“It’s useless to try and use me for the Progenitor revival!”
“Oh, and why is that?”
Olivier glared at Cassandra, doing her best to hide her agitation. However, Cassandra showed no signs of being bothered and maintained a gentle smile.
“As I said before, I, no, it’s not just me. Those who inherited the Progenitor’s blood deeply have had a procedure performed. No matter how skilled you are in magic, Cassandra, I don’t believe you can break a seal set by a dragon.”
“…That’s right. Normally, one would think so.”
“You seem quite confident.”
“Of course. Because before the dragon could do anything to you, I had already taken countermeasures.”
“—What?”
For a moment, Olivier couldn’t comprehend what she had just heard.
—What did Cassandra Hagedorff just say?
She claimed to have taken countermeasures. Even if it were true, when and where had it been done?
“Did you… do something to me?”
“Yes, I did. I had been preparing for this very day for a long time.”
“What, and when did you do it to me!?”
“Let’s see, perhaps ten years ago?”
“…No, impossible.”
Ten years. At that single word, Olivier was speechless. It was understandable. She never imagined that Cassandra had seen her as a vessel for the Progenitor revival long before she met Jared.
The memories she had cultivated with Cassandra were crumbling before her eyes.
The days spent like sisters with Cassandra, who, despite having little freedom and no place of her own in the mansion, tried her best to be more noble than anyone else. Gradually, they had become distant due to her mother’s stubbornness, but Olivier knew she still cared.
When she was young, Cassandra had visited her when she had a fever. Sometimes, they had even gone to the Alway Ducal Family’s summer retreat with other childhood friends.
The shock of realizing that all of it might have been a lie was immense.
“It was purely a coincidence. I agonized over who to choose as a vessel for the Progenitor’s revival. Someone with high quality, immense magic power, and talent as a magician. I’m not boasting, but it had to be me.”
“…I see. No, if that were the case, I shouldn’t be suitable as a vessel. I don’t possess any magic power.”
“Yes, that’s right. I sealed your magic power. That’s why you’ve been mistaken all this time.”
“Eh?”
Overwhelmed by astonishment, the extent of which she had lost count, Olivier stiffened. Cassandra continued.
“Do you remember? Ten years ago, you had a high fever for several days, even though you weren’t sick.”
“Yes… I was saved by the medicine Cassandra, Older Sister, prepared for me back then.”
“But that medicine was just a nutritional supplement. Olivier, at that time, you had just begun to manifest latent magic power and talent as a magician.”
“I had magic power? Talent as a magician? That’s impossible. Because if I did, I should be able to use magic!”
“Ideally, yes. But that day, I sealed away all of your magic power and talent.”
“…How could you.”
She didn’t desire magic power. She had never wished to be a magician. Had she possessed such talent, her father might have made her his successor. In that case, her mother’s danger would only have increased.
However, having her magic power taken away without her permission and without her knowledge was something she felt strongly about. This was especially true if it was to be used for the Progenitor’s revival.
“The doctor attached to the Alway Ducal Family, as well as the magicians, were not exactly of high caliber. That’s why they couldn’t determine the cause of Olivier’s fever. But I noticed, and I wanted to help you. Of course, I did. After all, I doted on you like a younger sister.”
But, Cassandra said, her eyes narrowing as if recalling the past.
“It was a magnificent talent. It far surpassed my own. You possessed magic power and talent that would surpass even Lady Liz Murphy, who was lauded as the strongest among the former Court Mages.”
“Me, surpassing Jared’s mother… It’s impossible.”
Her thoughts couldn’t keep up. It was beyond her comprehension. Surpassing a former Court Mage who was the child of Wahash, the leader of Waalthe, and bore the epithet “God of Destruction,” was too outlandish.
“At that time, I was already a priestess of the Progenitor, capable of perceiving the magic power of others. That was my mistake. I thought your talent was wonderful. And I also thought—that you were a suitable vessel for the Progenitor.”
“You decided ten years ago to make me a sacrifice for the Progenitor’s revival.”
“I’m sorry. At first, I was genuinely concerned about you. But I knew someone with talent like Olivier’s would likely never appear again. Even your younger fiancé isn’t as gifted as you.”
Even being told she possessed greater talent than Jared didn’t resonate with her. Since her talent was apparently sealed, she had no way to experience it herself.
“That’s enough! I don’t want to hear your excuses! Tell me what you did to me!”
Cassandra spoke as if she had only been concerned and had no intention of using her, and Olivier’s anger finally reached its limit.
She no longer cared about Cassandra’s feelings. She wanted to know clearly what had been done to her in the past.
“…I’m sorry. I’ll tell you everything. Olivier, you have the right to know.”
“Of course. And you have an obligation to tell me.”
“First, I sealed the magic power that had awakened to lower Olivier’s fever. For a body that had never possessed magic power, a sudden and overwhelming amount would only be poison. If it had ended there, it might have been an act of goodwill. But I continued. I performed multiple sealing procedures to prevent it from awakening again. I did this without telling you, or the Duke, or Lady Hannelore. Olivier’s awakening of magic power became my secret alone.”
