Joohyun (Lisrene)

Prologue

On the day Joohyun turned 12 years old, her world was turned upside down. It began from the day she lost her mother and had to enter into the royal palace.

'Was I dreaming?...Or am I currently dreaming...?'

Joohyun mumbled absentmindedly as she sat on her bed. She had dreamt a very long dream. She didn't know if she had come back from the past or had experienced a precognitive dream.

In the dream, Joohyun experienced her future life. It was not a peaceful life. Most of it was stained with pain and tears. But at times, there was also joy and happiness. She had lived holding onto a sliver of hope.

'Mother...'

She had not known. Her mother was a noble. But her mother had not said a single word about it when she was alive. In Joohyun's dream, when she was in her twenties, she had coincidentally met her mother's older brother, that is, her uncle, and had come to know the truth.

Her mother, Amanda, was the youngest daughter of the Count of Baden. The Baden family had once been a greatly influential margrave but now, it was a collapsing family without a single land to its name. The history of the Baden family ran deep but their names had been mostly erased from the people's memories. One couldn't even guarantee that they would keep their title forever.

Amanda, who was tired of living in a stale and remote area with nothing but destitution, had escaped to the capital with the only thing that was worth money; a single pendant that was passed down in the family for generations.

Joohyun's uncle had forlornly said that they should have sent a person after Amanda as soon as she had disappeared. He did not expect that it would be his last time to see his sister. She had run away out of youthful foolishness, but it was a mistake to think that she would come back soon. When they tried to find her a month later, the path to finding her was already vague.

It was understandable that Joohyun's uncle could not find her mother. Since he had thoroughly combed the vicinity where they lived, it was only natural he could not find the Amanda because she had run to the capital.

Joohyun did not know the exact details about what happened to Amanda after she came to the capital. However, with the fact that Amanda was unmarried and gave birth to an illegitimate daughter of the king, Joohyun, one could only guess the twists and turns.

And when Joohyun was born, Amanda should have informed the royal family, but she had made a choice that no one else would have made. She hid her nobility, lived with the common people, and raised Joohyun as a commoner.

Joohyun had had no idea. Her mother was a noble, the Baden House was her maternal family and above all, she was of royal blood. She had only spent her childhood as Joohyun, the daughter of the commoner Amanda. With her beautiful mother, the nice villagers, and the friends she played with in the forest and the creek.

Tears began to flow from Joohyun's eyes as she recalled the distant memory that was like yesterday. The happiest moments of her life were from that time.

The misfortune came unexpectedly. An epidemic swept through the capital, hitting the village where Joohyun lived, and Amanda was unable to escape. Her mother, as Joohyun remembered, was petite and thin, unlike the other strong women in the village. No matter how poor, a noble young lady would never have to experience anything rough growing up. The process of raising Joohyun and working hard for their upkeep had taken a toll on her body.

Her mother seemed to have had a premonition about her own death. A few days before she passed away, she sent Joohyun on an errand to pass along a letter. It was likely a letter for the royal family.

Joohyun understood her mother's decision. Her mother had tried to do her best for her daughter till the end. The life of an orphaned young girl would usually spiral into hell. If Joohyun had not entered the palace, she might have had to sell her body as a prostitute for the rest of her life.