Born as the Hidden Daughter of a Villainess and the Male Lead

<Episode 38>

 

He then swung his fiery whip at the head of the guild who came to inform him of the completion of the request.

“This..”

Under the black cloth that covered his entire face, the man raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.

Siiii–

Soon, the flames rushing toward him disappeared without a trace as a black curtain passed over his vision.

It was as if he had devoured all the attacks aimed at him.

“Bring Grand Duchess Heilian immediately, unless you want to burn to death here!”

The Emperor was furious and scolded.

“Well, I finally get it now. It would be too bad for me to pay you back like this.”

“…..What?”

However, rather than being angry at the answer given in an overly calm voice, the Emperor was more puzzled about the meaning contained in the sentence.

The leader of the Ellipse raised his pure white hand, which contrasted with the hem of his black robe, and lowered it to his chest, taking off the cloth that covered his entire face.

A curtain resembling night ripples in the air.

Under the moonlight that seeped through the window, the man’s face, finally revealed, glowed faintly.

The Emperor, who was facing this figure, stared at him in bewilderment with his eyes so wide that his pupils could no longer grow.

“Should I just say ‘hello it’s been a while’?”

A languid moderately-low voice.

Lips stained red like drops of blood.

On skin so white that it reflected the moonlight, his dark hair, resembling a shadow, swayed slightly every time he moved.

His empty, glowing gray pupils on his cool features, as if they had been cut with a sword blade, looked directly at the Emperor.¹I don’t understand why asian novels make the description of the characters so complicated 🫠

“Well, you… why are you here…!”

The Emperor muttered, clutching his trembling hands.

A vicious criminal guild that comes from the back alleys of the Kingdom of Nisha and rules the underworld across the continent.

Ellipse.

However, the identity of the man thought to be the leader was-

“Riat Ilkay Khalid!”

It was Riat, the monarch of the Kingdom of Nisha.

The dark Nisha.

Under the influence of Arkane, the spirit king of darkness, 280 out of 365 days are dark days and only 85 days are bright days, which is why the kingdom was given the name Nisha meaning night.

Although its territory was smaller than that of the Roshan Empire, the number of spirit priests it possessed was very high compared to the number of people, making it a powerhouse that no country could easily touch.

and-

‘Why do you not swear the pledge with us?’

‘Have you forgotten? The Kingdom of Nisha is a country that worships the spirit king of darkness, Arkane!’

‘Now that I think about it… the Nisha Kingdom suffered the least damage in this disaster.’

‘No matter how much I participated in the war against disaster, I have no intention of completely abandoning the principles of the old generations, so I guess I’ll just go on like this!’

‘Dirty parasites who cling to Arkane even after witnessing such a terrible disaster with their own eyes.’

‘Ugly guys who don’t know anything about honor.’

‘You guys will never be able to ally with any country on the continent.’

Unlike other countries on the continent, including the Roshan Empire, they did not reject the Dark Spirit King Arkane.

Rather, they worshipped him.

It was a country that actively used the power of darkness.

For that reason, it was rejected by all countries on the continent and became an isolated kingdom, unable to ally with anyone.

Unlike other countries where all dark spiritists were put to death as soon as they were discovered, Nisha, who originally worshiped Arkane, did not reject dark spiritists but accepted them, and was eventually considered a powerhouse that no country could threaten. ²Since they are still a standing country with numerous dark spirit masters, doesn’t that prove that not all dark Elementists lose their mind and harm others🤔

“It’s been a while since I interacted with the Roshan Empire, so I enjoyed some entertainment for a while.”

Riat continued speaking in a relaxed manner.

“…How could you, I’m sure…”

“But through this incident, you have obtained good information that the leader of Ellipse is the king of Nisha, right? You should be satisfied with that.”

“…If the leader of the Ellipse is actually you, then why did you kidnap Grand Princess Heilian!”

The Emperor asked urgently, barely able to support his trembling body.

Yes, he was thoroughly fooled by the King of Nisha.

But even putting that fact aside, he couldn’t understand Riat’s motive for kidnapping the Grand Princess of Heilian, who wasn’t even included in the original request.

“No way, in order to steal the elemental temple held by the empire….”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

With his dark eyes curved like a half moon, Riat interrupted the emperor’s words and spoke in a low voice.

“You don’t have to know why. I will take Edith Ronen Heilian, and as per your original request, I will dispose of your son without a trace, so my advice for you is that you stop at this point.”

“No, what are you trying to do with Grand Princess Heilian? Archduke Heilian is one of the best non-standard Elementalists not only in the Roshan Empire but also on this continent. If you don’t want to see Nisha fall due to his anger-!”

Riat, who had been turning around as if he had no regrets left, paused at the word ‘Grand Duke Heilian’ among the words the Emperor urgently shouted.

Suddenly, he twisted my head and looked back.

…Yes, of course you will be scared.

Nisha’s habit of obeying the strong and picking up fallen food was not going anywhere.

Thinking that the Emperor was having a smile on his face by the end of his sentence.

“-You’re annoying.”

“Ugh!”

A black afterimage appeared in an instant, prickling the Emperor’s wrist.

Drip.

Dark red blood drops fell like falling water.

The Emperor suppressed the excruciating pain, grabbed his wrist, and glared at Riat with bloodshot eyes.

Riat, standing with his back to the moonlight, looked down at the emperor and spoke coldly.

“The Fire Spirit King’s blessing is gradually fading away and you have no strength left to compete with me. Take it in moderation, Your Majesty, Emperor of Roshan.”

He smiled mockingly and then suddenly disappeared with his subordinates.

“Aaaaah!!”

The Emperor, left alone, let out a roar filled with anger at the approaching ominousness and mounting pain.

 

***

 

I didn’t know how long it had been since I closed my eyes.

‘Mariette’s daughter.’

How did he know that name?

“Uhm…….”

I felt pain that made it seemed like my eyeball would fall out.

I suppressed the pain and barely opened my eyes.

My vision was so blurry that nothing came in clearly.

“……uh?”

After waiting patiently for a while, my eyesight slowly recovered, and the first thing I saw was an old-fashioned pattern engraved on a red wallpaper.

The embossed carvings on each corner of the room had an unfamiliar appearance.

As I looked up blankly at a sight I had never seen before, I remembered the memory from before and jumped up.

But my hands were tied to something cold and I couldn’t move them freely.

I quickly looked behind me.

Handcuffs made of a material similar to black iron were restraining my hands.

“…I was kidnapped?”

My heart was pounding loudly, as if it was beating right next to my ear.

I, who was in a cold sweat, finally discovered the small body lying on one side of the room, trembled and cried out.

“Ashamed!”

I quickly got up from my seat and approached Ashamed.

“…Ugh.”

“Are you okay? Wake up!”

As I shouted his name a few times, Ashamed’s eyelids, which had been closed as if he was dead, slowly moved.

“…Edith?”

“…Thank goodness you’re alive.”

When I thought back on the situation right before I fainted, I couldn’t tell how fortunate I felt that Ashamed was safe.

Although I was relieved, I looked down at Ashamed again with a heavy heart at the thought that something could go wrong at any time.

“How did this happen…”

Ashamed spoke slowly, as if he was still sleepy.

“I don’t know, I think we were kidnapped.”

What was the identity of the gang that kidnapped us?

And, the unknown anger Naiad showed before losing her consciousness, and that man shocking identity as Nisha’s royal family member.

The power of the man who easily destroyed even the Spirit King’s attack.

I had no idea what was what.

In the end, I didn’t even hear who was behind this.

I chewed my lip and looked around the room-like space of the mansion where I was left alone with Ashamed.

“How did you get caught?”

Ashamed responded blankly as if he was reliving a memory.

“…I thought you were in danger, so I was running when something suddenly flew out and pierced my leg. I struggled in extreme pain and lost consciousness…”

“Same as me.”

Before losing consciousness, the man said that it was an artifact that suppressed the flow of mana in the body.

If that is true….

“We won’t be able to summon spirits.”

We are doomed.

I muttered in frustration.

Ashamed, who had been listening to me in silence, asked.

“…Could it be that I can’t even use my powers?”

“Well. Give it a try. just in case…….”

I muttered anxiously, looking back at the handcuffs that bound my hands.

Some time passed.

A moment where only silence lasted.

Ashamed gritted his teeth and chewed.

“As expected. There is no damage left on the leg, so it cannot be removed… It is clear that an artifact that suppresses the flow of mana has been implanted in our bodies.”

Oh my god. I closed my eyes tightly due to the despair that I was feeling.

I couldn’t even know if it would be possible to summon my spirits again.

“-If I had known it would be like this, I would have at least practiced when Oried told me to…”

I muttered helplessly.

If only I could be like Ashamed, Robrick, and Oswald before being captured in vain like this.

Then I…

If only I learned the constant summoning state, where you use their power without summoning spirits…

Rather than just relying on the Naiad, she would have been able to fight against the threat on his own.

Rather than being in such terrible trouble without being able to do anything…

I closed my eyes.

At this moment, the conversation I had with Oried, one of the people I missed more than anything else, unfolded like a fantasy in the darkness.

 

***

 

Why me?

Ashamed, Roberick, and Oswald.

In principle, I wasn’t less talented than them.

Strangely enough, if I tried to use the power of the spirit that blessed me without summoning the spirit, it always ended up failing.

No, why was this happening?

It was a moment when I looked down at my two hands, where nothing was happening, and frowned.

[Do you think using the power of the spirit is that easy?]

Oried, who was watching my frustration right next to me, said something.

I responded bluntly.

‘What’s not easy about it? They say I’m a great genius. So, theoretically, it’s natural that anything that Ashamed can do is possible.’

[You still have a long way to go.]

Oried lowered his head and sighed.

And then he came to me with long strides and said.

[Even if their natural talent is lower than yours, there are people who can freely draw on the power of spirits without summoning them. Why do you think that happens?]

I was overcome with new emotions by the unexpected story that Oried told while staring at me with his beautiful golden eyes.

…..okay. Come to think of it, even though the existence of the Spirit King of Fire disappeared, didn’t the Emperor still freely use the power of fire?

[This is a because of hard work and enormous effort.]

He said as if giving a revelation.

I quietly narrowed my eyes at the answer Oried gave.

That was it?

……If it was determined by effort, then things like innate blessings were not important, right? So what did it mean to call me a genius?…

[Spirits are not originally objects that humans can summon and use at will. The summoning spell you are complaining about is a procedure to minimize the enormous amount of energy and side effects required when summoning a spirit.]

Oried took his eyes off me and stared into the empty space.

[You despise and loathe your father and the emperor of the Roshan Empire. However, that does not mean we should disparage their efforts.]

I listened to Oried in confusion.

[They started the same way as you. No matter how powerful their innate talent was, they couldn’t even use their fingertips without summoning a spirit. However with time, they summoned countless spirits in the midst of numerous crises and life-and-death situations, raising their affinity to the limit.]

Numerous crises and life-and-death situations.

Summon countless spirits and raise their affinity to the limit…

The moment I heard that part, I wondered why Ashamed was able to freely use his powers at such a young age without summoning spirits…

I felt like I could figure it out.

[With such desperate efforts to increase their affinity, they were finally able to maintain ‘permanent summoning status.’]

Oried raised his hand and lightly split the ground he and I stood on.

Crack–

At that moment when it seemed like a dangerous crack appeared and the ground would collapse at any moment, with a single gesture from Oried, the large crack was closed without a trace.

[Like this. Regular summoning is a way to control nature according to one’s will, as if one were assimilated with the spirit that blessed them. At that point, they won’t face any problem even if they don’t summon us.]

Oried’s last words lingered in my distant ears, as if I had been hit on the head.

[What comes easily, goes just as easily. If you want to reach the same level as them, you should try your best.]

 

***

TL:

That’s it for this week, see you next week ❤️.