Chapter 26: Chapter 23: Into A Distant Past

In the far, far north of the Lesich Empire lay a city called Aurlux.

A city that is well known for having prestigious families as its residents. One of them was The Ilis Family, a family known for high-level mages and advanced technological research. 

Their estate is surrounded by many high-level barriers and technologically advanced magic-engineered marvels that rival the ones in Ilifel. 

And the head of the Ilis family were Amethely’s parents. Although they weren’t gifted in magic, they were instead extraordinary regarding research. 

Their daughter Chely on the other hand was a prodigy mage and blade dancer. They gave her the best possible education, and she was taken under by one of the Sages who took notice of her talent. 

Not only was she talented, but she was also hard-working, diligent, and intelligent. If she was to be polished, she would one day grow to become someone great. 

Amethely, on the other hand, was not blessed with magic talent, nor was she as bright as her sister. But they all loved her despite that. 

She was kind and sweet, and her parents loved doting on her whenever they could. 

When Chely came home, she would always be healed by her. She told her about how strict the Sage was or how harsh her training had been. 

And her sweet little sister would take her out to the garden to show the flowers she’d taken care of with the servants. 

Chely would always tell her that the flowers were arranged beautifully. 

She would also pat her head and give her a hug which would always be reciprocated back with a bright smile. 

Chely felt all her fatigue fade as she spent the time indulging her sister instead. 

“Ame, you’re so cute. Big sis will protect you for the rest of your life!” 

Lifting the small Amethely. She danced with her while carrying Amehtly in her arms. Chely felt such bliss spending this precious time with her. 

And the servants would watch this sight with warmth and soft smiles. 

“He~he~ Ame will protect big sister Chely too!” 

—::::—

Later, when Chely left, Amethely couldn’t help but feel lonely. 

Yet again, her sister was gone for a while, and her parents would spend days or weeks away from home researching in different cities. 

The servants were taking good care of her. She also didn’t meet many people since the Ilis family would not accept any entrance beyond the gates if the head of the family wasn't in the estate. 

She was appointed a tutor and had a few etiquettes, dance, and flower arrangement classes. 

While she enjoyed them, she felt them somewhat lacking. 

Her parents were great researchers, her grandmother a Saint, her Grandpa a headmaster of an elite academy, and her sister a combat prodigy. 

She didn’t feel special. 

Not compared to the great people of her lineage, at least. 

Putting on a strong front in front of others while getting crushed by the pressure of her family's prestige, she felt utterly lost. 

What was the thing that made her special? She didn’t know and asked her parents, who answered that she was one of them. And that she was their precious daughter. 

One day when she understood those words, she started to feel guilty. 

Guilty about the fact that she wasn’t as talented as her sister. 

She realized that nobody was expecting anything of her. 

And it was at that moment. Amethely dedicated herself to becoming as great as the rest of her family.

—::::—

At nine years old, she would sneak into her parent's study and read books while nobody was watching. It was, of course, too hard for her to understand. 

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But she still didn’t give up as she looked for something that she could understand and learn from. She wanted to keep it a secret and surprise everybody one day. 

She learned to use light magic through her imagination and manipulate the little mana she had in her body. 

Before she goes to sleep, she illuminates the room with light magic and falls asleep due to exhaustion. 

And one day, one of the servants stumbles upon it and tells her parents. 

Wondering why she kept it a secret, she told them it was a surprise. Chucking by their daughter's words, they asked if she wanted a tutor to teach her. 

Amethely’s eyes brightened as she nodded her head. 

Seeing their precious daughter so excited and happy while spoiling her, they felt like hopeless parents. But what could they do but grant her what she wished for? 

They both knew that she felt lonely without the both of them and Chely.

Feeling guilty about not being able to spend as much time with her as possible while she was still young made them sad. 

But they did what they had to. Advancing technology and saving lives using the wealth and power they had was a duty of theirs. 

—::::—

“Miss Amethely, you need to use more mana and lessen the cast time.” 

While being lectured on how to cast a simple spell such as a light arrow, Amethely couldn’t even cast it fast enough. 

It took her around 5 seconds to properly cast, which was such a long time for a low-level spell. 

Even when she finally released the spell, it was so weak that it couldn’t even scratch the target dummy. 

Sensing that Amethely started to feel demotivated and gloomy, the tutor told her to rest for the day. 

“I’m sorry, teacher….” 

Amethely looked down in shame as she apologized for not being able to do something so simple. 

Shaking her head and patting Amethely’s, she warmly smiled. 

“No, don’t be. Light magic is hard to control, and it’s the only magic you have an affinity for. It will be hard, and the endeavor may not pay off. But if you keep working hard, I’m sure it will.” 

Hearing her tutor trying to motivate her, she happily smiled. 

“Mrs. Rain…. I will do my best!” 

She wasn’t willing to give up quite that easily. And someone believing in her motivated her even more. 

—::::—

Looking into the distance and watching the airship leave, she reflected on her past. 

Although her and Alum’s circumstances differed, they had the same goal at one point. 

“I’ll be lonely without you… Al.” 

The airship was now out of view, and she turned around. 

“Huh? Sir Rigeld?” 

“Miss Amethely… I have something to discuss….” 

He looked over where the airship headed and began to speak.

“It’s about Al.”