Mahina’s voice grew fainter and fainter, eventually dissolving into a whimper within her parched throat.
“Is it because I hurt Merlin…?”
Mahina recalled Merlin’s heart-wrenching cries in the Dungeon at the very end.
Seeing the petite Merlin sobbing so uncontrollably, Mahina’s heart had nearly shattered at the time. She had wanted to desperately make amends, but she hadn’t known what to do, because she herself was the culprit who had caused that grief.
She wanted to be close to her, but doing so would only wound her deeper.
Wasn’t it she herself who had pushed Merlin to the brink of collapse and caused her to show such a wronged expression?
Even after being hurt by me…
‘Merlin… you’re so foolish.’
‘I… I really am the worst kind of trash.’
The way Merlin had pouted her lips in grievance, the way she had sobbed so hard she had to gasp for breath—it was all caused by the harm she had inflicted.
She wanted to explain, but she felt so powerless.
After Merlin had hurt her in the past, she had only thought about escaping, only about revenge, only about herself.
But what about Merlin?
Even after being hurt by her, Merlin still chose to protect her, even as her abdomen was pierced by a Magical Beast and her soul was damaged to resolve the crisis.
Even after learning the truth about the Crystal Core, Merlin neither sought revenge nor immediately went public with it. She still put Mahina’s life first.
…She was still willing to risk her life to protect me.
A gust of wind blew past, making the leaves rustle. Mahina subconsciously shrank her neck, as if a bone-chilling gaze were scrutinizing her from afar.
Perhaps Princess Ophelia had been up there, listening, at that time.
No, it wasn’t a “perhaps.” It was a certainty. Mahina had that feeling.
If she were in that position, seeing a child she held so dearly that she feared they might melt being hurt to such an extent, crying as if their heart were breaking… would she forgive that sinner?
Never!
‘That’s right… there’s no way Her Highness Ophelia would forgive me.’
A child carefully nurtured and held in the palm of one’s hand…
Who would ever forgive the sinner who made that child cry so heart-wrenchingly?
That was why Ophelia chose to make the truth public.
Mahina felt that this was better than being kept in the dark for a lifetime. If the malice she faced now was the price for hurting Merlin, then she was willing to bear it.
Beside her, Lucia did not respond immediately. She simply looked up, her indifferent eyes quietly watching the cloudless blue sky, as if searching for something.
“Perhaps. Merlin is someone who cares deeply about how the outside world perceives her. It likely has to do with her past experiences. She’s always so cautious and fearful.”
Lucia let out a sigh.
“If we can change the world’s view of her, if they can understand that there is a reason for Merlin’s greatest pain, then maybe the knot in her heart will loosen a bit. Maybe she can become a bit more cheerful. I think… that’s what Princess Ophelia is thinking. As for other reasons, you understand them yourself.”
That was also… a mistake committed by Mahina.
The Merlin of the past was even more confident and cheerful than she was now, like a little sun warming everyone around her.
It was Mahina who had personally extinguished that light.
It was all Mahina’s fault. Even though the current Merlin was still kind and strong…
Whenever someone nearby mentioned Magic, Merlin would lower her head in self-deprecation and bite her lip.
When she saw students from the Magic Department, Merlin would occasionally show an envious gaze.
On that night they parted ways…
“You’re not stronger than me, and you’re unreliable.”
“I never want to go back to living in those nightmare Slums again.”
Mahina clutched her chest in pain, her nails sinking deep into the fabric of her clothes.
“Ah… huff…”
‘Merlin… my Merlin…’
‘I’m sorry. I should have believed you. I shouldn’t have said those things…’
‘Truly… I’m sorry.’
It was clearly because Merlin had saved her that she lost her Magic, yet she had shamelessly enjoyed the life provided by the power Merlin gave her. She had even used the lack of Magic to attack Merlin.
While she had enjoyed the treatment of Nobility through that Ice Magic, Merlin had still been living a hard life in the Slums…
To this day, Magic remained Merlin’s greatest scar and the knot in her heart.
‘I’m not strong at all… My Magic was all given to me by Merlin. Merlin is the one who is strong.’
‘My life belongs to Merlin.’
The days in the Slums were never some kind of hell. That was the happiest period of Mahina’s life.
She had Merlin, who loved her; Merlin, who gave her everything; and her own self, who had been blessed without even realizing it.
“Hey!”
Lucia suddenly poked Mahina in the side.
“Don’t cry. Normally I wouldn’t care, but we’re about to go to the Battlefield. You can’t let them see a single trace of weakness.”
“You’re right.”
Lucia patted Mahina on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry, I have my ways. Whether it’s the Talane family or you, I have a grand gift to deliver.”
***
Near the Talane Estate in the Capital, a brown-haired man wearing a hat sat in the distance, constantly scanning the surroundings.
Upon seeing Lucia, he quickly stood up, walked over to Mahina, and bowed.
“Your Highness Lucia…”
“Let’s go.”
The brown-haired man followed closely behind Mary, and after that, Lucia spoke no more.
Mahina moved her legs mechanically, her hollow gaze falling on the stone pavement beneath her feet.
Once, she had naively thought that this was her home. Even if she had only moved to the Capital after enrolling in school, every plant and tree here had once made her feel at peace.
As they walked through the carved gates, the guards on either side immediately straightened their backs. Passing maids stopped in their tracks and cast friendly, respectful smiles her way.
“Welcome back, Lady Mahina.”
Those warm smiles, in Mahina’s eyes at this moment, were more piercing than the most vicious curse.
She felt a wave of nausea churning in her stomach.
‘How disgusting… this is truly disgusting.’
Just by stepping through the gates, Mahina felt a sense of unease as if she were sitting on needles.
‘I’m a person who deserves to die. Haven’t they heard the news? How can they still smile at me? I don’t deserve to be treated like this.’
Without Merlin, this respect, this kindness, and this status as a “Young Lady” wouldn’t even exist. Yet these people continued to treat her as they always had.
As she entered, everyone greeted her warmly. The vassals and clansmen of the Talane family truly treated her like family.
‘It’s just as disgusting as I am—acting all righteous in front of others after hurting someone else.’
The guards at the door intended to step forward for a routine check of the suspicious brown-haired man, but Lucia simply tilted her head slightly. A violent, cold light flashed in her gray eyes.
The guards froze instantly. Cold sweat slid down their temples as they silently retreated to their posts, pretending they had seen nothing.
Even with this building, as the days she lived here grew longer, she had learned the routes perfectly.
How many memories of false happiness were carried by these routes she could walk with her eyes closed? The more welcoming this place felt, the heavier the sense of guilt in Mahina’s heart became, weighing on her until she could hardly breathe.
In front of the room they were heading to, a woman with a single ponytail was waiting at the corner for Mahina. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Lucia.
It was the heir of the Talane family, Oz.