Chapter 42: Lineage Part 3

Ellie’s four friends each harbored a small wish regarding her birthday.

They hoped it would be in the same season as theirs.

Coincidentally, each of them was born in a different season, which made the wish feel even more special.

Wasn’t it like a unique, unbreakable bond between Ellie and themselves?

Even if it felt childish, none of them dared to say it out loud.

However, the intensity of their gazes, fixed on the fingertips of the government employee searching through the documents, was undeniable.

It was a situation that felt quite burdensome for the commoner employee.

“Where… is it… uh, um…”

The employee muttered nervously, flipping through the records.

“Birth registration from 15 years ago… um… the reporter was Councilor Hasr… I vaguely remember it being winter… The name is Ellie…”

Finally, the employee found a record.

“Name, Ellie. Could this be it?”

“Let me see.”

It was correct.

And the birthday was…

“…Pfft.”

Ellie let out a small laugh, and the girls, who had been holding back, crowded behind her.

“What? When is it?”

“Where, where? Let me see too.”

“Wait, move aside. Let me have a look.”

“Hey, don’t push!”

Ellie stepped aside from the document and said, “It’s January 1st.”

“…It’s true.”

“…It really is.”

January was technically winter, but Isabel, whose birthday was in that season, didn’t feel a sense of victory, nor did the other three feel defeated.

When you think of January 1st, the first thing that comes to mind is the start of a new year, not necessarily winter.

And above all…

“It suits Ellie.”

“I agree.”

“Pfft, what’s that supposed to mean? Anyway, Mr. Employee, sorry for suddenly dropping by.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. Feel free to come anytime.”

Despite his words, his facial expression was honest.

Ellie, feeling sorry for the poor man, led her friends out of his office so he could catch his breath.

The high ceiling of the government office made their footsteps echo loudly.

The sound of the five of them walking side by side naturally drew attention.

Stella asked, “So, are we really heading back now?”

Ellie nodded.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

They had finished everything they needed to do in this city.

As the five of them stepped out of the government office, the deep orange sun was setting beyond the horizon.

Shops that operated during the day were slowly closing, while those that served food and drinks in the evening were just beginning to prepare.

It was the transition between day and night.

***

Suddenly, something caught Ellie’s eye from the corner of her vision, and she quickly turned her head.

“Ellie?”

“What’s wrong?”

Ellie raised a finger to quiet her friends and focused on the figure that had suddenly grabbed her attention.

It was a girl.

Black hair, black eyes.

She looked younger than Ellie.

She seemed completely uninterested in her surroundings, simply wandering the streets alone.

Ellie had never seen her before.

Yet, for some reason, she looked familiar.

It was strange.

She wasn’t from the orphanage.

Nor was she from the surrounding villages.

She was definitely someone Ellie was seeing for the first time today.

‘Could she be related to someone Ellie knew? But none of Ellie’s acquaintances had a face that resembled the girl’s.’

‘No.’

There was definitely someone.

‘Who was it? But among the people I know, there’s no one—’

‘Ah.’

The person who resembled the girl was none other than the one Ellie would see when she looked in the mirror.

• The Crown Princess, my half-sister, whom I’ve never seen before.

“Sorry, guys. Go ahead without me.”

With those words, Ellie disappeared from her friends’ sight.

“Eh, Ellie?”

“Huh!?”

“Where did she go!?”

***

Counting from the first emperor as the 1st generation, and the next emperor as the 2nd, my father, the current emperor, was the 16th.

The only child of that emperor, destined to become the 17th emperor, was the Crown Princess.

‘Was it really acceptable for her to wander outside the palace on her own? Absolutely not.’

‘But then again, this was the same father who had repeatedly met with prostitutes and ended up conceiving me. ‘

‘Was that something the palace people encouraged? Of course not.’

Moreover, magical talent is passed down through blood.

Due to compatibility between spouses or mutations, a child’s talent may not be identical to their parents’.

A parent might be stronger than their child, or vice versa.

But generally, they are similar.

I recalled the emperor’s presence that day.

‘The sheer power that made every other mage around me tremble and lose their senses just by his existence.’

‘If the Crown Princess had inherited the emperor’s talent without significant issues, would there be any mage in the palace capable of stopping her?’

‘Even if there were, could they watch her 24 hours a day, 365 days a year?’

‘Probably not.’

It wouldn’t be too difficult for her to slip out alone if she found the right opportunity.

And so, I followed the Crown Princess—my presumed half-sister—in disguise.

’12 years old? 13?’

She was a little under 150 cm tall.

Her face resembled mine, but her eyes were slightly sharper, and her clothes were ordinary.

‘Me.’

‘What do I want to do if I meet her?’

‘If I aim to become the emperor, it’s the same as taking away what was promised to her. That means she’s someone I’ll have to fight and defeat someday.’

However, it’s not like I coincidentally stumbled upon what I wanted and decided to keep it.

If that’s the case, then what I desire is—

“Who are you?”

The moment I followed the girl into the alley, a cold sensation touched my neck.

“You’ve been following me, haven’t you?”

People can’t hear their own voices correctly.

Even so, just from this one sentence, I could tell that the Crown Princess’s voice resembled mine.

Perhaps her tone was slightly lower.

Maybe one day, when she grows up, she’ll have a charming low voice.

“…Haha.”

And upon hearing her voice, I clearly realized what I wanted, and I felt an intuition that it was okay to reach out for it.

“Your Highness, the Crown Princess. May I ask for your name?”

I could feel the trembling in the fingertips of the bold girl who had pointed her weapon at my back.

From that trembling, I sensed that she, too, had heard my voice and seen my face, instinctively feeling some kind of connection.

“Pardon me. Shall I introduce myself first?”

The cold sensation on my neck dissipated as I lightly scattered the gathered mana.

The Crown Princess swallowed hard.

“My name is Ellie. Those close to me call me Eli. And—”

Turning around, For the first time since entering the academy, I revealed my true colors.

“I am someone who shares a different mother, but the same father as you.”

I just wanted to talk to my sister.

“What is your name?”

“…!!”

The girl staggered in shock.

Perhaps still inexperienced in controlling her mana, the disguise of her black hair and eyes faded away.

Hair as white as mine.

Eyes as blue and star-filled as mine.

Finally, after a long silence, my half-sister revealed her name to me.

“Ha… Hanna.”

And she added, “…That’s my name.”

She was a polite child.

***

When we arrived at the carriage stop, my friends, who had been waiting there, waved at me.

“Eli!”

“…Oh dear.”

I told them to go ahead, but they waited for me.

I felt both sorry and grateful.

“Did you wait long?”

“No, it’s fine. By the way…”

Stella hesitated for a moment before asking me, “Whatever it was you had to do, did it go well?”

“Huh?”

When I asked back, Clea also chimed in, “Eli, do you know you’re smiling really brightly right now?”

“Am I? Hehe, I’m not sure. Anyway, let’s go now. Oh, right! I bought this to eat on the way!”

Philia suddenly appeared in front of me, stared at my face, and then chuckled.

“That’s more like you.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

Isabel also joined in, “Eli, you’ve been anxious ever since we got here.”

And then she added, “Not that it’s wrong for you to feel anxious. You can always lean on us if you need to, you know.”

“Thank you.”

Looking up, the night sky was filled with stars.

“You’re right. I was a bit anxious.”

And then, “But something good happened too.”

***

The Crown Princess Hanna, who would become the next Empress, returned to the palace after a shorter detour than planned.

She effortlessly bypassed the basic detection magic set by an ancestor a hundred years ago, slipped through the protective magic of the nagging court mage, and easily broke through numerous other spells to return to her room.

The sun had set, and the moonlight filled the room with a bluish hue.

Hanna sat dazedly on her bed.

She felt hazy.

Her thoughts wouldn’t focus.

But eventually, one word escaped her lips.

“…Sister.”

The sister who had suddenly appeared before her was, above all else, beautiful.

Overwhelmingly so.

Hanna knew she was pretty.

‘Pretty people always know they’re pretty.’

She knew she was prettier than the next prettiest person, the Princess of Hlansr, more beautiful than the often-praised Orlan Marquis, and even more beautiful than her own mother.

‘She wasn’t arrogant, but she was honestly a little proud. After all, it’s nice to be pretty, right?’

But.

The half-sister she had just met.

She was so beautiful that she made Hanna look ordinary in comparison.

It was as if light, gods, stars, and the world itself were all praising her beauty.

Her head spun from the overwhelming admiration, and she couldn’t even bring herself to utter a word of praise.

‘How can someone be that beautiful?’

‘How can one person monopolize so much beauty?’

With that beauty alone, even if she were a penniless commoner, she could wield power no different from a monarch.

She could make men kneel and women weep.

And her terrifying strength, capable of scattering mana in an instant.

‘Perhaps.’

Maybe even more than the Abamama, whom she still couldn’t dare to challenge—

The girl’s heart raced.

***

The fact that she would become the next Empress had always been a burden and an expectation, but it was an unshakable truth.

Just as one might fear the coming of tomorrow but can’t deny that a day will pass after 24 hours.

But.

For the first time, that ‘truth’ was being shaken.

‘Was it really right for her to become the next Empress?’

‘Even if she could, should she?’

“My name is Ellie. Those close to me call me Eli.”

“…My sister.”

Even if they were born from different mothers, they were still sisters.

Hanna was also learning the ways of rulership.

She knew well that the greatest danger to a monarch’s child wasn’t a foreign ruler, but their own siblings.

But.

“Let’s meet again someday, my sister. I promise, I won’t harm you.”

Eli had said that.

Sister Eli had made that promise.

And Sister Eli wasn’t the type to break promises.

Because she was someone who could get what she wanted without breaking them.

Someone who would find a way and actually succeed.

Hanna whispered in the dark room, “…Sister Eli.”

And then she lay down on her bed and closed her eyes.

“Let’s meet again someday, my sister.”

That night, the girl dreamed of a sea of stars.

Countless stars filled the sky, and among them were many bright and beautiful ones.

But when the brightest and most beautiful star, which had been hidden behind the veil of night, finally appeared, all the other stars bowed their heads in reverence.

Hanna was no exception.