The Start

I've lost count of how many times I've sighed while staring blankly at the vast lake, absentmindedly munching on the burger I brought with me. Seriously… why am I so lucky that fate decided to make me its personal plaything? Wow, absolutely hilarious!

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at the burger in my hand. At least I still had enough money to buy a "buy one, take one" jumbo burger for breakfast. I didn't even get to eat dinner last night thanks to the wonderful mess that happened to me, and now this is all my budget could afford for breakfast. Like, hello? I'm still a student, psh. And it's definitely not my fault that some backstabbing, two-faced snakes exist in this world, right?

Honestly, I feel like crying, but then I stop to think… Why should I be the one crying? I shouldn't be the one suffering—it should be those backstabbing pieces of trash who should be crying and begging for mercy! I don't deserve to be treated like this, do I? Ugh, some people seriously have nothing better to do with their lives.

Come to think of it… They stole my inheritance, took everything I owned, including the house my grandfather left me, kicked me out of my own home, and as if that wasn't enough, they destroyed my reputation, too. Wow, what a loving family. That's why I'm here now, wandering around alone by the lakeside. I mean, come on, I'm way too gorgeous to be homeless.

As all these memories came rushing back, I couldn't stop myself anymore—I picked up a rock, ready to throw it into the lake while screaming every curse word I knew. But just as I was about to let it out, I froze when I heard a voice beside me.

"Oh dear, what a waste it would be to throw away that food."

I immediately turned to my side and saw an old man with shoulder-length, messy hair and a thick beard. He was carrying two sacks filled with… well, something. They were full of leaves and twigs, but whatever it was, he seemed to be handling them with care—he even set them down gently on the bench next to him. Yes, you heard that right—he gave his sacks their own seat.

I followed his gaze and realized he was staring intensely at what I was holding. That's when I noticed—I was about to throw my burger into the lake, while in my other hand, I held the rock. But wait… I swear my burger was in my left hand, and I was about to throw the rock, not the food. Did I just imagine things??

Rather than overthinking it and adding to my growing list of problems, I simply dropped the rock, cleared my throat, and stood up straight to face the old man—who was still staring at my burger. And the way he was looking at it… Ugh, it's giving me the creeps. So, naturally, I started moving my hand away little by little.

But damn… his eyes followed it. No matter where I moved it, his gaze stayed locked on.

Okay, this was getting weird.

With a sigh, I grabbed the small paper bag beside my suitcase and took out the only remaining burger I had—one I had actually planned to save for lunch. But since I'm such a kind-hearted person (and because I felt bad for the guy), I decided to give in. He did look really hungry, after all.

I handed him the burger.

"Here, you can have this, sir. You look like you're starving."

His face lit up with a huge smile.

"Oh my, thank you so much, dear! You're such a kind child!"

I barely had time to react because—bam!—the burger vanished from my hand in the blink of an eye. Was this guy related to The Flash or something?!

But what shocked me even more was how fast he devoured it. That thing was gone in seconds. And just when I thought it was over, I caught him eyeing the burger I was still eating—one I had only taken two bites from!

I didn't even need to ask. I knew exactly what that look meant.

So, still in a daze, I just handed it over.

And of course, he finished that one just as quickly.

But was he satisfied? Nope.

Because now… he was eyeing my paper bag.

Dude, there's literally only a bottle of water left in there.

"Uh, hehe… this is a little embarrassing, dear, but… could I maybe have some water, too?"

And before I could even finish nodding, the bottle had already disappeared from the bag, opened, and emptied in a flash.

What the—?!

"Sir, can I ask you something?"

He tilted his head at me, looking curious.

"Are you, by any chance, related to The Flash?"

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and started looking around—as if he was still searching for food.

Unbelievable.

He's still hungry?!

He literally just burped a second ago!

I let out another deep sigh.

"Look, sir, if you're looking for more food… well, sorry, but there's none left. You ate it all."

"Ahh, I see… I'm really sorry about that, dear. I just hadn't eaten anything yet, hehe."

I sighed again.

I couldn't even bring myself to be mad at him.

Because, honestly?

I knew exactly what it felt like to be hungry.

"By the way, dear. Did you run away from home?"

I noticed that his gaze had shifted to the large suitcase sitting beneath the bench. And the moment he asked that question, all the painful memories of what those bastards did to me came rushing back.

"I wish I had just run away, sir. But no—I was thrown out of my own home!"

"Let it all out, dear. I'm listening."

That struck a chord.

Because of what he said, I suddenly found myself pouring out everything that had happened to me—from beginning to end.

Want to know my story? Well, to keep it short, I was betrayed by my own blood relatives. I didn't even get involved in their stupid inheritance feud, even though everything was already under my name—left to me by my grandfather. I was living on my own, minding my own business.

But nope, they just had to drag me into it, simply because I was the only granddaughter and the rightful heir. Even after I told them I didn't want anything to do with their nonsense, they still wouldn't leave me alone.

So, what did they do? They sent assassins after me.

But little did they know, I know how to protect myself. I know how to fight—because I've been trained ever since I was a child.

Thanks to my late grandfather—who was an overprotective freak—I was secretly trained from a young age. My grandfather was a former general, and he personally taught me everything in secret.

So yeah, right after they shoved me out of my own mansion, I got attacked by assassins. But honestly? I was bored fighting them. I don't even know where they hired those guys from, but they sure weren't real assassins.

"Let me ask you something, dear. Do you want to get away from them?"

I immediately nodded.

"Of course! I'm so done with their nonsense. I just want to go somewhere far away, where I'll never have to see their faces again, and live a peaceful, happy life. I don't care about the wealth they're fighting over—let them tear each other apart for it."

Jeez… why do they keep dragging me into this? Can't they see I'm not even of legal age yet?! I'm still a student, for Pete's sake!

Well… technically, I just turned 18 yesterday.

Right. Yesterday was my birthday.

And wow, what a fantastic birthday gift they gave me.

I watched as he stroked his chin, nodding thoughtfully before suddenly extending his hand toward me.

"By the way, you can call me Cleive. And I want to wish you a happy birthday, Princess."

"Huh?"

I frowned. I didn't quite catch what he said—I only heard the first part clearly.

Before I could ask him to repeat it, I suddenly heard a splash from the lake. My head snapped toward the sound, and without thinking, I rushed over to see what had happened.

And sure enough—there was a child in the water.

I glanced to the side, and—just great—there was the nanny, standing by the railings, facing the other direction, completely oblivious. Why? Because she was leaning against the rails, giggling while talking on her phone.

How the heck was she supposed to see the kid when she had an umbrella covering her entire view?!

Frustrated, I snatched the umbrella from her and threw it aside.

That finally got her attention.

But I didn't waste any more time looking at her. Instead, I braced myself to jump.

Before that, though, I yelled at her—

"STOP FLIRTING AND CALL FOR HELP, YOU MORON!"

*SPLASH!*

I have no idea how I managed to swim all the way to the kid, but I did.

I let out a breath of relief when I saw that he was okay—terrified and clinging to me for dear life, but okay.

But for the love of everything holy…

In my adrenaline rush to save him, I completely forgot something very important.

And as that realization hit me, I mentally cursed myself into oblivion.

Because, yeah, sure—I managed to save the kid.

But there was just one tiny problem.

I think we're about to drown together.

Jerkies jerk!

Like, seriously—I jumped into this freaking lake thinking I could play the hero, and yet I completely forgot the one crucial fact—

I. DON'T. EVEN. KNOW. HOW. TO. FREAKING. SWIM!!!

Still, I fought to keep moving, trying to get us closer to the railings.

Why the hell was the ladder so far away?!

I spotted Cleive waiting at the edge with some others.

Wow.

Not one of them thought to jump in and help?

Unbelievable.

Here I was, doggy-paddling for my life while slowly inhaling mouthfuls of water.

But finally—I got close enough.

I gathered all my strength and lifted the kid up.

"Cleive! Get the kid, hurry!!"

I shouted, struggling.

Hello?! Did I not mention that I can't swim?!

Thankfully, Cleive managed to grab the child and pass him off to the others.

Of course, now that the kid was safe, everyone's attention was on him.

Wow. So I'm just getting completely ignored now?

Great.

Just great.

If I make it out of this alive, I'm slapping each and every one of them.

Cleive finally reached out his hand for me. I used every ounce of strength left to grab it. Success—he got a firm grip and started pulling me up. But of course, things just had to go wrong.

With everyone crowding around, someone accidentally shoved Cleive, making him lose his balance and let go of me. I saw him stumble back, but I couldn't focus on that.

I was sinking again.

Still, I tried to swim, tried to move toward the ledge.

But then—

A sharp pain shot through my leg.

Cramps.

Oh, come on!

I could barely move.

I forced my eyes open.

Is this it?

Is this really how it ends?

I survived all those assassination attempts—only to drown like this? I let myself sink deeper, staring up at the sky.

But as I looked at the sun, something strange happened.

I don't know if I was hallucinating, or if I was just imagining things because of the lack of oxygen.

Because suddenly, I started seeing… images.

Flashes of things I didn't recognize, like scenes from a movie playing in my head.

And then—

The sun I had been staring at…

Turned into a massive, blood-red moon.

A searing pain shot through my chest, as if I were being stabbed over and over again.

I clutched at my heart, writhing in agony.

The pain was unbearable.

And before I could do anything else—

Everything went black.