My name is Elizabeth Harlington. The eldest daughter of the Harlington household. And also, it’s greatest disappointment. Though my Father still loved me, but from the things I’ve heard from the whispers of the servants revealed his complicated situation. I also learned that it was all because of me.
Though I knew about it, I didn’t tell him that. It’s because I felt that he didn’t want me to know. However, the servants and the concubine did. As a result, whenever my mother and father left the house when I was five, they would ignore my existence and neglect me. During those times, I would lock myself in my room and wait for my parent’s arrival.
I have two younger sisters that were a year younger than me. They’re twins and unlike their mother, they were nice to me. The days I would lock myself in my room, they would steal food from the kitchen and give it to me. They were also kind and fun to be with. We would play in the garden together and have fun.
On their fifth birthday, they, along with my father, headed to the Great Magic Hall to be baptized. On their departure, I watched their carriage head towards the horizon until they left. All the while I felt really uneasy. It was because they may end up like me… a reject.
However, when they came back, my father had a really proud face. I then looked at the concubine who went with him and found her smiling. When my father announced to us that my younger sisters were eligible to become great magicians, the entire castle celebrated. The wine cellars were opened and the chefs made a feast.
I, on the other hand, stared at them with blank eyes. Then, a sudden thought flashed through my mind.
I hate you two… why didn’t you become like me!
When I realized I had wished for their downfall when I should’ve been congratulating them, I quickly ran to my room and cried incessantly. I hated myself for ever thinking like that. They’ve been so kind to me and yet, I wished for them to become like me.
Since then, I had locked myself in and never came out from my room. From time to time, I would hear my father’s voice from beyond the door. He was very worried about me and told me that even if I were like this, he would still love me and my mother. As a testament to his will, my mother didn’t lose her position as a legal wife.
This made the concubine and her followers really angry. She would stand in front of my room and tell me that I was trash. Whenever this happened, I would go to my bed and cover my head with a pillow to block out her voice.
One day, when I was six, I noticed that the servants were really noisy. Because I was curious, I headed over to the window to see who the visitor was. I was shocked when I saw a luxurious carriage parked outside our house. It was marked with a serpent with a blue background. This meant that the visitor was from the house our family had served for generations.
The Mylekek household.
One of the four most influential families in the kingdom. They had produced lots of powerful mages in the past. I even heard that their authority was second only to the king. I became excited because I saw a child, which seemed to be around my age, jump down from the carriage. However, when I looked around him, I saw Krisha and Misha, my two younger sisters, meeting up with him and ushered him inside the castle.
I started guessing why the heir of the Mylekek household visited our home. When I made an answer, I would hurriedly deny it and think of other possibilities. However, as the day drew to a close, I discovered that the heir of the Mylekek household was leaving our home. From his hands, a faint sparkle dazzled my eye.
This sparkle could only mean one thing. He was now wearing a master’s ring. Learning of such a concrete evidence, I couldn’t help but fall into despair. What’s more, the night when the heir left, the concubine stood in front of my room and started bragging. It was also through her bragging that I learned what the name of the heir was.
He was known as Carlos Mylekek.
When I became seven years old, my father told me to enroll to Farlingstad Academy. I asked him why I had to enroll in a magic academy even though I could only cast two fireballs. He replied to me by saying, “It’s because you’re a noble, Liza. Even if you can’t use magic, you still need to become educated. So you can’t say no to this.”
He then added, “You can meet other children like you and become friends with them.”
Hearing the word ‘friends’, I nodded to my father and went to the school.
I was sent to the general students dorm and was assigned a room. It also came with a servant of the same age. Though I felt awkward with her at first, but as the days went by, I manage to become her friend. What’s more, on the entrance ceremony, I met up with other children who were in the same situation as me.
They were Mary Faustina and Victoria Ginsburg. Mary was the daughter of the Faustina Earldom while Victoria was the daughter of the kingdom’s prime minister. And like me, they were the rejects of their own families. As a result of our similarities, we quickly became friends and spent our time together.
Although our movements were limited because we were general students, we still managed to enjoy our school lives together. What’s more, when the other’s learned of our status, they started following us as if it were natural. This made us feel awkward, but because I felt that they were pinning their hopes into us, we learned to accept them.
Even though I was still a third grader, I, along with Mary and Victoria, worked hard to make the lives of the general students become a bit more enjoyable. We’d often host parties to strengthen our bonds and help one another. Whenever one student was abused or discriminated by the magic students, we would go to their aid and beg them to stop. As a result, we had a really strong camaraderie.
However, there was one general student that wasn’t part of our group. Her black hair covered her back and had sharp eyes. During class, she wouldn’t listen to any of the teacher’s lecture and would just continue writing something on her table. What’s more, whenever a teacher would call her name, she would still be able to answer his questions flawlessly with a bored expression.
There were brave students who attempted to approach her, but their existences were only ignored by her. I quickly came to their side when they became disheartened by the event. I then asked them if they were insulted by her, however, they said that she didn’t insult them or the like. According to them, she was only saying nonsensical things. Like ‘Compounds’ and ‘Solutions’.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
It didn’t make any sense to us. The three of us continued to ponder but couldn’t come up with anything. As a result, we turned to the representatives of the boys. They, like me, were the rejects of influential families. Their names were Achil Mayers, Anthony Weinberger, and Frank Hurston. However, like us, they were still unable to comprehend what she was mumbling.
In the end, I decided to rely on my servant and asked to bring her servant, Emilia Darion. When she arrived in the lounge of our dormitory, I quickly asked her what those things meant. However, she made a really complicated expression and said that she was still being taught about the ‘Phases of Matter’, so asking her about compounds and solutions were still too hard for her.
I then pressed on and asked her what those ‘Phases of Matter’ were, but she only shook her head and said that she was still trying to understand it. As a result, I gave up and made an exhausted sigh. The servant then made a very worried face and asked me a question.
“Did Lumina-sama did something to you?”
The servant asked me and I told that she didn’t do anything to me.
“Then why are you asking those questions to me?”
I hesitated to answer her, but because it could also benefit her master, I gathered my resolve and answered her.
“Since even you couldn’t understand what those ‘Compounds’ and ‘Solutions’ are, this meant that she’s escaping reality because of her depression. We understand why she’s depressed and want to help her, however if she continued to ignore us, we’d be unable to do anything for her. Since you’re her servant, could we ask for your cooperation so that she’d stop escaping reality?”
Hearing my words, the servant knitted her brows and replied:
“….. It seems like you’re misunderstanding something.”
“Eh?”
“Lumina-sama isn’t depressed or anything. So could you please stop those false assumptions?”
I became confused and echoed what she said.
“False assumptions?”
“Yes. She’s not like you or me. She won’t get depressed because the mana she housed inside her body is small. She’s making full use of it instead…”
While she was talking, I suddenly smelled the aroma of a burnt cake. When the servant smelled it, she became pale and started panicking.
“… Oh no… please excuse me, I need to quickly get back to the kitchen.”
And like that she left me. I was left with a lot of questions in my head because of her incomplete answer. Because I wasn’t satisfied with leaving it half-done, I decided to observe her closely by tomorrow.
I woke up an hour earlier than usual and headed to the canteen. However, when I arrived, she had already finished eating her breakfast.
I quickly decided to skip breakfast and follow her as she headed to the school building. Along the way, a magic student met up with her. I became uneasy and prepared to help her when she gets abused. But, contrary to my expectations, she used magic to create a table and sat on it. The two of them then started drinking tea together.
This was a really strange scene to look at. What’s more, the way it turned into a tea party looked very natural. It was as if it had been planned from the start. When I started getting closer to them, the magic student stood up from her seat and said that she was known as Eclara Dien Rot.
After that, the servant started cleaning the table and left for school as she followed her master. Learning that she had an equal relationship with a magic student really made me respect her. Since then, it became my hobby to observe her.
One day, a fight between two students broke out in front of the stairs. The moment I heard of this, I quickly exited my classroom before Mary and the others could. When I had arrived I was quite shocked by the scene.
“Hey! Who are you!”
“Are you gonna stop us?”
The two students that were supposed to be fighting were glaring at Lumina with angry eyes.
“…”
“You’re ignoring me huh? Do you know what happens when you ignore me? “
One of the students raised his sleeves as he threatened her. However, she only moved her eyes to him and said:
“What did I do to you to warrant such a treatment?”
“You disturbed our fight by walking between us!”
“Fight?”
She tilted her head as he asked the student.
“Why are you fighting?”
“What good does telling you do huh?”
The other student glared at her with menacing eyes.
“Haaa~ it’s okay if you won’t tell why though. If you’re fighting, then go ahead and fight. But before I go, let me ask you this.”
She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.
“Would your parents be proud of you if they learn you guys are fighting? If you do, then why don’t you stop fighting and do something constructive like studying. But if you don’t, then go ahead and fight. However, the winner will only feel a shallow victory. Cause once your parents learn of this, they will instead scold you and cry as they discover that you only spent your time fighting here.”
“Kuh… It’s not like we’ll continue to fight you know!”
“He’s right!”
“Is that so? Then go ahead and fight then, but remember, I have warned you. Whatever happens after this fight is none of my business.”
““….””
The two men only glared as Lumina walked down the stairs. I quickly followed her and saw her servant meet up with her midway. What’s more, before she left, she glanced back with a really cold glare. The gaze was so cold, that I couldn’t help but retreat a step back. As a result, the fight was stopped and the two students compromised with one another.
Since then, rumors about how she stopped the fight by looking at them spread in the building. As a result, all of the general students knew who she was and started admiring her. My respect to her grew even more and she became my role model. Though my fear of her, because of that gaze, also grew with it.
Who knew I would become her servant/friend two years from now.
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Well, Shin's next after this...
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About naming the chapters... well, It's bothersome to name the previous 40 chapters, so I'll just leave them be cause I"m lazy... LOL