Chapter 28

The Arsedium Empire has no empress.

Long ago, during the time when the current emperor Julius was still crown prince…

There was a woman who should have become empress but died due to political strife.

Even before Julius became crown prince, he had married this woman and even had a child with her. The crown princess left behind only three children before eventually passing away.

At that time, Crown Prince Julius ultimately killed his brother, who was both his wife’s enemy and political rival, and ascended to the throne. However, unable to forget the crown princess, he only took a consort to solidify his early reign as emperor but left the position of empress vacant, warning all not to covet it.

Later, not wanting his children to endure the same bloody political struggles as his generation, he pre-designated Allen von Arsedium, the eldest of the crown princess’s three children, as crown prince. He emphasized family harmony over competition.

Fortunately, Allen, designated as crown prince, was a strong child with the makings of an able ruler.

He vividly remembered how his mother died in the blood feud among family members and was extremely wary of any conflict within the family. He felt responsible for protecting his younger siblings, which made him focus on strengthening his abilities while firmly securing his position as crown prince.

Meanwhile, Riana, the first princess and second child, having witnessed her mother die and her father become worn down by politics, harbored disgust for political power struggles. She early on relinquished political power through a strategic marriage.

…And Elysia, the youngest child of the crown princess, trained herself in martial arts and worked to grow stronger.

Elysia, who was four years old at the time of her mother’s death, had watched the entire process with her own eyes.

Elysia still remembers it vividly.

The happy times when her mother would lie in bed next to her and tell her stories in a gentle voice…

-SCREEEEEECH!

…followed by the arrival of ‘death,’ which engulfed both her and her mother.

The powerless four-year-old could do nothing but tremble as she watched her mother die, leaving Elysia with a deep trauma.

Despite Allen and Riana’s efforts to love and support her through it, Elysia couldn’t overcome that day.

Whenever she felt the void left by her mother, she cursed her own weakness and often had nightmares.

It was far too heavy a burden for a four-year-old to bear—witnessing the death of a beloved mother right before her eyes. Naturally, overcoming it would be impossible.

So, she began to train herself. She wanted to grow stronger to conquer what happened that day.

She believed that if she grew strong enough to never feel that helplessness again, she could extract the thorn deeply embedded in her soul.

Of course, it shocked the public that a royal princess, let alone a female one, would train in martial arts, but Emperor Julius, Crown Prince Allen, and First Princess Riana understood her.

Thus, they didn’t stop her from training or going into the maze, since it wasn’t as dangerous as people thought.

As long as one stayed clear of trials, there was little real danger. If things got truly perilous, divine protection could enable an emergency escape.

Though treacherous, it wasn’t exceedingly dangerous. Moreover, Elysia showed great talent in martial arts. By the time she entered the academy, she was already formidable enough to challenge even the captain of the royal knights.

With her skills, she could navigate the maze without much trouble. Perhaps she might even reach the fabled 100th level, untouched by anyone before.

While they didn’t expect such feats, everyone believed Elysia would handle it fine…

Even Elysia herself believed so.

However…

“Ugh…!”

She emerged from the maze carrying a grave problem.

A demon.

Or rather, something called a demon seed had parasitized her body, and she brought it out of the maze.

Now, the pantheon worshipping celestial gods insists she must be burned alive immediately, disregarding imperial status. Meanwhile, the empire strives to protect her.

And caught in the middle…

“Haaak…!”

Elysia endures the greatest pain of all…

***

“Thus, the curse upon the princess was lifted by the prince… And they lived happily ever after.”

The warmth of soft blankets, tender fingers running through her hair, and a sweet, soothing voice whispering in her ear.

“Did you enjoy it, Ellie?”

“Yes! It was fun!”

A tranquil and blissful moment unfolds.

The young girl asked,

“Mother, am I a princess too?”

“Of course. You’re the prettiest princess of all.”

“If I were cursed, would a prince come and save me?”

“Hmm, naturally. A handsome prince will surely come to rescue Ellie.”

“Waah…”

The innocent girl’s eyes sparkled as she dreamed of fairy tales.

Most people would find it adorable…

But not the observer of all this.

“…”

Behind the affectionate mother-daughter exchange stood a figure resembling how the little girl might have grown up.

Soft white hair glowing under faint lighting, pretty pink eyes inherited from her mother, delicate yet ideal features, and a well-proportioned figure honed by balanced training.

A young woman blooming into beauty watched with hollow eyes.

“…Ha.”

Her expression twisted. Far from the innocent girl gleefully sparkling nearby, she bore no resemblance.

Bitter mockery carved itself onto her seemingly pure face, like a defiled lily—a paradoxical ugliness in beauty.

Tears trickled down her weary, empty eyes, but no one noticed them, making her feel even more wretched.

“Prince… What about a prince…”

Childish nonsense, mere fantasies of a young girl.

To her now thoroughly exhausted self, it was nothing more than laughable false hope.

“And then…!”

The child continued obliviously. That’s when it happened.

BANG!

“!”

The door to where the mother and daughter sat burst open, and something entered.

“#$@#$@$#!”

It resembled black smoke.

An indistinct shape repeatedly dispersing and coalescing into a humanoid form.

Like a shadow, it emitted incomprehensible sounds as it lunged toward the mother and child.

“No!”

The mother threw herself at the shadow to protect her child, and…

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

The mother was swallowed by the shadow.

SPLASH…

Blood flowed from beneath the shadow like a waterfall.

Soon, it filled the room and engulfed the trembling little girl lying on the bed.

Before long, the woman observing everything had become the trembling girl, shedding tears.

“No… Gulp… No…”

Though it had been repeated ad nauseam, the woman merged with her younger self succumbed to the same helplessness and despair, growing weaker.

“Ugh… Uuuugh… No… Enough already…”

Blood filled her lungs, stomach, throat—her whole body soaked in it.

“Are you suffering?”

Suddenly, someone appeared before the girl-turned-woman and asked.

It was a woman.

Snow-white hair, a pink left eye, and where her right eye should be, a flower bloomed.

Except for the flower, she looked exactly like the little girl.

“It’s natural to suffer, isn’t it?”

She spoke gently, almost consolingly, to the girl.

“If you’re a useless child who can only tremble helplessly as your mother dies, it’s only natural to suffer.”

“So, feel free to suffer as much as you want.”

“This is the punishment you deserve. So…”

“Please vanish in agony.”

“Guh… Hic…”

She realized she was gradually accepting those words.

That she was a being destined to suffer, and thus needed to disappear in agony.

“It’s okay to vanish.”

“You don’t need to be useful.”

“It’s fine because you were a child, powerless and insignificant.”

“Since you still are… It’s okay to vanish.”

“Huuh… Hic…”

Still, fear crept in at the end.

She didn’t want to vanish. She didn’t want to disappear uselessly.

She didn’t want to die.

Such selfish survival instincts…

Flash!

Once again, they led her back to a painful life.

***

Flash!

“Haaak…! Haaak…!”

The second princess of the Arsedium Empire, Elysia von Arsedium, opened her eyes.

“Huuh… Cough, cough…”

Wiping away tears streaming down her face, she coughed with a dry throat.

“Haa, haa…”

Gasping for breath multiple times, she soon gazed ahead.

Ahahaha, so you’ve chosen suffering again?

How foolish. Why won’t you just disappear?

Isn’t it painful? Why do you persist?

Do you still believe in the hope from fairy tales?

“Shut up!”

The voices and the writing appearing before her clouded her mind.

Scattering the hallucinations and auditory hallucinations with a wave of her hand, she looked around.

Glug, glug…

Zzzeeeerrrrk…

“Ellie…”

“Suffer… Ellie…”

“I love you… So…”

“Disappear, please.”

Blood and shadows churned. They coalesced into grotesque forms eerily resembling her mother, making them even more unsettling.

Ignoring these hallucinations, she spotted the rosary on the table and picked it up.

“Haa, haa…!”

Whoosh!

Holy light swirled around her body. Immediately, the hallucinations and auditory hallucinations vanished.

Though mentally she should have felt relieved…

“Ugh…!”

She winced in pain, clutching her mouth as she headed to the sink.

“UUUUUUUGH…!”

Bile mixed with blood poured out of her mouth. Having abstained from food, her stomach was empty.

Nevertheless…

Drip, drip…

Blood mixed with her vomit, indicating her poor condition.

“…Cough… Is divine power outright rejecting me now?”

Her body hosts the Seed of the Demon, slowly transforming her into a demonic entity.

As her body becomes more infiltrated by the seed, her magic grows stronger while simultaneously rejecting other forces like divine power.

She was already significantly infiltrated. In fact, her body could now be considered practically demonic.

Yet she persists because her spirit hasn’t been fully corrupted.

Breathing heavily several times, she collapsed, sitting down.

“Disgusting.”

When forcing divine power into her body, it felt like swallowing an entirely used rag whole.

How long could she keep enduring like this? Did she really have to?

“Nngh!”

Unconsciously entertaining such thoughts, she shook her head.

She couldn’t give up recklessly.

Her father, His Majesty the Emperor, and Brother Allen hadn’t given up hope. Even Sister Riana, who had married and moved far away, worried about her.

If she gave up first, she’d betray their expectations.

Even if she couldn’t fill the void left by her mother, they were precious family to Elysia. Without their care, she might have broken down and become a recluse in her childhood.

“…I can’t keep doing this.”

Being confined to her room only increased her gloomy thoughts.

She should take a walk to clear her head. It was late at night anyway, so there wouldn’t be many students or faculty outside.

Thus, she slipped on a simple coat and stepped out.

The fresh night air greeted her as she put on light shoes and exited the student dormitory.

“Phew…”

She felt somewhat better than before. She paused to breathe deeply in front of the dormitory.

‘I’ll just take a light stroll in the garden… Hmm?’

Then she noticed it.

She smelled something incredibly nostalgic.

She breathed in deeply again.

Ssssuuup…

“Haa…”

Sweet… Almost like pastries.

Unlike divine power, which felt revolting, this scent was extremely tempting.

This… Yes, it reminded her of…

‘The sweet pastries I ate with Mother when I was little…’

Without realizing it, she was drawn to the scent. It was so familiar and comforting.

Sweet and intoxicating, it felt like her mother’s presence itself.

“Haa, haa…!”

Her expression brightened. Before she knew it, she was running towards the source of the scent, her coat blowing off in the wind.

She ran towards the sweet smell.

Something that could erase this disgusting ‘divine power’…

Rustle, rustle!

She pushed through the bushes in the garden. Her face no longer reflected any rationality. Breaking through the foliage, she saw…

“Haa, haa…!”

“…Hmm.”

There was a man.

His hair was like melted ink under a starless night sky, his eyes barely visible as slits, his beauty almost unnaturally perfect…

For a moment, she stared blankly at him, then shifted her gaze to something he held.

“Haa…?”

She realized the sweet scent came from the man, specifically whatever he was holding.

Her eyes widened when she saw it.

Horns.

They were horns of some unknown creature.

However, that wasn’t important.

Swishhh…

The overwhelming magical energy radiating from it. Realizing this, she went limp and collapsed.

The sweet scent she’d followed was actually the demonic aura—magic energy emanating from the demon.

Could it be… She’d been attracted to demonic energy?

“Ahhh…”

So that’s it. She’d crossed an irreversible line, perceiving this vile energy as sweet as pastries.

Now… She didn’t know.

She saw no hope.

She recalled losing her mind and running towards the demonic energy.

How disgraceful.

She was… practically a demon already.

The Pantheon serving the celestial gods would surely try to execute the empire’s princess turned demon, likely harming her father and siblings trying to protect her in the process.

Thinking about it, tears streamed down her remaining good eye.

She was… utterly useless. Worse, a menace to the world.

Perhaps… It would be easier to give up and die now.

Just as she thought that…

“Hmm… Are you alright?”

The man, who had briefly glanced at a horn before storing it in a subspace pocket, approached her. Elysia instinctively cried out.

“Don’t come closer!”

“…”

“I… I’m… now…”

Dangerous. A demon. She wanted to say but couldn’t form the words, merely covering her right eye where the flower had bloomed as if tearing it off.

“…Judging by your appearance, you seem to be a victim.”

Ignoring her warning, the man approached. Elysia, still seated, tried to retreat.

“Don’t… Come…”

“Apparently, it’s a parasitic form… Judging roughly, the infiltration seems quite advanced. Were you drawn here by the demon’s magical energy?”

“…!”

At that, she stared at him, still covering her right eye. The man smiled faintly.

“Ah, my apologies. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Yujin, the newly appointed professor at the academy. Are you a student here?”

“I… I’m…”

As Elysia stammered, confused, Yujin smiled and spoke.

“Well, you look like a student based on your age… And you did come from the direction of the student dormitories, so it fits. Don’t worry too much.”

Saying that, Yujin knelt on one knee to meet her eye level—or rather, his half-closed eyes.

“Not officially a professor yet… But as an educator and adult, I have a duty to prioritize the welfare of students.”

As he said that, a crimson mana magic circle floated above Yujin’s hand.

“Ahh…”

Mesmerized by the sight resembling a red galaxy…

The incomprehensible 3D magic circle transformed into flat planes, lines, and points…

Swoosh…

Yujin reached toward the flower in Elysia’s covered right eye.

Tap.

His finger touched a petal, and then…

Whoosh!

“Ahh!”

With a red glow, a sense of calm began to envelop her.

Her strength drained, leaving her feeling drowsy. As if a major pillar supporting her was collapsing.

Something inside her began to fall asleep…

“Ahh…”

“Looks like you haven’t slept properly. Rest peacefully first.”

Through her blurred vision, she saw the beautiful man with crimson eyes smiling at her.

That was her last memory.

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