Is she saying that it wouldn’t be strange if she died right this moment? It wasn’t just her primary physician. Everyone who had examined her wore the same expression.

So, this is no joke.

“Then am I a corpse?”

“Excuse me?”

“How can someone without a mana core breathe and live?”

Raphael said that mana is the source of life. If she doesn’t have that source, how is she alive? And besides, she wasn’t even feeling ill in the slightest.

“That… We don’t really know either.”

“So, in the end, you don’t know. Doctors, mages, priests. Even with everyone from all fields gathered.”

At her reproach, everyone bowed their heads. It was somewhat understandable when they said the mana core had completely disappeared.

“You all are utterly incompetent.”

At Raphael’s chilly voice, everyone either held their breath or shrank back. Even she felt a chill run down her spine at the cold tone of his voice; there was no way they could endure it.

“C-could we possibly continue to observe for a little longer?”

“What will change by just continuing to watch here?”

Amelia exhaled softly at his behavior, chastising him without discovering even a single reason. He gathered these people here, and there was no tyranny worse than this. Of course, all of this must seem natural to him.

The only wrong these people did was being dragged here. If there had to be a reason, it would be her unusual physical condition.

“Further observation. How nice. You all may leave now.”

Fearing that Raphael’s favor might fall if they stayed any longer, the trembling people were dismissed. It seemed that even though they didn’t like her behavior, they endured it.

“What will you do if they all give up and return?”

“I’m better off without those.”

“Ah, I see.”

His arrogance persisted until the end. Although he was the first to notice her condition, where did such confidence come from? It strangely reminded her of the Master… The Master’s self-confidence was also unmatched.

“What do you think? Does it seem to you that I completely lack a mana core?”

“…….”

So, his answer was the same as theirs. Is that why he pressed on more urgently? Amelia felt rather relieved after hearing the result. Because she found a clue.

“Wow, so I’m almost like being a living corpse.”

“Don’t say such things.”

Seeing the distortion of his face, Amelia had her doubts. Every time she talked about dying, he made that face.

“Don’t tell Leonel about this.”

“So my wife is all about Leonel.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Unlike someone, she only chooses to do the pretty things, so there’s no reason to hate them. She had a rough idea why this situation happened. The original her died from overwork. And this Amelia here… probably met her demise as well. For some reason unknown, her soul ended up in this body.

That’s why there’s no mana core. This body has already died once.

***

Since that day, the magic tower and the temple have been checking on her body every day. It was an undeniable waste of manpower. However, all of this was done in secrecy. It was to ensure that it didn’t reach Leonel’s ears.

In truth, she didn’t even want to be examined, but she couldn’t help it because of Raphael. She was in a bind since she couldn’t tell him the whole truth.

“Mother.”

As she stroked the head of the child hugging her, she felt him burrow in closer. Everything was being done secretly, but a child’s intuition is immense. Leonel seemed to read the atmosphere and didn’t want to be away from her.

“How are you feeling today?”

“I’m always fine.”

The child seemed suspicious, so she ended up only eating that damned soup inside her room. When she asked if she really had to eat it, Raphael firmly shook his head.

There’s no need to eat such things…

“Ah, I have… something I want to show you.”

Though it’s only been a few months, Leonel had changed a lot. His face, which used to be devoid of emotion, now had expressions, and his gloomy aura turned lively. Most of all, his rosy cheeks were full of vitality. Now he was just like any other child his age.

Seeing this, Amelia felt proud, yet she couldn’t shake off a sense of guilt. Leonel believed her to be his mother. But she wasn’t the real Amelia. What would Leonel think if he knew that his real mother was dead?

“What is it?”

He might not be able to bear it. Leonel loved Amelia very much. That’s why he showed her such boundless affection. This isn’t real.

It’s what the original Amelia should have received.

Even knowing that, she kept getting confused. She started to believe it was real.

“Let’s go together.”

Her heart seemed to flutter at the child’s shy whisper in her ear. She couldn’t believe that such a child would change later on. Although she vowed to prevent it, would Leonel still smile at her the same way if he knew she was a fake?

She left the castle, holding the small hand that was pulling her along. They hadn’t walked far before stopping near the garden.

“Leonel?”

She looked around to see what he wanted to show her, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. All she saw was a neatly maintained garden. Despite being in the cold north, the garden was very well-kept. But it wasn’t a garden bursting with flamboyantly blooming flowers.

“I… grew these.”

“Huh?”

Before she could ask what he meant, Leonel, who had been standing in front of her, stepped aside gently. Then, a few small flowers came into view. Deep purple flowers.

“Mother… you like purple flowers, right?”

“Me?”

“Yes… do you not like them?”

When had she ever told Leonel that she liked purple flowers? That must have been the original Amelia.

“No, they are very pretty. It must have been difficult for flowers to bloom in this cold…”

Amelia tried her best to manage her expression. If she showed even a little sign here, Leonel would immediately notice.

“I managed them… with magic.”

“With magic?”

“Yes, like a greenhouse!”

There was a greenhouse in Siegfried as well. It had various kinds of flowers, but she did not particularly enjoy entering the greenhouse. That’s why she often had tea time with Leonel outside. Recently, it’s become too cold to do so.

“Amazing.”

She didn’t know much, but she could tell it was an incredible ability. She needed to manage her expression… but she just couldn’t lift the corners of her mouth. The deep purple color seemed to say that her place was not here, and it was chilling.

“It’s the same color as your eyes, Mother…”

“Is that so…”

The thing Amelia did the least was look in the mirror. Even when she did, she made an effort not to meet her own eyes. Seeing those alien purple eyes made her feel truly that she wasn’t herself. It felt like, at any moment, the woman in the mirror would turn around and strangle her.

“I like Mother’s purple eyes. I wish I had purple eyes too.”

“But you’ll have golden eyes just like His Grace the Grand Duke, won’t you?”

“…Not really.”

Even though she knew Leonel wanted her purple eyes, she couldn’t bear it when she heard it. Before, Leonel was her favorite character. If this child was happy, then that was enough.

“They’re lovely, thank you.”

“Next time, I’ll show you even more!”

Hugging the child who was chattering excitedly, Amelia thought differently. She absolutely had to hide that she was someone else. At first, it was because people might not believe her… but now it wasn’t just a story from a book that had nothing to do with her.

“Next time, I’ll ask for yellow flowers instead of purple ones.”

She knew this wasn’t a good change.

“I prefer Leonel’s golden hair.”

Since when had it been that the people she thought were just characters began to feel real? And she had forgotten her real name. Now, even if she wanted to remember, it wouldn’t come to mind. Her real face and name were all fading away. Little by little, without her noticing, they were disappearing.

“I like Mother best!”

Unable to deny the warmth pressing into her as he hugged her waist with both hands, she had come to want Amelia Seraphin’s life. The truth was, she could adapt so quickly because she didn’t accept everything as reality. She thought of it all as one quest, and by solving each one, she believed the answer would come.

Unaware that she herself would fall into it.

“Then should I pick these?”

“Huh?”

She went ahead and plucked all the purple flowers. He helplessly watched the flowers being picked, indifferently.

“I want to enjoy their beauty inside as well.”

Amelia Seraphin, that woman, is dead.