Chapter 166: Luna, the Daughter of Daughters!

Many years ago, as the first rays of sunlight crept into the orphanage courtyard, the morning routine began.

"Go sweep the main gate," an employee instructed.

"Right away."

But when the employee reached the gate, they found a basket.

Inside lay a baby girl, fast asleep.

A cloth imprinted with moons covered her. When the employee knelt and lifted the cloth, they discovered a small card.

"Luna" was the only word written on it.

Water stains dotted the card—tears, perhaps, left by her mother or father.

The employee glanced around, but no one was in sight.

"Hey! Come over here! Someone's abandoned another child!" the employee called out.

"Again?"

"Sigh, this isn't a pet shop..."

Nevertheless, the orphanage took the baby in.

Since the card said "Luna," they decided to name her Luna. It was simple and saved them the trouble of thinking of another name.

"From today on, you'll be Luna. But never forget, you're an abandoned child."

"Just like the cats and dogs left outside the animal hospital."

"We saved you, and now you're a precious new member of our family—until someone adopts you."

As time passed, Luna gradually grew older.

With her soft yet radiant golden hair and bright, intelligent eyes, she already possessed all the hallmarks of a budding beauty, despite being just a child.

More importantly, she was exceptionally talented.

"Luna, full marks again! You truly are the smartest child here."

She effortlessly aced her studies.

"Luna, there's another mouse!"

"Quick, use your throwing knives to deal with it!"

She could skillfully eliminate any "intruders" that dared to enter the house.

Even the Headmaster, who had welcomed countless children into the orphanage and seen just as many leave, couldn't help but marvel at her extraordinary aptitude.

Perhaps she could even become an official in the Court of Justice someday.

What made others uneasy, however, was Luna's habit of observing them with those crimson eyes.

She didn't play with the other children, spending most of her time reading or absorbed in her own activities.

Yet when spoken to, she responded with perfect ease, laughing, getting angry, and behaving just like any other child.

This reassured them. After all, while clever children were often the most difficult to manage, in the end, they were still just children.

"Before we eat, children, don't forget to offer your gratitude."

Before every meal, Luna and the other children would loudly recite together:

"We thank this home..."

"We are the abandoned children..."

"Those beside us are our family..."

"We will eat and drink this bounty, and remember always to give our all for this home..."

The children didn't fully understand the meaning of these words, treating them as a necessary ritual before meals, like a prayer, much like the families in stories.

But some truly felt the weight of those words.

"If the Headmaster and the others hadn't taken us in, we surely would have died out there. Right, Luna?" one child sighed.

Luna, sitting by the window, shifted her gaze from the bright moon in the night sky to the speaker.

"Yeah."

She's right, Luna thought. Without this sanctuary, we might have perished in the bitter cold or drowned in the relentless rain.

Yet she also knew that in most cases, kind-hearted citizens would have alerted the Maison Gardiennage, who would then have brought them to an orphanage like this one.

"We need to work hard to help out around here from now on," the child added.

"Yeah."

Luna responded absently, her gaze returning to the moon.

She was grateful for everything the orphanage had done for her, yet a nagging thought persisted: Sometimes, they look at us like we're merchandise...

She had no interest in the pre-meal grace.

Is this really what a family is supposed to be? she wondered idly, her fingers tracing the cover of the book.

Adventures in the Night Kingdom—her current favorite fairy tale, secretly purchased with her own hard-earned money.

The orphanage had a strict rule against reading books from outside their library. Discovery meant severe punishment. But Luna didn't care. She trusted her own judgment and refused to let any book influence her. Besides, she simply wanted to pass the time.

Adventures in the Night Kingdom had apparently been adapted into numerous stage plays, but Luna had never seen one. Maybe someday, she thought.

"The families in this story seem so different from ours," she murmured.

The feeling was both novel and unfamiliar.

They didn't recite prayers before meals, nor did they feel compelled to sacrifice everything for their families.

"With the moonlight guiding us, everything will be alright!" That was her favorite line.

If only moonlight could truly guide others.

"...Then can you tell me why I was abandoned?"

The moon gazed down at her in silence, offering no answer.

Everyone told her she was an abandoned child, but not to worry—we're all the same here.

This place was home to all the abandoned children.

Luna closed her eyes.

There was nothing wrong with accepting this as her home. After all, she had nothing else.

Until one morning.

"Children, line up! This is Monsieur Lefèvre, the great benefactor who funds our orphanage!"

A lavishly dressed man arrived at the orphanage.

The children lined up, their curious eyes fixed on him. He stroked his chin as he slowly walked past them.

Then he stopped in front of Luna.

"What's your name?"

"Luna."

Monsieur Lefèvre beckoned, and the Headmaster hurried over, bowing obsequiously.

"Is she the one?"

"Yes, she is. Her voice is quite good."

That day, Luna ate her last meal at the orphanage.

"From today onward, he will be your new adoptive family," the Headmaster announced.

"...What if I say I don't want to go?" Luna whispered, her voice barely audible.

Luna couldn't shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong. A long-buried instinct stirred within her, filling her with unease, even anger.

The Headmaster's face hardened instantly. "You don't want to go? You have no choice."

In that moment, Luna finally understood everything.

"You're treating me like merchandise."

A child received was a successful delivery.

A child sent away meant a completed transaction.

This wasn't a home; it was a den of iniquity, a store selling lives.

The Headmaster's expression shifted again, now tinged with anxiety. "How can you say that? We're thinking of your future! Everyone has to give something to get something..."

"Go there, behave yourself, and you'll have riches beyond your wildest dreams. Things others spend their whole lives chasing will be yours without effort."

"...I refuse," Luna whispered.

"Refuse? Your refusal means nothing. Shove her in!"

The orphanage's guards—more accurately, her captors—swarmed her, forcibly shoving her into the carriage. The wheels spun wildly, kicking up dust as it sped away.

Next stop, the final stop: Lefèvre Manor.

"Wait here."

The door slammed shut with a loud bang, the sound of the lock clicking into place echoing through the carriage.

She was trapped in the room.

Lavish and spacious, it offered no warmth. Luna turned back to the door, twisting the handle, but it felt as if it had been welded shut.

There's no going back now, she thought, settling by the window and pulling out a small knife.

She had stolen it during her last meal at the orphanage, hiding it between her shoe and the sole of her foot.

No one had noticed, probably because no one would have suspected her of doing such a thing.

She drew the blade from its sheath, her fingertip gliding along the sharp edge.

"..."

If she wanted, she could slash all the fabric in the room, knot it into a rope, and escape.

It wouldn't be difficult.

But... Luna murmured softly, "Where would I even go after escaping?"

Her parents had abandoned her.

The orphanage had sold her off.

There was nowhere left for her to return to; the so-called "home" she longed for didn't exist anywhere in Fontaine.

Yet she still had a choice.

Unable to decide where she belonged, she could still determine her own fate.

Luna lowered her gaze. The cold gleam of the knife could easily slice through her flesh.

"Everyone says 'Luna' means 'moon'."

Then let me go to the moon.

Perhaps that's where I truly belong.

Luna showed no trace of fear as she turned the blade toward herself.

Just then, heavy footsteps approached.

"...Seems it's not the right time," Luna murmured, putting away her knife and leaning against the window.

Bang! The door burst open with a violent force.

"Get ready," a voice sneered. "Monsieur Lefèvre is eager to enjoy you. Make yourself presentable. If you please him enough, you might survive."

A girl with cat ears and a tail was thrown into the room.

Luna was startled. She hadn't expected another child to be here.

But remembering that Monsieur Lefèvre was the orphanage's benefactor, and recalling his interactions with the Headmaster, it was clear he was a repeat offender. It wasn't surprising he would steal the futures of more girls.

The door slammed shut again.

The cat-eared girl clawed a white streak into the floor, tears streaming between her lips.

"Brother..."

She clearly had family, forcibly torn from her.

Luna couldn't help but ask, "Were you just brought here too?"

"Huh?"

Her cat ears twitched, or rather trembled. Her tear-filled eyes lifted, then froze in shock when she saw Luna.

Forgetting her fear for a moment, Lynette couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?"

"Luna."

Luna felt she should offer a gentle smile and turned up the corners of her mouth. "I was just brought here too. What about you? What's your name?"

"Lyn... Lynette..." She scrambled to her feet, looking lost and bewildered.

Lynette? It was a rather charming name. But Luna was more fascinated by Lynette's cat ears and tail than her name.

"Are you a cat?"

Lynette suddenly covered her ears, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. Perhaps she didn't see her ears as a good thing.

Still, Luna exclaimed sincerely, "They're beautiful!"

"I love cats. I wish I had cat ears too."

She wasn't lying, and she had no reason to.

But Lynette said she hated her ears because they were the reason she had been brought here. "...I might never see my brother again. He's my only family."

Only family.

Luna stared intently at her.

"I'm so scared," Lynette whispered.

Luna felt none of the fear that Lynette did.

Still, she knew that the best way to handle moments like this was to distract herself and temporarily escape the terror.

So, she began telling the story of Adventures in the Night Kingdom. When she saw Lynette's cat ears twitch slightly, her expression rapt, Luna knew she had succeeded.

But this didn't solve the fundamental problem.

"Do you want to return to your brother?" Luna asked to confirm.

"Yes," Lynette answered without hesitation.

"What about you, Luna?"

"Me? I... I have nowhere to return to."

Perhaps I never did to begin with.

Or maybe my true home is the moon itself, Luna mused absently. But Lynette was different.

Lynette had a real family.

And her brother was her only haven in this moment.

The decisive moment had arrived again. It was time to make a choice.

But in truth, there was little to ponder. The answer surfaced naturally from within her heart.

I have nowhere to return to.

"But I can try to help you escape this place."

If Lynette hadn't arrived, things might have turned out differently.

But it was just an "if."

Lynette's arrival had given Luna a reason to live, even though Lynette herself had no such intention.

Luna killed the guard, seized his rifle and bullets, and reloaded.

"Let's escape together," she said.

"With the moonlight guiding us, we'll be fine!"

"I have nowhere left to return to, but I can take you back to your family."

In truth, the moonlight might not guide anyone.

As Luna fled with Lynette, she couldn't help but think:

The moon merely observes everyone. Its radiance shines for no one in particular.

Perhaps the only thing that could ever truly guide her was a single existence.

-

"Escape? How could you possibly escape? One's a worthless orphan no one wants, and the other's that cat girl everyone remembers. Recapturing you both would be child's play!"

"Go back now, and I'll pretend this never happened..."

"Or don't blame me if I throw your brother into the sea!"

Luna drew her rifle, aiming the muzzle at the enemy.

An indescribable heat surged through every vein in her body—not from recklessness, but from cold, calculated judgment.

Luna was certain that such evil could not be allowed to exist in the world.

With cold calculation, she delivered her own judgment and execution—a gunshot that shattered the moonlit night.

Bang!

Lefèvre's face froze in terror as he collapsed, blood gushing from his wound.

Luna felt no triumphant satisfaction from her revenge, nor any hollow emptiness. Only the cold detachment of a verdict carried out.

In the distance, a commotion stirred.

Everyone in the mansion must have heard the gunshot. They would be here soon.

"We have to escape!" Lynette snapped out of her daze, her voice urgent.

"There's no need."

Huh?

A strange voice was followed by an unfamiliar figure. A woman in a hooded cloak and a mask slowly emerged from the woods.

When had she been lurking there?

Lynette stiffened. "An ambush?"

She clearly mistook this for an ambush.

But Luna sensed something different. The woman before them radiated no hostility.

Arlecchino glanced at Lefèvre's fallen body and wordlessly stepped over his corpse.

Arlecchino removed her mask and lowered her hood in front of Luna and Lynette.

So beautiful, Luna thought as she first saw Arlecchino.

Lynette, however, was startled by Arlecchino's eyes. Their unusual design—slanted cross-shaped pupils—was even more striking than her own cat ears.

"Um... weren't you here to ambush us?" Lynette asked.

"Of course not," Arlecchino replied, her gaze settling on Luna's face. "What's your name?"

"...Luna."

"And you?"

"Lyn... Lynette."

Arlecchino nodded slightly. "Luna, Lynette, wait here for a moment. Coincidentally, the gunshot has roused all the prey. It's time to begin the hunt."

She strode past them.

Soon, piercing screams echoed from within the mansion.

Arlecchino returned, blood splattered across her face. Her expression was icy, utterly devoid of emotion, and her voice cold and merciless.

"The hunters who pursued you have become the hunted, slaughtered without mercy. From this day forward, Lefèvre's name will exist only in memory."

They're all dead? Luna stared at the distant mansion.

A deathly silence hung in the air.

There was no sign of life, only a group of girls huddled together, furtively watching them from the basement. They were the other children who had been locked away.

Lynette blinked, somewhat bewildered. "Thank you...?"

"You're welcome," Arlecchino replied. "I simply gave you the choice you should have had all along."

Choice? Luna stared blankly at Arlecchino.

Arlecchino's expression remained unchanged as she raised her hand. She roughly rubbed Lynette's cat ears, her touch far from gentle.

"Nice ears. Useful for eavesdropping. From now on, learn to use them."

"Your technique is still crude. Once you master it, escapes like today's will go completely unnoticed."

Arlecchino turned to Luna, their eyes meeting.

"As for you..." Her tone was detached, devoid of emotion. "Well done."

She placed her hand on Luna's head and ruffled her hair. Arlecchino's touch wasn't gentle, but it inexplicably felt warm.

Luna gazed into Arlecchino's eyes and couldn't help but ask, "What does 'choice' mean?"

"It means deciding where you belong."

Where I belong?

Sensing Luna's confusion, Arlecchino murmured, "You can choose to go elsewhere, or you can join the House of the Hearth."

"This place will never betray you, nor will it ever tolerate betrayal."

The House of the Hearth... Luna still didn't quite understand. "What exactly is the House of the Hearth?"

"A home for those who have nowhere else to belong."

Like an orphanage? Luna hesitated.

She only wanted to help Lynette return to her family. She hadn't given much thought to her own future.

Abandoned and without a home, perhaps the moon would be her only refuge.

But now, Arlecchino had offered her a new choice.

"What should we call you?"

"Arlecchino. If you join us, I will be your 'Father'."

Father? But she's a woman. Why 'Father'?

Luna stared into Arlecchino's eyes. "If the House of the Hearth is a home for those who have nowhere else to belong, does that mean you, Miss Arlecchino, are also one of them?"

Arlecchino whispered, "...Yes. And I made my choice."

"No one chooses whether they're born, their circumstances of birth, or whether they're born rich or poor, healthy or plagued by illness. The world is inherently unfair."

She continued stroking Luna's hair, her touch softening slightly.

"But everyone has the chance to fight for themselves and make their own choices."

"I won't force you."

"You've taken control of your own destiny. Even without me, you could shine brightly in the night sky."

"However, if you ever seek a place to belong—a home with a hearth and a family—"

Arlecchino's hand glided down Luna's hair.

"The House of the Hearth welcomes you, Luna."

Luna felt a warmth spreading through her chest, almost a burning sensation, and her heart pounded in her ears.

Arlecchino's tone was utterly devoid of warmth, seemingly cold, yet it filled Luna with a profound sense of security.

"You won't betray me?"

"No."

"You won't abandon me?"

"No."

A home that would never betray or abandon her.

A place she could always return to.

"Why are you inviting me?"

"Because I want you to become part of our family, to become my child. And if one day you wish to leave, I won't force you to stay."

Arlecchino's voice was light. "As long as you're willing to pay the price, you're free to leave whenever you choose."

Luna stared at Arlecchino, mesmerized.

Bathed in moonlight, Arlecchino radiated a chilling aura, yet Luna couldn't resist reaching out.

"Um... could you please lower your head?"

"Hmm?"

"I want to wipe your face."

Arlecchino silently bent down. Luna's hand froze halfway as she frantically searched her pockets. Finding neither a handkerchief nor a towel, she reluctantly pinched the cuff of her sleeve.

Gently, she dabbed away the bloodstains on Arlecchino's cheek.

"There. You're beautiful again," Luna said with a small smile.

Arlecchino remained silent for a moment.

"...'Father'," Luna whispered, her face flushed crimson.

"Yes. From today onward, you are a child of the House of the Hearth."

Arlecchino stroked her head once more.

"Snezhevna—that will be your surname."

Luna Snezhevna.

"It suits you," Arlecchino added.

Finally, she led everyone back to Lefèvre Manor, where Luna witnessed the family's grim fate firsthand: pools of blood stained the floor, merging into a crimson sea.

The frozen expressions on their faces silently testified to the horrors they had endured.

Shortly after joining the House of the Hearth, Arlecchino handed Luna a photograph.

The photograph showed a ruin. Luna recognized it instantly: the orphanage where she had once lived.

"The children from there have been transferred to proper orphanages," Arlecchino said. "They might struggle to fit in at first, but they'll understand eventually."

"A real home could never be as malicious as the one they knew."

Luna murmured softly in response.

"Father."

"Go on."

Luna hesitated, her face flushing under Arlecchino's gaze.

"Could you... pat my head? Like you did when we first met?"

Arlecchino watched her silently for a moment before placing a hand on Luna's head and gently stroking her hair.

A smile quickly blossomed on Luna's face, though a hint of shyness still flickered in her upturned eyes.

That wasn't truly what she wanted to say.

I like you. That was what Luna longed to confess.

She had felt this way since the night they first met.

Though the feeling was hazy and undefined, she could still classify it as affection. Yet it didn't quite feel like the way a child loved a parent... Luna wasn't sure.

"Could you say my name?"

"Luna," Arlecchino whispered.

"Mmm."

Luna's heart still pounded.