Chapter 4
Rebirth and Shadows
I had been a mage.
‘Then… where has my magic gone…?’
No way.
It couldn’t be. It had to be otherwise.
A faint smile spread across my mother’s lips as she saw my wavering gaze.
“You, unlike me, had everything from the start. A warm bed, plenty of food, noble status from the very beginning. And a future promised as the most noble woman in the Empire…”
“Ah… it hurts…”
“And yet that wasn’t enough—you dared to steal my magic. Do you think I could just let that slide?”
Her beautiful red eyes gleamed with madness.
“I have to take it back.”
“You… took my magic…”
The burning sensation in my throat hurt more than the sharp nails digging into my cheek.
“You mean… you, Mother?”
“That was mine from the start.”
Ah… so it had always been.
‘From when I was little, all along…’
I had clutched at straws, futilely.
My mother smiled at the realization spreading across my face. I muttered in a low voice.
“…So the reason you took the core of the Grail was because something went wrong even after you drained my magic.”
“Finally, you begin to understand. Thanks to your interference, things may have slowed a little, but I will not give up.”
“I… I can’t let that happen.”
“And what do you intend to do about it?”
One hand still gripped my jaw painfully, while the other rose, revealing…
A small vial containing a colorless, transparent liquid.
‘So it comes to this.’
I had no intention of yielding, but it was too late. My neck was already restrained by her magic, unable to move a single finger.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
“Are you going to kill me?”
“Strictly speaking, I’m not killing you. I created you, after all.”
Between parted lips, death seeped drop by drop.
“I am merely destroying a failure I find displeasing.”
“….”
“So sleep well, my daughter.”
After pouring all the poison in, her hand finally released my jaw. The magic dissipated, and I slumped limply.
“Now, get out of my life.”
…With those merciless words, I lost consciousness.
“Aigh….”
A sigh, or perhaps a groan, escaped me. I raised a hand to cover my eyes, thinking.
‘Looking back, it’s even more messed up.’
Yet, though the mood was somber, I didn’t feel particularly sad or wronged.
‘This is just the memory of a past life.’
Back then, I had died. Now, I wasn’t the daughter of the Duchess of Ricard—I was Asha, my mother’s child. That truth gave me steadfast protection.
Testing my memory, I realized my past life’s recollections remained mostly intact.
‘So roughly, the time now… Let’s see, when I was Beatrice, I was the same age as our mother, Rosalind Caledro.’
That meant less than ten years had passed since my death.
‘What the… Seriously.’
I had been reincarnated—and yet it was the same world!
My mouth fell open in disbelief. If I was going to be reborn, why not a completely different world? Or at least a century later…
Two chances in a world I had already grown weary of… what was I supposed to do now?
‘Wait… what am I even thinking?’
I had been reborn here, so that I could meet my mother again!
Now was not the time to complain. I slapped my cheeks sharply, the soft, pudding-like flesh bouncing back. My palms were soft, so it didn’t hurt much, but it was enough to snap my mind into focus.
Yes, I needed to steady myself. Above all, my past-life mother was likely still alive.
Well, the current me was a completely different person, so it didn’t matter much.
Just as I was regaining my composure, I suddenly heard footsteps outside.
“…Who is it?”
The clanking of metal from a belt—familiar to me, the sound of a sword. It wasn’t unusual for armed knights or soldiers to patrol.
Still… something about the heavy steps sounded off.
‘Wait, who’s out there?’
I realized it was unlikely anyone should be here.
This was the inner castle, and security had never been tight. My mother’s rule was that intruders must be stopped outside—the castle’s interior wasn’t where threats should be confronted.
‘So the guards are concentrated at the outer perimeter and likely chokepoints.’
After my mother’s death, the castle maintained top-tier vigilance. The goal: protect her corpse from corruption-born monsters.
The corpse of a powerful mage is a delicacy to corruption-born creatures. Consuming it grants ultimate pleasure and supreme power.
Leaving her corpse unattended would be akin to laying out a feast for monsters. Ordinary burial or burning wouldn’t suffice.
‘Creatures would still try to lick up the ashes instead of devouring the body.’
Only in the Magus Tower, using a special fire, could a mage’s corpse be properly neutralized.
Thus, all mages are transported to the tower immediately after death, to undergo the “Origin Flame” ritual and be properly burned.
In other words, until my mother’s final passage through the Origin Flame was complete, our guards were obliged to prioritize protecting her.
That didn’t mean I had no bodyguards. They simply weren’t stationed right outside my room, but I wasn’t left entirely unprotected either. There were measures in place in case my close guards were absent.
‘…So the likelihood of anything happening is low.’
Still, it was safest to hide for the moment.
I leapt from my chair and slipped into a nearby display cabinet, curling up inside and closing the door.
‘The footsteps… stopped!’
As trained, I gripped the pendant on the necklace my mother had given me. I felt the protective magic cloak me, erasing my presence.
Almost simultaneously, the door opened. I peeked through the cabinet, quickly assessing the intruder.
A man… and unfamiliar clothing.
In this northern border region, no sane person would wear such light clothing.
Who could it be? My low vantage point meant I couldn’t see his face, but he seemed to be searching the room.
‘He’s definitely looking for me!’
My heart pounded. Even with the protective magic, considering he had penetrated this far, I couldn’t afford to relax.
I would have to hold out as long as possible and wait for the Marquis Mafilda, who had gone to fetch my meal, to return.
“…Hmm.”
At that moment, the man stopped searching.
I pressed my hand over my mouth, swallowing hard. Simultaneously, he began moving decisively in my direction.
‘He’s coming this way!’
The magic was clearly active.
‘Could it be… luck?’
Yet the closer he got, the more certain it became: the display cabinet was his target.
Clearly, either the magic had a flaw, or the man was exceptionally skilled.
The reason didn’t matter. The problem was clear.
‘I’m about to be discovered.’
What should I do? Resistance seemed futile. There was no solution.
‘But still…’
Watching his legs approach, I wondered:
‘Should I just stay frozen, trembling, and accept it?’
Like a weak, helpless prey?
Mother never raised me that way.
“….”
A sudden surge of heat shot through me. Slowly, I removed my hand from my mouth, pressed my thumb to my palm, and curled my fingers tightly.
