Chapter 2

In my freshman year, after being admitted to the prestigious Moonstone Healing Academy due to my excellent grades, the nightmare that would plague my entire student life began.

I don't even know when I provoked those nobles in the werewolf world. Not long after I enrolled, a massive campaign of school bullying unfolded against me.

Splashing cold water and isolation were the least significant things.

They covered my desk with vulgar graffiti - "bastard," "bitch"... all kinds of filthy words I'd seen and never seen before came flooding toward me.

It's not that I didn't fight back.

But every time I resisted, it only brought more severe bullying.

The one who hated me most was Scarlett.

She always wore exquisite makeup, looking so kind and gentle, yet she could press a lit cigarette into my mouth.

"Isn't this our famous little scholar? You actually dared to report us? Who gave you the courage, hmm?"

Her sweet voice was laced with deadly poison.

The excruciating pain made tears flow uncontrollably, blurring my vision. I could only see Scarlett's magnified smile filled with sick pleasure.

Countless days and nights swallowed by darkness wrapped around me like cold, heavy chains, strangling me until I could barely breathe.

Until that day.

In the chaos, the hand gripping my hair suddenly let go.

Like a torn rag, I was thrown out of the filthy mop bucket, collapsing limply on the ground with blurred vision.

The harsh laughter stopped abruptly.

A heart-stopping silence fell.

I struggled to lift my head and saw an unusually tall silhouette against the light.

Afternoon sunlight poured in from behind him, coating his entire figure with an almost sacred golden edge that hurt my eyes.

He didn't even raise his voice, just spoke two words plainly.

"Get lost."

Scarlett and her gang, who had been so arrogant just moments before, were left with only terror and disbelief on their pale faces.

They didn't dare make a sound, scrambling away in panic.

Leaving behind a mess and me with barely a breath left in my body.

The sunlight was blinding.

He bent down slightly, casting shadow over me.

A dry, warm hand gently brushed away the hair on my face that had been soaked and stuck by dirty water.

In that moment, I thought I had encountered salvation.

So even though Scarlett's bullying behind the scenes became more severe, I seemed to have found the strength to support myself.

A flower blooming in the mud.

On graduation day, Ethan confessed to me.

Enormous, unreal ecstasy instantly overwhelmed me like a tsunami.

All the past suffering, all the darkness, all the humiliation seemed to be completely washed away and redeemed in that moment.

In that moment, I thought the Moon Goddess had finally looked down and seen me, this believer in the dust.

It turned out.

It turned out that Ethan was the very perpetrator who had kicked me into the depths of hell.

All my bone-deep pain, the desperate struggles throughout my entire school career, those countless sleepless nights.

They were all essential parts of his carefully orchestrated salvation game script.

Just then, my phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket.

I shuddered violently, almost trembling as I reached into my pocket.

It was from my father's Beta.

[Miss Elena, are you certain you want to merge two-thirds of the territory your father left you into Alpha Ethan's pack?]

Two-thirds of the territory.

What my father left me - wealth enough to shake half the werewolf world.

Just minutes ago, I had been so naively going to share my joy.

How ridiculous.

My fingertips dug deep into my palms from excessive force, but strangely gave my brain a trace of cold clarity.

In my ears, I could still faintly hear Scarlett's triumphant voice.

"Ethan, I've arranged everything for next week's plan. I guarantee that fool will never forget it!"

I pulled at the corners of my mouth, my fingertips tapping on my phone.

[Plan suspended. Wait for my notice.]

[Also, find someone to help me investigate Ethan and Scarlett's affairs.]

Ethan, I've caught your betrayal.