I didn’t remember everything from my past life exactly.
In that life, I was constantly buried under assignments given by my professors. It was partly my own fault too—I had stupidly overloaded my schedule trying to rack up as many credits as possible.
And unfortunately, I died at a young age, before I could even fully bloom.
My past life began with assignments and ended with assignments.
Still, it was better than being despised for being a black cat, locked up all day, experimented on, and beaten.
At least in my past life, I wasn’t experimented on—and I wasn’t alone.
Sadly, remembering my past life didn’t bring any direct changes to my current situation.
In novels, when someone regains memories of a past life, their parents suddenly repent, shower them with affection, or the male lead appears out of nowhere with a dramatic entrance.
But even after I remembered everything, nothing around me changed. Except for the “errands” that were really just excuses to bully me, I couldn’t take a single step outside my room. And even then, someone would follow me from a distance to keep watch, so there wasn’t much I could actually do.
My life wasn’t going to suddenly turn into some doting childcare story or a romance.
Ah. Still, there was one change.
I realized that this place was the world inside a book.
And not just any book—it was a bleak, hopeless story with no dreams, no hope, and no innocence.
On top of that, it was unnecessarily long.
The plot was simple.
The female lead, who struggled through life in the slums, inherited a hidden legacy from her grandmother and bought some land. By sheer luck, that land turned out to be a mine. She built a merchant guild, achieved massive success… and then one day, she was imprisoned by the insane male lead.
And in this book, any sweet romance between the male and female leads could go to hell.
The story completely threw logic out the window.
Since the plot had no real coherence, nearly everything happened through a chain of “coincidences” and “fate.” It was obvious the author used the word fate as a convenient tool to stitch together a story that lacked even the tiniest bit of plausibility.
They didn’t even explain why the male lead fell in love with the female lead.
Instead, the focus was on the male lead’s obsessive madness, a bunch of pointless events before the leads even met, and descriptions of the background setting.
…Honestly, I wasn’t even sure there was any love to begin with.
No matter how I thought about it, it was a truly baffling book.
Back then, did I read it just to watch the male lead’s insane obsession? Or was I just trying to kill time? Even now, I didn’t know why I had read it.
Anyway, the important thing was this:
I was one of the “Simond family members” whom the male lead brutally slaughtered before he even met the female lead, right at the very beginning of the story.
For a twelve-year-old girl, remembering a past life and realizing that this world was inside a book was quite a shock.
I cried all night that day.
And then I made a decision.
Run away.
I would escape this trashy family the day before the male lead destroyed it.
I’d run away, start a business, and live as a rich, unemployed person.
…That was the life goal I set for myself that day.
I think this was around the time the male lead wiped out the Simond family… but when exactly was it?
In the book, it only said that he slaughtered the beastfolk of the Simond family in the middle of winter. I didn’t think it ever mentioned an exact date.
I walked aimlessly, staring at the ground. With each step, the thick snow sank under my feet, leaving deep footprints.
Ah… seeing this snow makes me want patbingsu.
The pure white snow suddenly made me crave shaved ice.
Shaved ice. Rice cake shaved ice. Sweet bean and rice cake shaved ice.
Scoop up snow, add red beans, add rice cakes, drizzle condensed milk…
Thud.
The snow I kicked scattered in all directions.
Life is so meaningless.
Yeah. It’s all pointless. What’s the use of remembering my past life when I can’t do anything?
I just need to run away the day before that lunatic with a broken personality destroys our family.
Lost in random thoughts, I trudged through the snow-covered mountain, searching for flowers.
But there wasn’t even a blade of grass to be seen—everything was buried under white snow.
The mountain, blank and white, felt like it was mocking me.
What, were the flowers playing hide-and-seek with me?
“Try and find me~.”
That’s what it felt like.
“Try and find me”? Not even “catch me if you can”?
Well, if something shouted “catch me if you can” out here, it wouldn’t be a romantic chase—it’d be a life-or-death pursuit with some wild beast appearing out of nowhere.
And it would end with a final scream—
“Agh!”
Perfect.
Wow. It felt like I was seeing the world in a completely twisted way. Was I getting a late case of teenage angst?
But cut me some slack. If you wander around a snowy mountain in the middle of winter without eating, searching for flowers, anyone would start seeing the world in a negative light.
As I walked, glancing around, something caught my eye—a small red dot buried in the snow in the distance.
Huh? What’s that?
With faint hope, I cautiously approached it.
Maybe it was a flower.
As I got closer, its identity gradually became clear.
Found it!
It was a beautifully bloomed red flower.
The weather had been relatively warm and nice for the past few days, so it must have blossomed because of that.
Since I found it so quickly, today must have been my lucky day.
I gently picked up the flower—the one that would inevitably be trampled and crushed by Celestine—and held it in my mouth.
Being a cat, I didn’t really have a choice. It’s not like I could carry it in my paws while walking. Have you ever seen a cat walk on its hind legs holding something with its front paws? Exactly. If that were possible, it’d belong in “Beastfolk Chronicles: Strange and Curious Edition.”
As I stood there with the flower in my mouth, a sharp wind cut through my fur.
Ugh. Cold.
I shivered as the icy wind swept down my back.
Looking around, I saw the trees swaying violently in the harsh winter wind.
It’s winter, but the trees still have leaves.
The flower in my mouth swayed helplessly in the wind as well.
It felt just like me.
A flower that barely bloomed in this harsh winter, only to be trampled and burned… and me, who’s destined to be brutally killed by the male lead.
In the end, it’s the same fate.
For some reason, I felt a strange sense of kinship with the flower.
I hope you get a better life in your next one.
After silently offering my condolences to the flower, I carefully made my way down the mountain.
I should at least take good care of it until I deliver it to Celestine. It’s a rare flower that bloomed in winter, after all.
Before it met its terrible end, I wanted to treat it gently.
So this flower—
“SKREEEEEECH!”
A horrifying scream—like the sound you’d hear if you strangled a cricket—pierced through the air from afar.
…What was that?
It sounded like someone screaming in agony.
A chill ran down my spine, and my fur stood on end.
Like I had casually thought earlier, this “ordinary” mountain was actually home to wild animals.
Which meant that, if unlucky, I could run into a tiger, wolf, or wild boar—and end my life as their meal.
A bad feeling crept in.
I quickly fled and hid behind the nearest rock I could find.
But maybe I moved too late—before I could fully conceal myself, I felt the ground trembling.
Peeking out from beside the rock, I saw a wild boar charging toward me from afar.
…Just keep going.
Please.
“Gweeaaaak!”
The grotesque squealing grew closer.
It was enough to make my heart seize just hearing it.
Holding my breath behind the rock, I slowly turned my head—
And locked eyes with the boar.
The one that had been charging straight ahead slowed down.
Thump. Thump.
My heart pounded.
The boar stopped and looked around as if searching for something.
The cold winter air brushed chillingly against my neck.
No way.
Right?
Just as unease crept in—
Our eyes met directly.
The corners of the boar’s mouth twisted upward grotesquely.
Was it my imagination, or did it look satisfied, as if it had found its prey?
Apparently, I was its lunch for today.
This has to be a mistake.
It has to be.
Seeing that eerie grin made my whole body break out in goosebumps.
The boar slowly turned toward me—and then charged.
It was definitely targeting me.
Damn it. Yeah, no way this is a misunderstanding.
I kicked off the ground and bolted.
Without a moment to breathe, I sprinted across the snow-covered mountain.
Why me?!
Aren’t boars supposed to have bad eyesight?
They’re supposed to!
I darted between as many trees as possible.
The trees were close together—perfect for weaving through while escaping.
But I could feel the intense gaze of the boar charging straight after me.
The scenery blurred past.
Then—
Thud!
Something slammed, followed by the sound of something collapsing into the snow.
“Gweeek…”
After running for a while, I stopped and turned back.
The massive figure was no longer approaching.
Looking around, I searched for it—then glanced upward.
A large brown beast lay sprawled in the snow, unmoving.
There was a huge lump on its head.
Of all things, it had to crash into a thick tree.
Well… lucky for me.
After observing it carefully, I stuffed some snow into its nostrils—just in case it woke up—and hurried down the mountain.
Thanks to the chase, I had already descended quite far. After walking a little more, I could see the Simond family mansion in the distance.
…But why is it so quiet?
It was too quiet.
Normally, near the base of the mountain, there would be maids sneaking out through the dog hole to slack off, servants lying in wait to bully me, or at least a stray animal or two.
But today, there was no one.
As if something had sensed danger—
The area below was empty and silent.
Whoosh—
Only the sound of leaves rustling in the wind echoed from the mountain.
An eerie silence.
If something feels off, I can just slip back out through the dog hole.
Tilting my head, feeling uneasy, I slipped through the hole into the estate.
While the maids struggled to squeeze through it, pushing and pulling each other, I got in easily.
Being a kitten had its advantages.
Gah!
The moment I emerged, my eyes widened at the sight of a black shoe tip right in front of me.
Thump—roll, roll…
My body bumped into the unfamiliar black shoe, and I tumbled across the ground like a ball of fluff.
I scrambled up and shook my fur.
As I came to my senses and tried to assess the situation, I felt something strange—
A heavy, oppressive presence.
Danger. This is dangerous.
My instincts screamed a warning.
