“She won’t die from a fall. She’s already gone back,” Liang Di said, draping a coat over Liang Lin’s shoulders. Only then did Liang Lin notice she was wearing a clean, comfortable nightgown.
“…”
Something felt off.
“Y-you changed my clothes?” Liang Lin scrambled back onto the bed, realization dawning. She hugged her small frame tightly, eyes sharp with suspicion as she scanned Liang Di up and down.
“Of course. Who else here would change your clothes for you?”
Liang Di sat on the bed’s edge. A freshly warmed cup of tea sat on the bedside table. She lifted it and held it to Liang Lin’s lips. “Take a sip. Calm down. Haven’t you always wanted to know House Langwendi’s secret? I’ll tell you everything soon.”
Liang Lin took the cup, cradling its warmth, feeling heat seep gently into her palms.
“Right now, I care less about House Langwendi’s secret. I need to know—after I died, what happened to my sister? Is she safe? In danger? And…” Her gaze drifted from her reflection in the tea to Liang Di’s face. “Liang Di… did we know each other before?”
Liang Di’s expression stayed neutral through the first part. But at that question, her lips parted slightly, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. A flicker of starlight danced in her pupils—impossible to hide.
“Liang Lin! You finally remembered?!”
“Not really,” Liang Lin shook her head, dousing the hope with cold water.
“Oh… okay.”
Liang Di wilted again, lips pursed slightly, head bowed, dejected.
“Never mind. Just tell me about House Langwendi.”
Liang Lin sipped the tea.
“Our Langwendi Family carries a curse,” Liang Di began. “Every few generations, a child is born under it—usually a girl, often with silvery-white hair, like a witch from old tales. And yes, that hair is seen as an omen of misfortune.”
Liang Lin’s eyes instinctively drifted to Liang Di’s flowing silver hair. Stunning. Paired with her lively blue eyes, she looked like a regal Persian cat come to life.
“At first, the family feared the curse. Any infant born with silver hair was abandoned. But one lord couldn’t bear to discard his own child. As the boy grew, strange changes appeared: pointed ears, wings sprouting from his back—just like elves in ancient fairy tales.”
*Ah… just like a fairy tale,* Liang Lin thought, listening intently.
“The lord hid him, terrified others would find out. Five years passed. On the boy’s sixteenth birthday, the ears and wings vanished overnight. Overjoyed—this was his only heir to the Langwendi Family—he brought the boy out.”
“From then on, the lord was stunned: the boy’s business mind and intellect far surpassed his peers. A born merchant. And he could speak with animals—a gift only elves possessed in old storybooks.”
Liang Lin nodded thoughtfully.
She’d heard whispers lately: the Langwendi Family’s tailoring shop was thriving. Young masters from prominent houses sent letters professing admiration for Liang Di, hoping to win her favor.
So Liang Di was this generation’s cursed child.
“Things were still turning hopeful… until,” Liang Di shook her head, “a later lord fathered a silver-haired child with a courtesan. Panicked the scandal would disgrace House Langwendi, he tossed and turned for nights… and finally decided…”
“He decided to kill the child?” Liang Lin guessed the grim turn.
“Mm,” Liang Di nodded. “Eleven years later—on the very anniversary of strangling his infant—his body twisted. Coarse, animal-like fur erupted across his skin. Every full moon, at the sight of the round moon, he’d lose control, driven mad, craving to tear into anyone near.”
“The lord locked himself away, certain it was divine retribution. Then, five years later—on that same date—the changes vanished. He realized he could now summon the power at will… or retract it.”
“He reopened the ledgers. Brilliant ideas flooded his mind—endless, seamless, bubbling up without pause. Under him, the family’s enterprises flourished like never before.”
Liang Lin finished the tea and handed the empty cup to Liang Di, who called Belica to bring sweets.
“So it’s an inheritable power,” Liang Di said quietly. “Bloodline required. A Langwendi Family member. And… personally killing the anomalous child.”
“After that, it spiraled. Few cursed infants survived birth. Every Langwendi coveted this ‘gift’ from the gods. With it came endless wealth, towering status, ceaseless praise and adoration.”
Liang Di let out a cold laugh. “Now you understand why Auston looked at me with such wariness and terror?”
“Because he tried to kill you right after you were born… didn’t he?”
Liang Di nodded.
“He left me on barren land, sure no one would pass. But I was lucky. Octavial—your sister’s… well, her lover—happened to walk by and found me.”
Ah…
Liang Lin froze mid-motion.
A memory surfaced.
When she was very small, Octavial had been gone a month. She returned cradling a chubby, cooing infant, murmuring something about… a playmate for Liang Lin.
“Liang Di… when you were little… did you ever go to that borderland where snow falls all year round?”
