TPR 04

Chapter 04

“Let’s just let her go. Hilde probably begged to go to the capital under the pretext of a swordsmanship tournament. I’m sure of it.”
Ledis opened his mouth as if to say something but quickly shut it again.

In truth, Ledis didn’t feel at ease either.
It wasn’t that he enjoyed stopping his younger sister from visiting the capital. Their house was poor, that was all.

“This might be Hilde’s last chance.”
“Last chance?”
“To see the capital. If things go on like this, our family might actually go bankrupt.”
“…….”
“Hilde won’t even have a debutante ball. Even sending her into society is impossible, given our family’s situation isn’t what it used to be.”
“That’s exactly why we shouldn’t send her! What about the money?”

Ledis raised an eyebrow. Watching his sister so intently, Michael couldn’t help but stroke his head in pity.
“……I’m sorry, Ledis.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Just… sorry. For making you worry like this too.”

“Don’t. Who asked you to apologize?”

Ledis’s annoyed tone made Michael stop.

“Can you just follow my decision this once?”
“Brother!”
“Let’s let Hilde go to the capital. I want to make it happen.”
“…….”

Ledis seemed to be boiling with frustration, but after a long pause, he finally said in an angry tone:
“Do as you wish.”
“Thank you.”

Michael smiled lightly, but Ledis couldn’t bring himself to smile.
What if she gets mocked for being from a poor ducal house?
‘Better not go than come back hurt.’

The ducal house hadn’t always been in such a bad state. Once, the Akarksia family was the wealthiest among the Five-Star Dukes. Taxes were collected generously but not excessively, and the region thrived in forestry and mining. With twenty mines in operation, skilled jewelers and weaponsmiths naturally flocked to the area.

The duchess, who had served as the first mage tower master, carefully protected the village and streets, bringing more trade and prosperity. But everything changed when that duchess passed away.

“It’s all the adults’ fault.”
“Ledis.”
“I’m right, aren’t I? ‘Rainbow Akarksia’—what rainbow in such a gloomy estate?”
“You shouldn’t talk like that.”
“Exactly! You’re so good at saying nice things, brother!”

Ledis vented his frustration.
“Aren’t you frustrated too? We’re alive and fine, yet we have no authority over our own duchy.”
“Just one more year to endure. I’ll be an adult next year.”

The eldest, Michael, was sixteen. The second son, Ledis, was fourteen. With only minors left in the house, they couldn’t entrust the full powers of the dukedom to them, so five years ago, a distant relative, Countess Solber, took the family seal. Since they were too young to even use it, the dukedom’s affairs deteriorated while they could do nothing.

“Next year, I’ll be seventeen. Then Solber Aunt will have to return the seal.”
“She won’t hand it over willingly. Remember how she tried to change her mind last time?”
“You have to call her Aunt.”
“Even if I concede a bit and you become the head, what good is it to inherit a ruined house?”
“I know.”

Michael tried to calm him with a tired voice.
“I know… I’ll handle it somehow.”
“…….”

Ledis seemed about to explode again but stopped himself.
‘Brother, the one who’s most lost is you.’
If they could help him as adults, maybe their family could improve.
“I want to be an adult soon.”
“……Yeah.”

Michael stroked his hair once more, looking apologetic.
“Me too.”

The next morning, Hildegart felt a mild despair.

“Sigh… I’m still alive.”

Even after a night’s sleep, her limbs and mind were intact. Had she slept through the night crying, she might have woken up in a dramatic resurrection or an ancestor’s miraculous return, and it would’ve been over.

“Ugh… enough. Why repeat the same thing? Either suffer or die.”

For a twelve-year-old, her words were painfully insightful. But she detested wasting time drowning in melancholy.

“Reincarnation, huh…”

Leohnardt’s face briefly flashed in her mind and disappeared.
Hildegart was already tired of despair.

“Better than dying and collapsing. That counts for something.”

She accepted reality.

“But why did I awaken in this body?”

Hildegart recalled the magic circle she had seen at the grave.
“That was definitely black magic.”

Black magic referred to malevolent magic intended to harm others. Most curses and dark spells fell into this category and were never welcome. Controlling corpses or manipulating souls was also a form of black magic.

Hildegart, as the first mage tower master, had spent her life standing against black magic. Yet even for her, the magic circle she saw was unlike any she’d seen before.

“It couldn’t have developed more after my death…”

The Empire and temples strictly prohibited black magic. The customs hadn’t changed.

‘They’ve really been alive all this time.’

The Black Star Cult was technically a cult, claiming salvation while secretly using black magic. They approached desperate families with sick children or other tragedies and recruited them with dark magic.

Thus, the cult contributed greatly to the negative perception of magicians.
But eradicating them was no easy task—much like the resentment people carry from being cursed or wronged never truly fades.

“Hmm…”

The royal court and temples had long opposed the Black Star Cult. Especially the knights—just hearing the cult’s name, they would foam at the mouth and charge.
And one person who did exactly that was Hildegart.

“Why would they reincarnate me without being insane?”

Hildegart was born of a magical lineage through her elven-descendant mother. As the first mage tower master, she had spent her life opposing the Black Star Cult. She had died sealing the Demonic God, sacrificing her life as the wielder of the holy sword.

And now, the cult—or whoever it was—had revived her?
“That’s impossible.”

Hildegart shook her head.

‘If not the cult, then who? And why?’

Could it be a mere coincidence? Hildegart sat on the bed, deep in thought.
Even after more than ten minutes, no suitable answer came.

‘Let’s just bury it for now.’

She wasn’t the type to dwell on things.
Moreover, if this reincarnation truly was tied to the Black Star Cult, the situation would become complicated.

“No, no, no. Everything’s already about to collapse anyway.”

If any connection between the Akarksia house and the cult were revealed…

“Everything could be lost for real.”

Hildegart could easily imagine the knights storming the ducal mansion, overturning everything.
“How much did I struggle sealing the Demonic God… and now to get tangled up with this mess? If my house is ruined, I won’t be able to live even out of spite!”

Even if curious, worrying now was useless.

“I’ll find out later, maybe at the mage tower…”
Ah—but the mage tower was destroyed too.

“Ugh! Seriously!”

No answers, none at all!
Hildegart tore at her hair in frustration.

“Why does everything have to be such a mess?!”

The sky tower outside the window had already collapsed. She was no longer a mage tower master.
Though she retained her status as a duchess, her family was too weak to stand on its own.

“If the world is going to collapse, fine. But why only our house?!”

At that moment, someone called her at a perfect timing.

“Hilde! If you’re awake, come downstairs for breakfast!”

“…Ugh.”

A twelve-year-old being called like a puppy playing in the streets—her butler hadn’t come to fetch her.

“First, I need to figure out who ruined everything.”

At that time, Hildegart couldn’t even guess.
The person who reincarnated her, the one who ruined her family—they were someone bound to her by a ruthless, twisted fate.