The bluish moonlight poured over the winter forest. Standing in the middle of the snowy forest, I pressed my hat deeper. Silver hair with dyed hair was clearly visible even in the dark. After putting the herbs in the basket, I got up. Looking up at the sky, the full moon appeared over the clouds.
‘It’s really time to go back.’
I cleared the basket quickly. I had to go back home, clean up the herbs, and prepare for tomorrow’s business.
‘And there’s one more person to take care of.’
If you keep walking, walking, and walking through the dark forest, you will find a small house. It was a shabby cabin that wouldn’t be strange even if it collapsed immediately. I made a small fist and knocked lightly on the door. Then the door opened as if it had been waiting.
“Sister!” Zion greeted me with a bright smile.
“You were playing well by yourself? A strange person didn’t come, right?”
“Of course!”
“Well done.”
I gently patted Zion’s head. Whether my touch was pleasant, Zion laughed with his eyes closed tightly. The deep dimple in his face looked lovely. I locked the door tightly and took off my hat. Then Zion came running to me and asked with an excited face.
“Did you sold a lot of herbs today?”
“Yeah. Thanks to that, I can cook Zion’s favorite meat stew today.”
“Really?”
Zion opened his eyes wide. Maybe he feeling good, both the cheek look pink. I patted my lovely brother on the head.
“By the way, is the child still sleeping?” I said with a glance at the child lying in bed. Zion nodded.
“Yes. Even if she sleep like that, I guess she keep getting sleepy. It’s already been the third day.”
“Okay. This herb is also good, but still not effective?”
I was confused. I even fed her some hard-to-get herbs, but she didn’t open her eyes easily. I sighed softly and approached the child.
The girl with long straight black hair had fallen asleep on the bed. This was the girl I came across in the forest three days ago. It was my belief that suspicious people would never be close to or make eye contact. But the child, who looked like the same age as Zion, was sick and I couldn’t turn blind eyes.
“If you do good things, you will always be blessed.”
Why did I think of my mother’s words back then? I brought the child home, like someone possessed by something. It was the first time that someone else was brought into the house.
‘Is it really alright? Did I do something unnecessary?’
I frowned slightly.
But in the freezing cold with a blizzard, I couldn’t leave the fallen child behind. It was obvious that this kid would die first before waiting for someone else to save her. But I couldn’t even take her to the hospital. Hospital are a luxury for us who live in hiding.
Feeling sorry, I held the child’s hand. The fever that had been high for days had subsided, but the child’s body was still hot like a ball of fire. I carefully held the child’s hand and let out the cold air. The coldness that flows through my body might reduce the boiling heat a little.
‘Of course this won’t make any difference.’
I tried everything I could for a few days, but there was no improvement.
‘Do I really have to take her to the doctor? But it’s too risky ….’
It was when I was thinking what to do.
“Um ….” A sound come out of the girl’s mouth. Surprised, I approached the child.
“Are you okay? Have you awake?”
The child slowly raised her eyelids. Red eyes seen through long lashes. The child has a beautiful face as well, but looking at it like this, her eyes were clear. A clear and red color like a ruby.
Uh … wait a minute. Red eyes?
‘There’s only one race in this world that has red eyes.’
I stumbled and stepped back. The fear that had been trapped under my feet, like the darkness that had fallen, climbed up on my back. Maybe, if I remember correctly, this kid must be ….
The child blinked her big eyes. The red eyes reflected my dismayed face.
“Shit …!”
A curse slipped out unknowingly.
This kid was the Red Riding Hood, the female lead who would eat my brother after killing me!2
***
To explain this story in more detail, let’s go back to a long time ago.
Eve. This is the name my mother and father gave me. I thought I’d be called by that name all my life, but people called me by a different name.
A mixed breed.
Dirty blood.
It was the same day as usual when I first heard the title.
“Why the lowly things dare to go here!”
The wolves especially bothered our family. When I asked why, my mother and father were silent, they didn’t give me the answer.
I thought it was very strange. We’re the same wolves, but I couldn’t understand why they were bothering us.
That day, too. A number of Wolves have broken the windows of our house. Along with pain, sharp fragments dug into my flesh. Dad came before them. This was unreasonable, and I protested hard to stop the harrassment.
“I’m living a quiet life! Why are you doing this when I’ve been living like a dead person?”
“Don’t you know that? You’ve disgraced the names of pure wolves!”
The wolves said so and pointed at me. Dad resists them asking what he’s talking about in front of the kid.
But, he couldn’t beat the wolves.
‘Ah, this is it.’
I realized as I watched my father collapse. A mixed race born between a mother who is a pure blood wolf and a poor wizard of ice. To borrow their words, mixed-breed*. Not a human race, not a human being.
(T/n: Actually, the translation said “Hybrid”. But I stick to mix-breed. Or should I change it to hyrid?)
We were the only blemish in the north that was full of pure blood. The traditional pure-blood wolf, who hold tightly in the North, looked down on us as dirty blood. The ensuing violence forced us to hide in deeper and deeper forest. I also blamed my parents. But my family was so precious.
I was poor but happy, and I was reassured to have my parents. That’s what family meant to me.
But precious thing left me easily.
When my mother had Zion, my father died in an accident. It was one day when a snowstorm was blowing exceptionally hard.
My mother who was left alone couldn’t even cry properly. She just hugged me and comforted me by saying it was okay. Looking at my mother like that, I decided to protect my family no matter what.
It was only a few days later that the decision was taken to the other side. It’s a day when life is completely reversed, and I realized everything.
That day, I was digging hard medicinal herbs for my mother. It was because I remembered what my father said during his lifetime, that there was a good herb for pregnant women. Seeing a pile of herbs in the basket, I gave a proud smile. If I went to my mom with this, I thought she would smile a little bit.
But still, peace did not last long. They showed up without fail, the pure-blooded wolf.
Since my father died, the wolves bullying has gotten worse. They shouted something like, “Leave this northern part of the country!”
“Look, it’s the hybrid*!”
“Dirty!”
“What wolf can’t hide their ears at will?”
“Ooh. Look at the tail color.”
(T/n: I’m confused. Should I change to hybrid afterall?)1
I shrank. I was still immature, so I couldn’t hide my ears and tail well.
“Everything dirty has to die!”
The head of the crowd threw a stone at me. Something hot rolled down with a dull sound. Red liquid dripped down on the white snow. I’ve never seen blood in my life.
“Gasp!”
The basket I was holding fell on the floor. When I got scared, they were more delighted. The Wolves giggled and came to my side. The herbal medicine for my mother was trampled on their feet.
“Maybe because it’s a mixed-breed, it’s vegetarian?”
“As expected, the level is low too.*”
(Normal wolf is carnivora)
I bit my lips looking at the crushed herb. What should I do? What did we do wrong?
My fists trembled. I woke up from my seat, wiping my eyes that were stained with tears.
“Get out of here!”
I attacked them for the first time. I just tried to swing my fist, but ice popped out of my hand. I was surprised and squeezed my hand. It was the first time I even tried it.
“What have you done now!”
The wolves approached me with a shriek.
“Don’t come! If you come, with this ice I will …!”
I held out my hand threateningly.
But that was it. Ice magic was a common ability in the north. In addition, a child who had just realized it’s strength could not be able to beat them.
Eventually, I was beaten to death.
“You’re a filthy mixed-breed. How dare you?”
Someone pushed my shoulder roughly. I was pushed back helplessly, and hit my head against the tree behind me.
It was then.
The first afterimage passed through my head.
‘This is… me?’
I couldn’t believe it.
The woman in the afterimage was ‘I’, a completely human figure that had nothing to do with the names of wolves, mixed-breed, and Eve.
It didn’t take long to realize that the afterimage was my past life.
The place where I reincarnated was in a fairy tale for adult, the 19-rated novel Little Red Riding Hood. A novel adapted to the tastes of adults by twisting the famous fairy tale ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. The male lead who is a wolf rolls and rolls*, and is sexually transmitted to a female lead who is eventually a red riding hood.
It was a novel about being eaten … in different meaning.
(T/n: I dont understand what this rolls and rolls means lol.)2
Looking back on the memories of my previous life, this novel sprinkled with MSG. The name of the male lead in the novel, who caused double nosebleed to readers with a stimulating taste, if my memory is not wrong, is ….
‘Zion.’
As soon as I realized it, I jumped up from my seat. I didn’t have time to be like this. Having squeezed the little strength from my chest, I pushed them as hard as I could. After that, I ran to my home in hurry.
“Hey! Catch that hybrid!”
The shout mixed with swear words gradually got smaller and smaller.
My breath came to the end of my jaw. The sweat formed on my forehead did not cool down easily even with the cold weather in the north.
My body was shaken. But I couldn’t stop running. Because my mind was very clear.
A few days ago, the conversation I had with my mother kept spinning in my head.
“Mom, what’s my brother’s name?”
I closed my eyes tightly to the conversation that came to mind.
“Zion. It’s the name you’re dad gave him.”
The male lead of the novel was my younger brother who was not even born yet.
—————————————————–