“Sigh.”
Another sigh escaped her lips.
“The damage to your soul affected your crystal core. Furthermore, an elven juvenile’s crystal core is already in its developmental stage and is very fragile… It wasn’t fully developed to begin with, which caused the missing portion of the core to fall away. You can tell from the fact that Mahina can only use ice magic, even though you clearly possess two types of mana now.”
Orphelia’s free hand gently brushed away the stray hairs on Merlin’s forehead.
“Everything can be traced back to instability. A soul that is eighty percent elven is inherently fragile. Cecilia’s tampering caused your soul to become unstable, which in turn led to the instability of your crystal core. Additionally, there is… the heart of devotion… If it were stolen by force as it has been in history, the moment it was forcibly placed into another body—”
Orphelia smiled faintly.
“The crystal core would explode. It wouldn’t even work for a member of the same race. Furthermore, the recipient must be in a near-death state. The fact that the crystal core entered her body so smoothly was only possible because of your result—your ‘wish for her to be saved.’ Of course, these are all secrets, but since you are royalty, it is better for you to know sooner rather than later.”
Merlin opened her mouth slightly, her blue eyes reflecting Orphelia’s face. She began to rectify the misconceptions she had held all this time.
It turned out that by being born into this world as elven royalty, she was naturally capable of using magic; she wasn’t born without mana.
Even though she had almost no mana now, Merlin felt as though her heart had been redeemed after learning the truth…
She had lost her mana to save Mahina; she wasn’t born with a defect…
That was truly a relief.
“Do you feel a little better? Or has your mood become worse?”
Orphelia pulled Merlin tightly into her arms, resting her chin gently atop the small blue head. She hoped to use her own body heat to share Merlin’s sorrow.
Orphelia’s own heart was nearly breaking.
Merlin should have been raised as elven royalty, cherished and pampered, yet she had suffered so much, and in the end, even her mana was…
Sigh… It was truly heartbreaking.
It was hard to imagine just how much suffering Merlin had endured before being picked up and brought home.
Clearly, in the fragments of memory, Merlin had been left at the entrance of an orphanage, yet Merlin said she had lived alone for as long as she could remember.
Truly, it was heart-wrenching. Orphelia felt the corners of her eyes begin to moisten.
No, she couldn’t cry in front of the child.
Orphelia took a deep breath, forcing the urge to cry back down.
Merlin seemed to sense Orphelia’s emotions. Her small head nuzzled left and right against Orphelia’s chest, like a cat seeking warmth while simultaneously offering comfort.
Merlin’s voice was calm.
“I suppose you could say I feel a sense of closure, since I lost my crystal core to save Mahina.”
Orphelia’s voice couldn’t help but turn a bit more serious.
“Even knowing that she would eventually betray you?”
Merlin once again recalled the oath she had made with Mahina all those years ago.
“Well… I couldn’t just watch her die.”
Even if she had given her mana away, and Mahina had used that very power to leave her behind—should she have just stood by and watched back then? Should she have stood there and watched the innocent Mahina be taken away?
Merlin felt much more at peace. She wasn’t born defective.
Seeing her look of closure, Orphelia felt a mix of emotions in her heart—both relief and heartache.
She sighed and pressed further from a different angle.
“Even if your act of saving her resulted in a delay in returning to your original form?”
“A delay?”
“Yes.”
“Because you lost the majority of your crystal core, the remaining power was only enough to maintain the balance between your body and soul. It also had to repair your soul. This meant there was no surplus energy left to even generate mana, which is why your physical recovery has been delayed so long.”
Orphelia gently stroked Merlin’s back.
“No matter how late it was, according to Cecilia’s settings, you should have gradually returned to your original form by the time you were around ten years old. But you are already fifteen. If it weren’t for the ‘Tears of the Spring,’ and if the truth hadn’t been discovered before then, I really don’t know when you would have recovered.”
“Is that so?”
In fact, this wasn’t much of an issue for Merlin. If anything, it would have been quite terrifying if she had suddenly transformed into an elven girl of legendary beauty in the mirror one day without warning.
No… the process of changing back was also quite frightening.
Seeing Merlin remain silent, Orphelia thought she was starting to think in a strange direction.
“Do you want to take it back? The crystal core.”
Merlin’s heart suddenly gave a jolt.
“Take it back…”
She repeated those three words, her voice dry. If there was a chance to take it back, saying she didn’t want to would definitely be a lie. After all, it originally belonged to her; it was the power she had lost.
If she took it back, maybe those pitying looks in the academy would disappear.
Would she be able to be full of confidence, instead of being constantly troubled by her lack of mana?
Orphelia spoke in a gentle tone, but the content of her words was as cold as frost.
“Yes. Judging whether Mahina has an elven crystal core in her body is very simple. Once there is evidence, as long as the Queen begins to apply pressure, everything will be resolved. A crystal core is an elven possession, let alone one belonging to elven royalty.”
“Then, what would happen to Mahina?”
“She would… probably die. After all, there have only been two cases. The first person who had it directly removed died. There are too few cases to find any other examples.”
“What?”
“Only one, and now there are probably two. Back then, it was only because she was in a near-death state that she could successfully absorb the crystal core. By absorbing it while hovering on the brink of death, the core slowly became a part of her body.”
Orphelia reached out, her fingertips gently touching the strange deep blue at the tips of Merlin’s hair.
“The ends of her hair turned blue, and the ends of yours are similar to hers for this very reason. That’s why I had a general guess when I first saw you both in the infirmary… Once it turns blue, it has been completely absorbed.”
“I… I don’t know. I hate her, and even though it’s taking back what belongs to me, doing this feels just like the Mahina who abandoned me. Is it okay to ignore everything just for one’s own benefit? Do I have to kill her like that? I don’t like it.”
Orphelia fell silent for a moment.
“Regardless, it’s not something you can decide alone.”
“This…”
“Haven’t you already learned about the elven taboos? Elven power is not something that can be passed to outsiders, let alone a human.”
Orphelia held Merlin’s face, forcing her to make eye contact.
Orphelia spoke each word deliberately.
“Merlinlia Harriet, you are royalty. Do you understand the meaning within your name and your bloodline?”
“Even if it was to save a life, if an elven royal loses their crystal core and does nothing about it, where is the dignity of the elven royalty? Have you thought about how the outside world would look at us?”
“You might not care, but what about the other elves? Have you considered the situation of your clansmen?”
“The crystal core… is the bottom line for elves. That is why elves sought vengeance in the past, to keep those greedy people in check.”
“If you compromise like this, how can the lives of our people be guaranteed? Will they have to hide in the Elven Forest forever?”
Orphelia sighed.
“Even if it was given voluntarily, and even if it was to save a life, once a precedent is set, have you thought about what will happen to the elven race in the future?”