her linen dress threadbare and ragged.
And those eyes.
“......”
Half-hidden by broom-like hair, her left eye was pale purple, the right a vivid red.
Her appearance was like a dust-covered stray cat, but those mismatched eyes were clear and pure. Eyes rare in humans.
“I told you clearly, yet you haven’t packed. Go back to your place, Lara.”
“Who’s this child?”
“No need for you to concern yourself, my lord. Just an orphanage maid.”
As Lara stood rooted, not budging upstairs, the director urged her impatiently.
Seeing the man’s shadowed expression, she feared that jinx would ruin everything.
“Lara, didn’t you hear me? Upstairs, now!”
Her voice rose involuntarily. Realizing it, she glanced at the man with an awkward smile.
“My lord, forgive the embarrassing display. The maid’s rudeness. Anyway, about the child you seek...”
“Looks like it’s her.”
The man said.
The director’s eyes wavered.
“Pardon?”
“The child I’m after is the one you call a maid.”
He rose and strode toward the girl.
She stared at him vacantly.
He smelled of winter snow.
Cold windswept trees in an empty, silent forest.
Lara neither backed away nor approached, just watched him still.
His lips curved faintly.
“Found you at last.”
Lara’s heart plummeted.
He whispered so only she could hear.
“My bride.”