Chapter 3: A jewel of talent

A woman walked along a well-maintained path.

With each graceful step, her flowing golden hair and ample bosom swayed, enough to keep many men awake at night.

She stopped at a spacious training ground where knights were practicing.
She looked around.

Her gaze settled on a girl with fiery red hair, sitting and yawning with boredom.
Beside her, another girl with similar features, but ash-gray hair, swung a wooden sword alongside the knights.

The woman, Duchess Cecilia, watched her two daughters training.

****

Witch.
A mysterious being, said to possess unchanging beauty, neither aging nor dying.

It was a title that always followed Cecilia’s name.

Rumors circulated that she could discern people’s souls, collecting those she fancied, earning her the nickname “Soul Collector.”

But that was all in the past.
She’d met her beloved, and together they’d overcome countless trials and obstacles.

If she hadn’t met him, she’d probably still be living a lonely, despised life.

She became family with the once-carefree Claude, a young lord of the Estelle family.
And then came their two lovely daughters, Anna and Elena.

Family.
That warm word rekindled the feeling of happiness she’d forgotten for centuries.

Now, Cecilia’s most cherished hobby was watching her daughters grow.

So, when she heard her youngest had collapsed,
her world crumbled.

The children’s father, trying to reassure her, dismissed it as a simple fever.
But as Ellie remained unconscious for days, Cecilia refused food and drink, nursing her daughter through the night until she herself collapsed.

When she woke up and heard Ellie was awake,
she rushed to her, forgetting her usual composure.

Relieved Ellie was safe, her expression hardened at her daughter’s changed hair color.

It was the color of ash, like embers after a fire.

“Mother, are you alright?”

A clear voice broke her thoughts.

Looking down,
Ellie, finished with her training, was looking up at her.

Cecilia softened her expression and smiled.

“Our Ellie looked so valiant; I was captivated, hee hee.”

Ellie preferred compliments like “cool” or “valiant” over “pretty” or “cute.”

Even so, Ellie probably didn’t realize how cute and pretty she looked.

Anna, who had been sitting looking tired, approached and protectively hugged Ellie.

The adorable sight brought a smile to Cecilia’s face.

Siblings in other families seemed eager to tear each other apart, but her daughters were so kind.

“My princesses, I brought lunch. Eat first.”

“Hee hee, Mother is the best!”

The small, warm body that clung to her made Cecilia smile.

Though her breath tickled a bit.

It had been a year since Ellie collapsed and woke up.

When Ellie was born, Cecilia was shocked.

Not a pure, newborn soul, but a mature one resided within her.

Having seen countless souls, she was certain.

Regardless of her soul, Ellie was still her precious daughter, born through pain.
No matter how mature, Ellie’s experience was nothing compared to hers.

Ellie is her precious family, no matter what…

Grind—

A strange grinding sound broke her thoughts.

Turning,
Anna looked sullen.

Oops.
She must be upset that Cecilia focused only on Ellie.

She usually acted like a reliable older sister,
but she sometimes showed her childish side.

“Anna…? Shall Mother give you a hug too?”

Cecilia opened her arms wider, but
Anna’s expression worsened.

Is she already sulking?

“I’ll have those… lumps of flesh too, in a few years…”

Anna muttered something incomprehensible and turned away.

****

On the way back to the mansion,
Cecilia worried about Ellie’s condition.

Ellie’s body and soul were mismatched.
Her magic was being used to shield her soul from clashing with her body.

That explained why Ellie had been so disappointed with her limited basic magic.

If this balance broke, it would strain her body.

Fortunately, the human body, the vessel of the soul, is resilient, so there was no immediate danger to her life.
Though it could cause some pain.

Plus, the human body instinctively controls magic, making it difficult to use the magic protecting the soul.

But her daughter seemed close to surpassing that “difficult” level.

Her daughters truly possessed remarkable talents.

****

“Um…Sister?”
“What, Ellie.”

“Well…never mind! It’s nothing.”

Sister seemed cold.
She was resting peacefully just a moment ago.

Did I do something wrong?

Thinking back, something came to mind.

“Sister, I’ll give you a big hug, instead of Mother!”

Bingo. Her expression brightened, and she hugged me tightly.

It reminded me of when she first taught me about the academy.

I learned what would happen if I went there unprepared.

She was a bit scary then, but
she stopped as soon as she sensed my fear.

The sticky, creepy feeling vanished, along with the lingering suspicion that she might have had ulterior motives.

She was just trying to warn me about the dangers of the academy.

Even in my past life, no one besides my parents cared for me this much.
I was constantly amazed by her devotion.

Since then, she’d been teaching me what happens at the academy whenever she had time.

The academy was not a place to let your guard down.

****

“Huff… pant…”

I swung the wooden sword until I was breathless.

While my magic was stagnant,
I surprisingly had a talent for swordsmanship.

This body lacked strength and stamina, but my senses were exceptionally sharp, earning praise for my skill. I improved with each training session.

“Hee hee.”

Maybe I’ll become a Sword Master.
Imagining myself wielding a sword stylishly filled my arms with strength.

Doing something I excelled at was fun.
Physical training was initially torturous, but
nothing beat seeing results.

****

Recently, I learned to imbue the sword with flames.
It was still rudimentary, just heating the blade and creating small sparks.

Father, who demonstrated it, and Sister, who watched, looked at me with pity.
But I honestly didn’t care.

I gritted my teeth and swung the sword.

Faint sparks flew around.

I’m surrounded by talented people.
I had to struggle to keep up.

Just like my past life.

Whoosh—

“Ellie!”

If I become complacent, I won’t be able to do anything.

I’ll be left behind, isolated.

I swung the white-hot sword amidst the raging flames.

A sense of déjà vu washed over me.

A squirming, uncomfortable feeling made me realize everyone was staring.

Their gazes made me blush and straighten my posture. Did I do something wrong? I looked around cautiously.

Looking down,
I saw the wooden sword gradually cooling down, the flames subsiding.

“Ellie!”
“…Ah!”

I remembered what I just did.

“Sister…!”

A surge of accomplishment and relief washed over me. I hugged my sister.

“Sob…sob…”

Everyone seemed touched, but
I didn’t care.

Excited, I named it the “Flame Sword.”
I swung it until late at night.

Strangely, not just the sword, but my ash-gray hair glowed red like charcoal, with sparks flying off.

Thankfully, it wasn’t hot or burning, so there was no risk of hair loss.

Losing my hair in exchange for power,
that’s a horrifying thought.

Night arrived after the strenuous training.
Sister left for a moment, and I was alone.

Exhausted, I tried to sleep.
If it weren’t for the pain that suddenly struck.

My body burned.
This warm, happy world felt like a hellish illusion. I screamed.

“…!!”

I screamed louder, trying to drown out the pain,
but even my voice was consumed by the burning flames, disappearing without a trace.

It hurt.
This was the worst pain I’d experienced since being born here.

No, I’d never experienced such agony before.

Even as my insides burned, turned to ash, and scattered, the pain persisted.

How am I still alive?
Or am I already dead and in hell?

Countless questions burned and evaporated.

When my thoughts were completely scrambled, the pain stopped.

I felt a faint warmth from my chest and drifted to sleep, comforted by that slight warmth.