Margeretta Ivygood, was born to a servant. Her mother Sisilin Ivygood was a house servant while her father, Melhiem Rodwich was the owner. Perhaps it was love; perhaps it was a stroke of misfortune. But that night sixteen years ago, on that stormy night, Margeretta saw the lights for the first time and heard two words, though she couldn’t understand them.

“Another failure!”

Sisilin cried a great deal that night. No one knew if she was crying out of grief or out of joy, but she did bear the newborn child in her arms like it was some sort of lost treasure. Perhaps it was treasure, her treasure.

Two people weren’t happy about this incident. The first, Vannesa Rodwich- Milheim’s wife, and the second, Krystal Rodwich. Krystal was Margeretta’s half-sister and she hated Marg from the moment she understood the truth. Her reasons were justifiable to her. But she never took any action, at least not directly.

Marg and her mother weren’t treated that differently from the other servants and Melheim never paid much attention to his unlawful child either. But the other servants did treat Marg with just a fraction more love and affection. It wasn’t much but she felt blessed.

As the house of Rodwich grew, things began to change. Marg had new half-siblings. And new headaches.

Marg’s siblings grew and now she was treated as nothing more than just a servant. Her servant siblings treated her nicely as she was the oldest among them but that was it. Her official half-siblings always hated her and made her work much harder than necessary, sometimes even punish her for no reason at all. 

***

Ten years passed. Marg never paid any attention to discrimination. She already understood her place. She rarely smiled and there was nothing to be glad about. She lived to serve. 

But at the age of ten, her talent manifested. It was a rare talent. Very rare in fact. Which was why Melheim finally called her in his office for the first time.

Polygamy was frowned upon in society but as long as someone had enough money and fame, everything was justified. The Rodwich house was an ideal example. Melheim Rodwich had illicit relationships with twelve of his servants and he also had five official wives. Yet, he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted more wealth, he wanted more fame and he wanted more women: he wanted more. And for that, he was willing to do anything: even selling his own children wasn’t an issue.

“You called me my lord?” Marg wasn’t even allowed to call him father. The man in front was her owner, there was no affection between the two.

“Yes. I have heard that you have manifested the secret art of teleportation?”

“Yes, my lord.” Marg looked down. She didn’t know the rarity of the power but she did know that this power wasn’t something she could just wield freely. 

Every time she used her powers, those things haunted her. She couldn’t take it anymore. 

Melheim looked out through the window. “Go fetch that apple from the other side of the lake.” It wasn’t a request, it was an order. 

Marg almost wanted to cry. She never wanted to use her powers again and yet, she had to. “As you wish.” She concentrated and brought back the apple within a minute. But the moment she arrived, she felt faint: she saw things she didn’t want to: she felt things she didn’t want to. She felt like throwing up. She did throw up. “I-I’m so sorry.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

Teleportation was rare but it also had a price. She couldn’t just freely travel across the land without any delay and without any payment. There was no such thing as a free lunch.

“There’s no need for apologies child.” Melheim held her with gloved hands. His face lightened up. “Yes, you would be perfect.” His inner demon grinned victoriously. ‘Maybe you weren’t such a failure after all.’ If someone heard his thoughts, then they’d question his sanity.

***

A week later Marg was called inside Melheim’s office yet again. 

“You shall marry into Bettlesuin family. Namely, Vana Bettlesuin.” Melheim didn’t even glance at Marg. 

“Wha-” Marg put her hands on her mouth. This was like a death sentence to her. Everyone in the nation knew how the Bettlesuin family worked. She didn’t know this Vana Battlesuin, but to her knowledge, everyone in that family was the same.

There was a reason why no one ever willingly married into that family.

“Legal age of marriage is 17 so I guess you’re free to do anything you please till then.” Melheim begun. “However, know that if you try to run, Sisilin might not make it out alive.” Melheim had a smile. He knew there was no way for Marg or her mother to get away from this. To him, everything was just tools for his gain.

Sisilin was a house servant and a slave to the Rodwich family. Which meant Melheim held all power over her fate. The same went for Marg. 

Marg was only ten but even at this age, she understood two things. 

1.    The world wasn’t fair.

2.    She was just a servant without any free will

So Marg sighed. “Is that so? Then you have nothing to worry about, my lord.” Her attitude changed accordingly. Bettlesuin house must have been a nightmare, but the house of Rodwich was hell. So at least, she still had a future, somewhat. But now she also had a goal.

Melheim smirked. “Well, at least you have my fire.” 

Marg grimaced inside when the very thought of receiving something from the bastard in front of her, came to her mind. Yes, she did receive half of her gene pool from the man in front, but she despised her existence for that half. She hated the man; there was no doubt about it.

“You may leave now. You will be given proper education from now on, so-” Melheim stopped, grinned, and looked at his daughter. “And you may give your name as Margeretta Rodwich from this day forth. So have fun I guess?” He laughed hysterically.

Marg almost bit her lips, but she didn’t. “Yes… Father.”

From that day on, things changed. Things changed drastically. Marg was no longer treated as a servant. And no one could question the order of the master (Melhiem) either. But deep down, everyone knew that Margeretta Rodwich would become a sacrifice.

***

There was a reason why no one wanted to get married into the Bettlesuin family: Though everyone in the family was rich, they all had one core trait. They were fiends for love. And within that love, oftentimes they’d go too far, and even strangle their partners, in a not-so-friendly way. In a world where money and fame were everything, no one could really say or do anything about them, at least not without being eradicated. 

But it never fazed Marg even for a second. She knew what to do and she wasn’t so weak. 

Besides, she already had a plan. 

‘I’ll kill them.’

But to kill the master of the house or her would-be husband, she needed more experience, and she needed more time. She needed allies and she also needed a position of her own. So that once she could have her freedom, her mother won’t suffer. And with the Rodwich name, she was one step closer to her goal.

***

But today, on the first day of school, her very core was shaken when one of her half-sisters out of nowhere, insulted her and her mother. She could even take a beating but she couldn’t take curses to her mother’s name. Which was why she protested. But she couldn’t create a scene here. If she did, all those plans, all this time, all of it, would have been wasted. And yet, she couldn’t help herself.

“Take that back!” She yelled at the girl in front of her and prepared for the attack: she’d made that choice. She didn’t care about the people surrounding her, the people watching the show. 

But as she thought all hope was lost, someone saved her. She didn’t need people to rely on: she was good enough, to herself. She didn’t need anybody. But perhaps this wasn’t so bad. Perhaps her life would finally change. Perhaps… someone would understand her.

‘I am- saved?’