Chapter 105

“Whether you are Florence or a stranger from who knows where, you have nothing more to do with us. Florence is not my daughter, and neither are you. I hope we never see each other again.”

“…”

Hyunji just blinked in shock.

Even though she knew he wasn’t her real father, a wave of loss hit her. She wished his cold, cutting voice was just a dream.

He was the kind, caring father she had always wanted.

A father rich enough to give his daughter anything, who would make time for her no matter how busy he was, and who would sincerely apologize if he couldn’t.

A father who never lost his senses from drinking, who loved his wife more than anyone in the world.

A father who, of course, would never hit his wife…

A parent who gave unconditional love to his child and whispered that he could do anything for her.

“Your socks don’t match? That’s hilarious.”
“It’s Dad’s fault.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I really didn’t want to go to school. I had barely managed to change my clothes, but putting on socks felt so hard that I sat on the sofa whining, and Dad put them on for me.”
“Wow.”
“I think he just grabbed whatever, but I only noticed in the car.”
“Did he drive you?”
“Yeah. And he said if I do well at school, he’d buy me ice cream at night.”
“You’ll just get fat.”
“Whatever, I never gain weight.”

That girl, who was worse at studying than her, had such loving parents.

Something was wrong.

Almost thrown out of the Seymour mansion, Hyunji stormed back to her bedroom and shut herself in. Curled up in the middle of the bed, she heard Linus speak.

“Is it really that much of a shock? That they threw you away?”
“…”
“They were just strangers anyway.”
“…But until recently, they were my family…”
“I’m your family.”

Linus sat on the edge of the bed. He thought she was cute when she pouted like a child. She couldn’t hide what she wanted, and still believed no one could see through her.

But something was different now.

What once looked endlessly cute now seemed a little foolish. She wasn’t a child—she was, in fact, rather calculating.

He pulled the blanket down. Even though she couldn’t win against him, she gave up the blanket easily and showed her face. Linus had intended to stay a little annoyed, but when he met those blue eyes looking up at him, he couldn’t help but smile.

Her soft eyes, clear blue irises, and tearful expression were so cute his anger melted away. He kissed her forehead and tucked her light brown hair behind her ear.

“Am I not enough for you?”
“…It’s not that…”

It was just that she felt a sense of loss—like something had been stolen.

And that wasn’t all Hyunji had lost.

I can’t use magic… how is that possible?

Florence had never been able to use magic or spirit arts, despite being born into the Seymour family, famous for royal magicians, and having a mother who was a great spirit user. She was shockingly powerless.

When Hyunji entered this body, she had worried she wouldn’t be able to do anything, but somehow—maybe because her soul had changed—she could use magic and spirit arts freely.

She had never once failed to do something she wanted.

Florence couldn’t move even a speck of magic, but she had studied theory diligently. Hyunji never understood why she studied even 6th-class magic when she couldn’t cast a 1st-class spell, but she was grateful to benefit from it. She could easily perform magic Grace couldn’t, and she had contracted with great spirits without trouble.

It was like this world had given her a gift.

Florence couldn’t use it, but Hyunji could. This body was hers—it was proof she was the rightful owner.

But now, it was all gone.

She couldn’t even feel magic, let alone use 6th-class spells. No matter how hard she tried, nothing happened. It was like losing one of her senses—sight, smell, hearing. The world suddenly felt too quiet.

Gnome! Undine! Salamander! Sylph…

No great spirits answered. Not even higher spirits. She called the names of lower spirits, but there was only silence.

Suddenly the world felt vast, frightening.

In this brutal world, life without power was merciless. Yes, she had Linus—but she had always felt she could survive even without him, because she was strong.

She was strong.

She never doubted Linus’s love, but even if he abandoned her, she had her loving family and three great spirits. As a 6th-class magician, she could live well anywhere without fear of starving, maybe even more freely.

Linus treasured her partly because she was strong. If she summoned one great spirit and supported with magic, or summoned two and ended the fight quickly, she had a real chance of winning battles.

But now all that backup was gone.

What do I do? Did Laila Green… that crazy woman… do something to me too?

Yes, it had to be that. Hyunji couldn’t believe she had become as powerless as Florence. If it wasn’t Laila’s curse, it made no sense. She grabbed Linus.

“Laila Green must have cursed this body too, darling.”
“What do you mean?”
“She cursed me so I can’t use magic or spirit arts.”
“What?”
“…Huh?”

Hyunji hesitated.

“You… can’t use magic? That’s what you meant earlier…”
“I never heard that before.”

Linus looked serious, as if this was a big deal.

“You can’t use spirit arts either?”
“No one answers me.”
“…”

It was strange. Linus’s expression reminded her of when they first met—when he’d said she might be stronger than him, and had threatened to tie her up so she couldn’t escape. Back then, he had sometimes said he wished she couldn’t do anything at all, so he could keep her somewhere only he knew.

But even then, he’d said it was good she was strong.

“Because you’re special, I like it.”

“It must be a curse. You said you were cursed too…”
“Did I ever tell you that?”
“When I collapsed, you got angry and ran to Laila…”

She had been conscious then, even if she was on the ground. She’d felt anxiety, fear, betrayal—that he would run to Laila Green, the original heroine, leaving her behind. And that he didn’t put her above everything else.

She had even feared—though it seemed unlikely—that she might die like that.

She never expected to lose her body again…

Remembering that fear, Hyunji began crying big tears.

“You… you left me and went to her, and I… I…”
“Hyunji, don’t cry.”
“I thought you were going to collapse too, and I was so worried, but I had no one with me… hic… hhh…”
“Shh. Crying will make your eyes swell.”

Linus licked the corners of her eyes. Tears should be salty, but they tasted almost sweet.

Holding her in his arms, he stroked her long hair between his fingers.

“Alright, I’ll find Laila for you, my love.”
“We need to break the curse, but also… she, and Enoch Haynes, and the magician with her, all have something to pay back.”

Linus smiled faintly. He was already preparing for that without her saying so.

Hyunji bit the inside of her cheek.

From the start, all this misfortune was because of that woman. Killing her would be only right.