Golden Cage

I clutched the five foundational textbooks, volumes that threatened to shatter my image as a genius in everyone’s eyes, and practically fled the library.

The afternoon sun was warm and gentle, yet a chill snaked down my spine.

Elinor von Windermere’s amethyst-like eyes, like two bottomless ancient wells, seemed intent on drawing out every secret from the depths of my soul.

There were no safe corners within this academy.

I quickened my pace, moving through the meticulously manicured courtyards, past the scattered groups of students still conversing, all heading in one direction…

Towards the dormitories, I hurried.

There, Lilliana’s private dormitory awaited.

It was my last, and only, safe haven within this perilous academy.

****

The dormitories for S-class students were independent, courtyard-style buildings; they were less dorms and more like small villas.

As I unlocked the ornate iron gate with my key, then pushed open the heavy main door emblazoned with the family crest…

A scene of opulence, enough to stun any modern person, greeted my eyes.

Velvet carpets, crystal chandeliers, a full set of rosewood furniture, and authentic masterpieces by unknown painters adorned the walls.

Everything here exuded an aura that screamed, “I am incredibly wealthy, and my taste is impeccable.”

It was a gilded cage—magnificent, yet utterly cold.

“Young Lady, you’ve returned.”

My personal maid, Anna, was already waiting in the living room.

Upon seeing me, she immediately bowed, her voice carrying its usual, thinly veiled nervousness.

“Mm.”

I nodded, placing the books I carried onto the low cabinet in the entryway.

“I’m back.”

When Anna saw the titles of the books, a flicker of confusion clearly crossed her eyes, but she was clever enough to ask nothing.

Instead, she simply lowered her head, awaiting my next instruction.

“I’d like to change clothes, and then have some hot tea,” I stated.

Wearing this elaborate school uniform always made me feel constrained, unable to relax.

“Yes, I’ll prepare everything for you immediately.”

Anna led me into the bedroom.

The level of luxury here surpassed even that of the living room, featuring a dressing room that connected to a massive walk-in closet.

From the closet, she retrieved a soft, pale lavender lounge dress.

“Young Lady, please allow me to assist you with changing.”

Anna’s voice still trembled.

My first instinct was to say, “No, I’ll do it myself,” but the words caught in my throat.

Refusing a maid’s service would be an unusual act for a ducal daughter, one that could easily arouse suspicion.

“…Alright.”

I uttered the single word with difficulty, then turned my back to her somewhat stiffly.

Anna stepped closer, and I could feel her warm breath softly caress the nape of my neck.

Her cool fingertips, lightly calloused, began to undo the intricate row of buttons down my back.

Her movements were light and careful, yet still trembled slightly from nervousness.

Each unintentional brush of her fingertips sent a wave of discomfort through me.

It was an experience entirely new to me.

The air filled with the faint scent of Anna’s laundry soap, mingling with the lingering fragrance of shampoo in my hair.

In the overly quiet room, the rustle of fabric and our two breaths—one light, one heavy—were amplified infinitely.

As the stiff, restrictive uniform slipped from my shoulders, revealing a large expanse of bare skin on my back, I felt Anna’s breath hitch for a moment.

Immediately, her trembling fingertips, as if burned, moved faster to drape the soft lounge dress over me.

The entire process felt so intimate that my cheeks flushed.

Yet, I knew that for Anna, in that moment, it was likely not intimacy, but a terrifying ritual akin to serving a deity.

“There, Young Lady.”

“…Thank you.”

I whispered the words almost instinctively.

Anna’s body jolted violently.

Turning around, I saw her staring at me with an unprecedented look of shock, bordering on stupor.

Her brown eyes were filled with immense confusion, as if asking, ‘Did I just imagine that?’

In “Lilliana’s” memories, the words “thank you” had never once been uttered to a servant.

‘Ah, damn it…’

Once again, I had inadvertently revealed my ‘true self.’

Daring not to meet her gaze, I turned away somewhat awkwardly, walked to the sofa, and sat down, picking up the books I had placed on the cabinet earlier.

“Bring the tea…to the study. Do not disturb me before I call for you,” I commanded in as flat a tone as possible, attempting to rectify my earlier blunder.

“Yes, Young Lady!”

Anna, as if granted a great pardon, practically stumbled out of the room, her movements awkward.

It wasn’t until the bedroom door gently closed that I finally exhaled, slumping completely into the sofa.

Dealing with people was utterly exhausting.

A moment later, I carried the books into the study, which adjoined the bedroom.

Anna had already placed a steaming pot of black tea and delicate pastries on the table before quietly withdrawing.

Finally, I had the space I had yearned for, a place entirely my own.

I opened ‘Introduction to Mana Perception and Meditation’ and began to pore over it, word by word.

The contents of the book were not complex.

It likened mana to a dormant river within the human body, and meditation was the method to awaken this river and sense its flow.

Following the book’s instructions, I closed my eyes, regulated my breathing, and diligently attempted to clear my mind, seeking to perceive the so-called river of mana within me.

Five minutes, ten minutes…

Nothing.

My body was utterly silent; forget a river, I couldn’t even sense a trickle.

As expected…

Was I merely an ordinary person, devoid of any talent for magic?

Had the incident at the school gate been a mere coincidence, or perhaps just muscle memory from this body?

A wave of panic and frustration washed over me like a tide.

If I couldn’t use magic…

Then in this world, I would be utterly helpless, let alone capable of avoiding the dangerous plotlines.

I refused to give up.

I closed my eyes once more, but this time, I didn’t deliberately search.

Instead, I tried to recall…

To recall… that faint, elusive sensation I had experienced since transmigrating into this body…

A feeling entirely different from when I was an ordinary person in my past life.

It was a…

A subtle, cold heaviness that permeated every fiber of my being.

I focused my entire consciousness on that sensation of heaviness.

Time, in that moment, seemed to lose all meaning.

After an indeterminate period, just as my consciousness was on the verge of plunging into chaos…

I saw it.

Deep within my spiritual world, there was no river, no stream.

Instead, there was a vast, boundless, dormant, pitch-black deep sea.

It was tranquil, frigid, unfathomable, containing immense power capable of devouring everything.

On its surface, a solitary, dark red moon reflected.

This was…

Lilliana von Eckhart’s mana.

It was not my own power.

But from this day forward, I had to learn to tame this monster, this genius, slumbering within me.