Chapter 6
Eden’s homeland, the Seimon royal family and the Partin ducal family were descendants of the great sorcerer Meldeon.
Meldeon’s two children were the first Seimon king and the first Partin duke, respectively.
With many years passed, they were distant relatives to call each other.
In fact, residing in different countries, they were practically strangers.
It’s been over a thousand years since Meldeon passed away.
The Partin duke suddenly became obsessed with Meldeon’s lineage.
Though not directly descended, he sought out every family sharing her bloodline, starting with Meldeon, to find those born with mana.
However, his efforts were in vain, as not a single one could be found within the empire.
As if seeking repentance from her descendants who killed her, those with even a trace of her blood had no mana, merely ordinary humans.
Yet, the Partin duke didn’t give up and continued to pursue other means.
If they don’t exist, then create them.
Elysia and Ariel were nothing but children born out of the Partin duke’s greed, not natural births.
He manipulated Isabella, a candidate for the next matron, and hindered her path with false love, leading her to embrace Elysia.
The year Elysia was born.
Seeing the frail, helpless flesh, the Partin duke immediately checked if mana was mixed in Elysia’s blood.
Ignoring Isabella, who was sweating with hair stuck to her forehead.
-“Nothing?”
-“No. Since those born with mana are extremely rare, it’s not unusual…”
-“Then it’s unnecessary.”
With this one word, the Partin duke handed Elysia over to Rachel, who was tearing up.
Rachel, holding Elysia in her arms, looked at the Partin duke with astonishment.
The Partin duke, knowing she was looking at him, walked out with an indifferent expression towards the door.
There was nothing left for him to see here.
-“Honey.”
Isabella’s hoarse voice cut through Elysia’s cries.
Only then did the Partin duke glance at Isabella lying down, turning his attention to her.
Isabella’s eyes were bloodshot from unbearable pain.
-“Love the child.”
Now that I know you don’t love me.
With those words hidden, Isabella spoke.
-“Before it’s my child, it’s your child.”
In a moment, Rachel, feeling her strength drain from her body, nearly collapsed but gritted her teeth and persisted.
Had it not been for the warmth of Elysia radiating from her touch, Rachel’s vision would have spun as she struggled to remain standing.
“Please,” she pleaded, her voice heavy with despair.
It wasn’t a plea for herself but for the child lying motionless, unable to open their eyes or cry, trapped within her body.
But the response that came back was as bleak as Isabella’s voice.
“Next time, bear properly,” it said.
“You wretch!”
Unable to contain her anger, Elysia cursed silently, covering her eyes and directing her curses towards the Marquess Partin.
As the Marquess predicted, Ariel followed, and the circumstances weren’t much different then.
Fortunately, the Marquess hadn’t hoped for a third child.
The illness that befell Isabella after giving birth to Elysia worsened rapidly upon Ariel’s birth.
Even though physicians warned that neither the mother nor the fetus would survive another pregnancy, the Marquess gave up having a third child not out of consideration for Isabella but out of the belief that there was no need for what wouldn’t be born.
However, giving up on a third child didn’t mean giving up on Meldeon’s legacy.
“Who would have thought he would reach out even to the kingdom?”
Even Elysia, who was once a reader, trembled at the Marquess’s greed since learning of Edan’s true identity.
Having not finished the novel, Elysia didn’t even know exactly what Meldeon’s legacy was.
Thus, she delved deeper into her history studies to fill in her gaps in knowledge.
Thanks to that, she learned that the Seimon royal family and the Marquess Partin were descendants of Meldeon.
Additionally, she learned that Meldeon was killed by her own two children.
According to history, Meldeon was a powerful sorceress who could be considered beyond human.
Except for resurrecting the dead, she could do anything with magic.
When Meldeon first emerged, people praised her birth and believed she would be of great help to humanity.
However, that belief was short-lived.
She was a disaster, not a salvation, for humanity.
Meldeon regarded people’s lives as trivial and treated their worth as equal to livestock.
Hundreds died at her command, and thousands were sacrificed, drained of mana.
Far more humans bled and died under her heel than those saved by her hand.
Overflowing mana and even unimaginable magic.
Most astonishingly, even after her children became adults, Meldeon maintained her youthful appearance.
Because people couldn’t gauge Meldeon’s limits, everyone doubted her true nature.
Was ‘that’ really human?
The answer didn’t come until much later.
Despite her youthful appearance, Meldeon’s body had reached a point where it could no longer handle her mana.
Like a diseased human, her body was deteriorating from within.
However, Meldeon soon found a solution.
She began to extract her mana and gather it in one place outside of herself.
Of course, there were side effects.
Her magical abilities were restricted, and her powers diminished.
It was her children who first noticed Meldeon’s condition.
After decades, they had discovered their mother’s weakness.
As descendants of Elysia and Eden, Meldeon’s children did not miss the opportunity.
They immediately sided with the humans and did everything in their power to kill their own mother.
Meldeon’s cruelty even turned her own children against her.
And so, a war to kill just one human began.
The war raged day and night without end.
After several years, Meldeon finally knelt before the humans.
The humans rejoiced greatly, and all Meldeon could do was hear their cheers with hollow eyes.
Accepting her imminent death, Meldeon, with all her might, cried out with empty eye sockets supported by malice.
“I will take back everything I gave to you.”
Blood dripped from Meldeon’s empty eyes.
Raising her head defiantly, Meldeon stared at her children with hollow eye sockets.
They did not fully understand Meldeon’s words until they lost all the mana inherited from their parent.
Elysia hurriedly made her way to the outbuilding where Eden would be, retracing the starting point of <Ariel’s Imprisoned Prison> and reminiscing about the continent’s history.
Seeing Eden’s chaotic face, Elysia’s hand holding a small vial tightened.
While tending to the vial, she was caught in Rachel’s concern for a while.
After reassuring her several times, Elysia was able to dispel Rachel’s worries.
“Oh.”
Elysia suddenly sighed and quickly hid her body.
A maid was approaching from afar. Elysia held her breath and waited for the maid to pass.
When the maid’s back was no longer visible, Elysia moved her feet again.
Not long after the maid left, Elysia noticed the shadow of a figure coming from the direction the maid had just gone.
“Miss? Could it be that you just crossed paths with the maid who left…?”
It was a mistake, as Elysia had not given any indication of when she would return the previous day.
Because revealing that Elysia was present here could jeopardize her life, Lizbeth’s face became thoughtful.
“I hid first and spotted her, so it’s fine.”
Elysia replied with a more casual demeanor than usual, trying to reassure Lizbeth.
“Where did you learn such a skill…?”
“It’s not a skill, it’s just being observant.”
What’s so difficult about hiding out of sight?
“If I treat Aiden, would it be safe from other knights or maids finding out?”
Elysia asked, looking up at Lizbeth with her child-like large pupils.
In fact, Elysia already knew that Lizbeth was the only one among the three responsible for the annex who knew Ayden’s face.
But revealing that would only complicate matters.
Fortunately, Lizbeth fell for Elysia’s deception without any suspicion.
“…Who is Aiden?”
Unable to contain her curiosity, Lizbeth’s question about Ayden’s identity came out first.
Elysia realized her mistake.
“I asked yesterday, and they said his name is Aiden.”
“Did they understand what you were saying?”
Since Lizbeth began to stand guard, Aiden had been asleep for over a week.
During that time, he had to subsist on simple hydration and plant juices.
A few days later, when Ayden finally woke up, Elysia appeared as if summoned.
“They did understand.”
Although only a day had passed, Aiden seemed to be in better condition today than yesterday.
Elysia, who held the weak figure in her arms, looked towards the door with a questioning gaze.
“I haven’t answered yet. Can I treat Aiden?”
“Yes. As it stands, I’m the only one with the key. It’s my role to deliver meals and put them inside. So besides me, no one else can see inside.”
“Alright then. Open it.”
Elysia, smiling softly, turned her body so that she could see the door.
In doing so, she glanced briefly at Lizbeth, urging her to open the door.
Feeling a sense of discord between the stern negotiator Elysia and the one holding a weak person in her arms, Lizbeth suppressed her true feelings thoroughly.
Although she felt a sense of unease between the two sides presented by Elysia, Lizbeth opened the door with the key she had turned.
