A Prayer

“Sleep soundly, my little princess… Sleep deeply and don’t wake until the moon rises high to awaken your pure heart… Sleep soundly, my little one, you are our saving light…” Who is it? Who is singing? “Rise… Rise, my sweet girl… My little daughter, remember not to shed tears, and don’t speak easily. Forget who you are until the right time…” Is Rise me? Why do I have to do this? Who are you? BANG!!! “Go, Lucia! I entrust the baby to you. Go and don’t look back.” Go? Where to? And you? Why is the smell of blood so strong? What happened? Roar!!! “Catch that woman! Slit her throat and take the baby alive!” “Shhh!… My princess… please don’t cry. Please bear with it a little longer, Lucia will take you to safety.” Lucia is bleeding so much… Lucia! Lucia! Don’t run that way! Come back here, let’s hide together! Lucia! Thump! !!! – Aaaa!!! Franziska woke up with a sharp pain in her heart and the familiar sticky feeling of sweat. – Ha… What a strange dream… She sighed, gently rubbing her aching forehead, then wearily lay back down on the bed, waiting for the dizziness and pain to pass. This situation had repeated itself many times in the past year, starting since Franziska turned thirteen. It was so familiar that she gradually began to guess who the people appearing in the dream were, as well as the subsequent events, or the scene of watching Lucia, the one who had taken her away, sacrificing her own life to give her a chance to live being bitten hundreds of thousands of times by a monster. In that nightmare, Franziska played the role of an observer. After many repetitions, she realized that Lucia was the Head Maid of her family and that the sleeping child in the swaddling clothes was herself. She also learned that she wasn't an abandoned child without anyone to care for her, but that her entire family had been brutally attacked and murdered by monsters. While her father and brothers fought desperately to buy time, her severely wounded mother was forced to entrust her, then only a month old, to a servant to flee and seek a chance to live. For a whole year, the same thing repeated itself. Franziska was forced to witness her father, mother, and brothers, one by one, struggling until their blood stopped flowing and they collapsed, unable to do anything or even see them clearly. "Who am I, really? What was the monster attack in my dream? Why didn't the Imperial Palace send reinforcements?" Each question appeared and clung to Franziska's heart like a curse, slowly seeping into her very being. She stared at the exquisitely carved iris branch on the ceiling, her heart empty. Clearly, compared to her childhood yearning for love and the warmth of family, which led her to deceive herself, the ruins of her dream were her true home, while this luxurious mansion was not. Knock! Knock! Knock! A rude knock on the door made Franziska's heart skip a beat, abruptly pulling her out of her wandering thoughts, followed by a cold voice from the other side. "Miss Franziska, it's almost time for morning prayers. You have fifteen minutes to bathe and get ready. Lady Rebecca can't wait any longer." —… Franziska ignored the rudeness and didn't reply, silently getting out of bed to bathe, though still feeling dizzy. After the brief announcement, there was no more noise outside; she thought the maid had probably left. In truth, it wasn't just that maid who had a bad attitude, but the entire mansion didn't need to treat her with the respect due to a true mistress, as Franziska was merely an orphan child adopted by Lady Catrina Damaris Crozier, the legal wife of the true owner of the mansion. Speaking of this place, this mansion is where the direct descendants of the Crozier family, a clan with the bloodline of the Leopard species, have lived since the founding of the Kingdom of Sneica, enduring for hundreds of years. Naturally, within the Crozier territory, all the inhabitants of the city possess Leopard blood, except for her. A nameless fawn, still without antlers, surviving among a pack of Leopards to reach adulthood is incredibly fortunate, because if Franziska hadn't possessed something valuable to the only daughter of the master and mistress, she would have long since become food for these ferocious beasts.