🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 2
“I’m sixteen right now. Thank goodness. If it had been even a little later, people would have already found out that I had awakened my ability.”
Originally, not long after Barkan left, she had awakened and revealed her power.
Perhaps because of what had happened just before her regression, she was strangely calm. A clear picture of what she needed to do formed in her mind.
Diena slowly moved her hand.
A cluster of white light spread from her fingertips.
Her ability had activated successfully.
Even before that mesmerizing sight, Diena’s face remained expressionless. She knew how many people this power had dragged into ruin.
The people of House Rothwell still did not know that she had awakened her ability.
“The members of the Five Great Houses are supposed to visit the family estate. I’ll use that opportunity to escape. And then I’ll go to House Cardian.”
“Continue sacrificing yourself for the family until the very end.”
On the night she heard those words from her uncle before her regression, Diena resolved to run away.
She could no longer remain in this family.
But Uncle will never let me go.
He would try to use even her final life.
So Diena searched deep beneath the family estate for a secret passage known only to the heirs of House Rothwell.
Fortunately, her uncle did not know of its existence. After all, he had never officially inherited the ducal title from her father.
The thought of her father brought a trace of sadness to her face.
If Father had still been alive, would my life have been at least a little different?
But such assumptions were meaningless.
Diena escaped from the family that very day.
To avoid being discovered by her uncle, she had to leave the duchy. Naturally, she fled beyond the Purification Zone, where she could no longer receive the protection of the temple.
For someone who had awakened an ability and lived like a princess, life outside the Purification Zone was a continuous hardship.
The money she had brought was stolen by a pickpocket not long after she left the family.
She endured hunger and cold, barely surviving day after day.
There were also several occasions when she nearly got caught by trackers sent by House Rothwell.
Then she met that man.
In a corner of a shabby tavern, a shadow fell over Diena, who was dressed in rags.
“Are you Diena Rothwell?”
He was a handsome man with silver hair and lake-blue eyes.
A deep scar crossed his face, yet his appearance was so striking that even the scar seemed insignificant.
Barkan Cardian.
The moment she recognized him, Diena thought he would kill her.
After all, the Duchy of Rothwell, having succeeded in its rebellion, had dragged him and his family into ruin.
Even setting that aside, she knew what her uncle and his family had done over the past several years.
All the despicable schemes carried out for the family’s benefit.
She had done nothing but watch, desperately hoping to be loved by her uncle’s family.
They’re only excuses.
She herself had been used as well, but that did not make her any less a Rothwell.
Yet he did not kill her.
Instead, he clicked his tongue as he looked at her.
“You look terrible. You’re filthy. A complete little ragamuffin.”
“R-Ragamuffin…?”
Diena’s eyes widened at the casual tone that completely clashed with his cold appearance.
A mischievous smile appeared on his face.
“Yep, ragamuffin. Hmm… want to come with me? To the Cardian Mercenary Corps.”
“What?”
“I heard that Duke Rothwell has been desperately searching for you.”
Diena stared at Barkan blankly.
“I’m thinking of giving that bastard a headache. What do you say? It benefits both of us. The longer you stay hidden, the crazier the duke will get from frustration.”
What in the world is this man thinking?
Unlike the bewildered Diena, Barkan wore a wicked grin as if he had come up with a brilliant idea.
“Wouldn’t that be better than wandering around alone?”
“…”
When Diena remained silent for a long time, he tilted his head slightly.
“Hmm. Don’t trust me?”
Crossing his arms, he continued,
“Sure, I’ve lost everything and become dirt poor, but I make pretty good money as a mercenary. I can at least feed one person.”
“…”
“I’m serious.”
“Ah… yes…”
“So what I’m saying is, you’ll be safe. At the very least, safer than staying in a place like this.”
Diena blinked silently.
Thinking she needed more convincing, Barkan continued.
“There are a lot of weirdos there, but they’re good people. Oh, and I’ll help you become stronger so you can protect yourself too. What do you think?”
After hesitating, Diena nodded.
She finally understood his intention.
He probably wanted to keep her close so he could torment her.
Or use her, just like her uncle had.
At that, Barkan broke into a bright smile.
Is he that happy because he’ll be able to get revenge on me?
She let out a faint sigh and lowered her head.
After tilting his head for a moment, Barkan added,
“You’ll need a cover identity. From other people’s perspective, we’re a pretty strange combination. How about becoming my little sister? Diena Cardian. Doesn’t sound bad.”
When he said it like that, it sounded almost like they were family.
She had sworn never to create another family again.
Yet somehow, as if bewitched, Diena nodded.
She had committed far too many sins against the man standing before her.
If I hadn’t helped with my ability, Uncle would never have been able to defeat him.
This was her own form of atonement.
Until his anger is satisfied, I’ll do whatever he wants. If he wants me to use my ability until the day I die, then so be it.
At first, she had no expectations whatsoever.
Even if he treated her badly.
Even if he worked her like a slave.
Even if using her ability consumed the little life she had left.
She believed all of it would be unavoidable.
The crimes House Rothwell had committed against him deserved at least that much punishment.
But the Cardian family she followed Barkan to was nothing like what she had imagined.
The moment the members of the Cardian Mercenary Corps saw her, chaos erupted.
“Lord Barkan, why on earth have you kidnapped someone?!”
“I didn’t kidnap her. The ragamuffin followed me. I explained everything perfectly.”
“Who calls a person a ragamuffin?!”
“Hasen, stop nagging.”
Barkan led Diena to an elderly man.
The bespectacled man was staring at her with sparkling eyes.
“This is Lord Malacar. He used to be an elder of the Magic Tower, but now he’s a wanted criminal.”
The man called Malacar gently patted Diena’s head.
“I heard about you from Barkan. Would you like to learn magic from me?”
Without even understanding what he meant, Diena nodded.
From that day on, she began studying as his disciple.
The mercenaries under Barkan were surprisingly kind as well.
“Please eat plenty, young lady.”
They handed Diena warm cocoa and dressed her in comfortable clothing.
Then one of them mentioned a name that sounded oddly familiar.
“If Lady Bianca were still alive, she’d be about your age.”
“Shh! Why would you bring that up?!”
Bianca was Barkan’s deceased younger sister.
Had she lived, she would have been around Diena’s age.
Perhaps that was why.
Barkan treated Diena as though she were his real little sister.
And then he said something truly unexpected.
He told Diena not to use her ability.
“You just need to enjoy your life. We’ll handle everything else. Don’t worry about those Rothwell bastards.”
He knew very well how extraordinary Diena’s purification ability was.
She had naturally assumed he would use her for it.
Instead, he protected her.
