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Chapter 3
Contrary to my worries, the thick mass of roots that had looked so sturdy came apart easily once I stabbed the knife into it and twisted to create a gap. The moment I shoved my hand into the opening, the roots tore away as effortlessly as dried grass.
As though they had been waiting for this.
As though they were finally releasing something they had been clutching tightly.
The torn roots immediately crumbled into glowing dust, sparkling several times before disappearing into the air.
But I had no time to marvel at the strange phenomenon.
I kept digging frantically through the roots.
“Ugh…!”
After repeating the process several times, violent dizziness overtook me.
It felt as though all the blood in my body was being drained out through the hand clutching the roots. Warm blood burst from my nose and mouth again, dripping heavily onto the floor.
Even an idiot could understand it.
I can’t keep touching this. I could die like this.
But I couldn’t stop.
I absolutely had to retrieve whatever was glowing inside.
As I groped weakly through the widening hole, my vision grew increasingly blurry.
Thankfully, just before I lost consciousness, my hand brushed against a smooth surface like an eggshell.
This is it.
The dimming sphere began glowing again the moment my fingers touched it.
Though the light remained far weaker than before.
There was no time.
Grinding my teeth, I gripped it as tightly as I could.
“Ah…!”
At that instant, every root covering the wall transformed into glowing ash and scattered away.
What in the…
Light slowly returned to the room.
I could see the glittering particles drifting gently through the air. The moment they touched the dried root fragments scattered around the floor, pale green sprouts burst forth all at once.
But before I could admire the mysterious sight, blood surged from my mouth again.
“Ugh—cough!”
Still clutching the glowing sphere I had barely retrieved, I coughed violently.
The coughing became so severe that my chest and diaphragm tightened painfully, making it impossible to breathe.
As oxygen left my body, my vision blurred.
I could feel myself collapsing, yet I could no longer feel the floor beneath my feet.
It felt like falling into a bottomless abyss.
“…che!”
…At that moment, I thought I heard a familiar voice somewhere far away.
That was my final thought before I completely lost consciousness.
When I regained my senses, everything was already over.
Without even having time to properly clean up my miserable appearance, I was dragged before Father, who looked more furious than I had ever seen him.
“Just when I thought you had finally learned to stay quiet!”
Still dazed and unable to understand the situation, I was met with Father’s furious roar.
“You insane girl! Was it not enough already? Now you dare covet the Holy Grail?! How far do you intend to go in disgracing both this family and your father?!”
“The… Holy Grail?”
Unable to contain his rage, Father hurled the ashtray in his hand directly toward me.
I squeezed my eyes shut instinctively.
Before I could even register the sharp pain of fragments cutting across my face, Father’s voice thundered through the room.
“Stop pretending to be innocent! Ezekiel himself found you collapsed while clutching the core of La Peregrina!”
La Peregrina.
Another name for the Holy Grail.
It was a relic of the Golden Age, famous for being called “the chalice capable of containing the world.”
In modern times, it was even more famous as the core of the Ark—the magic created by the first Emperor to protect humanity’s lands from corruption during the founding of the Empire.
Without the Ark’s protection, the land could not survive demonic energy and corruption.
And worse yet, neither the Holy Grail nor the magic of the Ark contained within it could ever be recreated or replicated with modern magical knowledge.
If something went wrong—
humanity itself could be destroyed.
Why would something like that even…?
I didn’t understand any of it.
But one thing was clear.
“I-I didn’t steal it. I really—”
“Enough lies! The truth has already been confirmed! Even the Master of the Mage Tower declared there were clear signs someone attempted to corrupt the core! Just what kind of evil did you commit for the Holy Grail itself to bloom purification flowers in self-defense?! And even those flowers were found withered and drained of life!”
Father clicked his tongue bitterly.
“It would’ve been better if you’d stayed a lunatic wandering gardens at midnight. Were you planning to destroy the Ark just to pretend to be a mage? Being stupid should’ve been enough—where did you even learn such monstrous behavior?!”
“Father.”
My older brother, Ezekiel, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward to steady Father as he trembled with anger.
Desperately, I waited for our eyes to meet.
Maybe he would at least give me a chance to explain.
But—
“……”
The only thing filling his sharp blue eyes was icy contempt.
And in that instant, I understood.
No matter what I say…
Neither of them will believe me.
“M-Mother…”
At that moment, there was only one person left I could cling to.
“Please call Mother! I didn’t do it! I swear, I really didn’t!”
“There’s no time, Father. We must report the situation to His Majesty before this grows worse.”
Father bit down hard on his lip.
“…You’re right.”
“Wait! Father, please don’t go! Call Mother!”
Ignoring me completely, the two of them ordered the guards to keep me securely confined and left.
What in the world is happening…?
I stood numbly inside the locked room when suddenly I heard arguing outside.
One of the voices sounded familiar.
Mother!
Without thinking, I rushed to the door and pounded desperately against it.
“Mother! Mother! I’m in here!”
A moment later, the door opened like a miracle.
Hair red as blazing fire.
Eyes like roses in full bloom.
It really was Mother.
“Mother…!”
“Shh. Come inside, Riche.”
As I reached for the hem of her skirt, Mother pushed me gently back into the room and stepped inside.
Creeeeak…
Without anyone touching it, the door slowly closed on its own.
Then the lock clicked shut.
I wasn’t surprised.
Mother always used magic as naturally as breathing.
Hurriedly, I began speaking.
“Mother, I—”
Smack!
The sharp sound of something slicing through the air.
My head snapped violently sideways from the impact.
A burning pain spread across my cheek moments later.
“Mother…?”
She had slapped me.
“So stupid. So useless.”
My vision went dark.
If even Mother didn’t believe me, then it was truly over.
I quickly fell to my knees, clutching her skirt desperately.
“Mother, I really, truly—”
“There’s a limit to ruining a nearly completed meal. And yet you still managed to destroy my work like this. Typical of someone like you.”
“…What?”
What…
…did she just say?
Something clicked into place in my mind like a slowly turning lock finally engaging.
“…It was you?”
“What are you talking about?”
She hadn’t truly answered me.
But that was enough.
“It was you. You were the one who stole the Holy Grail’s core…”
“That’s not what matters. What matters, my daughter, is that you ruined my work.”
Destroying the Holy Grail and the Ark within it would turn the human world into hell.
Even three-year-olds in the Empire knew that.
“Why…? Why would you do something so important for—what possible reason—”
“To reclaim the magical power you stole from me, of course.”
“…What?”
“You little rat.”
Mother’s carefully manicured nails brushed against my burning cheek.
For the first time in my life, her touch made my skin crawl.
“You fed on my flesh inside my womb, and that still wasn’t enough—you stole my magic too…”
“I never did anything like that—”
“And now you interfere with my plans again. You say you didn’t? Then who else could it have been? My magical power began fading the moment I gave birth to you. And you still claim innocence?”
“I didn’t! I’m not even a mage!”
For the first time ever, I raised my voice toward Mother.
“If I had stolen your magic, then obviously I would be a mage! But I’ve never—never even once in my life—”
“When you were one hundred days old, we went to the Imperial Palace for your magical aptitude examination. As tradition demanded.”
“……”
No way.
Cold sweat ran down my spine.
“That day, you destroyed the measuring device. Everyone declared your talent would surpass even mine. They celebrated so loudly… His Majesty immediately arranged your engagement to the Crown Prince that very day. Not long afterward, he even bound you together with the Knot of Tethys.”
The Knot of Tethys was the strongest bonding magic in existence.
It tied together the fate and connection between two people more firmly than any other spell.
Those bound by it gained numerous benefits simply by remaining together—
but in exchange, even their souls became intertwined.
And once completed, it could never be undone by any means.
Because of that unbreakable engagement, I spent my entire life as the target of envy and ridicule.
“But that was just because the device malfunctioned by coincidence—”
“That device was a relic from the Golden Age. Even the greatest corruption in history failed to destroy it.”
Mother looked like a flame burning with hatred.
Slowly, deliberately, she spoke each word.
“Something like that does not malfunction by accident.”
A grotesquely twisted smile spread across her face.
“So you see…”
“You were a mage all along, my daughter.”
