Summary:

Preferring wit and intelligence over beauty and grace, Alva lived a life that consisted of books and learning—and she was happy with that. But an unlikely meeting fueled the flames of envy and hatred, starting an inferno she would have to face.

In this Cinderella retelling, the heroine is more than a tragic victim of detestation, and the hero is more than a rescuer from bleak destiny. In this world, magic exists in the simplest forms, and does not necessarily mean transformations of pumpkins to carriages. The only magic needed here is the determination and the love that could empower even the weakest of all creatures.

~PROEM~

Unfurling, embracing violet petals of a single flower

The dreary swarming bodies of humdrum weeds

This girl must have a perfect life, people often thought when they see me.

A person might seem to have a perfect life, might seem to have everything, and might seem to be the envy of everyone. Her life could be a dream to others, a fantasy worth living, and a fantasy worth every endeavor to fulfill.

Their eyes could only see the surface. They could not see what was needed to be seen.

They judged me with their eyes, and their eyes were wrong.