It was a fact known by almost everyone in the Duchy of White that the daughter of Duke White was born with powerful Mana.
Setting aside the fact that the Leviathan and the Monster Tide arrived earlier than expected the year she was born, and the fact that Duke White died in battle that same year, humans loathed Magic Beasts not only for their terrifying nature, but because of their Mana.
The Mana of a Magic Beast would continuously affect everything around it from the moment it was born.
Those near a fire-based Magic Beast would be burned, and those near a plant-type Magic Beast would be poisoned…
Even if there were Magic Beasts capable of suppressing their influence on the environment, or those willing to coexist peacefully with humans, most Magic Beasts were “harmful” to the human race.
Because the Mana they emitted would lead to misfortune for humans…
“Witch… When did that title first get attached to me? I can no longer remember. But I can still recall that day — I remember many nobles of the Duchy gathering at the manor…”
The Duke’s manor was the center of the entire Duchy. After Duke White passed away, his wife became the power-holder who decided the Duchy’s fate.
That day, the nobles of the Duchy had gathered at the manor to discuss how to deal with the next Leviathan attack.
Naturally, the meeting was followed by a banquet and social gatherings. Therefore, the young ladies and lords of these noble families were also present.
So, on that day, all the nobles of the Duchy witnessed it — they saw the reason why Elena White was called a “Witch.”
“I don’t remember exactly what happened. Perhaps it was a young lady or lord who took the lead in calling me a ‘Witch’? They said I had caused my own father’s death and killed the hero of the Duchy…”
As Elena spoke, one of the hands resting by her side began to tremble slightly.
Ai’er noticed it and gently took hold of that hand. Then, she looked up and met Elena’s deep blue eyes.
“Thank you.”
After flashing a smile at the silver-haired girl in her arms, Elena took a deep breath.
“I later heard from the servants that my emotions spiraled out of control at that moment, and my Mana went with them. But perhaps because I was still young, the Mana that leaked out only summoned a large number of ice spikes. It wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the Blizzard you saw, Ai’er.”
Elena smiled, as if reminiscing about some distant, embarrassing mistake.
However, Ai’er still noticed the twitch at the corner of Elena’s eye.
“Frostbite. Although it wasn’t a serious injury, and the summoned ice spikes didn’t pierce the skin of those young lords and ladies… the spikes were terrifying enough. And my mother, who rushed over to hug me — my mother, who used her own body to absorb my rampaging Mana — her health began to decline day by day after that. Thus, from that day on, I became the ‘Witch’ of the Duchy of White.”
Perhaps Elena didn’t notice it herself, but her voice trembled when she spoke the word “Witch.”
“After that, as my mother’s health worsened and Sirius began appearing more frequently in the Duchy’s noble circles… when I was 9 years old, my mother was forced to agree to let Sirius become the Regent of the Duchy. But…”
But it wasn’t over.
Elena’s mother never gave up searching for a way to control her daughter’s Mana. Because her late husband had also been troubled by innate power, Elena’s mother always firmly believed that Elena was a child blessed by God, and absolutely not a Witch who brought about calamity.
“The most classic examples of those who receive God’s blessing from birth are the Saints and Saintesses of the Holy Church. They are born with various abilities and possess great compatibility with Holy Magic. So Mother thought — perhaps my innate, massive Mana was a similar case? Maybe… I could be recognized as a ‘Saintess’ by the Holy Church.”
Recalling how happy her mother had been upon learning this, a hint of joy seeped into Elena’s words. It was as if she had been searching blindly in the dark only to finally find a sliver of light called hope.
“But… the Magic Device used by the Holy Church to identify a Saintess is not only massive, but its use requires at least the joint signatures of three Bishops, unless directly approved by the Holy Church’s central authority. I can still remember Mother, dragging her weakened body, departing by carriage early every morning and only returning to the manor after the night had completely swallowed the last glow of the sunset… and I could only watch from the window, praying that everything would go well.”
Elena looked up again and took another deep breath.
Though it was only for a moment, Ai’er saw the fleeting glint of tears in those deep blue eyes.
“Finally, the day before my 10th birthday, Mother collected the signatures of three Bishops of the Holy Church. All that was left was to deliver the document to the Imperial Capital and hand it to the high-ranking officials of the Holy Church to gain permission to use the identification Magic Device. I remember that on the night before my birthday, Mother drank wine for the first time in a long while and held me tightly in her arms. But I never imagined… I truly never imagined… that would be the last time… the very last time I would feel the warmth of my mother’s embrace.”
*Plip.*
A warm tear fell onto Ai’er’s cheek.
The tear traced a cold path down the silver-haired girl’s face.
“Elena, please stop. I… I don’t want to see you this sad — “
“It’s okay, Ai’er. It’s okay. I’ve kept these words hidden in my heart for 10 years. Now that you’re by my side to hear all of this… I think I can finally let it go. So, listen to me. Let me finish what I have to say.”
Gently rubbing her reddened eyes, Elena continued to look at Ai’er with a smile.
“On the day of my 10th birthday…”
On the morning of her 10th birthday, after saying goodbye to her mother, Elena had plunged into the kitchen. She wanted to bake a birthday cake by hand so she could share it with her mother when she returned.
To prevent any issues with the signed documents during transport, Elena’s mother had chosen to deliver them personally.
Before parting with Elena, she had made a promise — she would return before the sun set that day to celebrate her daughter’s birthday.
“So, I waited until the last sliver of the sunset vanished from the horizon. I waited for my mother’s carriage to appear from the edge of my vision. But all I got was the night’s rain, thunder, and lightning… nothing but a pitch-black sky. When I saw my mother again, 10 days had passed. The search party sent by Sirius entered the city gates and brought a massive block of ice through the Duchy’s main road to the Duke’s manor.”
Everyone was shocked, not only because the ice was so massive, but because a noblewoman lay inside it, sleeping with her eyes closed.
There was almost no color in her face, but there was no sign of pain either. She just slept quietly inside the ice — ice that even Fire Magic could not melt — as if time itself had stopped.
“The moment I saw that block of ice, I understood everything… because I sensed my own Mana. That massive block of ice was filled with my Mana. So I roughly knew what had happened… When Mother was about to reach the Imperial Capital, the Mana she had absorbed from my body exploded, freezing her time completely. How ironic…”
*Plip, plip.*
More tears fell.
But this time, Ai’er suddenly sat up from Elena’s lap and hugged her tightly.
“Stop it, Elena… please.”
“Ai’er? But, I haven’t — “
“Stop! That’s all in the past! It wasn’t your fault, Elena! It definitely wasn’t!! And that Sirius person! Who knows if he did something! Either way, it was absolutely not your fault!!”
Having never heard Ai’er speak with such intensity, Elena was stunned.
“Okay, I’ll listen to you, Ai’er. I won’t say any more. I won’t.”
Responding softly to Ai’er’s hug, Elena gently closed her eyes.
As she felt Elena’s heartbeat gradually calm down, Ai’er suddenly thought of something — there was a box in Elena’s room that her mother had left behind that had never been opened. And Sirius had tampered with that box, attaching a Magic Stone to it that could interfere with Mana Control.
What could be inside that box?
What exactly happened to Elena’s mother…
*Snap.*
At that moment, the sound of a chain breaking seemed to echo in Ai’er’s mind.
**[Corresponding node reached. Pre-set information transmission beginning — ]**
‘System?’
Before Ai’er could react, a feminine voice that sounded almost identical to her own came from the System —
**[What exactly happened to Elena’s mother on her way to the Empire…]**
**[Next, I will tell you the truth.]**