Alicia Rain

Albert McMahon knew the names of about a thousand flowers that bloomed in each season.

He also knew how to help the flowers he named grow well.

When flowers fell ill or trees withered, he worried as if a family member were sick and thought hard about how to fix it.

Though she didn’t really want to meet him, Alicia still longed to visit the garden he tended.

As the annulment process with the Barker family dragged on, Albert sent word that he might no longer be able to write to her.

Then, the letters stopped altogether.

It was a connection meant to be arranged between two families—nothing more than that.

When the Rain family finally triumphed in the battle of pride, Alicia was twenty-five.

Another season passed, and she turned twenty-six.

Rumors began spreading near the capital, full of resentment toward the Rain family, who had gone up against one of the Empire’s most powerful noble families and gotten what they wanted.

There was no shortage of slanders about Alicia.

Finding a new match became difficult.

When Alicia turned twenty-five, the family head once again summoned her for a private audience.

The relationship between the two amounted to sharing a meal once every ten days.

Her father, a man who had never bowed his pride to anyone, apologized to his daughter.

‘I’m sorry.’

After a long silence, Alicia barely whispered a faint reply that she was fine.

The family head told Alicia to marry the Grand Duke of Tessen.

The household turned upside down.

Even Alicia, who had heard her father’s apology, was dazed.

The Grand Duke of Tessen was the son of the late Emperor.

The Emperor’s half-brother, previously known as the Fifth Prince, now bore the title of Grand Duke of Tessen.

He was royalty.

Marriage to a royal no longer in the line of succession posed no political risk—it was actually a good match.

Alicia was 27, and the Grand Duke was 39.

A 27-year-old unmarried lady wasn’t common in this era, but it wasn’t unheard of either.

Most married between 21 and 24, and those who were late married at 25 or 26.

So 27 wasn’t excessive.

But the Grand Duke was 39.

Even as royalty, he was 12 years her senior.

It wasn’t that large age gaps in marriage didn’t exist.

The problem was that this would be the Grand Duke’s seventh marriage.

Unusually for royalty, the Grand Duke married late—his first marriage was at age 32.

Lauren of Greitz died en route to Tessen.

Her baronial family claimed she died after arriving and blamed the Grand Duke.

The imperial family suppressed suspicions using royal authority.

Within three months of Lauren’s funeral, they had found the Grand Duke a new bride.

His second marriage lasted about two months.

But the Grand Duchess was said to have only seen him at the wedding.

Before completing the ceremony, the Grand Duke departed for the western frontier.

Unable to endure Tessen’s harsh environment, the Grand Duchess returned to her family.

The imperial court ordered her to return to her duties, but she wrote to the Grand Duke saying she didn’t want to go back.

He told her to do as she pleased.

Heartbroken by his indifference, she remained at her parents’ home—until she died in an accident.

The world murmured about the Grand Duke’s string of tragic losses.

His third and fourth marriages followed a similar pattern.

The Grand Duke spent little time in his territory, and the Grand Duchesses were left alone in Tessen.

They tried to adjust but eventually gave up and returned to their families.

One died in an unfortunate accident on the road back to Tessen; the other died mysteriously after defying orders to return.

But the fifth and sixth marriages were practically frauds against the imperial family.

Both brides were women known from birth to be sickly or ill.

When the Grand Duke held a sixth funeral, some began saying his marriage rights should be revoked by law.

People called Tessen the land of death.

The Grand Duke of Tessen ruled the Castle of Death.

And every Grand Duchess who vowed herself to him died as though cursed.

The southern wing of the Rain estate became shrouded in gloom, like someone had died.

Even Daisy, known for her stoicism and lack of expression, stood in Alicia’s way and urged her to refuse the family head’s order.

Seven months pregnant, Annie cradled her swollen belly and cried.

The maids around her wiped away tears, openly emotional in a way they never were before.

But Alicia didn’t react at all.

In her usual faint voice, she only said she was fine.

In truth, Alicia was too stunned to fully grasp what was happening.

She wondered if this had always been the end waiting for her, swallowing only thoughts steeped in defeatism.

That night, Alicia fell into hell.

[Benedict Calendar Year 350, January 1st]

The sky above was crimson.

A blood-red sky, heavy with darkness, rained down blistering heat.

Dry, cracked earth whipped up clouds of dust.

From the fissures in the ground, black rocks jutted out.

Not a drop of water in sight, a suffocating air swirled with scorching wind.

“…Th-this can’t be real…”

Alicia, who never spoke to herself, murmured as she looked around, overwhelmed by the heat pressing down on her.

Though no one had told her, Alicia instinctively knew this place was hell.

Just moments ago, she had been looking at her wedding gifts.

Along with the marriage command, the family head had handed her the gifts the Grand Duke of Tessen sent to his new bride.

Transferred from the office to Alicia’s room, she had no interest in them.

Though the Rain family held power and wealth, there were always eyes watching.

It was best to at least pretend she had looked at them.

Even as she opened the boxes, Alicia had no interest.

Not even after opening them.

A flamboyant double tiara, a necklace and ring set with large emeralds, yellow diamond earrings, finely crafted bracelets, and hair ornaments—

Luxurious but ordinary jewels.

Only one item stood out: a heavy-looking pendant.

A mix of black and gray, it seemed crude at first but was engraved with an image of a descending angel.

Opening the pendant, which she thought was just a trinket, revealed a watch showing sun, moon, date, hour, and minute.

Unlike the other gems, this one looked ancient—a relic from the imperial family.

Thinking it might be, she finished glancing over the gifts and began to head back to bed.

She had just risen to her feet.

Suddenly, darkness fell.

Alicia flailed in a sensation of falling she didn’t recognize.

It felt endless—down, down, deeper still.

Eventually, the sensation shifted to one of drifting without feeling.

After an agonizing impact, she came to.

Tap.

She noticed the dark pendant had slipped from her dress hem.

Opening it, she saw the intricate dials.

Benedict Calendar Year 350, January 1st.

Reading the black dial, Alicia muttered,

“I fell… for four months?”

She sat blankly in disbelief at the absurd series of events.

The long dress was uncomfortable, and the brightly adorned lace sleeves irritated her—but she had no time to care.

Her eyes blinked slowly until a chill crept down her spine.

She slowly turned her head.

“Grrrr…”

In the barren, desolate land without a single hiding place, a dark shape loomed.

As Alicia turned, it bared red gums and black teeth, growling low.

It was the size of a pony and vicious. Alicia froze like stone.

All she could think was that someone, anyone, might help—or that this thing would vanish like a dream.

“What do I do…”

Paralyzed for a moment, Alicia quickly turned her head forward again.

Her trembling voice carried a hint of tears.

She had only turned away for a second.

“Ruff!”

And yet, in that second, a burst of hot breath touched the nape of her neck.

She instinctively looked in the direction of the heat.

In front of her was a wide-open, pitch-black maw.

“…!”

The beast’s giant mouth swallowed Alicia.

It all happened too fast.

She couldn’t even scream before being dragged away.

Pain and terror overwhelmed her.

For the first time in her life, Alicia thrashed with all her might.

But the beast, far larger than she, couldn’t be resisted.

Each shake of its jaws tossed her vision into chaos.

Pain and dizziness crossed over one another.

The black beast dragged Alicia into a cleft between rocks.

Inside, like a cave, it bit deeply into her shoulder.

Crunch—flesh was torn away.

Even amid the horror and agony, Alicia did not die.

“Agh!”

And so, for the first time in her life, she screamed until her throat tore.

The black beast seemed puzzled by her resilience, but it didn’t stop chewing her.

“AAAH!”

Alicia cried and screamed.

The black beast, like a living statue, dropped stone chips as it moved.

Amazingly, behind it were nine young that looked like its miniature copies.

The cubs chirped weakly with high-pitched squeaks—but they were not cute at all.

“AAAAAH!”

Seeing the torn flesh of her shoulder and ankle, Alicia screamed until her ears rang.

While the beast fed her flesh to its cubs, something horrifying happened.

The wounds it inflicted began slowly regenerating.

“Wh-what is this? How…!”

Even the tiniest paper cut took at least seven days to heal—two weeks, sometimes.

Yet here, whole chunks of flesh grew back.

It wasn’t instant, but every blink revealed visible progress.

As Alicia screamed, the beast bit her ankle again, and she collapsed.

[Benedict Calendar Year 350, January 19th]

A young beast with black rock-like skin fell to the ground with a thud.

“Kiiing…”

A large club slammed into its head—thwack!

The small beast, already too weak to fight, twitched once and died.

The filthy club rose and fell again.