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THIS IS NOT MY NOVEL, MY ONLY PURPOSE IS TO SHARE THIS NOVEL!

PLEASE SUPPORT THE ORIGINAL NOVEL, THE AUTHOR, AND THE TRANSLATOR.

ORIGINAL AUTHOR/S: Lucy & 루시

In some cases, the life that some eldest daughters tread is painful only because they were born as eldest daughters.

A knight riding a horse passed through the Tilrod family’s gate.

The sudden appearance of the knight was the onset of a tragedy.

With armor that was entirely covered by the black blood of a demon, with a stench that pervaded, with the knight’s own injuries seeping blood through the heavy metal of the armor.

And it was as though the knight could barely hold onto the saddle.

“Ugh . . .”

The knight, moaning with pain, slipped from the horse as soon as the mansion’s gates closed behind them.

The gardener who was working by the fence was startled and immediately ran towards the knight.

“No, Radi . . .”

The gardener hastily corrected himself and used the proper title.

“Young Master David!”

As he tried to remove the knight’s helmet, he shouted at the village kids who followed the knight to satiate their curiosity.

“You filthy brats! You’re sightseeing? Get out! Leave!”

“Uwaah! Sir David’s dead!”

“Y-you brats!”

The fallen knight was David Tilrod, the eldest son of the Tilrod family and the Commander of the Expedition Squad of the Imperial Order of the Knights, which was in charge of hunting demons.

. . . As far as the world knew.

The gardener, who chased off the village kids threateningly, quickly laid the knight on the ground and peeled off the armor.

Before long, red hair cascaded down and swept over the knight’s shoulder.

“Goodness, Milady! Please wake up!”

Wanting the knight to breathe more easily, the gardener straightened the knight’s head.

The unconscious face was soaked with the black blood of demons and with the knight’s own red blood, but there was still a distinct beauty to that face.

The knight’s brows furrowed, then the eyes beneath them opened slowly.

“Ugh . . .”

“Milady, are you awake? Please let me help you.”

The knight rose from the ground without saying a word, walking slowly and refusing the gardener’s help.

With a mixture of sadness and respect, the gardener looked at the knight’s retreating figure and bowed his head.

* * *

At that time, dinner was in full swing inside the Tilrod household.

Margaret, the family’s Madam, was busy taking care of David Tilrod, the eldest son who was sitting at the table.

“David, my baby! Eat some vegetables, too.”

“. . .”

But David was busy looking at a book of poetry.

Sitting opposite David was Yurhi, the family’s second daughter.

“Leave him alone, Mom! Older brother’s busy looking for poems to write in his love letter.

“Oh my, a love letter?”

David, who had his nose buried in his collection of poems, raised his head and glared at Yurhi.

“Hey! Shut up!”

“. . .”

“Ohohoho!”

Margaret pushed a plate of meat before David.

“David, don’t be so hard on your sister. Dating isn’t something you should hide. But who’s the lucky girl? Hohoho!”

Instead of answering his mother, David yelled at Yurhi.

“You’re married! Why do you keep coming here?! Hey, if you and your big mouth want to start up some trouble, just do it to your husband!”

“What? Big mouth?!”

“Stop, stop!”

Margaret stopped the brother and sister’s petty quarrel before it could take off into a more serious argument.

Then at that moment, a maid approached Margaret.

“Madam, Master David has . . .”

When the maid realized that David was sitting at the table, she promptly corrected herself.

“No— Lady Radis has returned.”

Margaret snapped back at the maid.

“What did you say?”

“Her wounds are very serious.”

“. . .”

Margaret sighed deeply, the back of one hand over her forehead not as a gesture of worry, but annoyance.

Her cutlery clattered on the table as she stood up.

“I have to go. David, eat your vegetables, hm? And Yurhi, don’t provoke your brother anymore.”

After Margaret left, Yurhi put down her own knife when her appetite disappeared.

She stared at the fish atop David’s plate.

It wasn’t just fish— it was chock full of vegetables, bread and some grilled meat.

No matter how much you looked at it, all the good dishes were placed in front of her brother.

Yurhi stared intently at David, who was still focused on his poems.

He didn’t even look at the food as he used his own fork to take from all the plates as he wished, as if everything was his.

Eventually, Yurhi decided she couldn’t take it any longer, so she opened her lips with a sly smirk.

“Oh, our poor Radis.”

“. . .”

“She sacrificed everything for her family, for her brother, only for it to be like this.”

David turned sharply to Yurhi as he heard her sarcastic tone.

“What? Sacrifice?”

“That’s right. She’s been fighting demons because her cowardly brother couldn’t do it—for six whole years. She received a title under her brother’s name, was bestowed a pure mana stone and brought it all home. What else could it be called if not sacrifice?”

“You, watch your language! Who are you calling a coward?!”

David slammed the table with a knife still in his fist.

“Why should I be called a coward?!”

“Then should I call you despicable instead? Come to think of it, it was Radis who took the test for the Imperial Academy in your name, which you’ve been shamelessly boasting about all your life. I was only thirteen when that happened, but I remember it all vividly.”

“Shut up.”

David’s eyes were burning with fury.

“Did anyone ask her to do it? Why should I be a coward when she’s done all that by herself? And why should I be despicable?”

“Oh, right, right! You never asked her! It’s all because Mother coerced her to do it for her beloved son. And now, that beloved son is just lying down under a tree with his mouth open, waiting for an apple to fall down as Mother shakes the tree vigorously for him.”

To mock him even further, she pretended to be under a tree herself, opening her mouth with a red face.

Then, she spoke with a lower tone to mimic her brother’s voice, pretending to hold an apple in her hand.

“I hate obligations, but it’s good to reap the benefits without having to lift a finger. I was too scared to hunt demons, but wow! While pretending to be a valiant knight, I can meet so many girls! Yup, yum!”

David jumped up and rushed to Yurhi’s side to yank down her hair.

“Argh, let me go!”

“I told you to shut up! I never asked for anything like that!”

“Ugh, it’s always like this, right?! You’re only strong in front of weak people like me and Mother!”

“Shut up! You yourself only married well because of the money Radis earned! Why are you criticizing only me, you hypocrite!”

“Argh! It hurts! Let go!”

“Oh, I know. Does your husband have a mistress? Gerrick does, you know, because he likes young women so much. I heard that a daughter’s fate mirrors her mother’s exactly. Does your husband have a concubine, too?”

“What . . . ? You!”

Not being able to endure it any longer, Yuri retaliated and sank her nails into David’s arm.

David collapsed, screaming.

The brother and sister fought like hyenas, tearing each other’s hair off, scratching each other as if they were children fighting over candy.

It was only until Margaret returned that they parted with tears in their eyes.

* * *

The eldest daughter of the Tilrod family, Lady Radis Tilrod, couldn’t take off her heavy armor and helmet until she arrived home.

When someone took off the helmet and wiped off the dry blood on her, it was clear that her face looked terrible.

The once beautiful face now looked as gaunt as a corpse.

Her skin had deteriorated to a mottled purple hue after the prolonged exposure to demonic energy.

Her body was in a worse state.

Her condition was no better than a lone candle in a howling wind, the demonic energy exposure only the cherry on top of all the injuries she sustained during the expedition.

The old maid who was cleaning Radis’ body hesitated before speaking to Margaret.

“Madam, she’s in terrible shape. Shouldn’t we bring in a doctor or a priest?”

Without any warning, Margaret slapped the maid across the cheek severely.

“If a doctor or a priest finds out that she’s been exposed to demonic energy and not David, will you take responsibility?!”

The maid quietly put away the bloodied armor, clearly wanting to say something, but deciding to keep silent. She also picked up the helmet on the floor and gave Radis a sympathetic look.

‘The poor young lady . . .”

Because she was only a maid, she couldn’t dare go against House Tilrod’s Madam.

As the maid left the room with the armor and helmet, Margaret glanced sideways at Radis. Even if she didn’t know anything about medicine, she knew instinctively that it was serious.

But what could she do?

She couldn’t call a doctor to heal her wounds or a priest to clear away the demonic energy.

Then, Radis’ eyes slowly opened.

Her eyes were shrouded with fog.

Margaret was haunted by the unusually dim black eyes, which usually shone with acuity.

She forced herself to speak with a bright tone, but avoided looking into Radis’ eyes.

“Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?”

“. . .”

“I’ll get you some soup.”

Margaret hurried out of Radis’ small, cramped room.

It wasn’t until Radis was alone that she wrinkled her brows and groaned painfully.

“Ugh…”

When she forced herself to sit up, she saw the bandages that the maid wrapped over her body. Blood was already spreading over the newly wrapped bandages and the thinly spread medicine.

The person known as Davis, the eldest son of the Tilrod family, who now no longer needed to disguise herself as a knight of Willingham, opened her pale lips.

“It hurts…”

It hurt.

It really, really did.

The maid did her best to treat her wounds, but it was only a temporary solution.

Her body was already beyond salvation, with older wounds mixed in with the fatal injuries she received during the demon subjugation.

‘It was a failure this time. I shouldn’t have gone. It was a trap.’

Radis’ troops battled the demons for three days and three nights just to survive. She was able to come back alive like this, but many of her comrades lost their lives.

Those who were left alive were fatally wounded just like her.

Injuries such as these would have still been manageable, but the problem was the demonic energy that seeped through the air and into their bodies when the powerful demons were vanquished.

That’s why she realized this.

‘I was foolish to fall for such a trap.’

Laying on her bed, a mess, Radis laughed self-deprecatingly.

But strangely enough, it didn’t occur to her that this was all unfair.

Because her whole life was one long thorny path.

One step would be empty, another step would be a fiery pit.

She couldn’t imagine a straightforward, easy path.

All her life, she lived always struggling to navigate through those traps, tearing her body and mind apart countless times, but now that she had finally fallen into one, she was angry.

But most of all, she was exhausted.

”Cough, cough!”

She couldn’t even lift a hand to cover her mouth.

Radis coughed, her body spasming as if she was a fish out of water. It felt like her lungs were tearing apart.

Then, she could feel something trickling out of her mouth. She must have vomited blood.

The door opened again.

“Now, your favorite rabbit soup…”

Margaret, holding the plate, freaked out at the sight of the blood-soaked Radis.

“Oh, oh my god! Someone come! Maggie, Maggie— wipe it off!”

The old maid, who had gone to the laundry area, returned once more at Margaret’s scream.

The maid wiped Radis’ face carefully with a sad face. After Maggie went out, Margaret placed the bowl of soup on the table next to Radis.

“Eat this and get some rest. You’ll be better after you sleep.”

Margaret still couldn’t bring herself to look into Radis’ eyes.

Radis, who looked at Margaret quietly, took her bloody coat jacket from the ground and pulled something out.

In an instant, the room was filled with a radiant light of five colors.

“W-what?!”

Margaret took a step back, her frightened face looking as if she would faint any second.

“H-hey, what—!”

What Radis pulled out was a jewel the size of a fist that radiated five colors.

“This is a mana stone that I brought back from the last expedition.”

Margaret’s eyes widened at the word ‘mana stone.’

Mana stones were sometimes priced higher than diamonds of the same size, depending on the quality of the magic it contained in it.

This mana stone was shining so extraordinarily, with a brilliance that even the ***** eye could see.

Besides, look at the size of it!

“No, this… Just how much is this? You did a great job!”

Radis replied to the excited Margaret.

“I was told there was a priest who fell from grace and was expelled from the temple. They’re trying to cover it up with money. If it’s this, you can call that priest in secret.”

The weight of the stone left Radis’ hand as it was handed over to Margaret, and the older woman’s jaw immediately dropped.

Her mouth was watering.

Margaret walked out of the room without saying a word, as if hypnotized by the brilliance of the mana stone.

Radis lay in bed and looked out the window to see the sky.

‘It’s alright. I’ll get better after the priest’s purification.’

There were lots of thoughts swirling through Radis’ mind, but one thought in particular consumed her.

That… once she woke up from her slumber, she would still be alone.

…She just let the sad thoughts wash away.

* * *

A few days later.

“Mother, what about the priest?”

“I’ve sent a messenger to the temple. He’ll be here soon.”

Another few days passed.

“Mother… Is the priest here yet?”

“Didn’t I just say I already sent someone?!”

Margaret clicked her tongue.

“Did you hear a false rumor? Maybe the priest you’re talking about isn’t there.”

Now, Radis didn’t even have the strength to sit up anymore.

Lying on a small bed that barely fit her body, Radis looked up at Margaret, who squirmed defensively, folding her arms to cover her chest as she tried to control her expression.

And Radis realized that the priest would not come.

Radis opened her lips to say something, but she closed her mouth without saying a word.

Her throat was tight with all sorts of emotions that she couldn’t speak properly.

After a while, she could barely string together a few words.

“Why… are you doing this to me?”

Looking at her nails, Margaret said nonchalantly.

“What? Did I do something?”

A single drop of tear flowed down Radis’ cheek, which was already such a dark shade of purple that it was almost black.

“Did I… do something wrong?”

“…”

“Are you doing this because I’m bad? Was I… a bad daughter?”

Margaret turned away, her arms still folded, and looked at the dilapidated wall.

The silence that stretched between them consisted of Radis waiting for Margaret’s reply, and Margaret reflecting on what Radis had said, as if she was thinking about all this for the first time.

Radis was a daughter that Margaret didn’t want since the beginning, so she never liked her. Not once did Margaret ever feel any affection for Radis.

Maybe it was because she was a cold mother?

Who knows.

Margaret loved her eldest son, David, very much.

For David’s sake, she could even give up her life.

She also loved her daughter, Yurhi.

She could give the world to Yurhi.

So, Margaret was sure that she wasn’t a bad mother.

What about Radis? To Margaret, she was just an annoyance. For some reason, she didn’t like her.

But was it because she was a bad daughter?

“Oh, I don’t know.”

It was all too annoying just thinking about it.

“What else? You deserve it!”

At Margaret’s words, Radis’ soul was shattered.

Just like that.

To her parents, that was all they felt about Radis.

That she deserved it.

They didn’t even feel guilty whenever they used her as an emotional trash can where they rolled and poured out all their frustrations to. Until the very end, they didn’t feel guilty at all.

Not precious, not someone to be proud of, not even lovely.

It’s not that Radis didn’t know this.

She was aware of it.

But she still tried.

With all her might, she tried everything she could to become a true part of her family, to the point that she didn’t care how her flesh would melt, how her bones would break.

That’s why now, she was broken.

Radis spoke.

“Father…? Where’s father…?”

Her father, Jade Tilrod, always looked away from her.

Maybe, if he saw her in this pitiful state, he’d be a little sad. Her father might try to help her if he saw her now.

But her mournful call seemed to have triggered Margaret’s anger more.

“I don’t know where he is!”

Margaret shouted in a loud voice.

But contrary to her words, she knew exactly where he was.

Jade was with his mistress, Flora.

As if they were just playing house, Jade and Flora had a small abode with their two bastard children.

Just the thought of it made Margaret feel like she was going crazy.

Frustrated, Margaret began to sneer, completely forgetting Radis’ serious condition.

“Come to think of it, your name comes from ‘Gladiolus,’ right?”

Even as she was suffocating with despair, Radis continued to listen to her mother.

“Did you know that the gladiolus flower is usually dedicated to a virgin’s grave? Your fate has been tied to that name since you were born, so don’t blame me.”

Margaret spoke coldly, lifting a bowl of soup that had not been touched.

“Take a good rest. You might get well that way.”

The door was shut behind her.

Radis looked up at the ceiling blankly.

She believed that happiness would come to her someday if she continued to endure it all.

But she believed that even though Margaret was a heartless mother, because she needed Radis, she might come to like her even just a little bit.

A little… just a little… Radis thought Margaret would come to love her.

And as she continued to support her family, she believed that her father would one day look at her.

She thought that if she just kept enduring, just kept sacrificing, she would be able to hear a thank you from her younger siblings someday.

Alone on her bed, Radis coughed up blood.

Her mouth was burning.

Even if she couldn’t see herself, she could feel the black crystals mixed with her blood.

“Just once… Mother… Father… I wanted to feel the warmth of your embrace…”

The sensation in her hands and feet slowly disappeared.

“I wanted you… to be proud of me…”

But it was a dream that would never come true.

Hot tears streamed down Radis’ cheeks.

She could feel the shadow of death looming over her by her bed, waiting for its chance to devour her.

She never once felt alive before, but now she was about to die.

Is she really going to die now?

Like this?

She’d been thrown into the thorny path when she had been born, and since then, she had only been trying to survive. She endured pain enough that she forgot what pain felt like.

All throughout, she just believed that happiness would come one day.

But at the end of the path… was a death like this.

At that moment, Radis felt a violent emotion settling in her heart, something that she had never felt before.

Why must she die after all she went through in that thorny path?

She couldn’t accept that she would only find peace after death.

Time and time again, she believed that happiness would come one day… So she just endured, and endured, and endured.

“…It was all just a pipe dream.”

Radis’ lips trembled.

“I should never have lived for my parents, for my brother… for my family. I should have just lived for myself…!”

Radis felt devastated.

She couldn’t believe she realized such an important thing at the end of her life!

Gradually, it became difficult for her to breathe.

Her heart ached so much.

She couldn’t tell if it was because of physical pain or if it was from sorrow because the grief she felt for herself was so great that it was indistinguishable from her fatal injuries.

Light began to leave her blurred vision.

Radis could no longer move.

Then, a colorful light enveloped her. And the pain went away.

Feeling that this was the end of her life, she slowly closed her eyes.

Radis died with no one by her side.

Radis Tilrod was the eldest daughter of the Tilrod family.

‘Known as the daughter no one wanted.’

Her parents, Jade and Margaret, were a typical couple brought together by an arranged marriage.

Jade had a woman he loved before he got married—it was Flora, who worked at the flower shop at the village.

Margaret also did not love Jade.

Jade was much older than her, and his leg had been crippled by an accident that had happened in the past. Margaret loathed Jade because he was far from her ideal husband.

However, despite not being an affectionate couple, at the very least they agreed to respect each other as partners…

—If only the first-born child was a son.

“Daughter?”

—If only Jade hadn’t reacted in that way when he heard that the baby was a daughter.

“For God’s sake, a daughter? Damn it, so this is all I could get from the hellish marriage I’ve endured so far?!”

—If only Margaret, who had just given birth, did not hear this.

“Get rid of it.”

Margaret pushed away the baby in her arms as if it were a giant leech.

“Get rid of this damn girl right now!”

And so, the baby was abandoned, and the relationship between Jade and Margaret became irrevocably broken.

* * *

The baby was raised by a maid who did meager chores at the employees’ quarters.

Whenever she was hungry, she would crawl under a goat, which regularly grazed in the backyard, then drink milk from it. Whenever she was sleepy, she would just curl into herself and fall asleep anywhere.

For her, the sun’s warmth was her blanket, and the whistling wind was her lullaby.

The baby would then grow up like one of the tall, sword-like flowers in the backyard.

Naming her after that flower, the maids began calling the unnamed child ‘Radis’ only after she turned two years old.

Margaret could no longer turn a blind eye to her daughter due to the pressure of public attention as the child began to walk on her own two feet, and so she called her into the mansion.

However, just because there was a closer physical distance between them didn’t mean that affection would naturally sprout if there was no seed to nurture in the first place.

Margaret couldn’t understand the child. In her eyes, Radis was like a strange animal.

So Margaret would scream hysterically whenever she would see the child.

“Why are you eating so mannerlessly?”

“Why are your clothes always so dirty? Why, why, why are you peeing on your clothes like that! Ah! I can’t stand it!”

Radis was afraid of her own mother.

Because she was so intimidated, she couldn’t even go out of her room, which was as small as a closet. When the maid brought her meals, Radis would desperately hang onto her apron.

“I think my mother hates me.”

The maid didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t taught to become a nanny—she was simply a maid who did chores. She didn’t know how to treat the Madam’s child who kept clinging to her.

The maid pulled Radis’ hands off the apron.

“No, Young Miss. Milady doesn’t hate you. The Lady is the mother who had you in her belly. There is no parent in the world who hates their child. If she’s mad at you, maybe you did something wrong. You’ll have to make up for it. You have to try.”

The child believed the maid’s words.

Indeed, she believed it with all her heart.

Which was why it took Radis a long time to realize that this was wrong.

Because she tried, and tried again.

She ate properly and cleaned herself up in the bathroom so that her mother wouldn’t be upset anymore.

She tried to be a good child, but it didn’t change anything. Margaret still considered Radis an eyesore and left the child to eat alone.

She played alone as well, because no one cared for her.

If she picked up the branch, it was enough. She could play all day long.

But then, one day.

David, the eldest son of the Tilrod family, was born.

David’s birth was celebrated as if he was a true blessing from heaven. It was nothing like Radis’ birth.

When told that she had given birth to a son, Margaret’s face instantly lit up as if she were the ****** Mary.

And when Jade heard the news of his son’s birth, he ran out of his mistress’ house and returned home with flowers enough to fill the mother’s room.

Radis was happy because everyone else was happy. Even though she came back to her small room alone and fell asleep with an empty stomach, she was still happy.

David grew up carrying the family’s expectations.

Jade brought in two wet nurses from the capital for the family’s eldest son.

Daavid, who gained weight after breastfeeding from two wet nurses, was such a lovely baby. And Margaret didn’t know what to do because he was so wonderful.

“How can my baby be so cute? David, you’re the only light of my life!”

Radis could only look at David with envy in her eyes.

The year after David was born, Margaret gave birth to the third child, Yurhi. She wanted the third child to be another son, but she wasn’t too dismayed because she didn’t want to see two sons fighting for succession.

“I’m sure you’ll be a beauty!”

“Madam, Young Lady Yurhi resembles you a lot. Look at how beautiful her golden hair and green eyes are!”

Margaret smiled with satisfaction at her third child, who looked a lot like her.

“That’s right. You’re really my daughter…!”

Radis and David both had red hair and black eyes like their father, but Yurhi was different.

“You’re almost like my twin!”

Margaret felt a special kind of affection for Yurhi. For the first time, she felt thrilled for her daughter as she kissed Yurhi’s thick golden locks.

When David was four years old, Margaret brought in a tutor.

The resident tutor who taught one child had a salary comparable to a tutor who taught two children. Only then did Margaret think to let Radis be educated a little bit.

The tutor was a bright woman, but she was weak-minded.

She had trouble dealing with David because he was too hyper and violent. Radis, on the other hand, was calm and studious, so she was easy to teach.

“Madam, Young Lady Radis is very smart. I think she’ll be able to get into the academy at the capital.”

But Margaret was irritated at this.

“She’s two years older than David. It’s no wonder that she looks good compared to him!”

The tutor, who immediately grasped Margaret’s attitude towards her children, stopped praising Radis afterwards.

When David was eight years old, the indifferent Jade opened his mouth.

“We are a family of knights, so David, learn swordsmanship and become a great knight. You better be diligent because the South is infested with demonic monsters.”

After the meal when Jade left, Margaret laughed behind his back.

“He’s a cripple, but still a great knight?!”

Margaret stroked David’s plump cheek, laughing at her husband’s words.

“My baby! You should never become like your father. You should be an amazing knight. Our David will march like a king in shining, silver armor as you ride a white horse. Then, everyone will look up and know you’re my son and I’m your mother!”

After this, Margaret yanked Radis’ arm and stabbed her fingernails into it, then said, “Be quiet and go back to your room!”

Radis did so obediently.

The sword teacher who came to teach David was a man named Armano.

Having never been taught how to use a sword, David had to spend a week holding a wooden sword, but all he did was run away trying to get away from his teacher.

“Ah, such a stupid child. Do you even want to learn how to use that thing?”

At this, David grasped his sword in his hand properly for the first time.

Then, he yelled, hitting Armano’s leg.

“Cripple! Leg crippled idiot!”

Armano could only cradle his forehead in his hand.

Then came Radis, who wielded a branch and played by herself in one corner of the backyard. And with that, Armano immediately saw her potential.

“You’re good.”

When he spoke to her, Radis turned away with flushed cheeks, stepping back as she hid the branch behind her back.

“No, no. Don’t run away. Why don’t we learn together?”

Armano was just trying to motivate David by using his sister as a rival.

But it was the first compliment that Radis ever heard in her life.

That was their first meeting.