When I arrived in front of the ballroom, holding the handkerchief Bunta had given me to my neck, the bleeding had indeed stopped, just as he said. It was probably because he was a wizard and had cast some kind of spell on the handkerchief. I was about to go inside to look for Derrick when I paused to check my appearance. "I didn't think the dark green dress I chose without much thought would turn out to be a stroke of genius." The dark color of the dress made the bloodstains almost invisible. So, after tidying up my disheveled hair from running, I walked straight past the door. Finding Derrick was incredibly easy. Our cold and handsome male lead was standing alone, radiating majestically in the middle of a crowd of people. "I told you not to cause a commotion and to stay quiet... but judging from the cut on your neck, you must have caused quite a stir." I was so busy recalling his warning when I arrived at the palace that I didn't notice the looks people were giving me. The fact that my dress was intact didn't mean I was in good condition. "...Big brother." I called out to him quietly, mindful of the surroundings. Fortunately, he managed to hear my almost-whisper and turned his head sharply toward me. "I don't feel well, so I think I need to go home early." Derrick's blue eyes gradually widened when he saw his pale sister, who looked like she was about to collapse, with a blood-soaked red handkerchief pressed to her neck. "Right now." At that moment, everything went black. The last thing I saw was Derrick's pale face as he ran toward me, and then I lost consciousness. * * * I have no memory of what happened after I fainted at the ball. "Miss-!" "Hurry! Get the doctor!" Sharp screams and hurried footsteps echoed faintly. Despite just having my neck cut, I ended up fighting for my life for a few days after returning to the dukedom. It seemed that the stress I had been suppressing to survive had exploded all at once. During the time I was barely conscious, I had countless dreams. I thought that now that I had become Penelope, I would dream about her past as usual... But what unfolded endlessly were all the memories of my own past that I had forgotten. It was shortly after I had entered the house and started attending a high school that only the children of tycoons attended. As usual, I was packing my bag after the closing ceremony when someone tapped my shoulder. - Hey. Your brother is looking for you. Go to the gym storage room. One of the lackeys who fawned over the second son, who was practically the center of school power, had said this. I headed to the storage room without much thought. I had a vague sense that the second son was subtly encouraging bullying, but it wasn't a big deal at the time. - Big brother...? I cautiously opened the storage room door and stepped inside. It was pitch dark, and I couldn't see anything. As I was looking around, something was suddenly placed over my head. It felt like a plastic bag. - What, what... Ahh! With my face covered, I was thrown helplessly into the storage room and beaten mercilessly. Dozens of feet stomped and kicked me. I couldn't even gather my senses. All I could do was curl up and scream as the violence rained down on me. - Wow, it feels so good! Where did this trash come from? Does she even belong in our school? - Hey. But won't we be in big trouble if her brother finds out? - Don't be stupid. That guy hates her. I heard him shiver just talking about her at a father's meeting recently. The guys laughed and made trashy remarks as I struggled to regain my senses. Their insults hurt more than the kicks I had just received. - Hey. From now on, don't make a fuss and just live quietly, okay? Don't go spreading today's incident around. With that, I heard the guys leave the storage room in a rush. I lay on the floor for over an hour, unable to move because of the pain. It was a sudden, unprovoked beating. After a long time, I finally managed to get up. When I took off the bag from my head, my school uniform and bag were in shambles. I went to the bathroom to wipe off the many footprints on my clothes and, glancing in the mirror, realized that worrying about my uniform was the least of my concerns. My eye was swollen and bruised, and I looked like I had been beaten up. I couldn't help but laugh. Actually, I don't remember how I felt at the time because my mind was a blur. I trudged back to that hellish house. I didn't want to go in, but I had nowhere else to go. As I entered the front door, my biological father and the second son were in the living room, enjoying tea together. - I'm back. Since I didn't belong in that scene, I bowed and quickly headed for the stairs. - Wait. Stand there. Normally, they wouldn't have cared whether I came or not. But today, with one thing after another, the second son called me. - Hey, stand there! I ignored him and kept walking. He jumped up. Before I could reach the stairs, he grabbed my wrist. - Hey, what's wrong with you? Why do you look like that? - ...Nothing. I just fell. I replied, bowing my head to hide the bruise with my hair. - Hey, look at me. Did you get hit? - No, I just fell. - Hey, just lift your face! I just wanted to go upstairs and rest, but he kept roughly pulling my hair. - What's this bruise? Who did this? Who...! My bruised face, which was a mess, was exposed by his hand. - It's nothing. - This girl says it's nothing, but what...! - It's nothing, please! I said it's nothing, it's nothing! - ! Overwhelmed by the exposure of my secret, I pushed his hand away and screamed. My father and the first son, who had never seen me angry, looked at me in shock. At that moment, I felt so miserable. While they were gathered comfortably eating fruit, I had been beaten to a pulp in the gym storage room. - When did you start caring about me! But even so, I envied how they sat comfortably in the living room when I entered. I envied my position, which didn't allow me to join them. - Just leave me alone! When have I ever asked for anything? I just wanted to be left alone, why! Why do you keep...! The living room fell into a chilling silence. I thought crying would mean losing, but at that moment, I couldn't hold back the tears that had been building up. I cried like a child, not caring how they saw me. A few days later, when the bruise on my eye had almost faded, the second son came to find me. - I found those guys and beat them up until they were almost dead. That was his first statement without any greeting. I had heard rumors that several troublemakers had been hospitalized, so I had a rough idea. - If you weren't so laughable, would those maggots have done this to you? He sneered at me, who was silently bowing my head. - Anyway, it won't happen again, so you know that. I didn't feel grateful at all for the second son's menacing words. I became even more isolated at school. The bullying didn't improve; if anything, it got worse. - ...Thank you, big brother. I forced out the words I couldn't say, instead of screaming that it was your fault. Why should I be grateful for cleaning up the mess you made? I just... You... You really... "Why can't you still pull yourself together...!" A loud shout echoed in my ears. My head hurt. I forced my heavy eyelids to open. "Just try... You and that crazy prince, right now..." "Shut up." I squeezed out a voice that was barely audible, and someone immediately approached. "Hey, are you...?" My vision was blurry, and I couldn't see the face of the person who approached. But I could immediately guess who it was from the familiar tone. It was the second son of our house. "I... hate you." I forced out the words I couldn't say at the time. "I really, really hate you. A hundred, a thousand times more than you hate me..." "..." "I hate you the most." After struggling to finish those words, I closed my eyes, feeling a bit more at ease. And I fell back into a deep sleep, missing the sight of his trembling blue eyes and his pink hair, which had turned to stone.