Chapter 13
“T-This can’t be happening…!”
Catherine’s eyes darted toward her bedroom window as cold sweat dripped down her back.
Alicia was equally shocked. She whirled around to glare at the window where Aisel should have been, her eyes burning with fury. It had worked just moments ago—there was no way it could fail now.
That insolent brat must have deliberately humiliated Catherine.
How fortunate that the girl was invisible. If she had been visible, someone might have noticed the panic on Catherine and Alicia’s faces and grown suspicious. Oblivious to Diana’s watchful gaze, Alicia shot her a furtive glance.
“What’s wrong?”
Though she had seen everything, Diana tilted her head as if confused.
“Hmm?”
Rueri smirked, as if he had expected this outcome all along.
“Ah, she failed.”
“Failed?”
Diana’s tone was laced with disbelief. At her words, Catherine’s brow furrowed deeply.
“I thought the younger a child is, the easier it is for them to manifest mana?”
She deliberately emphasized that point. Catherine’s face flushed red as a balloon about to burst, her fists trembling with wounded pride.
“Yeah, but…”
Rueri turned his head toward Catherine, who was shaking like a leaf, his sharp blue eyes locking onto her.
“Honestly, I don’t sense any mana from her at all.”
“You don’t?”
Of course, Diana already knew, but she feigned shock. Rueri nodded, still eyeing Catherine with suspicion.
Despite his smile, his gaze was razor-sharp—like a hawk before the hunt.
“Yeah, Noona. Not a single drop.”
“I’ll try again! I can do it!”
“…Could you give her another chance? Her Ladyship must be nervous. Your Grace.”
Alicia swallowed hard and pleaded desperately. But Rueri shook his head firmly.
“No, that won’t be necessary. Noona.”
“Huh?”
“It’d be the same no matter how many times she tries. She has zero mana.”
He whistled nonchalantly as he explained.
Diana fell silent for a long moment. As she kept her lips sealed, an oppressive tension filled the garden—though only Alicia and Catherine were actually tense.
Finally, Diana slowly parted her lips again.
“Is this… possible?”
“Hmm?”
“I have mana, so how can Catherine have none?”
Catherine and Alicia stiffened at her words, their shoulders jerking slightly. They waited rigidly for Rueri’s answer.
He shrugged.
“It’s extremely rare. Even if someone can’t use magic, they should still have a trace amount of mana flowing through them.”
“How strange. Catherine is… my daughter.”
Diana deliberately let her words hang in the air. Behind her blindfold, she could see Alicia’s brow twitch.
She, too, seemed deeply wounded by the fact that Diana’s daughter couldn’t do what Diana could.
A scoff escaped Diana’s lips. How amusing. These people couldn’t live proudly with their own strengths—instead, they seethed over what they lacked.
Pathetic creatures with no self-worth. Truly pitiful.
“Well, there’s nothing to be done. I suppose I’ll be the only one taking magic lessons.”
“B-But…!”
“A lady must learn to accept her shortcomings, Catherine.”
“…Yes.”
Catherine pouted and slumped her shoulders. She was furious that Aisel could do what she couldn’t, but at the same time, resentment bubbled up at the thought of Alicia being her real mother.
At first, having a mother who was a doctor had seemed impressive. But in the end, Alicia had been utterly useless to her.
I wish I had never known. Even if it was a lie, I wish I could have lived believing I was truly theirs.
She had been happier than anyone. A father who was a Grand Duke, a mother from the most prestigious noble family in the capital, and herself—a princess, the highest-ranking lady in the empire after the imperial family.
But the moment she learned the truth, Catherine became the most miserable person in the world. And when Alicia brought Aisel—a girl who resembled Diana—before her, that misery was compounded by a gnawing fear that this child would take everything from her.
So she tormented Aisel. Because if she didn’t, that fear would never go away.
And now, Aisel had made her look like a failure in front of Diana. She couldn’t stand it. She wanted to storm over and slap that brat right now.
Diana watched Catherine’s frustration with detached amusement before speaking calmly.
“Go inside for now. I’ll continue my lesson.”
“…Yes, Mother.”
Catherine’s voice was pitiful as she trudged away. She glanced back, but Diana paid no attention, already engrossed in her magic lesson with Rueri.
Catherine whipped her head forward, grinding her teeth as she marched toward her room.
Alicia watched her with concern before deliberately approaching Diana.
“Her Ladyship seems quite disappointed, Your Grace.”
“Disappointed?”
If anyone was disappointed, it was Diana. She had expected some grand trick, but all she got was a noisy, empty shell.
Suppressing the urge to click her tongue, Diana smiled faintly.
“Is there a need for that?… Though I am a little disappointed. I wish she had taken after me.”
“Huh?”
For a moment, Alicia thought she had misheard. Until now, Diana’s love for Catherine had been blind.
No matter how stubborn Catherine was, no matter how disobedient or cruel she was to the maids, Diana had never scolded her. She had treated her like a precious treasure, doting on her endlessly.
And now… disappointed? That Catherine had no mana?
Alicia stared at Diana in stunned silence. But Diana wasn’t done.
“Now that I think about it, it is strange.”
“…What is?”
“That there’s not a single trace of resemblance between us.”
Rueri, who had been listening, cut in bluntly.
“Noona.”
“Yes?”
“She really doesn’t look like you. At all.”
“Right? She must take after her father.”
Diana replied smoothly, but Alicia couldn’t hide her discomfort.
She scowled at Rueri. What an unhelpful man! Her red eyes flashed with irritation.
Unaware of her anger, Rueri kept talking.
“Actually, she looks more like…”
His finger pointed straight at Alicia.
“That auntie over there.”
“A-Auntie?!”
Alicia’s heart plummeted. Does he know something?
Even worse, he called Diana Noona while referring to her as Auntie. The sheer disrespect!
“Auntie? Pfft—Rueri, Allie is the same age as me.”
Diana couldn’t believe Rueri had just delivered such a blow! She stifled a laugh as she watched Alicia tremble in outrage. After a moment of silent amusement, she added in a slightly sharper tone:
“Catherine must have imitated Allie so much that she ended up resembling her. Right, Allie?”
“…Yes. I suppose so.”
Alicia could barely stand being here any longer. It felt like the two were ganging up on her—though that couldn’t possibly be true.
“I-I should go check on Her Ladyship. I’m quite worried.”
“Of course. You’re the only one who truly cares for Catherine and me. Go ahead. I’ll join you after my lesson.”
“Yes. Then, excuse me.”
Alicia bowed stiffly to Diana before shooting Rueri a glare and turning away.
The moment she left, Diana burst into laughter. This was likely the first time Alicia had ever been so insulted. Even as the daughter of a mere baron, she had been shielded by Diana’s status—no one had dared disrespect her.
“Pfft.”
“What’s so funny?”
“The way you talk is hilarious. It’s been so long since I’ve heard someone call someone else ‘auntie.’”
“Well, she looks like an auntie, so…”
Rueri pouted but grinned like a mischievous child, one corner of his mouth quirking up.
Diana formed an ice crystal in her palm and asked:
“Then what about me?”
“Huh?”
“Why do you call me Noona?”
Rueri blinked slowly, then broke into a bright smile. For some reason, his grin shone as brilliantly as the sun. Foolishly, her heart fluttered at the sight.
But his next words made her chest tighten even more.
“Because you’re pretty.”
“…Huh?”
“Maybe…”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“The prettiest in the whole world.”
His expression was oddly serious, as if he were confessing something. The boyish Rueri suddenly seemed much more mature in that moment.
Diana’s heart, which she thought would never race for anyone again, began pounding wildly.
“Your Ladyship! Your Ladyship!”
Alicia hurried after Catherine, who was storming toward her room in distress, not even glancing back.
“Your Ladyship!”
Finally, Alicia caught up and grabbed the hem of Catherine’s dress. Tears were streaming down the girl’s face.
“Don’t cry, my dear.”
The hallway was empty. Alicia spoke softly, patting Catherine’s shoulder in comfort.
Catherine, proud and strong-willed like her, would never tolerate this humiliation. Worse, this was something she had never experienced before.
“…I’ll kill her.”
Her eyes burned with hatred, an intensity unbelievable for a fifteen-year-old. She had reached her limit. Only by killing that girl in her room would this rage subside.
Shoving Alicia away, Catherine sprinted into her room.
“Catherine!”
“Aisel!”
She screamed like a wild beast. But Aisel was nowhere to be seen.
Did she hide in the bookshelf? Catherine’s violet eyes—so like her father’s—flashed as she yanked the bookshelf open.
But the moment she did, the fury in her gaze faded into hollow disbelief.
The shelf was empty.
As if no one had ever been there at all.
