Episode 6
Verpure groaned faintly as he slowly opened his eyes.
“You’re awake?”
A woman with the same red hair and sharp eyes clicked her tongue.
“…Mother.”
She was Verpure’s mother—Marie, head of the Meidel family and chief of defense for the House of Hamruloren.
“If you’d just performed well in this demonstration, you could’ve moved to the main house. What kind of disgrace is this?”
“That girl Kalmia again! How many times does she have to trip you up?!”
At his mother’s harsh rebuke, Verpure lowered his eyes and clenched his jaw.
By his own skill, he should have moved to the main house a year ago.
But every time, Kalmia had taken first place in the theory exams, leaving him to linger in humiliation.
Still, having recently awakened to the second tier of his Dark Core, he had expected to pass this demonstration easily and be transferred.
But that perfect plan had just crumbled before his eyes.
“You’re a tier-two Core user, and yet you embarrassed yourself against a beginner who only just awakened to dark magic…”
“That was because I let my guard down! I’ll do better tomorrow, I swear!”
“You better. That’s the bare minimum.”
Marie tapped the headboard with her long, blood-red nails.
“You know results are clearer when there’s no one left to compare to.”
“What do you mean…”
He stiffened, sensing a dark aura ripple behind her.
“But… wouldn’t it be difficult to get rid of her? In the Tower of Necromancy, we’re forbidden from harming the other students. If we’re caught…”
“My, my, my… you really are soft.”
Her red nail gently scraped Verpure’s cheek.
“There are plenty of ways to neutralize someone without strangling them with your own hands.”
“For example…”
Marie whispered with a sly gleam in her eye.
“We could just seal the little witch’s magic, make it so she can’t use dark magic at all.”
“It’s a well-known fact that she’s unstable after only just awakening. And she’s a late bloomer who didn’t show any signs until she was six.”
“If she suddenly lost her powers tomorrow, no one would question it, huh.”
“Exactly. You’re getting smarter, my boy.”
“But… wouldn’t casting a curse be difficult? All the students are protected inside the Tower—”
“Verpure.”
Her icy tone made his shoulders tense.
“Why do you think I’ve poured so much money and effort into the Tower of Necromancy?”
“You thought I was just buying influence with a few bribes? I’m disappointed.”
“N-No, Mother! You’re the wisest of them all.”
“Then your only job is to make sure you don’t screw up again tomorrow and lose this chance.”
Verpure only dared breathe once his mother removed her finger from his face.
“I’ll make sure I enter the main house and become the next family head.”
“Hamruloren has produced heads from the defense branch before. If you’re strong enough, your background won’t matter.”
“Yes, Mother.”
His eyes darkened with determination.
What happened earlier wasn’t due to lack of skill. It was a surprise attack.
Had he not been caught off guard, he could have handled that dark mist easily—or so he told himself.
“I’ll prove I’m worthy of the main house in tomorrow’s main stage.”
He still couldn’t forget how Kalmia had smirked at him as he passed out.
He wouldn’t be satisfied until he repaid that humiliation a hundredfold.
If her dark powers were sealed, she wouldn’t even be an obstacle anymore.
Once he reached the main house, he’d finally be able to use the name ‘Verpure Hamruloren’.
Not the low-status Verpure Meidel with a branch family surname, but a rightful heir bearing the house name.
A far more fitting title than those who borrowed the Hamruloren name for mere appearance.
Ahead of him awaited glory.
—
In the lounge, the chattering voices of the maids rang sharply in my ears.
“They say she just showed up one day with a child. Didn’t even say who the mother was.”
“Well, this family doesn’t care if you’re illegitimate or adopted, as long as you’re talented…”
“Still, isn’t the girl just a slow, useless late bloomer? Why is he going so far for her?”
“A genius like him, and now look what he’s become…”
I clenched the blanket over my lap. My chest stung with sharp pain.
So it’s true… I’m probably not his real daughter.
Not a single trait of his was visible in me.
Not even the slightest resemblance.
And more than anything—I had no affinity for dark magic.
That alone proved I didn’t share blood with a dark mage like my father.
From the original novel, I remembered a passing detail:
A woman left her child, Kalmia, with Sylvan, then disappeared.
My father’s timid and introverted nature made it unlikely that he ever had a proper romantic relationship.
It must have been a one-night stand, perhaps even a scam.
And the biggest sign I wasn’t really his daughter?
In the original story, my father ultimately gives up on me.Though Kalmia wasn’t the protagonist, the novel gave a rough explanation of how she ended up in the temple despite being from a dark magic family.
She lived with her father after being disowned by the family, then one day it was discovered she had white magic.
Once Sylvan realized this, he took her to the temple and left her there.
He probably realized she wasn’t his real daughter when he saw the white magic… how horrifying that must’ve been.
Recalling my past life only made the feelings stronger.
“Don’t make me laugh. You’re not my daughter. You’re just a parasite dumped on me!”
In this world, the protection of “family” only extended to those who shared blood.
Once the truth was revealed, that bond became a shackle—or a weapon.
I knew this better than anyone.
My previous life? A complete disaster.
The classic tragedy: A man raises a daughter thinking she’s his, only to learn later that his wife had been unfaithful.
The man, once an ordinary but decent father, turned cruel overnight.
I closed my eyes and forced the memories down.
It’s fine. That won’t happen here.
Right now, my father believes I’m his daughter.
He risked his life to protect me, convinced I would awaken to dark magic.
And in this world, there was still no reliable way to confirm blood relations.
As long as I didn’t expose myself as a white magic user, he would never take me to the temple like in the original story.
In the novel, he was later killed, too.
The temple, fearing damage to its image from a real Saint, had already installed a fake one.
Once they learned the truth, they suppressed the real Saint—me—and turned her into a magic battery.
They silenced Sylvan, too, murdering him in secret.
I won’t let that happen this time.
I’ll keep walking the path of a dark mage—as his daughter.
I slapped my cheeks.
Now wasn’t the time to get emotional.
I need to establish myself within this family.
If the lower ranks thought they could gossip about me freely, I’d lose all authority.
I gathered my energy and swung the lounge door open with a bang.
The maids standing in the hallway flinched and turned to me, startled.
“Ah… Miss, you’re awake?”
“We haven’t heard anything from Lord Sylvan’s room yet. It seems the treatment is still ongoing…”
They smiled politely, doing their best to act like nothing had happened.
But I had no intention of letting it slide.
“Repeat what you were just saying.”
“…Pardon?”
“Repeat it. You were gossiping about me and my father, weren’t you? It sounded fun.”
Their faces froze with sudden panic.
