"Now that you're back, there are a few things I need to make clear first."

Edith Mercer frowned as she looked Clara Mercer up and down, the disgust in her eyes plain as day.

Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she asked suspiciously, "I heard when you were little you had a fever so bad it cooked your brain. Can you even understand what I'm saying?"

Clara Mercer stood smack in the middle of the sitting room with both hands in her pockets, loose and unbothered. She cut this so-called mother a sideways look and answered in a flat, lazy voice, "If you're speaking like a person, sure, I can understand. If it's animal talk, then no, that one's lost on me."

Edith paused. The more she thought about it, the more that sentence felt off somehow. But then again, how many schemes could a half-witted country girl possibly have? She'd grown up out in the sticks, mouth running wild, rough by habit, that was all.

Anyway, now that the girl had been found, she still had her use. No point arguing with her.

Thinking that, Edith's mood eased a little, and she went on, "You may be my biological daughter, but I've raised Clara for eighteen years. What I feel for her is no longer something blood alone can compare to. You're back, fine, but she is not leaving."

"And besides, all these years, Clara has been the one showing us filial respect in your place. You need to acknowledge that. From now on, you are to look after her properly. Don't go throwing your weight around just because you happen to be born to us."

Her gaze dropped to the patched, shabby clothes on Clara Mercer, and her brow tightened again.

"In a bit, Clara will find you something decent to change into. If people see you going out looking like this, who knows what they'll say about us. They'll think we've mistreated you. And you've run wild in the countryside too long. No manners, no upbringing. From now on, learn from Clara. Don't go outside and embarrass this family."

Quietly, Edith sighed to herself. The girl had an oval face, peach-blossom eyes, a straight nose bridge, and a neat little nose tip. Even dark and skinny as she was, the bones said beauty.

What a pity about the huge scar on the right side of her face. It had ruined more than half of it.

Calling her pretty now would be a stretch. If someone caught sight of her in the middle of the night, they'd jump. Who knew whether the Holloway family would even be willing to take her.

Clara Mercer didn't know what Edith was plotting, but ever since she crossed over, she'd already pieced things together from the original owner's memories.

The Mercers had finally found the biological daughter they'd lost eighteen years ago, yet the one they sent to fetch her was some irrelevant underling. That alone had told her exactly what sort of people this family was.

Now that she'd met them in person, sure enough, every one of them was soft in the head.

Their real daughter had suffered in the countryside for eighteen years, and not only were they not ashamed, they actually expected her to be grateful to the outsider who had taken her place. How many years of clogged blood vessels did it take to spit out something that stupid?

She ignored Edith completely, walked over to the sofa on her own, lifted one leg and kicked away the leg Derek Mercer had stretched across it, then sat down nice and easy.

Derek got kicked without warning. He staggered, nearly pitched forward, barely caught himself, then turned around with a dark face and snapped, "You ugly freak, have you lost your mind? You dare kick me?"

Without even turning her head, Clara asked Edith, "Hey, do you people not leash your dog at home?"

"In our village, if a dog dared bare its teeth at somebody, we'd snap the teeth out, break the legs, beat the crap out of it so hard it'd still be coming out the next day."

Edith finally caught the meaning, and her face changed on the spot. In a shrill voice she shouted, "Derek is your third brother! Do you even see him as family at all? You open your mouth and curse him? You really need a lesson!"

Before she could even finish, Clara braced both hands on the sofa and drove a kick straight into Derek's stomach.

"Ugh—"

Derek stumbled back two steps and dropped to the floor, clutching his belly, his face turning white as paper.

"Oh my, how can you just hit someone like that!"

Clara, who had been tucked in Edith's arms watching the show the whole time, cried out and hurried over to help him up, worry written all over her face.

"Third Brother, does it hurt?"

Edith sprang to her feet, fury nearly shooting out of her eyes.

"You ungrateful wretch! You've gone too far!"

Clara looked lazy as ever. She leaned back, crossed one leg over the other, her foot swaying lightly at the tip, then glanced at Edith, who looked ready to explode, and said airily, "Weren't you the one who said he needed a lesson? I just helped you out. No need to thank me."

"You—"

Edith was so angry she couldn't even get out a full sentence. Was that what she meant?

What she had meant was that this rebellious girl needed a lesson!

Clara took a step forward, eyes red-rimmed, tears trembling in her lashes. She looked like she'd been wronged to the core and was still forcing herself to endure it.

"Elora... it's all my fault. I knew perfectly well I wasn't the real daughter, but I still couldn't bear to leave. I shamelessly stayed on. I'll go pack my things and move out right now. If you're angry, take it out on me. Please don't make things hard for Father, Mother, and the brothers, all right?"

"Move out? Move out where? You are my daughter. This is your home. You're not going anywhere."

Edith pulled Clara into her arms with a face full of heartache. When she looked back at Clara Mercer, her eyes were packed with disgust.

"A wild girl is a wild girl. No upbringing at all. Talking to you is a complete waste of breath. I don't care how you lived in the countryside. Now that you're back in this house, you will follow this house's rules. Behave yourself, or don't blame us for being harsh."

Clara Mercer laughed. The scar on the right side of her face made the smile look bright on one side and savage on the other, strange in a way that was hard to put into words.

Her voice wasn't loud, but there was a wild edge under it.

"Rules? You're talking to me about rules?"

They really ought to weigh their own worth before opening their mouths.

Back in the apocalypse, even base leaders spoke to her politely. And now some spineless weakling was barking orders at her? That was a fresh one.

"I don't care what rules you have here. I didn't come back to swallow abuse—"

Halfway through, Clara Mercer cut herself off.

Because she suddenly saw a Chinese cabbage pop out above Clara's head.

From tender sprout to a full-grown vegetable, it took only a few seconds.

Green, fresh, crisp-looking. So fresh it made a person's fingers itch.

She blinked once. Then again. She wasn't seeing things. That cabbage was still sitting there just fine.

What the hell was this?

Zombies had crystal cores in their heads. So did Clara have a patch of black farmland planted in hers or what?

That didn't make sense either. This wasn't some farming game. Why did it even come with a growth prompt?

Her hands itched so bad. She really wanted to crack open Clara's skull and have a proper look.

The way Clara Mercer went blank landed in Clara's eyes as nothing more than a pitiful little loser sulking because she couldn't win affection from the family.

Inside, Clara curled her lip in contempt. A stupid, ugly village girl wanted to fight her?

In her last life, she had only ended up that miserable because her luck was bad. But in this life, she'd already gotten ahead and made the space acknowledge her as master. She had the spirit spring now. Clara Mercer could spend this whole life muddling through in a fog. She could forget about ever recovering.

Clara tucked away every trace of smugness and spoke in a soft, gentle voice. "Elora, no matter what, you should show respect to your elders. Honor your parents. Be kind to your brothers and sisters. That's the most basic way a person ought to behave."

"I understand no one taught you these things in the countryside. That's not entirely your fault. As long as you know you were wrong and change, that's enough. Go apologize to Mother and Third Brother. They're both such forgiving people. They definitely won't hold it against you."

At that point, her eyes reddened again, wet with tears. When she looked toward Edith and Derek, her gaze was full of attachment and hurt.

"I know you resent me for taking your place. But I truly knew nothing about what happened back then. What's done is done, and it can't be changed now. I'll move out so I won't be in your way. If you're angry, you can hit me or scold me, and I'll accept it. I won't complain once. I only beg you, please don't upset Mother anymore. Seeing her like this really hurts me."

Clara Mercer had seen plenty of this white-lotus green-tea routine before. She couldn't be bothered with it. Her eyes were shining as she stared straight at the cabbage above Clara's head, and then she asked,

"Everything you just said... you mean that?"