Something unforgivable happened. All the important people in my life are dead.

I can see flesh blood everywhere, no one would have thought that this hell like place was once full of laughter.

My home, my sanctuary, no one would believe that this is the house of the Black Astronomy, the centre of Madorumun.

The puppy, who always welcomed me whenever I went through the door, is already dead with its belly exposed at the threshold of the door.

Kyung, a servant who was a little lacking but the most sincere, was also lying on the floor together with the firewood that he had cut.

And the nanny, who I love the most.

The most loyal person I’ve ever known. Who raised me like a real daughter, ever since I was a baby, who originally comes from the side of my mom’s family.

“……”

She died with her eyes wide open.

I approached her and slowly closed her eyes.

As if knowing that it was me who did it, a small smile appeared on her face.

“Ah, Ara, I’m…”

“!”

‘I thought that everyone was dead.’

I immediately approached the spot from where the sound came from, and what I saw was our butler, my nanny’s husband. Who was leaning against the wall, soaked in blood and barely breathing.

“Butler······.”

His face was full of resentment, as if he was blaming me.

But it’s okay, since everyone here died because of me. That’s why I feel comfortable blaming myself for everything that has happened…

“Sir, Aran is here. If you want to say something, please do.”

“Our baby…”

The butler’s bloody hand gripped my face.

“Even for a while, I’m happy to be able to take care of you, baby…”

Mr. Butler coughed up and vomited blood, then he suddenly collapsed without him finishing his words. As I stared blankly at his face, as he left a bloodstain on my face, I asked myself.

‘Have I been happy?’

“Yes, I was very happy.”

But now, those happy days are gone and people died horribly as if they were being insulted, and I was the only one left behind.

Again me, alone. Even in this life.

“········”

After my mother died while giving birth to me, my father immediately found a new lover.

To a stepmother, who always thinks of me as a thorn in her eyes.

But being bullied is a story from when I was younger. Gradually as I grew up, I became conscious and started to fight back, so I never dreamt of her being my mother, but the funny thing is It never came to me that she would set me up to be killed.

From then on, if I had an argument, I wouldn’t just let it go.

That’s when I started a splendid life.

I’m a beautiful and talented maiden, enough to be called the mechanism of heaven and earth. It’s a natural quality that my stepmother could not take away from me, no matter how much she hated me.

I am immersed in luxury, pleasure, and adoration, with the proper combination of these two qualities.

Around that time, I didn’t even care about my stepmother, who regarded me as a thorn in her eyes.

Then I died, at the age of twenty-two.

‘…. But fortunately, I came back to life.’

At that time, I reincarnated at the age of six years old.

Naturally, I began to think about how to get my revenge on my stepmother, who killed me in my previous life and continued to harass me in this new life.

But what’s going on?

Something incredible happened.

Because of my sweet nanny, my dreams of taking revenge, gently melted away.

And then I thought that, It wouldn’t be a bad thing to live a simple life.

I don’t have my favourite ornaments, no fancy rooms, nor pretty things, and then it hit me that maybe, I could choose this simple life and be happy nonetheless.

And then I’ve come to a decision to completely end my desire for revenge. It’s because I thought that if I stepped back in moderation, and just watched from the sidelines, no one would think of touching me first.

I believed that this small amount of happiness would be sufficient for me to protect it with my own hands.

I had to.

‘I really had to do it…’

In front of my people who were torn to pieces, I realized later that It was my biggest mistake.

“········”

I stood up quietly in front of a bloodstain and the disastrous death.

As I crossed over the threshold with my feet and slowly closed the door of this simple and happy house with my own hands.

This house became a permanent closed tomb from the people I considered as my family.

‘I know that you’ll be worried, nanny, but I’m sorry.’

Naturally, no one answered me back, because this house has now become a grave.

The tomb of the people who had once provided me a home, is now permanently closed.

‘If you want to stop me, then please come back from afterlife.’

No earnest appeal can stop me, except from those who lie in this tomb. That’s why……

‘Vengeance can only be the right of those who were left behind.’

As I slowly turned my back from the grave of those who are important to me, I smiled faintly.

Now, it’s time to go back to becoming a wicked villain.

~*~

Black Heavenly Gate.

It is the name of the clan to which I belong.

Currently, the world of Moorim is divided into factions and sects.

In factions dominated by one side of the old faction and the five generations, the one called ‘Black Heavenly’ is the representative.

The owner of the Black Heavenly Gate is my grandfather, Mazon Kangcheon.

My grandfather had three sons. My father was the second of them.

Usually, the eldest son becomes the heir, but this is Black Heavenly Gate. Heirs are not determined simply by the order of birth.

Only the strongest and surviving can become the heir.

So, who will be the next to follow in the footsteps of Mazon?

At this point, it was the father and the uncle who fought bloodlessly.

Both martial artists were strong, and their forces were so mixed that it was impossible to easily distinguish between superiority and inferiority.

But I knew from the first round of life who would be the likely victor in this fight.

Neither the father nor the uncle.

‘That’s right…”

Then, someone’s shadow appeared from beyond the door.

“Lady, I’m here to pick you up.”

Is the time already here?

The door opened without me telling them to come in first.

My stepmother’s handmaiden was looking at me with a mocking expression.

She spoke without even saying hello.

“From now on, the young lady must move to Cheongbinjeon.”

Chungbinjeon.

Cheongbinjeon Hall, called the Cold Palace of Black Heavenly Gate, was a place where concubines who failed in internal affairs were mostly thrown away.

It was also a place occupied by crazy women who were once the ministers of powerful people.

I shook my head. Now I had somewhere else to go.

Then my stepmother’s handmaiden frowned and tried to warn me.

“Lady, are you going to reject your mother’s orders?”

It was not the attitude that a maid of honour should show me, the eldest daughter of the second young master, so I should’ve arrogantly commanded.

However…

“Forgive me.”

With a pitiful, stupid-looking face, I burst into tears.

I lowered my head and wiped the tears with the cuffs of my sleeve.

“Step-mother bestowed her grace… Cheongbinjeon is a great place for me to go.”

“…”

“I was not clever enough.”

I was a stupid, naive little girl who didn’t even notice that the villain was now my stepmother. Therefore…

“I would rather go to Shimokgye.”

“!”

As expected, the maid was startled.

There is a huge underground crypt in the main mountain where the Black Heavenly Gate is located.

It was a place like a rubbish dump, where losers who could not endure in the world of strength inside the Black Heavenly Gate were thrown away.

A prison so deep that, once abandoned, you can’t see the sky again.

People called it Shimokgye.

It was a hundred times more terrible than the Cheongbinjeon.

No matter how much I didn’t have a backbone, I was still the granddaughter of the Black Heavenly Gate’s head and the eldest daughter of the 2nd young master.

Although my stepmother is making all kinds of decisions instead of my father, who is indifferent, she could not blindly send me to Shimokgye.

‘Unless I asked for it myself.’

I added in a lonely way with my eyes down sadly.

“I will commemorate those who died there because of my ignorance all my life.”

The maid’s expression was strangely distorted.

Perhaps you are thinking: Is she serious?

Shimokgye is cruel even within the clan.

It was a famous place.

How can you put complacent words like “lifetime” in such a place?

Even I thought it was a silly thing to say.

The maid must have thought so too.

As a maid who is well aware of the fact that my stepmother hates me terribly, she will probably see this moment as a golden opportunity.

“If that’s what you want…”

As expected, the maid could not hide all her expressions.

She was probably excited at the thought of receiving a prize in return for the fact that she could send me to Shimokgye.

‘How stupid.’

It made the job easier, but it was so easy that I almost yawned.

‘Hey, I have no choice but to do it.’

In my first life, I lived and died in the Black Heavenly Gate for twenty-two years.

Our Black Heavenly Gate was a place not only to absolutely venerate power, but also to slander, conspiracy, and even murder to defeat our opponents.

The strong one wins.

The victor has everything.

That was the absolute program.

In my first life, I was praised as a ‘natural fit’ for such a place.

Otherwise, without a mother to support me, there was no way I could survive under an indifferent father and cruel stepmother.

However, after reviving, my only interest is to live quietly with my people, so I have never fully exercised my mind.

‘It’s easy to manage a careless maid…’

I had been immersed in happiness for several years, but I can’t fail now.

As expected, the maid said:

“Then, once I communicate with your mother…”

No.

“Well… Is it okay if you bother my mother over trivial things?”

“What?”

The maid’s eyes are now filled with doubt.

“I… I’m worried that if it becomes known that I’m going to the Shimokgye realm, there will be people who will oppose it.”

“That-that…”

The maid was perplexed.

Because what I said was unmistakably true.

No one else knows, but my father, the second young master, would not let his daughter go down to the realm of Shimokgye, for the sake of face.

“…”

Taking a glance, the maid had a conflicting look.

She had to tell my stepmother first because of the procedure, but even if she tried to follow the procedure, she could have smashed her chances of being recognized.

No, maybe she should be held accountable for missing a golden opportunity to deal with me.

I looked into her eyes and said at the right time:

“I think it would be better for me to go down quietly for now.”

I used the voice I used in my first life to inspire the greed and desires of others.

“It would be very difficult for someone to call me back after I’m already there.”

Eventually, you will not be able to overcome your greed.

“What do you think?”

“… I don’t know. If that’s what you mean… Of course, I have to help you…?”

“That’s right.”

Contrary to my inner thoughts, I decorated a look that looked endlessly pure, greeted the maid with “thank you” and handed her a silver.

“Oh my, you don’t have to do this…”

As a result, even a word of suspicion seemed to have disappeared from her head.

While the maid was excited, I looked back on the situation.

‘My stepmother hates me terribly, but she doesn’t want to reveal it.’

This was because my stepmother was the daughter of a rare member of the current clan.

She wanted to pretend to be elegant, dignified, and good in this strong world.

‘It’s an incomprehensible desire.’

After all, such a stepmother’s handmaiden helped her stepdaughter down into a deep prison realm? It was impossible.

In all likelihood, she’ll try to draw a line that it was unrelated to her.

‘The easiest way… It is to punish the maid who dared to do such a thing.’

The appearance of a stepmother who would have to give up her servant while grinding her teeth, and how excited I would be to see that stupid maid doing her job, was exhilarating.

‘But this is not the end.’

This is just the signal to start it all.

It’s like a silly joke that can’t even be called revenge.

I didn’t go down to the Shimokgye Realm to get revenge like those kids’ pranks.

In any case, my stepmother will punish the maid, but she cannot help but rejoice over the news that I have gone down to the realm of Shimokgye.

While my stepmother secretly rejoices like that, I just need to fulfil my true purpose of descending there.

The purpose is…

“How are you, uncle?”

It was to have this man on my side.

~*~

As I mentioned previously, my grandfather has three sons. The youngest son among them is the third young master, Kang Ryun, who is my uncle.

Currently, he is known to have been ruined by the Shimokgye Realm…

‘However…’

The truth was that he was never ruined.

Rather, he came down to the Shimokgye Realm of his own will and then went from being considered a loser to being the reigning king in one year.

The so-called ‘King of the Abandoned’.

In just five years, Kang Ryun resurrected splendidly, and became the most influential person in the running to becoming the next heir.

My first uncle and father, who were fighting each other, now had to form a coalition force to keep him in check.

“… Why are you here?”

Few people knew that Kang Ryun, known to be missing, was the same person as the object of fear known as the “Relay Master” in the Shimokgye Realm.

I was now going to have this person on my side.

I don’t like the fact that he’s been looking down at me in such an elegant way, but he was a very handsome man.

A beautiful face that seems to have been carefully drawn by gently swinging a carefully trimmed brush at once.

With his thick eyebrows raised, he stared at me with wariness in his eyes.

But I didn’t feel discouraged at all.

“Aran is greeting her uncle after a long time.”

My name is Heeran.

If you call it ‘Aran’ by adding ‘A’ instead of ‘Hee’, it then becomes a kind of nickname.

I am brazenly calling myself a nickname that he doesn’t use.

It’s like I have always been the niece that he adores.

Kang Ryun seemed to be terrified at my brazenness.

“This is rather abrupt, but…what the hell is that messy look?”

I smiled, carefully sweeping down to the spot where my nanny’s blood had been stained onto my clothes.

“Ah, this just happened. I’m sorry to have let you see me in such a disgraceful manner. However, I have an urgent request that could not be delayed.”

“Request…”

Kang Ryun frowned at me.

Even so, there was barely any relationship between him and I.

Not only that, my father, who is the second young master Kang, didn’t even have a connection with his mother.

The blood that connected us was much fainter, and the bond of family was nothing more than a show.

It was only natural that he would react in such a hostile manner when I suddenly came to visit out of the blue.

“What on earth is your father doing, that you would come all the way here to visit me?”

“But visiting Uncle is the reason why Aran came here.”

I smiled broadly.

“I came here because I wanted to become my uncle’s adopted daughter.”

A cold silence lingered in the air for a moment.

“… What?”

An incredulous reply greeted my statement

Perhaps he finally understood what I was trying to say, and the incredulous expression became annoyance flashed onto Kang Ryun’s face.

I did not mess up my smile, and kindly repeated my words again.

“Aran said that she wants to stop being her uncle’s niece now.”

“Are you crazy?!”

It was a much more intense rejection than I had anticipated, but it didn’t matter.

‘Because soon you won’t be able to refuse .’

“I know why my uncle came down here.”

The reason that Kang Ryun came down to Shimokgye on his own will was a secret that only Kang Ryun himself and his closest aides know.

However, after he rose to prominence in the succession battle for the Black Heavenly Gate, people then understood why.

‘Of course, I know why.’

“Uncle, aren’t you currently suffering from tae-yin-yang vein disease?”

Suddenly the air in the room, which had been quiet as if a mouse had died, dropped to below freezing.

The place where I met Kang Ryun was in a naturally formed cave.

The strange shaped rocks were arranged haphazardly, and the place where he was standing resembled a stone statue like that of an emperor.

The momentum that Kang Ryun burst out from him as he sat on the platform weighed heavily down upon the space as if one was suffocating from the pressure.

Soon after, he got up from his seat like a lion and began to descend the stairs in a leisurely manner.

At the same time, the unbearable pressure continued to weigh down upon me.

‘This…’

No, this wasn’t just about living.

The power emitted by this man made the air fluctuate wildly, and the aggression is now solely aimed at me…

‘… Heart Sword!’

Before I could even move, the hostility of the man who had achieved a level that transcended beyond mere human beings was being sharply aimed at my neck.

The man who questioned me was as cold as ice.

“This little girl is bold. To dare repeat the rumours that you heard of from somewhere to be uttered in front of me, did you expect a new bond of flesh and blood from this clan?”

I clenched my teeth to endure being crushed by his energy.

‘I can’t be thrown out without saying anything!’

Tsk.

“That’s funny. If I was stupid enough to expect that…rather than coming to you, wouldn’t I have gone to see my biological father instead?”

“…”

Kang Ryun was speechless. A subtle change appeared in his eyes from my words.

It was then that his energy gradually softened.

I hurriedly raised my strength against the pressure and then spoke quickly.

“First, listen to what I have to say. If you think that I am speaking a bunch of nonsense, you can kill me then.”

“You want me to listen to the nonsense coming from Kang Seong’s daughter?”

I got annoyed as he kept talking about my father.

“You’ll find out if I’m suspicious or not. Since I was born, I have lived only in Soswalheon with a nanny until now. I have seen my father no more than three times a year.”

At that moment, Kang Ryun suddenly frowned.

“Soswalheon?”

He stared at me as if to determine the authenticity of my words and let go of his energy with a sound.

“Okay. Let’s hear what you’re trying to say.”

Once I managed to take a breath, I answered quickly before I missed the opportunity.

“The tae-yin-yang vein disease is the type of disease in which the Chi and blood are distorted as a side effect of being born with a powerful, innate ingenuity from birth.”

If you get this disease, you could easily build up your stamina to an unmatched level.

However, it is said that each time someone uses their strength or even during practices, they’ll suffer from great pain.

In the past, Kang Ryun clenched his teeth through his pain and achieved a high level of power.

In the end, he was diagnosed with not only being unable to bear the rest of the pain of being too strong, but also dying.

“In order to cure Uncle’s illness, we will need a herb.”

It was a rare herb that was said to bloom only once in a thousand years between the glacial and nephrite plants.

Legend has it, it was discovered in this area before it became Shimokgye.

Kang Ryun snorted.

“What you mean is that you came down to the depth of the Shimokgye Realm in anticipation of a miracle that you’re not even sure exists?”

It’s a myth that can’t even be certain of its own existence.

‘That’s an interesting expression.’

I asked with an attitude to match how he asked me…

“Aren’t you in a situation where you have to search for a needle in a hay sack?”

“You’re being cheeky to your elders.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Most people would have l shaken their heads, saying that Kang Ryun’s behaviour is almost insane.

But I thought there was a human side to him.

‘You have no choice but to die anyway’

Moreover, if you come to the Shimokgye Realm, you could even find useful people from among those who have been pushed out of the bloody battle of the Black Heavenly clan and turn them into forces.

But that’s to be filed away for the future.

Anyway, in this situation, the fate of the man in front of me was still up in the air.

If he can’t find the legendary harmony plant, he will die under the stigma of being imprisoned in the Shimokgye Realm by a direct blood relative of Mazon.

Unlike that of a man who was about to face a tragic end, Kang Ryun leaned toward me.

“Then what do you expect from a man looking for a needle in a hay sack and following him all the way down here?”

“My stepmother killed my nanny.”

“What?”

Kang-ryun smiled as if he was full of energy.

“So? Are you going to get revenge?”

“Yes.”

So far, I’ve been working hard to achieve it.

I tried to keep my simple and lovely life without going against my stepmother’s wishes. Desperately, I killed my existence and tried to live as if I never existed.

But my stepmother couldn’t even stand me living comfortably. I am a threat to her regardless of how quiet I am living.

She didn’t even touch me and instead killed my own people in a horrific way. Revealing just how much she hates me, and at the same time…

‘She thought it was funny…’

Even if she kept me alive, she’s underestimating that I won’t be able to get revenge.

It can’t be a shocking thing.

So I swore upon my loved ones’ deaths.

“Of course, I will get revenge. It will be the most terrifying nightmare for someone who cannot even beg to die.”

For that to happen, this person was absolutely necessary.