Chapter 04…
In my previous life, I was Eve Maria’s foster elder sister. I lived a life devoted to her, repaying the kindness of having been taken in.
But the price of devotion was a bitter betrayal.
“Die, sister. Sacrifice yourself so that His Majesty can devote his power—seal the archmage with your insignificant life.”
“I carried the disgrace while bearing the blame for your crimes, and now you want me to die as a sacrifice? Just because of one man? I trusted you—how could you do this to me!”
“Look at you whining. Normally, you wouldn’t even dare to lift your head in front of me. You think you’re some noble princess just because I’ve been kind?”
“Is that your true heart? If you despise me so much, why keep me by your side?”
“Of course, it was to steal your abilities. You were meant for that from the start.”
“Steal… What do you mean… you couldn’t possibly!”
“Pfft! Such a face is a shame to keep to myself. Indeed, toys are the most fun when you break them.”
Even thinking about it now makes my teeth grit. Original story or not, I’ll see what kind of end a thief who kills and steals someone else’s power deserves.
I could feel the damp sensation of her hand pressing against mine, but I skillfully hid my emotions.
“From what I hear, you’re one of the locals. Thanks for the advice, but I can’t leave this place.”
“Why not?”
“My legs won’t support me right now.”
Her gaze dropped to the floor, and I muttered to myself.
“Ah… if only healing magic were advanced in the Empire, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Huh…!”
Eve Maria jumped as if she’d heard something dangerous. “Shh!” She was so flustered that the finger she pressed to her lips trembled.
“Get a grip. Healing magic is an evil sorcery used by the devilish nation.”
Healing magic in the divine nation, which opposed the Empire, was demonized. Those born with the fate of a healer were isolated in sealed monasteries.
Still, even by the Empire’s standards, Eve Maria’s trembling was excessive. Like a thief feeling her own feet tingle from guilt.
“If you accept that power, you’ll become a monster like them.”
“I’m not a monster.”
“What?”
“The border only divides those who serve a king from those who follow a god.”
Her narrowed eyes shot daggers at me.
“Getting lost is one thing. But what you just said… seems suspicious. What exactly are you, brother?”
“A magician.”
For a moment, Eve Maria’s pink eyes flickered with surprise. Though we’d been together for a while, it felt as if she were seeing me for the first time.
“I’m a magician. And also a woman wearing men’s clothing.”
I spread my left hand wide.
“Look closely. See the white line in my palm? This only appears on a magician’s hand. The longer and clearer it is, the greater the potential.”
Eve Maria, who had stolen my abilities, had only been able to use half of them. She hadn’t realized it, but the white line etched in my palm was exceptionally long and clear.
“With just that power… even he will look at Eve.”
Her greedy muttering lingered at the corners of her mouth.
“What did you say?”
“Mm… nothing.”
Eve Maria, with a scheming expression, extended her hand.
“Here, take my hand! Eve will help you stand.”
It was obvious. She intended to fall, cry, make me the villain, and manipulate me as she pleased.
To steal my power, she needed to use a relic with mysterious power, but the activation conditions were complicated.
“So you’re going to play the victim?”
Sure enough, as soon as I took her hand to help her stand, she wobbled.
“Kya! I slipped—”
But what could she do? I was one step ahead of her self-harm act.
“Careful!”
I pulled her deliberately, shifting her weight toward me. The situation turned exactly opposite to what she intended.
Crash—!
A porcelain vase on the side table shattered. I fell to the floor and was cut by the sharp shards, blood spilling in torrents.
‘Ouch… that hurts like hell.’
I gritted my teeth and endured the pain, but it was worth it.
“Oh no…!”
Eve Maria’s hands shook violently from the shock. Not because she cared about me, but because she feared the trouble she’d be in if I died.
“You mustn’t die. I don’t want to go to the convent!”
Confessing her true feelings unconsciously, Eve Maria brought her hands together. Gradually, a blue light of healing began to gather in her praying hands.
Eve Maria, who had rejected her fate as a healer and lived concealing it, was now using that loathsome power to take my life.
‘Desperate, are we? But maybe look around first.’
This was a mansion where servants rushed in at the slightest alarm. Breaking a vase here was like banging a gong in an exam hall.
Click-clack. The massive door opened.
The men in the conference room reacted in their own ways upon seeing Eve Maria praying and me collapsed on the floor.
“Eve!”
The voice that shouted her name was short, slender, and black-haired. He was Eve Maria’s father, the eldest son of the Grimroar dukedom, Kaulen Grimroar.
“Why are you using that power? Stop immediately!”
Kaulen snatched his youngest daughter into his arms as if she were fragile.
Meanwhile, Gilbert arrived beside me, squatting on his knees.
“Thanks for staying still.”
“Don’t mention it… ugh.”
“Don’t move, or your wounds will reopen.”
As Gilbert lifted me and extended his hand, a sword was pointed at the back of his hand. Following the sharp line of the blade was Kaulen’s face, seething with anger.
“What are you doing, brother?”
“Step aside. I’ll cut the neck of the vermin who harmed my daughter.”
Harmed? My blood got on her clothes a little and they’re making a fuss.
“Father… it’s fine, please don’t kill him. He’s not an ordinary child…”
More effective than Eve Maria’s protesting gesture was the chuckle that slipped from Gilbert.
“Not only revealing secrets but also dancing with a blade. Seems even someone who’s never been on the front lines gains courage in front of a child.”
“What? You just said everything?”
“Not all, but would you hear the lament of a foolish subordinate? If so, the officers who suffered sleepless nights because you viewed the supply plan without permission will be pleased.”
Gilbert subtly redirected the topic, turning Kaulen’s anger toward himself.
“Shut your arrogant mouth! And I have the right to view it!”
“Who thinks they can just look? I worry the Empire’s military secrets will fall into the hands of courtesans.”
“I said shut up!”
As the sibling quarrel reached its climax…
“Enough.”
A voice of immense authority cut through the tension.
A massive man, watching the scene gravely, corrected the situation with just a single word.
Jet-black hair and a black beard.
A fierce look, and a muscular body hardened by battle.
His towering height—over two meters?
Goosebumps rose. Meeting a bear in the mountains might feel like this. His presence was always hard to adapt to, and I swallowed nervously.
Indeed, the general of the Empire, said to match a million soldiers alone, carried an unparalleled aura.
The war-hardened veteran before me was Wilhelm Arctos Grimroar, head of the Grimroar dukedom.
“Kaulen, didn’t you say your daughter has the talent of a magician? I waited because she wasn’t ready yet, but this is different from what I was told.”
“Father… this is—”
“Words aren’t needed. I’ll see for myself.”
Wilhelm made a gesture, and a priest’s flower and a magician’s star floated into view.
The flower represented Eve Maria, the star my talent.
The brighter the flower, the more radiant the star, the greater the potential.
My star shone so brightly it was blinding, while Eve Maria’s flower seemed withered under its noble light.
“Ho. The brightest star I’ve ever seen.”
Wilhelm admired it, stroking his chin.
Forcibly drawing out talent—something I’d never heard of before. Only a head of a dukedom could do this, I thought.
As I marveled at his overpowered presence, Kaulen pointed angrily at me.
“Wait. What’s this? You said she has swordsmanship potential to be a pawn. But she’s a magician? That’s not what I was told!”
Gilbert scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Hmph. I’m not fooled by such a flimsy lie.”
