Hello, Olivia
After classes ended at the academy, I sat across from the author who called himself Olivia’s older brother in the dormitory room. The situation wasn’t exactly uncomfortable. We were bound to clash eventually. I just hadn’t expected it to happen so suddenly.
“Uh… um. Oppa. What brings you all the way here?”
I tested the waters by calling him oppa, and Rockton’s face twisted in an amusing way.
“You call me oppa? Don’t you usually just use my name?”
What the hell? He lets his own sister call him by name?
“The situation in the imperial capital is worse than I expected, so I’m trying to pull Lily out quickly and leave. That’s when I saw you.”
Is it really that bad? Maybe I should take a look around the capital market myself.
“Is that so? Then what exactly brings you here?”
“I’ll be direct. What you did this time crossed the line.”
“Crossed the line?”
“You should have at least given us some warning. How are we supposed to prepare if you don’t give us any time?”
Yeah, I’ll admit that. Honestly, I think I went way too far. Still though.
“If I had, it might have been too late.”
“Even so. You should have informed the family. Knowing our father’s temper, you of all people—”
Nagging is my least favorite subject. From the way he looked flustered earlier, it seems the title oppa makes him uncomfortable. Let’s keep using it then.
“Oppa. This was all for the family.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Even if I had told you in advance, Lily was going to get caught anyway. In that case, it’s better for me to solidify my position as a saintess and take control of the church. That wouldn’t be bad for House Ashtar either, would it?”
Rockton is the next head of House Ashtar. As someone who must prioritize the family above all, attaching the phrase ‘for the family’ should make it impossible for him to argue.
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Oppa. This is also for you, the next head of the family.”
Calling him oppa over and over clearly rattled him.
“You’ve become quite the fox in the meantime.”
Look at this guy. He actually likes being called oppa. The way he fidgets every time I say it proves it. Fine. If I can wrap the next head of House Ashtar around my finger, whether I call him oppa or hyung doesn’t matter.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Right. Can you really take full control of the church?”
“Pour money into the church. And I plan to use the assassins from the guild to seize it.”
“Still, you’re the first saintess. Is this really okay?”
If the church had a proper history like the Kingdom’s, I wouldn’t have touched it so recklessly. But with the central nobles rotting from within, neither the provincial nobles nor the hero’s party can be trusted to subjugate the Four Heavenly Kings. In that case, the Empire’s church will have to lend its strength. Besides, Eugene will eventually come to the Empire anyway.
“Oppa. Isn’t this for the family? The hero’s party will come anyway once they hear the Empire’s saintess has appeared.”
From what I’ve seen so far, that idiot can’t take down a Heavenly King alone. He’ll definitely come begging the Empire for help. And since the imperial capital is currently a mess, he’ll probably try to get help from me, the saintess.
“What do you mean?”
“Since the Berta Fortress has fallen, the Four Heavenly Kings will begin their offensive against the Empire.”
At my words, Rockton’s brows furrowed.
“With Berta gone, the Kingdom could fall at any time, so they’re turning their eyes to the Empire?”
As expected of House Ashtar. They haven’t gone rotten yet. Seeing one thing lets them understand ten. Looks like the next head is someone with a decent head on his shoulders. Rockton has a sharp eye for the world.
“Yes. So the hero’s party will inevitably come to the Empire. And if even the hero’s party comes to see the Empire’s saintess, the Goddess Church will solidify its position here.”
After all, on the surface, the hero’s party receives quite favorable treatment. They’re seen as humanity’s representatives, its protectors, the only heroes capable of defeating the Demon King.
“So House Ashtar’s influence will grow.”
“Yes. By the way, oppa, if you’ve already taken Lily out…”
“We reached an agreement to send her to a monastery.”
So they’re letting her live. They pulled that off well. The commoners will be cursing House Ashtar like crazy. Wait a second. It was a military trial, and half of the military judges participating would be from Ashtar territory.
“More than half the judges are from Ashtar territory, aren’t they?”
“You’re quick on the uptake. Correct. Since they’re essentially the limbs of House Ashtar, they helped pull her out.”
That makes sense. Still, they’ll have to be prepared for the backlash. If they revive Lily, what then? The contract with Nora is already over, and the engagement with the crown prince is obviously broken. She’s basically useless now. Being sent to a monastery is probably set in stone. Or maybe they have some other plan. The head of House Ashtar wouldn’t just let this slide.
“Surprising. So you decided to let her live? Looking at the capital’s situation, it seems public resentment toward the nobility is worse than I thought.”
“No, she won’t survive. I was ordered to overturn the carriage into the Planon River on the way to the monastery.”
The Planon River lies on the border between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom. It’s right on the path to the monastery. If the carriage flips into the river, she’ll die for sure. Honestly, I don’t have much connection to the current me and Lily, but… it does feel a bit pitiful.
“You’ll protect House Ashtar’s honor and calm the furious public sentiment.”
“That’s how it will be. Why? Does it bother you because she’s your sister?”
“Not at all.”
Am I crazy? Why would it?
“Don’t concern yourself. Lily’s mother tried to kill you with black magic. House Ashtar taking in the daughter of such a disgusting woman was already more than Father owed to his blood relative. Yet she repaid that kindness with enmity. We can’t overlook it any longer.”
What? What the hell is he talking about?
“Wait. Black magic?”
“Yes. Black magic. Don’t you remember how she lured you to Moran and cast it on you?”
“What the…”
I’m not the original Olivia, so of course I don’t have her memories. The problem is that this body had black magic cast on it.
“Lily’s mother placed a curse on you. One that would prevent you from ever returning to House Ashtar. She even used monster transformation black magic.”
Monster transformation black magic?
“Please explain in more detail. I don’t remember.”
“You drifted all the way to the Land of Destruction.”
Then… could it be? The girl who washed up in the Land of Destruction was Olivia?
Like a seal had been broken, fragments of forgotten memories began rising in my mind.
In the vicinity of the Land of Destruction, the Empire’s western border, a girl in a dress was struggling with a vulgarly dressed woman.
“Why are you doing this to me?!”
“Because if you’re gone, my daughter will be the only young lady of the house!”
“Lily is my sister! You think I would abandon her?!”
“No, you’ll end up discriminated against anyway. So I’ll at least get rid of you and make Lily the young lady of Ashtar! Then she’ll be the one engaged to the crown prince!”
The girl’s face turned deathly pale. She had accepted the invitation to Moran because the woman asked her to get along with her daughter. And this was the result. She really was nothing but a whore. A greedy whore who didn’t know her place.
“You insane woman! Do you think Father will let this slide?!”
“You’re never going back to Ashtar anyway! I spent my entire fortune on a black magic scroll. And it’s one based on the Demon King’s curse itself!”
When the woman tore the scroll, a purple beam of light flowed out and was sucked into the girl’s body.
“Kyaaaak!”
After confirming the purple aura spreading across the girl’s body, the woman took out a teleportation scroll.
“Farewell then. I won’t say I’m sorry. This is all so we can survive.”
The woman disappeared, leaving the girl abandoned near the Land of Destruction. The name of the girl cursed by a whore from a small village was Olivia Lapa Ashtar. The princess of House Ashtar, the crown prince’s fiancée. A girl destined to become the Empire’s noble empress had been thrown into the harsh, inhospitable Land of Destruction.
If she had simply been dropped there, it might have been different, but the girl cursed with black magic couldn’t even control her own body properly.
“Cough… hack. I have to… get home… tell them quickly…”
Olivia desperately tried to keep her mind clear and walk, but her head grew increasingly foggy and breathing became difficult. Was she really going to die like this? The engagement with the crown prince didn’t matter anymore. But she couldn’t bear to watch that whore and her daughter destroy the family.
I have to survive somehow.
She had to survive no matter what. That woman, that Lily, would ruin the family. She couldn’t allow that.
“Someone… anyone… please help… cough.”
Olivia didn’t make it far before collapsing in the Land of Destruction. Before she knew it, demonic energy had stained her face. She had been given only days to live, but this place was also where a certain pair of siblings lived.
The siblings came out of their house and examined the girl.
“Noah oppa. Where do you think this girl came from?”
“How should I know? But judging by her clothes, she looks like a noble lady who got caught up in something bad.”
From what she was wearing, she was clearly from a prestigious family.
“Oppa, can you save her?”
“In this state… Sigh. She’s basically already dead.”
“So even you can’t do it.”
His sister kept poking at his nerves, and Noah felt irritation bubbling up from deep inside.
“Noel, the way you talk to your brother… How am I supposed to save her when her soul is this corrupted?”
He could use holy magic to heal, and if limbs were severed he could regenerate them. If her neck was nearly cut off, he could reattach it. But if the soul itself was damaged, there was no way.
“But oppa, you’re good at forbidden magic too, aren’t you?”
“Have you lost your mind?”
Why do they call it forbidden magic? Because it steps outside normal magical formulas and touches upon taboos.
“Honestly, I feel bad for her. I only learned proper magic, but you learned all the forbidden arts too. Don’t you remember?”
“It’s not impossible, but…”
Noah scratched the back of his head, looking annoyed. There was a way. He could tear off a piece of his own soul and attach it. It might cause some memory loss, but if he wanted, he could gently tear off a piece of his little sister’s soul and implant it instead. Though who knows what kind of hybrid that would create.
“Then do it right now!”
“You crazy girl. It requires tearing a soul. I need to prepare.”
“Ugh, useless.”
Should I beat her? Noah seriously considered smacking his sister but shook his head. What good would hitting her do? His hand would just hurt.
“You don’t even know how and you keep asking for things.”
Still, he couldn’t just leave a corpse in front of the house. So even though he had never tried it before, he had no choice but to attempt it? If he messed up putting the soul in, he might end up using the woman’s body himself. That was the last thing he wanted.
“Can’t be helped.”
It was a gamble anyway. He had never tried it, but if he had no choice but to try, then experimenting was fine. Noah focused his mind.
Mana is closely connected to the soul. When you reach the limit of mana, you can touch the soul. Noah slowly squeezed out a portion of his soul and connected it to his hand. Then, from his fingertips, he gently lifted a fragment of his soul like a small flame.
With his other hand, he placed it on Olivia’s head and approached her soul. In this case, it was even easier. Those cursed with corrupting black magic have souls that are already breaking apart. An ordinary mage might not notice, but Noah could sense that soul clearly.
He drew out Olivia’s crumbling, shattered soul from her chest.
“Holy shit. It’s completely cracked and falling apart.”
Even if he saved her like this, she might need someone attending her for the rest of her life. Even now, the soul he was holding was turning to dust. He had to forcibly stick it back together somehow.
This is going to be tough. The curse is stronger than I thought. But I have to try anyway.
The young lady in front of him had probably been ambushed because she lacked the ability to prepare or notice it, but the curse itself seemed quite powerful. The silver lining was that he had been able to intervene at just the right moment before the curse completely eroded her soul.
If I just attach it like this, it’ll collapse again eventually.
In that case, he needed to pull out more of his soul and coat her entire crumbling soul with it. First, Noah began using his fingers to pull out pieces of his own soul and apply them to the cracked and collapsing soul of the girl. There might be some confusion in her memories after she woke up, but he could adjust that too.
Noah’s soul began to stick the broken fragments back together firmly.
“Done.”
It was still unstable, but he had completely fused the sphere of the soul. Now he pulled out another piece of soul and coated the outside with it.
Flash!
The girl’s soul, which had been losing its light, began radiating intense brilliance again.
“That should do it.”
“Oh, it really worked?”
“Hey, I’m going to sleep for a bit. When she wakes up, put a shield on her and send her back.”
“Got it.”
When Noah went into the room, Noel, who stayed by Olivia’s side until she woke up, cast a shield spell on her body.
#
When Olivia woke from her sleep, she was led out of the Land of Destruction by a woman. Her head was a mess. How was she still alive? What were these strange memories in her head? Above all, she doubted whether she was truly Olivia.
“Lady Olivia!”
Olivia, having left the Land of Destruction, encountered knights sent by her family. The woman who had been holding her hand and leading her out had long since vanished. Olivia returned to House Ashtar.
However, not long after, taking advantage of her still-weak soul, Lily used a succubus’s brainwashing ability to make her obsess over the crown prince and torment her younger sister Lily.
Years passed like that.
“Olivia. Our engagement is over!”
After being dumped and slashing her wrist with a blade, Olivia finally came to her senses.
“Am I going to die?”
As her consciousness slowly faded, wondering if this was the end, she suddenly felt a heaviness in one side of her heart. It felt as if half her soul was disappearing. She had a premonition that another version of herself was dying somewhere.
Olivia finally understood what the unknown memories that had been in her head for so long were. She remembered. She recalled them. If she had known earlier, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.
“I see. I wasn’t a complete Olivia after all.”
She had already been dying from black magic when someone living in the Land of Destruction tore off part of his soul to save her. With those memories remaining, how could she not know? And yet she hadn’t used this second life properly. She hadn’t even gotten her revenge. She didn’t have the ability to take revenge. Looking at the blood pouring out, she knew she was going to die.
“House Ashtar repays its debts. And I can’t let my other half die.”
The soul that magician had attached had become one with her own. She realized it only as she was dying, but now that she thought about it, she and Noah had been practically one and the same. So she came up with one clever plan.
Perhaps if her soul disappeared from here, she could save Noah.
It was truly regretful to think of this only at the moment of death, but Olivia could not let her other half, Noah, die. She squeezed out her last strength, wrapping mana around her wrist to stop the bleeding as much as possible. With her other hand, she recalled what Noah had done long ago and materialized her soul.
If it’s according to Noah’s theory, when my soul disappears, Noah’s soul that lost its body will fill the space.
Slowly, slowly, she melted the coating of Noah’s soul on hers with her magic power. It was almost done. From the soul whose coating had been peeled away, her own soul that had been forcibly attached began to glow and scatter into the air.
Noah would be able to save a dying body. All that remained was to leave a final message for Noah, who would probably be shocked to wake up in this body next time.
“I’m sorry for handing over this body that ended up as a loser.”
They had only met once, and she had been unconscious then. They had never met after that, but having shared a soul, she felt a sense of closeness toward Noah.
“You’ll probably be surprised that it’s a woman’s body. But it’s better than dying, isn’t it? Still, I was rather confident in my appearance, so even if you become a commoner, I believe you’ll make good use of my body.”
“…Well then, goodbye. Olivia.”
Olivia greeted the new Olivia and closed her eyes.
The soul of the original Olivia, now reduced to mere dust, vanished. In its place, the soul of Noah, who had died in the Demon King’s castle, filled the void. And so, the new Olivia was born.