Inferiority
Lumiela's icy tone left Evangeline visibly flustered.
"Pardon? O-of course, I was going to punish this insolent boy..."
Evangeline had never dreamed that the sister she usually respected so much would scold her.
"Yes, it's obviously rude for a guard to lay hands on an imperial princess... but don't you think the right to punish this child belongs to me? Evangeline, are you ignoring my dignity right now?"
"N-no, not at all..."
Evangeline frantically waved her hands in denial. The sight of her flailing about in panic was rather cute, but... of course, Lumiela had no intention of ending things here.
If Evangeline had touched anyone else, it might have been different. But since she'd laid a hand on Ian, her fate was already sealed.
Lumiela slowly crossed her arms and looked down at Evangeline from above. The clear difference in height made Evangeline flinch. On top of that, Lumiela was subtly revealing her Magic Eye.
Unlike Lumiela or Olivia, Evangeline had not been born with a Magic Eye. Revealing it to her was no different from touching her reverse scale, but... Lumiela didn't care in the slightest.
'Huh...?'
Ian, who was watching from the side, felt a surge of panic.
'Evangeline can't fall into darkness this early...'
In the original story, the reason Evangeline descended into madness was precisely her inferiority complex.
Unlike her sisters who had awakened their Magic Eyes, Evangeline had truly been born with nothing. Her physical talent was mediocre, her aptitude for magic was nothing special. If you stripped away her title as an imperial princess, all that remained was a moderately pretty face.
'No. That's not true. I was born with noble blood.'
She was the only one among the imperial family who considered herself "inferior." Behind the mask of arrogance, she hid her jealousy and lived that way.
Originally, she had found comfort in looking down on Alex, who was weaker than her. But once she realized even Alex had been hiding his true power, she completely lost her mind.
Ian wanted to stop Lumiela right then and there, but it didn't seem like a good idea for him to step forward now.
Lumiela continued to pressure her.
"I told you to stop using that weird way of speaking. Do you think other people can't do it but choose not to? Or do you actually want me to draw a clear line for you?"
"N-no, that's not... I didn't mean..."
"What did I just say? You're listening, aren't you?"
"T-that's..."
After the continuous pressure, Evangeline could no longer hold back.
"Hic."
Along with the hiccup, tears had already welled up in the corners of her eyes.
"......?"
Ian was shocked by Evangeline's tears. Even Lumiela couldn't hide her bewilderment at her reaction.
'What is this...'
Although Evangeline was the youngest among the siblings, Ian had thought she seemed relatively mature based on her usual behavior... but it appeared that had all been his misconception.
'I was trying to look good in front of my sister, but she didn't even notice...'
In truth, it was rare for Evangeline to be scolded this "severely." Her father, the Emperor, had always been indifferent to his children, and her mother, the Empress, had been away at her maternal family for a long time. Aside from when Evangeline was first born, she had barely seen her.
Raised in such an environment, constantly being fawned over by those around her, Evangeline's mind was more fragile than it appeared.
Evangeline held back her tears with great effort and apologized.
"I-I'm sorryyy..."
Watching her tremble with tears in her eyes... Lumiela felt a complex mix of emotions.
She had originally planned to scold her a bit more, but if she continued, it looked like Evangeline would really burst into tears. So she decided to wrap things up here.
"...Alright. From now on, please consider your sister's dignity and act more carefully, understood?"
"Yes... hic. I-I'll be going nowww..."
Evangeline turned her head, shot Ian a brief glare, then left while sniffling.
Watching her somewhat pitiful retreating figure, Ian felt an unexpected pang of sympathy.
'Was the reason she went mad in the original story because she couldn't receive love from her family?'
Lumiela, due to her characteristically rational way of thinking, wasn't the type to act affectionately. Olivia was better than her older sister, but she wasn't particularly considerate either. And Alex... well, he was an unpredictable human from the start, so he was an exception.
In the end, having received no attention from either her siblings or her parents, perhaps... she had simply wanted to receive "love" from her family.
While he was lost in these rather sentimental thoughts.
Lumiela grumbled in clear displeasure.
"How disappointing."
"......?"
There wasn't a trace of sympathy in her eyes.
'What?'
It was a cold reaction that was hard to believe was directed at her own blood relative. He looked at Lumiela with a slightly awkward expression.
Last night, when she had been showering him with affection, he hadn't seen this side of her. Only now was he starting to see glimpses of the original "Lumiela" overlapping with her.
'I really need to leave the imperial palace as soon as possible.'
If he stayed any longer, he might get caught up in unnecessary trouble.
Just as he was steeling his resolve.
"Ah, right."
"......?"
Squeeze—
"We still need to continue what we were doing earlier, don't we? I have something for you to do, so follow me."
'Fuck.'
Ian was once again helplessly dragged away by Lumiela.
The daily life of the First Imperial Princess Lumiela was busier than one could imagine.
After managing her subordinates and reviewing various matters, she was currently suffering from a headache in her office.
"The World Tree burning... I really can't understand it. Tsk, what were the elves even doing?"
The biggest issue on the continent right now was, naturally, the fire that had consumed the World Tree. Because of it, many of her existing plans had gone awry, and the amount of work Lumiela had to handle had increased far beyond normal.
She sighed as she looked at the mountain of documents piled up in front of her.
"Haa, this is going to take quite a while."
With this much volume, even those skilled at their jobs would need at least a full week to finish. But for Lumiela, a single day was enough.
It wasn't just that she was extraordinarily capable. More precisely, she had a "trick" that only she could use.
Lumiela activated her Magic Eye and gave herself a command.
"Cognitive Acceleration, activate."
⟨ Cognitive Acceleration ⟩
The moment the words left her mouth, her field of vision expanded instantly, and her thoughts began to accelerate.
Lumiela's ability, depending on how it was applied, allowed her to easily surpass the "limits" of an ordinary human. Of course, since it pushed the brain to its limits, there would normally be aftereffects. But for Lumiela, who possessed a body blessed by her Magic Eye, that wasn't an issue.
Rustle—
How much time had passed?
After reviewing the final document, Lumiela lightly tapped Ian, who was underneath her desk.
"Ian, how are you? Is it uncomfortable down there?"
"...No."
At Lumiela's request, Ian had been crouching under the desk the entire time. It was a precaution she had ordered in case of any surprise attacks, but...
'It feels like it's for a completely different purpose.'
Lumiela had originally intended to give Ian "something" to do, but because of her busy workload, she had completely forgotten about him.
Having spent quite a long time under the desk with nothing to do except admire Lumiela's pale legs, Ian had been incredibly bored.
"Sorry. That was probably a bit too much, wasn't it?"
He wanted to agree with 'Yes,' but complaining in his current position wasn't wise, so he gave a vague reply.
"It's fine... By the way, Noona. Aren't you being too defenseless?"
"......"
For a moment, Lumiela's eyebrows twitched.
"Noona."
At that magical title, Lumiela's expression melted away.
"Mmm, defenseless? What do you mean by that?"
Lumiela looked at him with a genuinely puzzled expression. He sighed and decided to teach her some proper "common sense."
"No matter what, showing your lower body to an unrelated man is... too much."
"......"
Squeeze—
Lumiela immediately pulled Ian into her arms. He felt something soft suddenly settle on top of his head.
'Ugh.'
"O-of course I'm your little brother, but I'm still a man, so it's a bit embarrassing."
No matter how close siblings were, this was crossing the line. At first, he had thought Lumiela was simply being affectionate because she cared for him, but looking at her behavior now... something about her attitude seemed off.
'The difference in how she treats me compared to Evangeline is too big for it to be simple sisterly affection.'
Was there a special reason she cherished him so much?
In response to Ian's question, Lumiela unconsciously touched her lips and said,
"Really? Then why did you yesterday..."
She was about to ask if he had crossed the line, but the sensation of the kiss from yesterday suddenly came to mind.
'W-what am I even thinking!'
Lumiela shook her head vigorously, trying to forget the kiss she had shared with Ian.
"...Ugh, I understand. I won't make you do anything unreasonable."
"Thank you. Ah, and... Noona, I don't have a separate place to stay. What should I do?"
In reality, Ian hadn't gotten proper sleep since last night. The sun would soon set, and he had nowhere to sleep... Did Lumiela have some accommodation prepared for him?
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Lumiela looked at him with a strange expression.
"Obviously, we'll sleep together?"
"......Pardon?"
A remote secret realm on the Eastern Continent.
The man greeted the being inside the 'heart' of the secret realm.
"Orgen. It's been a while."
"......"
Orgen, the King of All Maladies. He silently gripped his weapons in response to the man's greeting. There was none of the competitive spirit from before. It was a reaction closer to complete stillness.
Even so, the man paid it no mind and stated his purpose.
"I've come to witness the next stage of the Mind Sword."
The supreme realm of the Mind Sword. Although he already possessed strength close to the pinnacle in the middle realm, the man still felt it wasn't enough.
Just before the battle began, Orgen spoke in a cracked voice.
"Do you believe that weapons have hearts?"