The Weight of a Name
"Always remember that you are of the great Astra bloodline."
The great Astra. It was perhaps the phrase Sylvia had heard more than any other in her life. 'Though it’s a house that has nothing left but the name to call itself great,' she would think to herself every time those words were spoken.
There had been a time when the Astra family truly deserved to be called a great lineage. They were the clan that directly managed the World Tree, the very foundation of the elves. They were those blessed by the Star Spirit, the most powerful among all spirits. Those were the titles that defined the High Elf clan, the House of Astra.
Having the closest connection to the World Tree and receiving the protection of the spirits, the Astra clan possessed a lifespan nearing half a millennium. Living through those vast stretches of time, their house had continuously expanded its influence, leaving no corner of the world untouched. It was said that when the Astra family traveled, even the flying Bird-folk would cease their flight and bow their heads toward the earth—a testament to just how influential they once were.
But now, that was all a thing of the past.
Five hundred years ago, after the World Tree was burned by a certain witch, the elves lost their spirituality. With their foundation scorched and their connection to the spirits nearly severed, the elves’ lifespans became no different from the humans they had once viewed as living in mere fleeting moments.
The Astra family was furious. They mobilized the entirety of their house, gathering heroes from across the world to hunt down the witch who had burned the World Tree, and eventually, they succeeded. But as a result, the house that had once swayed the world plummeted to the level of a mere prestigious, old-money family. While they still maintained a few large-scale businesses thanks to the lingering weight of their name, it was, quite literally, a drop in the ocean compared to their past influence.
'And yet, the elders of the house still think we are the great Astra...'
Sylvia hated that. To her, the name Astra was nothing more than a birdcage that kept her trapped.
'If I had known it would come to this, I should have just kept it hidden.'
When she was young, Sylvia loved lying in bed before sleep, watching the stars. Everyone around her said that they were a people loved by the stars. 'Then, if I make a wish to the Star, maybe it will come true!' That was all the young Sylvia had thought.
That day was nothing special, either. While lying in bed and wishing, "Star, please let me eat all the snacks I want tomorrow," she opened her eyes at the sound of someone speaking, only to see a star in the sky shining so large and bright, as if it were right in front of her. She marveled at the beautiful light, shouting, "Wow!" and reached her arms toward the sky. That was the moment the star entered Sylvia’s eyes.
Starlight twinkled from Sylvia’s hands. She had shown her father the strange new talent she had acquired overnight without much thought. Since she usually got a few extra snacks whenever she did something well, she had only hoped that maybe she could get more snacks now that she could do something like this.
But the result was beyond Sylvia’s imagination.
"You are the future of the Astra."
Seeing the starlight shining from her hands, her father wept, said those words, and summoned all the elders of the house.
"Sylvia, show everyone."
Sylvia was a little afraid of the gazes fixed upon her, but she obeyed her father. Seeing the starlight glimmering from her hands, the elders of the house all wiped away their tears.
-My goodness, Mother World Tree. You have not abandoned us yet...
-Hah, the star of the great Astra has not yet set...
-As of today, this child is the rightful successor of the Astra.
Sylvia didn't know. She didn't know what it meant for the Astra house that she had contracted with a Star Spirit. She didn't know that she was the only person in the current Astra house to have contracted with a Star Spirit. And she certainly didn't know how her life would change because of it.
From that day on, Sylvia’s daily life changed completely.
-The successor of the Astra must always be superior to others.
For several hours every day, she received education in politics, economics, history, and etiquette—all filled with difficult jargon. She was forced to use spirit arts until she was exhausted, all under the guise of communing with the spirits.
-The successor of the Astra must always be composed.
Things she used to do naturally, she now had to perform with conscious effort. Whether walking, sitting, talking to someone, or eating, if there was even a hint of sloppiness, sharp criticism would fly from the side. It was a heavy burden for a six-year-old child. But Sylvia endured. She could feel with her whole body that the elders of the house had expectations of her. She suppressed the urge to complain that learning was difficult, and she suppressed the desire to cry when her back ached from maintaining a perfect posture. She even gave up eating her favorite snacks because the adults said such things were bad for her body. From that time on, for Sylvia, life was something to be endured.
The six-year-old girl, Sylvia, became the sixteen-year-old Sylvia Astra.
At the middle school she attended, her status was that of a princess. A beautiful High Elf from a prestigious family mentioned in textbooks. Naturally, she had countless followers, and there was even a fan club. But she, who always led crowds of people, felt a sense of emptiness. They were merely bewitched by the outer shell of "Astra" that she wore. There were many people around her, but no friends. Sylvia was sickened by those who approached her saying they wanted to be close, only to demand something the moment she pretended to open her heart. She felt that the elders of the house also viewed her only as the successor of the Astra. She thought that to them, she was merely a tool to reminisce about the glory of the past for a brief moment.
Neither at school nor at home was there a place for Sylvia as herself. Everyone just wanted the successor of the House of Astra. Sylvia felt suffocated by the life she had been enduring all this time. So, Sylvia attempted her first act of rebellion.
"What is the meaning of this? Aegis Academy, all of a sudden?"
Instead of the school she was originally supposed to attend, she had taken the entrance exam for Aegis Academy on her own. Sylvia felt a sense of exhilaration at the sight of her father’s flustered face for the first time in a while and replied with a smile.
"The Astra family was at the forefront of the witch hunts, so the justification is sound. And since many children of prestigious families will be attending Aegis, it will help in building connections for the future, won't it? As the successor of the Astra, I’ve thought it through myself—is there a problem?"
"...If that is the case, then so be it. Just always remember that you are of the great Astra bloodline."
Her rebellion was a success. And so, Sylvia entered Aegis Academy. Since this was a place that educated future heroes, there would be no nags sent by the house under the pretense of "supporting" her. She was looking forward to her school life immensely.
And on her first day of school, Sylvia learned what it felt like to fall in love at first sight.
The white-haired male student who arrived late to the classroom had a face that made one wonder if the gods had simply gotten lazy and copied his own face rather than sculpting it. From the moment she first saw him, her heart began to race. As he naturally approached the empty seat next to her, she wondered if this might be the fateful first meeting with the prince on a white horse from the fairy tales she had read as a child. But just as she waited for him to speak to her, he sat in the seat next to her and spoke not to her, but to the red-haired girl sitting behind her.
Sylvia, who had always thought she was never behind anyone else in her life, felt the emotion of jealousy toward that girl for the first time.
"The ones who got 200 points? I made those a bit sturdier, but would you like me to make one for you, Sylvia, using the same?"
While measuring her abilities within the homeroom teacher Eve’s illusion magic, Sylvia requested that Eve set the conditions to be the same as the two who had received higher evaluations than her in the test. The Astra must always be superior to others. The words she had heard for ten years were enough to make her personality such that she could not tolerate being behind anyone. Sylvia wanted to receive a higher evaluation than at least that red-haired girl, Scarlet Evande, if not the boy she had fallen for, Yoon Siwoo. It was said that Scarlet had barely managed to leave a slight scratch on the scarecrow Eve had created. If so, Sylvia thought she should be able to completely shatter the scarecrow. And to achieve that goal, she had to use her spells until she was nearly exhausted.
After the measurement ended, she felt that Yoon Siwoo’s gaze was directed toward Scarlet more frequently. The look in his eyes, which had been mere curiosity until earlier, seemed to have changed slightly. Seeing him blush while looking at her, it seemed he was definitely conscious of her as a member of the opposite sex, which wounded Sylvia’s pride. In terms of looks and behavior, she should be more attractive than that girl. Jealousy grew in Sylvia’s heart.
"Um... could you be my friend?"
When Scarlet said that, stammering, Sylvia was angry. 'Friends? You just want to use me anyway.' She was about to snap a refusal, but she accepted the offer of friendship on a sudden thought. 'She’s trying to use me anyway, so a little bit of spite should be fine, right?' Thinking that, Sylvia told Scarlet to buy her macarons from the canteen. Her tone was kind, but it was an order one would give to a subordinate. She had said it thinking that any student capable of entering the Academy would have strong pride and that saying such a thing would hurt her feelings, but contrary to her expectations, the girl ran off without hesitation and bought the macarons. Sylvia was slightly taken aback by the sight of her handing over the macarons with a bright smile. Even if she wanted to use the Astra background, did this person have no pride? She had a slight doubt, but more than that, Sylvia felt happy that she could eat the macarons she really loved without having to worry about what others thought for the first time in a while.
Immediately after that thought, seeing Yoon Siwoo blush and ask Scarlet if there were any for him, Sylvia’s mood plummeted to the floor again.
Since then, Scarlet had been buying her macarons. She was surprised yesterday when, without being asked, Scarlet brought them after hearing her say she wanted dessert, but today, Scarlet even smiled and offered her a macaron the moment she thought about wanting one, as if she had read her mind. Eating the macaron Scarlet offered, Sylvia felt better and momentarily thought, 'Could this person actually be a good person?' but she soon shook her head. Seeing her act so subserviently, it was clear she was trying to demand something outrageous. She couldn't let her guard down.
'Besides...' She saw Yoon Siwoo smiling as he approached Scarlet. 'She’s someone I’ll never like anyway.' Sylvia glared at her and thought exactly that.