Right? Moving back and forth between dorms is a hassle, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep with Ophelia anymore to avoid suspicion.
‘It’s definitely not because I like wearing skirts, or because I look good all dressed up, or because I like wearing high heels, or because I like snuggling.’
‘Hmph, it’s true anyway.’
‘My hair is so long, and I don’t know how to wash it myself.’
The first time she had a falling out with Ophelia, Merlin tried to wash her waist-length hair herself, leaving the bathroom in a complete mess.
‘Hmph, there’s just a better choice now. It’s not that I want to keep being a girl.’
She looked at Machina holding her and remembered what she had just said.
‘Whatever… let it be.’
Merlin recalled the feeling of Ophelia’s soul when they touched and controlled her consciousness.
‘If I just cut away a little bit, it should be fine, right?’
Something… seemed to separate.
‘Now I just need to make a wish. I hope my body can heal. I hope I can use magic.’
Suddenly, an ice-blue light began to bloom.
Machina felt the weight in her arms lighten, and then a piercing cold forced her to let go.
She watched in shock as the ice used to stop Merlin’s bleeding peeled away like a cicada shedding its skin.
Merlin’s abdomen, which had been pierced into a bloody mess, was reconstructing and healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The new skin was so fair it was almost translucent.
Machina stared in astonishment at the glowing, blue-gradient girl in her arms.
“Merlin!?”
Snowflakes began to drift down within the dungeon arena.
It was a heavy snowfall that could only be seen in the northern part of the Empire.
This was the heavy snow Merlin had seen countless times while living in the slums of Taran, a sight she had had to endure with gritted teeth. Whenever days like this came, their dilapidated little shack would creak under the weight, and a young Merlin would have to climb onto the roof every few hours to shovel snow, fearing the fragile home would collapse.
These were memories of poverty, cold, and loneliness.
They were memories of them huddling together for warmth.
Now, the bitter cold that once threatened their lives had turned into the source of Merlin’s power, swirling gently around her.
The fairies began to fly about excitedly.
Even the snowflakes danced in rhythm with their movements as the storm grew heavier.
“Yay! Boss has magic now.”
“We can finally be useful, right?”
“Mhm… although we’ll probably get scolded when we go back…”
“Go for it, Boss!”
Merlin felt her mind clear. She gently pushed Machina away and stood up, making sure her vision wasn’t obstructed.
“Maybe this is a kind of liberation too.”
Merlin turned her head and gave a relieved smile to Machina, who was slumped on the ground.
Merlin’s smile was breathtakingly beautiful, as pure as the falling snow, yet it lacked its former warmth.
“What?”
Machina stared at her blankly. Even though Merlin’s body had healed and her wounds had vanished without a trace, looking at that expression made Machina feel as if she were gazing at a beautiful, empty doll.
Panic seized Machina’s throat. She sat in the snow, supporting herself with one hand, quietly looking up at Merlin.
Merlin didn’t look back; instead, she turned her gaze toward the magic beast ahead. Her voice was ethereal.
“I… it was so painful. So, so painful. After you abandoned me, during the time we were apart, I didn’t think about you every single second.”
Merlin raised her hand, a few ice-blue snowflakes swirling around her fingertips.
“But whenever I did think of you, my heart would ache so much I couldn’t help myself. For a while after you first abandoned me, I had nightmares almost every night.”
Although Merlin had never used large-scale offensive magic, she had at least seen Machina use it. Even if she had never done it herself, she knew the general idea.
“I’d dream of happy memories from the past and smile, but as the dream continued, I’d realize in my heart that it was over, that it was just a dream…”
“In that moment, I’d wake up with a start. As for the nightmares… they would keep me in a half-awake, half-asleep state until dawn.”
Merlin recalled the ice spikes Machina used and began to gather her mana.
“Even with Mother by my side, I stayed immersed in that past pain for a long time. Sometimes I hated you — hated you for abandoning me so heartlessly.”
Merlin’s hollow gaze passed right through Machina.
“But I hated myself too. I loathed myself, loathed the me who had no magic. Even if I was just being used, if I could have shown some value, maybe you wouldn’t have abandoned me.”
Before she could finish, the magic beast ahead roared, and stone pillars rained down. However, Merlin simply gave a cold wave of her hand.
*Crack!*
A sharp, explosive sound rang out. Ice spikes and stone pillars collided violently in midair, sending ice shards flying like snow. Ultimately, Merlin’s ice spikes shattered the rocks.
Merlin’s ice spikes ruthlessly pierced through the stone obstacles, burying themselves deep into the far wall with their remaining momentum. They left behind terrifying cracks in the surface.
Machina’s face was pale as she whispered, her voice weak and hollow.
“That’s not it…”
Merlin sighed.
“Especially… that happy expression you had when you told me about your fiancée.”
Merlin’s pace quickened, and her voice began to tremble.
“When you said you were engaged, when you said how perfect that person was… do you know how much despair I felt? My heart hurt so much…”
“When I think of the unguarded smiles you used to give me, the way you used to depend on me, the hugs you gave me at the door, the warm times we spent squeezed around a small table eating together…”
Merlin turned around, her eyes glowing with an eerie blue light as she stared fixedly at Machina.
“When I think that all those things I cherished are things you’ll show to someone else — that you’ll smile even sweeter and happier for her… I feel like I’m going insane.”
“Is it just because I didn’t have magic? Just because I’m weaker than you, do I deserve to end up like this? Do I deserve to be replaced like trash?”
Machina’s face was as white as paper. Looking at Merlin’s tragic yet stunning appearance, her heart ached so much she could barely breathe.
“No… Merlin… I’m sorry…”
Machina whispered softly, her weak voice sounding so small amidst the heavy snow.
Merlin didn’t seem to hear her, or perhaps, she no longer cared what was true or false.
The scars were already etched into her heart; inferiority was carved into her very bones. This was why Merlin’s personality was so weak now. They were the marks Machina had left behind…
“It hurts so much… even though I tried to give up, even though I knew I’d be at peace if I did…”
She turned her head, her gaze falling on Machina’s face.
“But since reuniting with you, seeing you become more and more beautiful, my heart is swayed by you once again. Yet, the moment I realize you have nothing to do with me anymore, my heart turns cold again, freezing into ice.”
The chill of the ice and snow began to spread from beneath the magic beast’s feet, and a biting frost started to creep up its body.