Chapter 1
The Rohia Ducal Family — a powerful noble family in the Western Empire.
In the year 310 of the Imperial Calendar, a political wedding was held for Duke Bern Rohia.
Born as the only child of a noble house, Bern had lived a smooth life with no hardships. He wasn’t especially talented either, but one day, he got lucky.
A divine prophecy was given:
— “Duke Bern Rohia of the Western Empire will have three children, and one of them will be [Materia].”
That’s when it all began.
The endless misfortune of Izana Rohia.
****
“Ugh…”
My oldest brother, Boris Rohia, grabbed me by the collar with his large hand.
I struggled to shake off his grip, but even as a kid, his thick arms were like solid rock — I couldn’t escape.
“This is your fault! Father’s angry because of you! I told you to stay hidden!”
We were siblings — and yes, most siblings fight — but he had a particular reason for hating me so much.
“You filthy illegitimate!”
“Boris, stop it.”
Yes, it was because I, Izana Rohia, was an illegitimate child.
Not only that — I was the illegitimate child of the duchess. I had no blood ties to the Rohia family at all. Just being allowed to use the name Rohia was more than I deserved.
“Aaagh!”
“Don’t stop me, Josef! Today, I’m going to teach her a lesson once and for all!”
The reason he was especially furious today was because of what happened earlier.
The duke had returned home earlier than expected and ran into me by chance.
It was the first time he’d seen me in a long while. The moment we met, he frowned and immediately turned to the duchess, who stood frozen.
— “Now that I think about it, I’ve never asked this before… Whose child is that?”
The room turned icy.
Boris, who had been excited to show off his sword skills to our father during dinner, realized this wasn’t the time to be proud. Even he understood that much.
And now, here we were.
After dinner, which was full of tension, Boris came straight to my room and started shaking me in anger.
“Father told us not to stir up trouble.”
“What trouble? What kind of trouble could this thing even cause?”
“If you hurt her badly, what will you do? Because of Father’s orders, no servant will help Izana even if she gets seriously injured.”
“She wasn’t supposed to be born anyway! And outside this house, everyone already thinks she’s slow in the head. If she dies, maybe it’s for the best.”
“L-let go… Please, let go…”
“Who are you calling brother?! Josef, look! Because of you, she thinks she can call me her brother!”
“Father said we might have to show Izana to someone someday. That’s why he told us to use normal titles, so we don’t slip up later.”
Even though I was treated like trash…
There was still one reason I was allowed to keep the Rohia name.
It was because the duchess, Judith Rohia, was fated to give birth to one of the three prophesied saviors of the continent — the one known as [Materia].
****
The Three Saviors of the Continent.
Long ago, according to history, a great disaster — so terrifying and massive that no one could even describe it — almost destroyed the world.
From that crisis, three heroes rose to save the world:
- Igrio, the Wings of Hazel
- Ampelos, the Shepherd of the Vault Plains
- Materia, the Eye of Libya
No record could describe what the disaster truly was. It was always written as something overwhelming and unbeatable — as if those parts of history were smudged out with ink.
And every time such a mysterious disaster hit the world again, it was said that the saviors would be reborn, each with a star to mark their coming.
****
Then, 15 years ago…
When Duke Winter Orsus, brother of the current emperor of the Northern Empire, was born, the star of Igrio appeared in the sky.
That was the signal — another great crisis was coming.
The continent panicked. No one knew what the disaster was or how to stop it. All they could do was hope and pray that the next saviors would be born soon.
Two years later, the star of Ampelos appeared.
People waited anxiously for the final savior — Materia.
And then, the prophecy came.
It was said that the third savior, Materia, would be born into the Rohia family.
The high priest of Materia’s temple told Duke Bern Rohia:
“You will have three children. One of them will be Materia.”
Naturally, Bern waited eagerly for the child to be born.
Nine months later, his first son, Boris, was born.
No star appeared.
Bern didn’t worry. He still had two more chances.
A year later, his second son, Josef, was born.
Still no star.
Bern remained hopeful. “The third one must be it.”
Then, another year passed.
I was born.
A girl with green hair like the duchess and pink eyes — Izana Rohia.
And…
— “Why?! Why didn’t the star of Materia appear?!”
The star still didn’t appear.
Furious, Bern pulled out his sword and pointed it at the duchess — right in front of Boris and Josef.
That’s when she finally confessed:
— “I’m sorry, dear. I made a mistake. This child isn’t yours. But it’s okay! We can try again. We still have one more chance.”
Bern and Judith had married without love, so Bern didn’t feel personally betrayed.
But his reputation was at risk.
The priest had said he would only have three children. If Judith had one more, everyone would know Bern had been tricked.
So he made a desperate decision.
He framed a servant who looked like me.
He claimed the servant had disguised himself as the duke while Judith was drunk and entered her room.
The public was told the servant confessed, scared that he had disrupted the birth of Materia. But the whole story was full of holes.
Still, no one dared to question it — they feared revenge from the future Materia.
Once the mess was cleaned up, my fate was decided.
— “This child is invisible. Treat her like she’s there, but not really there.”
Because the duchess might still give birth to Materia, they couldn’t send me far away. So I was kept in the mansion.
That’s how I got to keep the name Rohia.
But I was publicly labeled as mentally ill, never allowed into society, and said to be recovering quietly at home.
****
Ten years later.
After a long wait, the duchess gave birth again.
The fourth son of the Rohia family — Yubel Rohia — was born.
And finally, the moment Bern had been waiting for arrived.
— “Hahaha! He’s finally here! Materia!”
The moment Yubel was born, the star of Materia appeared in the sky.
At the same time…
While everyone was distracted by the duchess’s sudden labor and the canceled dinner party…
A little girl sneaked into the kitchen to steal freshly baked bread.
And in that exact moment, she suddenly realized:
“What the hell… Is this… a novel?”
She had remembered —
This world was from a book.
