Late at night, the imperial palace was brightly lit.
In this world where magic and swordsmanship reign supreme, low-level magic, though common, is widely applied.
Compared to the high-level spells that every recipient or faction treasures like precious gems, it is the abundant low-level spells that form the foundation of this world.
Much like salt—ordinarily unremarkable but absolutely essential—its absence shakes the very root of life.
Within the palace, the simple use of an Illumination Spell had already reached its pinnacle.
The Great Hall where Emperor Rubas managed state affairs was illuminated day and night, its brightness rivaling the stars and moon in the sky.
Countless Illumination Spell formations combined that night to create a beautiful scene.
Yet, Rubas Egbert had no leisure to enjoy the view. Not long ago, a piece of intelligence had been laid out on his desk.
“Magister Rhodomenlin visited the Empire’s Second Princess under the pretense of an inquiry into a case?”
Rubas leaned back in his chair, slightly fatigued.
“Interesting.”
By the time Ofilia returned to the Laiensi family’s spice shop base in the capital Monsell, it was already midnight.
She had left Willis’s chamber in the afternoon, and it wouldn’t have taken long to walk back to the Laiensi premises.
However, Ofilia had wandered about in a daze like a ghost on the streets for a long time before arriving.
The Laiensi family’s main household and territories were not located in Monsell. Though there were some family-run shops here, they were hardly of any real significance.
The family’s business in spices and crafted goods had generated profits that, in recent years, were enviable among ordinary households but seemed meager once divided among the family members.
By nightfall, the spice shop was nearly empty, its quietness revealing the declining prosperity.
This chill, invisible yet pervasive, seemed to seep through a certain unseen channel into the entire Laiensi family.
But at this moment, Ofilia had no energy to notice her surroundings. Her mind kept replaying one image—Willis!
That wicked smile, that joyous smile, that sadistic smile, that satisfied smile…
That lofty… smile…
Her entire being was already filled with Willis Egbert.
For a long while, her physical exhaustion made it impossible to summon fierce hatred.
Only upon returning to the shop did the deep, bone-deep hatred explode from within.
Willis Egbert!
I won’t let you live easy!
No matter what!
But sometimes, more pressing realities surge stronger than hatred.
Passing the front shops and heading deeper into the back rooms, Ofilia’s footsteps were so light that no one in the courtyard behind noticed her.
Her mother’s voice drifted along the second-floor corridor.
Under the dim light from the Illumination Spell, which was only partially activated, Ofilia raised her head slightly and saw her mother conversing with someone.
“Madam, this letter was sent from the family this afternoon.”
Ofilia recognized the voice clearly—it belonged to the shop’s manager, a member of the main family who ran the spice shop.
At first, the man had greeted her and her mother warmly, then went cold for a while.
When it became known that the family intended to arrange a marriage for her, he resumed his flattery in recent days.
Ofilia disliked him very much.
The Matriarch of the Laiensi family quickly scanned the letter’s contents, her face twisting from sorrow to a grim sigh.
“Madam, what’s wrong?”
The spice shop manager furrowed his brow and asked.
Though expecting bad news, he couldn’t help but ask.
“Sigh, there were debt collectors again this morning… The family decided to lay off some people and pawn some heirlooms and valuables to pay the debts…”
The woman clenched the envelope tightly, her tone full of helplessness. As she shook her head, her gaze happened to fall on Ofilia standing at the courtyard gate.
“You reckless wretch, where have you been? Coming home only now!?”
In that instant, she seemed to finally find an outlet for her anger.
Rasser Lyons, the Matriarch of the Laiensi family.
Married into the Laiensi family for decades, she had long forgotten her original surname.
It was said she was once a lowly commoner’s daughter, and now, as a noble lady, decades had passed.
Her slender face was creased with wrinkles that had once smiled obsequiously to the powerful and commanded haughtily to inferiors.
Though a noblewoman for decades, she was still not a true noble.
Ofilia said nothing to her reproach, quietly returning to the room on the first floor and slamming the door shut.
Outside, only the shouting and cursing remained.
After a while, the door was opened from outside. Rasser Lyons, displeased, tossed the key onto the table, the clatter making the young girl’s heart tremble.
Looking at Ofilia lying like a corpse on the bed, she snorted coldly.
“What, you spent the whole day out playing, and you don’t want to say where you went?”
After waiting a few seconds with no response—not even an eyelid twitch—anger surged from her stomach up to her head.
Rasser Lyons strode over to the bed and struck the bare arm she could reach hard.
Smack!
But Ofilia only gave her a faint look, not even crying out in pain.
This scene, as if speaking to a wooden doll, only enraged Rasser more.
She grabbed Ofilia’s hair and pulled her up from the bed.
“Speak. Did you go out with some damn man? You never even visited the Third Imperial Princess!”
“I really believed your lies and went to find her like a fool!”
“If people spread rumors that you spent the night at someone else’s house, how will you marry? Tell me! Where were you last night?”
Still no reaction from Ofilia, so Rasser Lyons tried to start removing her clothes.
“Will you speak? If not, I swear I’ll deal with you, Ofilia! Everything you have was born for the family!”
“Your talent, aptitude, learned magic, even your body—all belong to the family! I won’t allow you to damage it even a little before you marry the Great General!”
Seeing Rasser’s recklessness increasing, Ofilia unleashed wind magic that blasted Rasser Lyons away.
Thud!
Rasser Lyons crashed onto the floor hard, grimacing in pain and disbelief.
“Get out! Get out of here!”
Ofilia finally shouted, “Don’t bother me.”
Wounded by enemies and humiliated, then returning home only to suffer such treatment, Ofilia could no longer hold back and curled up, quietly crying.
But it was obvious her mother would not let her go easily—tonight she intended to extract an explanation.
“You damned bitch! How dare you lay hands on me? Have you forgotten who raised you? Who gave you life?”
Anger made her curse herself as well, but she no longer cared.
Rasser Lyons stormed over, grabbed Ofilia’s hair again, and pulled her down to the floor.
“Madam, what’s going on?”
Outside, family members hearing the noise came to ask, only to be driven away by Rasser Lyons.
She turned her glare on the disheveled, weeping Ofilia and her anger flared.
“Crying, nothing but crying! Speak, did you go out with some damn man? If you lost your virginity, I’ll beat you to death right here!”
She reached to tear Ofilia’s clothes, determined to confirm the truth.
Ofilia kicked her away, tears and snot streaming: “Go away! Don’t touch me!”
“Fine! You’re revolting! I’ll deal with you today!”
The two struggled fiercely in the room.
Originally compliant Ofilia, following family orders, had entered the Royal Academy through her own talent and effort, earning the title of a genius mage.
This not only brought face to the family but increased the family head’s leverage in using her as a bargaining chip.
From childhood, she obeyed all orders. Even when being sold off as a concubine to the Empire’s powerful old general, she endured it.
But endurance has limits. Willis had exhausted all of hers, and now her mother was pouring salt in her wounds.
Seeing this obedient punching bag dare to resist, even possibly lose her virginity, Rasser Lyons’s face twisted with rage, and her blows grew harsher.
After some fighting, Ofilia stopped struggling, allowing Rasser Lyons to beat her with fists and kicks.
After a while, the other woman grew tired, but Ofilia felt pain everywhere.
Most of all, in her chest.
In this world…
She no longer had a place to belong.
Her hatred for Willis, her expectations for family and kin, her resentment and submission—all turned now into mockery and pity for herself.
It no longer mattered.
“You…” Rasser Lyons panted, still unwilling to stop checking the “tool’s” condition.
Ofilia coldly pried her hand away and stared at her.
They remained locked in this standoff for a moment before Rasser Lyons sighed and relaxed her expression.
“Daughter, it’s not that I don’t love you, but now… sigh.”
A sigh filled with helplessness, self-reproach, and deep powerlessness.
If this were an act, perhaps Ofilia might have been moved, but she had had enough.
“The Laiensi family is still noble, a large clan in its territory, but you know…”
Ofilia sat on the floor, head bowed, neither responding nor resisting.
Rasser Lyons continued—
“These years, our family business has steadily declined; profits barely cover expenses…”
“You see, your father used to enjoy travel and collecting crafts, but now his hair is white from worries over family affairs, and he’s busy most of the time…”
Rasser Lyons looked earnestly at Ofilia, then reached to hold her soft hand and gently stroked it.
It was comfort, but more like a counsel.
“The family has spent too many resources raising you, and to satisfy your wish to study at the Royal Academy, they have invested heavily.”
“Ofilia, the family has done all this for you, but now your kin and relatives all live in debt, barely making ends meet… Can you bear that, Ofilia?”
The golden-haired girl clenched her fists briefly, then lowered them helplessly, still silent.
After all, the family’s willingness to raise her was nothing more than to sell her at a good price.
Ofilia felt bitter and gave a faint cold smile.
Your schemes have probably been ruined by that Empire Princess!
Of course, if someone was willing to accept a withered flower like her, she wouldn’t mind.
“I’m sixteen now, almost an adult, ready to contribute to the family and share its burdens…”
Suddenly, Ofilia interrupted.
“I have the best magical talent. I work day and night. If I can become a Great Mage, even a Magister, I will bring the family unparalleled glory and endless wealth!”
She looked up at her mother, her eyes full of pleading.
“Relying on others is never as good as relying on yourself, right?”
“I will lead the Laiensi family to revival, even if it means hardship now. The Laiensi name will surely resound across the continent someday…”
Slap!
A palm shattered her dream.
Her mother, almost hysterical, shouted.
“The future? How long is the future? Great Magister? No matter how gifted you are, how many years—five? Ten?”
Rasser Lyons stood up, eyes fierce as she glared at her daughter.
“Not five years, three years! One year, just one year, and the Laiensi family will collapse under its debts. The name will be no more!”
“For you!”
Rasser Lyons grabbed the girl’s collar, eyes wide with fury.
“The family has spent its last remaining resources, and you talk to me about the future?”
“Go ask those relatives eager for you to marry into the court ministers’ families—would they agree?”
“People leave the family every day. Servants are dismissed daily. Over the years, the Laiensi family has made many enemies and still has grudges held against it!”
“If the family falls, we lose our shelter, and the wolves will pounce, tearing us apart until nothing remains but white bones!”
Rasser Lyons slapped Ofilia twice hard, leaving red marks on her delicate face.
“Wake up, idiot! You don’t have five or ten years. The family has no more time or resources for you to become a Great Mage or Magister! Stop dreaming!”
“What you have is to immediately prove your worth to the family!”
Her tone dropped, heavy and turbulent like a raging tide.
“I’ve arranged with Great General Taber to take you to meet him tomorrow. You will accept this marriage, whether you like it or not!”
Rasser Lyons’s chest heaved violently, like a wild beast that had lost reason.
With her slaps, the girl’s last thread of hope steadily froze.
Yes, her coming to this capital and to the Royal Academy was only to increase the family’s bargaining chips for marrying her off.
Laughable—on that day, she had confronted Willis with confidence, and though she had lost badly, deep down she still yearned for that kind of confrontation.
Now, she had to face the cruel reality she could not deny.
“Fine then. Don’t think you can escape anymore…”
Rasser Lyons stood and prepared to leave.
“As for your body, at least before the marriage, you cannot let anyone know, not even members of the main family.”
She wasn’t going to watch anymore. Ofilia’s strong reaction already said enough.
“When the time comes and you’re sent off, that old man will probably keep things quiet out of face.”
Rasser Lyons snorted coldly.
“Besides, that old man gains far more by marrying my lovely daughter.”
“That’s that. Wash up properly. Tomorrow, don’t let anyone notice anything.”
With that, she turned toward the door.
Suddenly, Ofilia reached out and grabbed her.
“What are you doing…?”
Rasser Lyons looked back, only to meet her daughter’s indescribable gaze.
Like a wounded beast, like a drowning person clutching at the last straw.
“Don’t you just want to take over the mining rights under General Taber? Rely on ores and crafts to revive the family?”
Ofilia looked at her mother coldly, as if speaking of something not her own.
“The Second Princess Willis Egbert’s Ushi City holds one quarter of the Empire’s proven mineral deposits. Let her give you one mine. Isn’t that better than those few small mines?”
Of course, this was the price Ofilia was selling herself for.
Hearing this, Rasser Lyons froze, cautiously asking, “One mine? How could the Second Princess possibly give us that?”
“Heh… Mother, you surely know the rumors about the Imperial Princess’s preference for women?”
Ofilia smiled coldly.
“I will ask her. She will give it to you.”
When one is faced with worse options, the next worst often doesn’t seem so unacceptable.
Especially since she was already connected to Willis.
Moreover, what Willis had said before was probably no empty threat.
If Ofilia dared to marry someone else, that madwoman would surely retaliate against the Laiensi family and everyone involved.
Of course, despite this, Ofilia had no guarantee Willis would agree.
She was even prepared for rejection and humiliation.
But now she just wanted to leave, even if it meant going to her enemy Willis. That was better than marrying that old general, far better than staying in this family with no home.
And to think, this situation was all forced on her by her family—by her mother.
Even if Willis refused, Ofilia was ready for her decision—
To disappear from this world forever.
Completely.