Emperor's Alternate - Chapter 36
I adjusted my clothes.
The blue dress sparkled like jewelry across my body. Unlike when I stayed at the palace, I didn’t wear anything fancy when I came to the magic tower. It would all be ruined anyway, but what Lucian was accustomed to was not to be changed so easily. Perhaps I had grown accustomed to the maid’s attire worn in the palace, as I found my reflection in the mirror to be unfamiliar.
Long golden hair cascading down, shimmering blue eyes. They were like an ocean, or a lake, or a cloudy sky before rain, or a galaxy in space, or the color of a blue poisonous mushroom, a warning from nature. Unconsciously longing for my mother, I saw a resemblance in the reflection that almost made me reach out for her.
‘They say that those who wield mana can create illusions.’
If I could manipulate mana, would I have tried to conjure up a fantasy of my family? I cannot be sure how I would have done it, but at least I would have had the choice.
‘I can’t wield mana at all.’
It wasn’t that I wasn’t talented. It’s just that I hadn’t even broken through the mana gate that first allowed it to flow through my blood. I was too young to do it when my family was still alive, and after their demise…
‘It was my intention.’
I turned around. As if on cue, a servant bowed to me and guided me along the familiar path. It was the way to Lucian.
For generations, my family excelled in handling mana. It was said that we were naturally gifted from birth, and there was a saying in the Rotea Ducal House that the most valuable asset was not our titles but our bodies. Just by looking at my older brothers who had become sword masters at a young age, it was evident that the descendants of our House acquired mana at an unnatural pace.
The family had produced many famous figures. Some were famous for imbuing mana into swordsmanship, and several who contributed to the advancement of academia as archmages. Unparalleled mana sensitivity was one of the family’s traits, but it sometimes led to hereditary diseases they would not have otherwise suffered. Such was the case with Lucian.
The first step in manipulating mana was learning how to let it flow in the blood. Generally, there are no issues, but sometimes, people would experience ‘mana retrogression’ when the blood rushes too fast and hot, causing excruciating pain. It’s an exceedingly rare disease seen throughout our lineage, brought on by the Rotea’s abnormally quick response to mana triggering the retrogression.
“But I can’t wait to test the theory in practice, Father.”
“I cannot open the mana gates for you just yet, you are too young and your safety is at stake.”
Even when my father, the Duke, told me this as a child, I had never thought of a genetic disease running in my family. It always sounded vague, as if it were someone else’s story.
“Sarah says marriage is something adults do. But I’m already engaged, so I’m not that young, Father.”
“Is that so? Then ask Lecan to help you penetrate your mana gates.”
“Um… Father…”
“Being cute won’t help.”
To my young mind, Lecan seemed stricter than even my father. So, I trailed after my father, begging and pouting, but he didn’t give in.
Looking back now, it was fortunate that I couldn’t penetrate the gate of mana back then. If I had succeeded in persuading my father at the time, I wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere near Lucian.
“We’re here, my Lady.”
I nodded, and soon the door opened.
***
I exhaled heavily.
“My Lady, are you all right?”
I stepped out of the magic tower and looked up at the knight who spoke.
“Are you okay?” That question should have been addressed to Lucian, who should have just finished his ‘mana treatment’ and collapsed into sleep.
As expected, my hair was wildly disheveled and my clothes were ruined. When Lucian couldn’t bear the pain, he would cling to me. Sometimes he screams, sometimes he just grits his teeth and cries, and sometimes he flails his arms, slapping me dozens of times. Today, he held on to me over and over again.
“I don’t want to die.”
“I don’t want to die, sister.”
“Please let me live.”
Suffering from mana retrogression, the most deadly thing to Lucian was the flow of mana itself. As the condition manifested due to an already high mana sensitivity, to him, mana was akin to a deadly poison.
So even though he lived in hiding in a magic tower, Lucian’s room was always carefully sealed to prevent mana from entering. All who were allowed to enter Lucian’s chambers, including myself, were untrained in mana.
‘If only my family were still alive…’
Though a rare case, there was a record of seven skilled practitioners from the same Rotea Ducal House gathering to cure the hereditary disease of mana retrogression. Perhap Lucian wouldn’t have to endure such hardship had Teiles I not annihilated the House.
The thought quickly subsided.
‘That’s in the past.’
The lord to whom I owed loyalty was exceptionally unkind to me, while the one who desired my loyalty pitied me. But whenever I reached the destination, the conclusion was always clear and laid out.
“I will kill Lecan.”
“…”
Looking at the knight who was holding his breath, I gazed at the edge of the open ground where Lecan had wandered in the past.
It was clear that my diary, hastily overwritten to avoid being traced during the proxy exam, had been interpreted to some extent. I don’t know what my journal, a fragment of my soul and a faithful record of emotions, would have indicated. But one thing was clear: I didn’t need two suns in the sky.
