The very next night, as though it had all been planned in advance, private soldiers stormed the ducal estate and set it ablaze.
Crimes they had never committed spread throughout the Empire like truth, and before long House Rosena had become traitors accused of plotting rebellion.
While the Duke and Duchess were beheaded inside the mansion, Flotie sat quietly upon her bed within the burning estate.
Until Serphina came running.
‘Tie!’
‘Sister? Why didn’t you run away—what are you…!’
The younger sister she gathered into her arms weighed no more than a child, so terribly thin had she become.
Tearing open a scroll, Serphina fled desperately toward the forest. But Flotie, poisoned and choking on smoke, was already dying.
If she used any more magic, it was obvious this fragile body would never endure it.
The moment Serphina resolved herself to fight against the private soldiers pursuing them from behind, someone stepped into her path.
‘Run. I’ll buy you time.’
‘…Who are you?’
A silver-haired man stood with his back toward them as he drew his sword. Even through her fading vision, Flotie stared at him and weakly moved her lips.
‘The Empire… the Empire’s…’
‘I am not someone worthy of such a greeting.’
When he glanced back one final time, his eyes seemed red for an instant, but Serphina had no chance to confirm it before she began running again.
If only I had been stronger.
‘If only I had been a little healthier…’
Then I could have protected you.
‘Then I would not have lost the one I loved…’
Those were Flotie’s final words. Before they could even reach the Mage Tower, the child grew cold in Serphina’s arms.
“Ha…”
Only then did Serphina realize there existed something she desired enough to abandon every relationship she had formed in life.
It wasn’t revenge she truly wanted.
She only wanted to regain what she loved. That child who had trusted and supported her until the very end.
A clever girl who spent all day lying in bed, yet somehow noticed things no one else could see and whispered truths as though they were nothing.
For Flotie’s sake, Serphina willingly committed forbidden magic.
Abandoning every bond she once had.
And yet, for her younger sister’s sake, she ended up returning to the Mage Tower once again.
Fate truly was ironic.
“Lady Rosena, if you were to join the Mage Tower even now, we could easily offer you an excellent position. Judging by how casually you entered, it seems you can even use advanced magic.”
‘Ah, right. The magic placed at the entrance used to be difficult to undo.’
She had broken through it so often in the past that she had forgotten.
Serphina glanced at the familiar Tower Master—her teacher from her previous life—who was subtly trying to recruit her again, then smiled and shook her head.
“You may have heard already, but I inherited the position of young duke and no longer have such freedom. Though I would welcome more frequent exchanges with the Mage Tower.”
“Ah, that would please me as well. Unfortunately, that is not something I can decide alone. Though I have heard House Rosena has not yet chosen which direction the sun shall rise from.”
‘Just like always, he goes straight for the heart of the matter. For someone his age, he still lacks even a shred of subtlety. Damn you, Asteron.’
He was openly asking which side Rosena supported.
If Serphina, as the young duke, answered directly, it would become House Rosena’s official stance. This was different from Flotie’s situation.
“Well, the sun should always rise from the proper direction.”
“And what exactly do you mean by that?”
“I heard House Violet distributes quite a large number of magical tools. Do they have a contract with the Mage Tower?”
As Serphina changed the subject as smoothly as flowing water, Tower Master Asteron clicked his tongue softly.
He seemed to realize she would not answer easily. Smiling faintly, Serphina tilted her head as though urging him to continue.
“House Violet is geographically close to the Mage Tower and comparatively friendly toward magic. There are many in the capital who reject magical tools. Well… not only the capital. The entire Empire is like that.”
“So in order to expand the Mage Tower’s influence, you intend to borrow the strength of noble houses powerful enough that no one can easily challenge them, even if they openly support magic?”
“…Not to that extent.”
For a brief moment, Asteron’s expression turned serious. He seemed to wonder exactly how much she knew.
Because this was knowledge from the past.
Serphina smiled gently.
“And what about Rosena?”
“…Pardon?”
“I may not know which direction the sun will rise from, but I am friendly toward magic.”
“……However, if your condition is that we support the sun in return, I must refuse.”
Serphina shook her head.
“No. What I require is not support for the sun. When the time comes, lend your voice not to the sun, but to House Rosena instead. If you do that, then I too shall promise the Mage Tower’s revival.”
A few days later, only after my sister returned was I finally released from my confinement within the Third Prince’s Palace.
The Prince’s Palace was every bit as luxurious as the ducal estate, but home was still home.
My sister said she had returned after forming a kind of contract with the Mage Tower.
Part of the magical tools that had once been distributed exclusively to House Violet would now also be supplied to Rosena, and if political conflict ever erupted, the Mage Tower would partially support our side.
Apparently she had also stubbornly insisted on including a clause stating they would absolutely never side with Crown Prince Vincent.
“Why are they so hostile toward Crown Prince Vincent?”
Since we supported Lucian anyway, it was not especially burdensome, but their extreme stance still puzzled me.
“Because the current Emperor created an atmosphere hostile toward both magic and divine power, and the Crown Prince declared he intended to preserve those same policies.”
The current Emperor had occupied the throne longer than any emperor before him.
Though he had not appeared publicly for quite some time, he still governed constantly through written orders and documents.
A large reason Vincent was not appointed Crown Prince until well into adulthood was because the Emperor had remained on the throne for so many years.
“That’s true.”
“The very first thing he did after ascending the throne was destroy the temples.”
It had been a sudden suppression of divine power.
Priests and saintesses all rose in protest, but they were executed under the absurd accusation of worshipping heretical religions.
The few remaining users of divine power hid themselves simply to survive.
From that point onward, the Emperor began emphasizing technological advancement in the name of fairness.
[ If magic and divine power are privileged, then the world will become one where only those born with special abilities receive benefits.
Creating inequality through inborn talent is precisely the kind of principle the Imperial Family must guard against.
The advancement of technology, which can be enjoyed equally by all, shall become the true advancement of the Empire. Therefore, I intend to spare no support toward it. ]
The words themselves sounded extremely noble. They made it appear as though he wished to care even for those born without mana or divine power.
But in reality, the argument was absurd.
After all, this “technology” could still only be enjoyed by wealthy nobles, and even now magical power remained absolutely necessary to create such inventions.
Eventually, magical engineering tools that combined technology and magic became widespread—trains, carriages, alchemy, and similar creations.
Thanks to that, magic escaped the same level of persecution as divine power, but practitioners of pure magic were still punished under ridiculous accusations.
That was why the Mage Tower had become hostile toward the Imperial Family and turned increasingly isolationist.
“The Mage Tower had always been a place that accepted only exceptionally talented mages. Once things became like this, they used that as justification to impose even stricter limitations. Eventually the entire philosophy shifted toward simply locking their doors and devoting themselves entirely to research.”
My sister continued calmly, as though telling an old story.
These were intimate details that no one unfamiliar with life inside the Mage Tower could possibly know.
Still, magic research desperately required money, materials, and above all mana stones.
Since such isolationists had limited ways to acquire wealth, it seemed they formed contracts selling magical tools to houses like Violet.
And they purchased mana stones from families such as Ginevra, who owned mana stone mines.
“Doesn’t the Mage Tower own any mana stone mines itself?”
“The Mage Tower isn’t financially wealthy enough for that. Most of them only know how to conduct research, not how to manage money. I was the same while I lived there. It was only after our family collapsed that I learned, even a little, how money moves through the world and how to gather it.”
