I stared at the rose-shaped necklace made of red crystal.
As I gently touched one of its petals, memories of the past began to play inside my head.
The image of the red-haired woman I missed so dearly—the woman who had always taken care of me since I was a child.
My mother’s face.
A face I would never see again.
This necklace was a gift from my mother.
She gave it to me when she discovered that I could control fire at the age of six.
At first, she looked worried when she saw me controlling flames.
She constantly asked whether I was in pain whenever the fire touched my hands.
I used to cry because of the heat, but as time passed, my body gradually developed a resistance to fire that was far beyond that of an ordinary human.
My mother was always kind to me.
She eventually gave me this necklace to help me.
The necklace emitted a special wave that could increase a mage’s heat resistance and raise their magical output by two percent.
I was so happy when I received it.
I considered this necklace the most precious gift my mother had ever given me.
From childhood until I grew up, I had lived together with my mother.
It was a peaceful and simple life, and I wanted it to remain that way forever.
Even though I never knew who my father really was, I never asked.
Living together with my mother had always been more than enough for me.
But that peaceful life disappeared the moment I learned the truth.
My father was actually a nobleman.
And my mother was nothing more than one of his mistresses.
When my father discovered that I was a mage, he brought me to his estate and separated me from my mother.
I didn’t want to leave her.
But if I refused, I was afraid they would do something terrible to the only family I had.
And during that time, I also lost the necklace that was so precious to me.
My father took it away, claiming that such an item was too valuable to be given to someone like me.
He kept it for himself.
Year after year, I lived in the Baron’s estate—the mansion of the man who was supposed to be my father.
My life was governed by strict rules.
Everyone in the mansion watched me.
On several occasions, I accidentally overheard the servants talking about me.
I was an asset to my father.
Something he intended to use for his own purposes.
I would eventually be used in a political marriage.
Being a mage was my greatest value, and because of that, various noble families competed for me.
I saw my father several times.
But we never spoke.
He never treated me like a human being.
The look in his eyes made it clear.
To him, I was nothing more than a valuable asset that would be useful in the future.
Slowly, my dislike for him grew.
And sometimes, I desperately wanted to see my mother again.
The longing became unbearable.
I repeatedly begged to be reunited with her, but every request was rejected without hesitation.
I was worried about her.
The last time I saw her, when we were separated, she was already no longer the same woman who had taken care of me when I was little.
I tried everything I could think of to see my mother again.
At one point, I even tried to escape.
Unfortunately, the guards found me.
As punishment, I was confined to my room for a while.
Several guards took turns guarding my door.
I tried talking to the guards who watched over me, but none of them responded.
Except for one.
Marc.
He was the only person who would answer my questions.
At that time, he was the head of security at the Baron’s mansion, and he happened to be assigned to guard my room.
He told me that he had once had a family—a wife and a child.
They had divorced for some reason, but he still loved them.
His wife and child had moved to the capital, while Marc remained here.
The love of a father… It was something I had never experienced.
We always talked whenever he was assigned to guard my room, even though we spoke through the door.
Then, one day, he told me that he had come to think of me as his daughter.
It was probably nothing more than a small comfort in my miserable circumstances.
Yet somehow, those words felt warm.
I talked to him and asked him to help me meet my mother.
Even if I couldn’t see her myself, I at least wanted to know how she was doing.
Marc agreed.
When he wasn’t assigned to guard me, he traveled to the village where I had once lived.
I waited day after day for his return.
When Marc was assigned to my door again, he finally gave me news about my mother.
It wasn’t the news I wanted to hear.
My mother had died from an illness.
An epidemic had broken out in the village where I used to live.
And my mother had been one of its victims.
I was devastated.
I couldn’t accept it.
The face that had always greeted me with a sincere smile was gone.
I had no one left in this world.
The only family I had was gone.
A few days later, I received news about Marc.
He had been imprisoned for helping me.
He was accused of attempting to help me escape, even though that wasn’t true.
Now, there was no one left to talk to me through the door.
My dislike for my father gradually turned into hatred for my fate.
Why did I have to go through all of this?
Little by little, I closed my heart to other people.
I no longer trusted anyone.
Then, one day, the servants forced me to wear an expensive dress and applied makeup to my face.
I was introduced to a nobleman from another family.
He looked at me strangely.
There was something deeply uncomfortable about his gaze.
His eyes crawled over my body in a way that made me feel disgusted.
The hatred I had been suppressing for so long finally overflowed.
I punched him.
Then I set him on fire.
Fortunately, he wasn’t seriously injured.
Only his clothes caught fire.
Because of that incident, my father— No.
He wasn’t my father.
That bastard locked me inside the prison.
And strangely enough, I felt satisfied.
For the first time, the emotions I had buried for so long had finally been released.
The price was imprisonment.
But I didn’t care.
In that prison, I met a man.
I looked toward Val.
A strange-looking man.
He seemed to be from another country.
Yet at the same time, I was reunited with Marc—the man who had once helped me.
There was no dramatic reunion.
We simply looked at each other and spoke like old acquaintances, even though today was the first time I had ever seen his face.
When I learned that the Baron’s estate had been attacked by Blight, I felt neither happiness nor sadness for him.
Only emptiness.
Is it possible that I won’t be the one to repay him myself?
I glanced toward Val.
He seemed to have found some kind of leather bag.
I didn’t know what was inside, but he immediately closed it and seemed intent on taking it with him.
I didn’t know what he wanted from it.
None of this belonged to me anyway.
Val was strange.
He didn’t know certain pieces of common knowledge.
He didn’t even know what a mage was.
He didn’t know about Blight either.
Everyone should know about those two things.
Unless he had lived in an extremely isolated place where Blight had never appeared… Or perhaps he had lost his memory.
I also didn’t understand why Val was here.
I had never seen him working in the mansion, which meant he was an outsider.
I didn’t know why he had been imprisoned here either.
There were many things I didn’t know about him.
But I decided not to care.
If he tried to attack me, I would burn him on the spot.
Footsteps approached.
Marc appeared, looking for us.
He eventually found us in the room.
“So you’re here.
There doesn’t seem to be anything left outside.
I also didn’t find any Blight around this place.
Looks like they’ve really gone.” Marc seemed to have searched the entire estate.
“I see.” “Do either of you have somewhere you want to go?” Marc looked at me.
“Perhaps I’ll visit my mother’s grave first.
After that, I’ll decide where to go.” “I’ll go to the capital.” Marc seemed to want to reunite with his family.
“What about you?” Marc looked toward Val.
Val remained silent for a moment.
“Maybe I’ll go to the capital too.” “I see.” Marc thought for a moment.
“Then how about we travel together?
We’ll go to your mother’s grave first, then head to the capital.
Do either of you have a problem with that?” Traveling with them didn’t sound too bad.
“I don’t mind.” “I don’t mind either.” Val gave his answer as well.
“Then it’s decided.
We’ll leave soon.
I’ll look for some food for the journey.” Marc looked toward Val.
“Help me.” Val pointed at himself.
“Me?” “Yes, you.
Help me.” Marc clarified before immediately walking away.
Val followed behind him.