Eliya fiddled with the ears of the black cat doll.
Sitting at her desk, she fell deep into thought.
“Strange.”
She needed to understand the cause of this situation.
Based on the knowledge and information she had, she began to speculate.
Since this was related to magic, she should try using magic.
She waved her hands.
Her small, short fingers wriggled.
Looking down with a furrowed brow, she pressed the doll tightly against her body.
Just in case it might get singed.
Then, with her other hand, she used magic.
The fluffy, glowing fire on her palm was golden.
The tips of the flames flickered red.
She looked at the mirror on her desk.
Her eyes sparkled, discernibly red, orange, and yellow.
Those with magical lineage show external signs when casting spells.
In the Bevel family, it was the change in the eyes.
Just herself and Balak, though.
Before her birthday.
The sealed power was unexpectedly strong.
Back then, a mere match flame was the maximum.
Even when using magic, her eyes had been normal.
But now, her eyes were changing.
The dangerous power that had once hurt her mother as a child.
Even back then, when the uncontrolled power flared, her eye color would change.
In other words, she had completely regained that power.
“But why…?”
The crazy fire that everyone spoke of in unison.
That fire was silent.
Her power, which once urged her to burn and destroy everything around her, stood quiet now.
An awkward silence.
Before it was sealed, the fire would tempt her even when she wasn’t using it.
She couldn’t even sleep properly.
Always held in her mother’s arms, she could barely fall asleep listening to a gentle lullaby.
Even that was often interrupted.
Once, due to her inability to control it, she had hurt her mother…
Shaking her head at the unpleasant memory, Eliya buried her face in the red blanket draped around her shoulders.
It smelled pleasant.
A scent that calmed her heart.
She thought again about the current situation.
“Why is this happening?”
Has she learned to control it perfectly?
That seemed puzzling.
Back in the magic workshop when she was awakened, Eliya had heard whispers.
Like the tempting words from before.
Gestures that pulled her into a pit of violence.
Kill them all and burn them down.
That she had stopped hearing those words was…
“…Judas.”
Only for that brief moment when she held Judas’s hand.
A single clue added.
Eliya had slept with Judas that very morning.
Looking back, it had been odd from the start.
Impulsive to the point that it wasn’t like her at all.
She couldn’t fall asleep.
It wasn’t because of insomnia or nightmares.
The face and touch of Sardis arose like a demon in her mind.
And then, she thought of Judas.
She had tried teleportation and succeeded.
She crawled into bed and hugged him.
Just like when she held her mother.
Like when she embraced the doll her mother had gifted her as a child.
Now it was the teddy bear buried with her mother’s grave.
At that moment, Judas was warm and cozy.
The vision of Sardis washed away like water.
A soothing cold energy flowed through her body.
It felt similar to the resolve she sensed when Judas had used magic before.
There were no other emotions.
Just a faint realization that she had done something a noble shouldn’t.
Just that much.
“It was similar to the divine power of the Molsin Church…”
She had never experienced the divine power of the Molsin Church directly, so she wasn’t sure.
But it was definitely similar yet different.
She was naturally sensitive to detecting intangible forces like magic and divine power.
The Bevel family represented the heat of the sun.
Thus, they had inherited the dangerous magic of fire.
Similarly, the Helios Imperial Family, the representative force worshiping the sun, symbolized the light of the sun.
Until now, no wizard had emerged from their family.
Instead, they possessed exceptional divine power for generations.
Thanks to that, the Helios Emperor was also the Pope of the Sun Church.
And, the Molsin Church.
In the initial scripture, it was said that the sun and moon were one.
A past that is no longer recognized as canon.
“I need to look into it.”
She had studied various kinds of myths and scriptures.
However, she hadn’t delved as deeply as a theologian.
Especially regarding the world before the current one.
The land called the beginning, the mythological age.
Eliya headed to the mansion’s library with Ria.
She could ask Judas directly, but she wanted to gather prior information.
She didn’t like being told what to do, but she enjoyed reading and had collected many books.
“Miss, is there something you need?”
The librarian came out to greet her.
“I’m looking for a book related to the mythological age. Especially something that includes the sun and moon together. Any category will do.”
“Understood. I’ll find it right away.”
Eliya sat on the waiting stone, hugging the cat doll.
While waiting, she pondered various theories, but none were satisfying.
Next to her, Ria watched Eliya with quiet attention.
Deep emotions were captured in her black eyes.
Emotions Eliya could not see.
The librarian returned soon.
“I need to search some more, but here are the five volumes I’ve found.”
Eliya skimmed through the books.
Among them was a fairytale.
Since she had told the librarian to disregard classification, she couldn’t blame them.
She opened one to glance at the contents.
An old fairytale centered around the sun and moon.
It was the kind of content that children might enjoy.
The sun and moon were shown to be inseparable.
However, the moon suffered from the heat of the sun.
The sun loved the moon dearly.
To the extent that it wanted the moon close, even while it hurt.
It wished the moon would endure.
But in the end, the sun had to let the moon go far away.
To hurt the moon was to gnaw at its own flesh.
Instead, it occasionally watched the moon from a distance.
Because of that, the sun’s light touched the moon, making it shine.
The changing shape of the moon was interpreted as a result of the sun hiding and viewing the moon from different angles each day.
And thus ended with an educational conclusion.
Eliya let out a weary laugh.
“Very much like a fairytale.”
She returned the fairytale book to the librarian.
“Leave this one out. If you find the others, leave them in my room. And don’t bring me any more fairytales next time.”
“Yes, Miss. I will do that.”
Ria took three volumes.
Eliya returned to the study while reading one.
She opened it to the front and began reading.
The prologue written in the first scripture that is no longer recognized.
Long ago, in the mythological age.
A time when stars governed order.
The being completed of gold.
He sealed the Evil God of Emptiness with the combined powers of the sun and moon and made this land a human domain.
From then on, golden eyes became a symbol of the one who would save the world.
Such an old and tedious story.
Not something Eliya needed at the moment.
“Golden eyes…”
Suddenly, she thought of Judas.
Not noble, but rather, beast-like eyes.
A street orphan as the savior of the world.
It sounded like a story from a fairytale.
And her own image came to mind.
The maniacal fire blazing in her eyes appears golden from afar.
Because her pupils shined brightly.
Eliya smirked.
While she didn’t believe the book’s content, the idea of being the world’s savior was absurd.
She had no intention of becoming one. Nor did she ever want to.
However, if someone attacked her world, she would destroy theirs.
That was all.
Eliya entered the study.
Her reassignment with the tutor hadn’t occurred yet, so for now, it was a lot of self-study time.
She would study about the sun and the moon whenever she had the chance.
She pushed the books she brought to one side.
While drinking the tea poured by Ria, she opened the book she had been reading last time.
She quickly pinpointed the section where she’d left off.
[Fate is only completed through actions taken to avoid it.]
It was about human life, free will, and fate.
“Fate…”
It was a word very unkind to humanity.
If life were inevitable, what value would individual will and effort hold?
However, Eliya had already concluded this long ago.
If it were fate either way, then she would proceed in the direction she desired.
She had defined her own fate, chaining herself with it.
She would annihilate the Bevel family and mourn her mother.
As for what came after that, well…
Her freedom wasn’t particularly certain.
Yet, the word fate reminded her of Judas for some reason.
A painfully radiant child.
She was genuinely surprised and delighted when she clashed with Balak and Narcissi.
It was the first time she had laughed so widely in her life.
Never had she laughed like that even in the past.
She had gone beyond a respectable level.
Not that she was fearless.
When facing Balak, she had seen her tightly clenched fist trembling.
He was certainly afraid.
Yet still, he stood against her.
He chose will over death.
He defended and advocated for her, risking death.
Since her mother died, no one had ever done that.
Many a times, people tended to ignore her whenever someone higher up appeared.
Judas never did that, no matter what.
The sight of him was like a flame.
A flame that boldly chose to burn regardless of its eventual extinction.
He even confronted Narcissi in places she wasn’t aware of.
Impressive.
To selectively pursue what satisfied him, even from areas she couldn’t see.
Eliya had to acknowledge it.
A being with color had invaded her colorless world.
Cold ivory like the moon.
Fiery red like flames.
At times, that golden gaze resembling the sun shone vividly.
In her life.
“…But how did she know that the duchess hit me?”
Eliya assumed it was an intuition-based deduction.
Sometimes, she herself spoke of hypotheses with weak foundations as if they were facts, confirming their truth through the other party’s responses.
Since Judas was quite extraordinary for a commoner, it could be possible.
Though Eliya couldn’t know if he lacked the intelligence and psychological skill needed for that.
Suddenly, she recalled a book she had read not long ago.
“The dialectic of master and slave…”
Eliya, who could never die under any circumstances, would refuse even if death were to grant her wish.
It would be meaningless if she didn’t achieve it herself and witness it.
On the other hand, Judas, who would never yield no matter the cost of death.
Even if his neck were to be placed on the guillotine, he would continue to proclaim his self-assertion and freedom until the end.
Both were at their extremes.
As if attempting to create a synthesis of the dialectic.
Two opposing forces, thesis and antithesis, coming together to seek a new direction: synthesis.
Eliya chuckled.
They were not on the same level.
She had no intention of reaching an agreement with anyone.
But then, a question arose in her mind.
“Could you and I ever become a synthesis?”
Ria quietly kept her place, looking at Eliya.
Her face bore a warm smile.
A gently rare expression to see.
Hugging the doll as if it were precious, her legs swung back and forth, resembling a cute and lovely child.
One she hadn’t seen in a long time.
One she had missed seeing for ages.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
An interruption to Eliya’s study time.
That meant it was important.
“Come in.”
Eliya replied.
The visitor was Miguel.
“What’s the matter?”
“I found something like this.”
Miguel handed her something.
“Paper? There’s nothing written on it.”
“Yes. However, there are traces of its use.”
Eliya examined the paper, turning it this way and that.
She tried heating it with the flame she conjured from her hand.
The ink did not react to the heat.
When touched with her fingertips, it felt like there were indentations written on it.
Through its crumpled state, it was a bit ambiguous.
“It seems that someone might have noted down secret instructions.”
Seemed plausible.
However, Eliya focused on another aspect.
“I feel remnants of magic inscribed on this paper….”
Wizards can cast or store magic through other mediums.
Artifacts are a prime example.
They could also set temporary magic on books or the ground.
Just like this paper.
However, what kind of magic it was, she couldn’t figure out.
Nor when it had been activated.
“Where did you find it?”
“A servant discovered it while cleaning. I couldn’t secure a specific location. But according to the servant, it seemed near the venue for selecting the guard candidates. It’s a vague conjecture.”
“Okay….”
Not knowing the content made it difficult to deduce hastily.
The paper looked rather old.
Whether it belonged to the current nobles in the banquet hall or from earlier times.
Or if it had merely drifted in from outside.
“I didn’t sense any magic being used near the mansion recently….”
Although she couldn’t be certain.
If the paper’s magic had activated before she awakened the power of the crazy fire, she might not have sensed it.
However, her intuition suggested a highly probable hypothesis.
Only one scant clue given.
Near the location where the guard candidate selection occurred.
“Is it from that assassin?”
She didn’t know what was written on it.
Or what kind of magic it entailed.
Whether there were any other matters aside from magic.
Yet, it seemed strange to just leave such an important piece of paper lying around…
“Whether the assassination succeeded or failed, the life and achievements of that assassin would have ended with it. They likely concluded it didn’t matter who found it. If so, nothing would be written on the paper to deduce their mastermind.”
At that time, there were no significant clues left on the body of the killed assassin.
If they had secretly thrown it away while waiting for Eliya, it wouldn’t matter.
“That’s just a guess. I can’t know the other possibilities, so I’m just thinking of finding an answer from what I know. It’s not objective.”
It can be figured out slowly.
“Is it possible to restore the content? It seems heavily damaged.”
“I’ll look for a technician.”
“Alright. If we can’t, it can’t be helped.”
It would be disappointing if they couldn’t restore it, but that was okay.
Just securing the paper provided various clues to uncover.
Eliya looked at Miguel intently and smiled brightly.
“It seems you’re not entirely decided yet?”
Miguel gulped.
He tried to maintain as neutral an expression as possible, but that girl easily saw through him.
She always did.
She was astutely skilled at unmasking others’ faces and perceiving their emotions.
Yet she never revealed her own true self, except to one person.
“This paper might be a kind of insurance for the event of…?”
“……”
“It would be best to think things through. While there’s still time. I’ll remember today’s incident separately.”
“…Thank you, Miss.”
It was nearly time to distinctly differentiate between friend and foe.
*
Days passed.
Days rolled on in repetition.
Every morning, he had a hearty breakfast before heading to the training grounds.
After training, he returned home for dinner.
He cared for Eliya and the Moon Deer before sleeping.
Some days, he received private lessons from Gawain.
During his free time, he always exercised to build strength.
Nothing extraordinary happened.
Perhaps it was because he was mostly accompanied by Anna and the soldiers that Eliya had assigned him.
Soon, he would officially have a knight assigned for his protection.
The knight candidate’s knight…
It was a rather strange term, but a grateful one.
Eliya hadn’t visited his bedroom again.
That was fortunate.
An experience that made his heart drop even once was too many.
Yet, occasionally upon waking, his hands smelled like Eliya, though he couldn’t quite fathom why.
Could it be that their shared night had left a scent on the bed?
“I even had peculiar dreams of someone touching my hands several times… Such strange dreams indeed.”
There was no special news from the Information Guild either.
There was something he wanted to inquire about, but the opportunity was hard to come by.
He hoped for any news to arrive soon.
Finally, the date for the first exam the candidates would take was set.
He stood at a crossroads of contemplation.
“It’s not right not to participate, but…”
He had no intention of becoming a knight.
He didn’t want to pique Eliya’s interest.
He acknowledged that he had caught her eye.
He accepted it.
For that was simply his nature.
It wasn’t without its fairness.
…Just a little, but still.
He had simply not avoided any quarrels that arose.
Just like he had lived so far.
He never suspected that the reckless chaos would capture Eliya’s interest.
He knew he was noticeable, but he truly hadn’t expected her to maintain consistent interest.
Yet.
“If I outright refuse to participate now, that would indeed be suspicious…”
He acted as if he was trying harder than anyone else to become a knight.
In truth, he was getting personal lessons from Gawain, which Eliya misunderstood as just that.
“But if I don’t participate, it’ll look odd. I’d be too conspicuous.”
Thus, the conclusion he reached first.
“…I’ll participate for now.”
Whether he would pass or not was uncertain.
He had no clue what the first exam entailed.
However, it would still seem unusual if he failed without enthusiasm.
It was way too different from how he had been tackling everything till now with a deathly determination.
“The outcome is uncertain, but… let’s do our best.”
Eliya would likely think he would pass.
After all, he had kept winning even in impossible situations until now.
She would assume that he would somehow manage to scrape through once again.
“Then, following her expectations would surely seem less interesting.”
It wouldn’t be strange for him to fail.
People can fail sometimes, after all.
If he was eliminated simply due to inadequate abilities, without special reasons or incidents, that was simply neither here nor there for intrigue.
“Even if I pass, it doesn’t mean I’ll become a knight.”
There would be many tests remaining before becoming a knight.
One test is alright.
“Sometime in the future, maybe when my interest wanes, I’ll quietly slip away…”
At that moment.
[‘Twist of Fate, Beginning of Causality’ has occurred.]
A quest he had never seen before appeared.
“…?”
Though he somewhat understood the term “fate.”
The main quest of playable characters was referred to as fate.
“Does Judas also have such a fate?”
[Please select a reward.]
Rewards were granted each time the progress of the main quest reached a certain level.
And the rewards for the main quest were somewhat special.
The hidden quests he’d completed so far provided rewards tied to growth.
Attributes, stats. There hadn’t been an item yet, but there could be.
The main quest was different.
It didn’t enhance one.
Instead, it would provide guidance on what the user could do moving forward….
[1. A Section of Comedy]
[2. A Sentence of Tragedy]
…It offered a fragmented glimpse into the future.
A frozen scene composed of future events.
The inevitability of a certain character.
The future depicted by this comedy or tragedy is one that cannot change.
No matter what you do, it is the fate you must encounter.
“Comedy foretells good or joyful events to happen in the future, while tragedy reveals bad or terrible occurrences.”
It’s something that will definitely happen someday.
However, it does not inform exactly when.
Nor why it will occur or what will happen afterward.
If it’s something that will happen anyway, there’s no need to confirm good events in advance.
[I choose tragedy.]
A certainty to occur. Fate.
Yet, I am not one to live by someone else’s script.
I will struggle in any way possible.
Just as I have until now.
So far, I have yet to succeed.
Above all, I do not wish to meet a tragedy while remaining completely unaware.
“Is there a future where Eliya kills me…? Will something like that appear?”
[Would you like to check the rewards now?]
“…Yes.”
Scenes formed in his mind.
Scattered puzzle pieces came together in a frame.
The puzzle was being fitted piece by piece.
The randomly formed picture was a tragedy that would inevitably happen in his future.
“The place is… the adjoining room of the one I’m currently using, with two people present.”
Lying on a bed was him.
“The other person is a woman… It seems to be Eliya.”
Him and Eliya share the same bed.
He could not see their expressions.
But he was lying still, as if asleep.
Eliya sat upright.
She appeared to be looming over him.
The scene was still unclear, as the picture was yet to be completed.
“What are they doing…?”
Just as the final puzzle piece was placed, the picture was completed.
“…What?”
In the frame of tragedy, Eliya was choking his neck.
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