Chapter 27
Drip
The small child cautiously placed both hands over the black magic stone. Her eyes were tightly shut, and her fingers tensed with desperate hope—but the gaze watching her remained cold and unfeeling.
“You still don’t sense anything, I see.”
“N-No, I think… I think something is moving…”
The startled child stammered at the chilling voice above her. She squeezed the stone tightly, as if begging it to respond. But unfortunately, nothing happened.
Duke Ingelos watched her with a gaze full of disdain, then suddenly raised his hand and pointed at the stone.
“Ah!”
Boom! A small explosion erupted in the air just above the stone, and a puff of black smoke curled upward. With a sharp scream, the girl standing nearby was thrown backward.
“Even that level of stimulation is useless, huh…”
The duke clicked his tongue in annoyance. Without sparing a glance at his young daughter sprawled on the floor, he turned his back and walked away.
Left alone, the child trembled violently for a while before finally crying silently to herself.
Alessia staggered through the halls, trying to return to her room, when she spotted a group ahead and turned pale. She quickly looked for an escape, but it was too late—someone had already noticed her.
“Wow, look! It’s Alessia! Our great Archmage is here!”
As if on cue, the children gathered at the end of the corridor rushed toward her.
“What miracle did you perform today?”
“Bet it’s a spell us ordinary mages could never dream of. Won’t you show us?”
Alessia, small and frail, was quickly surrounded by the group. There was no gap through which to escape.
“P-Please stop…”
“Oh, of course. We should obey the commands of the mighty Ingelos Archmage!”
Her trembling voice was ignored. What came back was mocking laughter.
These children were her cousins—each of them had once been compared to Alessia during their childhood.
The Ingelos ducal house and its branch families all lived together in a single castle to facilitate the sharing of research progress. Because of this, adult conversations always trickled down to the children. Alessia’s name had left a strong impression on all of them.
“How disrespectful! How dare you behave this way toward our Archmage!”
“Oh no, we’re so sorry!”
Mocking impressions turned to laughter again as their red eyes bore down on Alessia.
“…Did you really think we’d say that?”
“My dad says you’re not even a mage. That Uncle failed with you.”
“You thought you were special, didn’t you? Because everyone used to love you?”
“No, I… I didn’t do anything… I didn’t mean…”
“Shut up!”
A sharp shout cut off her words before she could explain. Alessia reflexively covered her head and curled into herself.
As if trying to force her to raise her head, the children yanked at her hair, revealing her pale scalp as they tugged at her fine strands. The pain was so intense she couldn’t even scream—just swallow her sobs.
“Alessia can’t use magic, she can’t use magic~”
A sing-song chant rang out in her ears. Alessia tried to block out the sound, but the strength of many overpowered her, and she was pushed to the ground.
“Alessia’s a fool, a dummy, a no-magic brat~”
The song went on and on. Alessia’s name was reduced to a cruel joke.
Alessia Ingelos.
Once hailed as the hope of Ingelos and the reincarnation of the Archmage, her name had become a laughingstock.
The first signs of trouble appeared when she began magic lessons at the age of four. Almost all children born into the Ingelos bloodline could instinctively focus and sense magic energy—but Alessia showed no sign of it.
With her supposedly abundant mana, feeling and gathering it should have been effortless. Yet Alessia behaved as though magic didn’t exist at all.
Such late bloomers had occurred before, so the duke remained unshaken and brought out a magic stone. If she couldn’t sense it herself, external stimulation might awaken it. He was confident.
He had witnessed her potential firsthand. He still remembered the brilliance of the magic stone, how it had once lit up like a gem when she touched it.
So even if she was a little clumsy at first, he believed she would soon surpass everyone once she awakened.
“…What on earth…”
But his faith was shattered. No matter how long he waited, the magic stone remained unresponsive. He brought out every stone the Ingelos house possessed, but none reacted to her.
“Monique! Xavier!”
He quickly summoned his wife and younger brother. Annoyed at being interrupted from their own research, they entered with displeasure, but soon grasped the gravity of the situation and began theorizing.
“Maybe she’s just too nervous since it’s her first time?”
“Still, magic wouldn’t be this dormant.”
“Did you try triggering a mana clash?”
“Not yet.”
Sensing the odd atmosphere, Alessia shrank away. But nobody paid her any mind—they were too busy trying to fix the ‘problem.’
Days passed. Then months. Then years.
They proposed all sorts of theories: let her sleep among the stones to raise her mana sensitivity, blast her with multiple mana waves to shock her dormant power into awakening—every family member had a suggestion.
But none of it worked. Alessia still couldn’t sense mana. The stones never responded.
It wasn’t unheard of for someone to suddenly lose their magic. But for a child believed to be overflowing with mana to lose it completely? That was nearly impossible.
The duke and duchess poured themselves into studying her. But nothing changed.
Years passed. Her dazzling talent faded into memory. All that remained was a child, forever walking on eggshells.
Eventually, the ducal couple admitted defeat. Just as always, their interest shifted toward the next experiment.
A failed experiment is meant to be discarded. Once thrown into the laboratory trash, it’s rarely retrieved or remembered.
But Alessia Ingelos, the Ingelos couple’s failed project, was neither discarded nor forgotten. If only she had been—if only she had been abandoned. But instead, she was kept.
A living symbol of the family’s disgrace, she remained imprisoned within the manor.
And so, her life became little better than the trash can she was metaphorically thrown into.
“Poor Alessia, can’t even use magic—why bother reading a magic book?”
Stella sneered as she flicked Alessia’s head and kicked a torn book across the floor.
“Watch yourself. Stop doing things that piss people off.”
Pascal, who had turned her already sparse room into a disaster, spat on the ground and laughed as he exited.
Her secret book was shredded, blood from a gash on her forehead dripped onto the pages, and Alessia leaned against the wall, trying to figure out what she’d done wrong.
Pascal and Stella, born with weak magical ability, had never stood out. Unsurprisingly, they became unremarkable mages.
Lacking the intelligence for research or the talent for magic, they took out their frustrations on Alessia.
But it wasn’t her fault. Just as it wasn’t her fault she had no magic, their lack of ability had nothing to do with her.
‘What did I do wrong?’
The pain throbbed in her head. She bit her lip as she stared at the blood-stained pages.
She couldn’t sense mana. She couldn’t use magic. Reading those books would never change that—she knew it better than anyone.
Still, she couldn’t live waiting to be discarded. She’d tried that already. Nothing changed.
All Alessia wanted was to live a little better. Or just… to live. Even if she wasn’t a mage, living like a normal person would’ve been enough. Was that such a greedy wish?
Creak.
The door opened.
She desperately wanted to rest, but even that seemed impossible.
She weakly lifted her head—and flinched.
It was Richard Ingelos.
Sixteen years older than her, Richard had taken over managing House Ingelos when their parents stepped back for research. He never hit or directly bullied Alessia, but he didn’t help her either. His passive neglect only encouraged the others to torment her more.
And now, he had suddenly appeared. She felt uneasy.
Clink. Richard, staring down at her, threw something.
‘A ring?’
Her eyes followed its path. It was an ornate ring with a large ruby—far too adult for her. But she had no room to be picky. Still, the bigger question was why he was giving it to her.
‘Is he going to accuse me of stealing it?’
She had been falsely accused before, so it was a likely possibility. But Richard wasn’t the type to waste time on such nonsense.
“You can’t live such a worthless life forever. The family has found a use for you.”
Normally, she’d try to flatter him, but she had no strength left. Blood blurred her vision, clinging to her lashes.
“Take that ring and go to Ferdinand. Get engaged to their young lord.”
“…!”
She stared in shock.
Ferdinand? Engagement?
She didn’t understand the reasons, but what caught her attention was the word: leave.
She’d dreamed of escape, but never thought it possible. And now Richard was offering it.
“And while you’re there, deal with the monsters.”
“Monsters…?”
Her dazed head snapped into clarity.
She couldn’t use magic. Telling her to face monsters was practically a death sentence.
Of course. She should’ve known.
She smiled bitterly at herself for even entertaining hope.
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
Still, she nodded. Life in Ingelos was worse than death. Anywhere else—even for a moment—would be better.
Even if that place was Ferdinand, their sworn enemy.
“Use that ring. Just say the spell while wearing it, and even you will be able to use magic. I’ve already infused it with power.”
That shocked her more than anything.
She’d heard rumors Richard was researching the transfer of magic. If successful, he’d be insanely rich. So… he really did it?
Everyone said it was impossible—but the heir had done the impossible.
She caught herself, realizing something.
‘Why is he giving it to me?’
Letting her leave was one thing—but also giving her a tool to survive?
It didn’t feel like the Richard she knew. If anything, it was too kind.
It would’ve been more believable if he’d just sent her off to die.
But this… was too generous.
She looked up at him through blurry vision. He seemed… anxious?
Strange. A breakthrough of that scale should’ve made him proud. But Richard looked uneasy.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t heard anything about his research being completed. Such an achievement would’ve shaken the entire magical world, yet there had been no announcement.
“Don’t let anyone find out you’re using magic through the ring. If word gets out, I’ll have your head. If anything goes wrong, contact me immediately.”
“…Understood.”
Ah, so that’s what this was.
Alessia finally understood. Richard was using her as a test subject.
If side effects occurred, she could just die in enemy territory. No loose ends. She was perfect for experimentation.
There must be a reason a mage was needed in Ferdinand—and no one else volunteered. So, they chose her.
It all made sense now.
‘I don’t care.’
After Richard left, Alessia sat in silence, clutching the ring.
Even if it was a trap, she had to turn it into an opportunity. She didn’t have the strength or means to escape Ingelos on her own. She might never get a second chance.
Maybe… just maybe… she could build a new life in Ferdinand.
In Ingelos, she had long since been branded a failure. But over there, no one knew her.
If only…
Even if she became a test subject again, she didn’t mind. If that’s what it took to live like a normal person—she was willing to risk it all.
I’ll survive.
Alessia made a vow.
No matter what, she would survive in Ferdinand—and claim her life.
