“Is that your name?”

“Yes squeak!”

I was slightly dazed. Isn’t that more of a description than a name?

“Well, so your name is the appealing one with chestnut fur, and those adorable feet…”

“Wait, they’re not ‘adorable feet,’ they’re ‘adorable pink feet’ squeak!”

“That’s too long. We don’t usually name them like that.”

In response to the complaint, a whine escaped my lips without my conscious will.

“You’re not that long, are you? Squeak!”

“It feels long to me. Can I give you a new one? In human fashion.”

“You?”

“Yeah. I’m afraid you’ll keep making mistakes.”

It was an impulsive decision, but for some reason, my heart fluttered.

I actually had quite a few complaints about my name, ‘Annie.’ It wasn’t a proper name.

Maybe that was why I felt excited about the prospect of someone else naming me.

“How about, Lux?”

“What’s that squeak?”

“It means a star.”

And it was one of the few words with a pretty meaning in the ancient language I knew.

Because the headmistress had taught me to read letters at a young age, I knew the basics.

But I wasn’t good at writing, and I didn’t know many difficult words.

Still, I’d picked up a few words along the way.

This word was one of those.

The only reason I could bring it up so easily was that if I ever had a new member of my family who gave me a name like a sparkling star, I’d want to shine like a star.

I knew it was all in vain now.

“I like it, squeak!”

The rat seemed pleased with the name I had chosen.

“That’s good.”

It’s not a matter of liking it just because I like it.

“Now it’s my turn to name you. Is that okay? Squeak?”

“Yeah.”

I was slightly nervous. What kind of name would come out, I wondered, and why was I feeling so scared?

And…

“Your name is! Pink hair like candy, and blueberry-colored eyes that look delicious, but you’re a very strange and fascinating rat, squeak!”

My premonition was dead on.

“Do you like it squeak?”

“Uh, yes.”

I forced a smile.

“I like it very much.”

I hoped I wouldn’t have to use that strange name.

* * *

“Damn woman!”

The headmistress sat down roughly in her chair.

Usually, just locking Annie in the reflection room would make her feel better.

But today was different.

“Getting jealous of that wench, Mallon’s wife!”

Just earlier, Annie had been very excited about visiting the facilities.

Lady Mallon was the noble daughter of Count Shane, the biggest sponsor of the orphanage.

If she looked good to her, the next sponsorship amount would undoubtedly increase.

Of course, the current sponsorship amount was sufficient, and there was additional income through trade.

But the headmistress knew how to appreciate money well and always hoped for more.

Money was always better when there was more of it!

Moreover, among the new clients visiting the orphanage today was a noble from the neighboring kingdom, known for their wealth.

“It’s a perfect opportunity to break through with trade!”

Money, like a string, was best when there was plenty of it.

You can’t always rely on Count Shane.

While Lady Mallon’s choice of Annie as the one she had painstakingly educated had initially irritated her, I couldn’t help but mutter a word of annoyance. Still, it was okay.

The child could be replaced with a new one, and the sponsorship funds would remain intact.

What was entirely unexpected was that Annie, who was neither deaf nor dumb, had been deceiving her all these years.

Not for just a few days, but for a whopping nine years!

Not only that, but she even rambled nonsense about being friends with a rat, which scared Lady Mallon, and she stepped on bugs.

At a glance, it was clear that the furious Lady Mallon was deeply angry with her. Lady Mallon moved forward with the headmistress explaining and pleading earnestly.

However, Lady Mallon left without acknowledging her.

‘From now on, I hope we never see each other again!’

That’s all she left behind.

In case Count Shane completely withdrew his support, she was going to exist as the orphanage’s head until she found a new source of income. Up until now, she was sure that all the money used for the children came from her pocket.

‘Absolutely not!’

Now that it had come to this, she was determined to catch even the sounds of the Namyung Sori kingdom’s nobility, but what was this?

Before she knew it, he had disappeared without a trace.

“Ahh!”

In a fit of anger, she threw whatever she could get her hands on against the wall again.

Crash!

Unfortunately, the object she had grabbed was an inkwell, so the ink spilled all over the wall. She had thrown it in anger, but the thought of the unnecessary waste made her even angrier.

“How much is this!”

As she grumbled, she approached the wallpaper.

“Oh, this is expensive!”

The more she chewed on it, the stranger it seemed. It was clear that Annie had been a deaf-mute since she was a baby.

When they first picked up the abandoned child in front of the orphanage and took her to the doctor, they were told she had a disability.

At one point, they had tried to treat Annie, mainly because an undamaged child could be traded at a high price. However, the response was that congenital defects couldn’t be fixed. If she wasn’t going to get paid anyway, she thought she could put her to good use.

I created this solid poison and made her take it.

Wouldn’t Annie, who would never recover from her congenital disability, be more relieved than Marie, who might or might not be cured someday?

In fact, there had been several times when she was sure that Annie couldn’t hear anything because she had raised her.

But now, suddenly, she wasn’t deaf anymore?

“No. It’s not….”

Right now, Annie hearing was not the most important issue. Sponsorship had already been cut off, and soon all deals would be cut off as well.

‘I need to make as much profit as possible. Get rid of that one, too.’

The head of the orphanage thought hard. Where could she sell the child for a high price right now?

One place came to mind quickly, the auction house known as the “Dark Market” in Lisrilante. It was under the control of Count Shane and Mallon Viscount, but it wasn’t refusing to sell things.

‘I might be able to get a fair price since I’m not taking sides.’

Resolved, the head picked up a pen and began to write a letter.

* * *

Suddenly, the wall collapsed, and a large red bird screamed, flapping its wings in a place covered in flames.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

My head felt like it was going to explode.

I’m about to go crazy along with this excitement, and somewhere I heard chaos.

Even though I plugged my ears and held my head, I was in agony.

When someone’s footsteps came in, I was looking at them blankly.

And I collapsed, too.

“Ugh!”

When I got up, the dark space was revealed.

Next to me, a small rat lay in a fetal position.

It wasn’t until that moment that I remembered what had happened yesterday.

I gave the rat a name “Lux” and talked about this and that and went to bed.

“… It was a dream.”

I had only been feeling that way so far, even though I was left with a chest that was still roaring.

A sound that scratched my ears too much to hear.

“I don’t even want to hear that sound. What is this?”

As the dining tray was opened, someone held out a dish between the slots.

Ah, this is where the sound came from.

“What are you doing? Not taking it!”

The irritated voice responded, and I received the tray with a reflex action. Squeak! The feeding hatch closed again.

“Is it the head of the orphanage?”

It was unclear because I was not familiar with the voice yet, but it seemed correct.

The hand that came in through the feeding tray was obviously an ‘adult’ hand, and in this orphanage, the only adults were the head and older sister Marie.

But Sister Marie couldn’t speak, so only the head was left.

‘But didn’t she say she wouldn’t give us food?’

I was suspicious as I looked at the stew that the head had brought without touching it.

Lux rubbed its nose with a jerk and got up. Without opening his eyes, he took his upper body and moved his nose like a scoop.

“The smell is delicious.”

When Lux, who was sniffing the scent of stew, opened his eyes and jumped over to the front of the bowl. “Can I eat this?” he asked.

“Can I feed it to the mouse?”

“Okay. Only a little.” I replied to the rat, but what if I fed the mouse stew?

“Yes! I’m a brave mouse, squeak!”

I took the spoon and handed the bowl to Lux, who was savoring the stew.

‘He eats with gusto, so it’s good.’

It’s better to save some for myself, right? I don’t know when I can eat again.

“Huh?”

As I opened my mouth to drink the stew, I frowned.

It tasted slightly different from usual. It seemed a little bitter.

It didn’t seem to have gone bad… What’s going on?

“Hey, Lux? Does the stew taste weird?”

“squeak?”

“Do you think something’s strange?”

“It’s delicious squeak!”

Maybe it’s just my imagination.

‘Because he’s a real animal, he’s probably more sensitive to things like this.’