Chapter 18: The Ripple of Emotions

Her mind felt distant.

It seemed like her legs might give way any moment on the bridge.

If it were in the past, she would have collapsed and succumbed to despair.

It was always like that.

An unstoppable violence would come crashing down on her.

Elin had no choice but to accept it.

But now, it was different.

After meeting Luke, she had learned how to express her opinions.

She regained her ability to smile.

She learned to grumble.

And she learned how to say “no.”

Most importantly, she had learned how to handle subordinates, and Elin exhibited an extraordinary level of patience.

“Bring it back.”

It was her last chance.

“Huh? What? The doll?”

“Yeah.”

“I already threw it away. It’s probably covered in filth by now.”

“I don’t care.”

She felt like she would go mad if she didn’t hold that doll right away.

“Ugh, it’s probably filthy, though…”

Lara’s words trailed off.

Her intentions were obvious.

Elin gritted her teeth.

“Fine. If you don’t want to bring it back, just tell me where it is. I’ll go get it myself.”

“What’s so special about that doll…?”

“It’s precious.”

Elin felt no need to explain further.

She knew that no matter what she said, Lara wouldn’t understand.

She shut her mouth tight and looked up at Lara.

Tch.

Lara clicked her tongue and turned her head with a look of annoyance, as if it had become a bother.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know anymore.”

“…What?”

“I left it at the trash dump just before it was about to be incinerated. It’s probably burning by now…”

Burning?

…The rabbit doll?

Lara was saying something, but Elin couldn’t hear a word of it.

The surroundings suddenly went dark, as if the world had plunged into shadow.

Nothing could be heard.

Nothing could be seen.

In that moment, she felt as if she were isolated in utter darkness.

“Ah.”

An empty sound escaped her lips.

Then.

Drip, drip.

Something slid down her cheek.

“…?”

She wiped her hand across her face and felt something damp.

What was this?

“Are you… crying?”

The answer came from Lara.

Am I crying?

As her senses slowly returned, light returned to the world, and sound came back to the muted space.

She couldn’t even recognize the expression on her own face, but then—

Drip.

Looking at the liquid falling to the floor, Elin realized it.

Oh, I’m crying.

Her vision blurred in front of her.

Tears flowed endlessly.

But Elin was surprisingly calm, even to herself.

Maybe it was because the shock was so great.

It felt as if her body and mind had detached from each other.

As she wiped her face with her hand, it quickly became damp again.

No matter how much she rubbed her eyes, the tears didn’t stop.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you’d be this upset…”

Lara, startled by the sight of Elin like a broken faucet, nervously approached.

“Please, stop for now…”

Lara reached out her hand.

Elin instinctively took a step back.

It was a reflex.

“Your Highness? Why are you looking at me like that…”

Elin didn’t know what kind of expression she had.

But one thing was certain.

She felt disgusted.

The woman who had thrown away the rabbit doll to spite her, and now, showing concern, was repulsive.

Her concern wasn’t even about Elin.

It was about her own future.

“Ugh…”

It was as if Elin wanted to avoid the touch of a filthy insect, as her stomach churned.

Even as Elin pushed away Lara’s hand in disgust, the tears continued to fall.

“I’ll buy you a new one. Just forget the old doll, and calm down…”

“…Hah.”

The words couldn’t be ignored.

As if they were a lie, Elin’s tears stopped.

“You want me to forget it?”

Her stomach churned violently.

She had been given a chance.

She had refrained from responding to careless remarks, tolerated a rebellious attitude countless times.

But now, Lara had crossed the line.

“…You dare. Forget it.”

To forget the doll that had been with her for her entire life, the one that had memories attached to it?

The one her teacher had repaired for her?

Ugh—

Mana swirled around her.

It wasn’t Elin’s will.

“Your… Highness?”

The lavender-colored hair flashed in her mind.

Lara could sense the growing unease, but it was already too late.

“Find it. No matter what.”

Mana, which Elin hadn’t even known how to control, had begun to leak out in response to her boiling emotions.

If Luke had been here, he would have guided her.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t present.

“Your Highness, please wait. I’ll go buy a new one right now…”

“I don’t need a new one. Even if it’s the same doll, it doesn’t matter if it’s not the one that was here.”

Her cold voice made the air freeze.

“But how can I find it? It’s probably burned by now…”

Lara shouted in panic, as if she had been stabbed in the gut by the sharpness of the words.

It was like a cornered mouse showing its teeth to a cat.

“…Find it.”

Elin repeated the same words.

The only thing that had changed was the pulsing wave of mana around her.

The waves, slow but relentless, pressed down on the room.

“I… I can’t find it. I don’t even know where it is anymore…”

Lara’s muscles stiffened as she struggled to speak, trapped in her own fear.

“Find it. Even if it’s buried in the trash or burning, find it.”

Elin’s eyes, which had been a clear blue, were now pitch black.

Her gaze was no longer on Lara.

Her focus was completely lost.

The faint light that had been returning was extinguished.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t know it was that important to you…”

Lara, now realizing the seriousness of the situation, felt her legs give way.

What stood before her was not the helpless little girl from a worthless family.

It was a ticking time bomb, unpredictable, ready to explode.

Lara’s instincts, now ringing alarms, made her crouch down as much as possible.

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Please, just forgive me…”

But her meaningless apologies didn’t help.

“…You won’t do it again?”

Creek—

The taut strings of reason inside Elin’s head made a dangerous sound.

“Hah…”

Slowly, she felt her sanity slipping away.

Her chest.

More specifically, something near her mana heart was shaking violently.

“You can’t do it. You’ve already thrown it away.”

Thunk.

When the last strand of reason snapped, the power of Elin’s fury exploded.

“Find it! NOW!!”

BOOM!

The room was swept by mana, erupting with cold rage.

“Phew.”

Luke let out a deep sigh as he stared at the inscription on the door.

[Office]

It wasn’t the office of Natia he had visited before.

This was a space reserved only for the head of the Ducal family.

The office of the Berthein family.

He had clenched and unclenched his fists several times.

He had come here confidently, but now, facing the door, he was nervous.

He couldn’t help it.

As he had said many times before, the Berthein family was one of the five major noble houses in the empire.

And the Duke of Berthein was one of the most respected figures in the empire.

Within the family, he was a psychopath who used his youngest daughter as a punching bag.

But in the empire, he was a swordmaster who had achieved countless feats.

For a mere son of a magic family to defy him was an impossible feat.

At first, Luke had been fired up after seeing Elin’s bruised calf.

But now, he realized…

“I’m still not strong enough.”

He wasn’t ready to take on the Duke yet.

But if he just turned back now, would things get better?

No. Absolutely not.

If he didn’t act now, he would be stuck in the same everyday life. Nothing would change.

Elin would continue to live in fear every night, dreading when her father would come for her, suffering from insomnia.

He couldn’t allow that.

But how could he fight the Duke?

Lost in thought, he heard a voice.

“What’s the matter?”

A servant appeared from the corridor.

It was the same servant Luke had met when he first came for his interview.

“I need to speak to the Duke.”

Luke gave a calm smile.

Hiding his nervousness was one of his skills.

“Is that so?”

Of course, the servant didn’t suspect anything strange.

“But the Duke isn’t in his office right now.”

“What?”

Luke felt his strength drain from his body.

…He had been anxiously waiting in front of an empty room.

“Well then, where is he?”

“He should be in a carriage heading north by now.”

“Heading north?”

“Yes. The Duke left early this morning for the north.”

Luke couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

So, before he left for his trip, the Duke had gone to beat Elin with a whip?

What a diligent domestic abuser.

“If you have a message, I can deliver it for you.”

“…It’s fine. I’ll come back later.”

Luke left the office with an angry sigh.

He bit down on his teeth.

After all the effort he had put into healing Elin’s wounds…

Her father came and tore everything apart again.

The violence never stopped.

This world had so many broken pieces.

Luke could never forgive those who broke them.

Not now, not in the future.