Magic Academy's Bastard Instructor - Chapter 232: Astrid [4]
Chapter 232: Astrid [4]
Astrid extended her hand, reaching toward the Lily of the Valley that floated in the air. The flower’s white petals glowed like soft embers in the dark. The light reflected in her golden eyes.
“Mother….”
The moment Astrid’s fingertips brushed against the petals, the world around her was consumed by light. Everything turned white, the walls, the air, even the shadows, faded until nothing remained but luminescent white.
———!
The warmth of the glow wrapped around her, and in an instant, all sense of time and place vanished.
“It took you a while.”
“…!”
Astrid turned toward the voice. It was heartbreakingly familiar. A sound so beautiful it made her chest tighten. The moment she heard it, her heart shattered into pieces. It was a voice she hadn’t heard in so long. A voice she had longed for more than anything.
“Mother…”
Her voice trembled as she took a step forward.
“Mom…”
Another step followed. Her vision slowly blurred with tears.
“I…”
Before she could finish, her legs carried her forward.
“Mommy…!”
She ran forward, reaching out with her trembling arms, but the moment she touched her mother, her body passed through her as if through mist.
“….”
Astrid froze, confusion washing over her. The warmth she expected wasn’t there. Then, another voice broke through the silence.
“My apologies, Your Majesty. Things just… aren’t that pleasant at home.”
Astrid turned toward the voice. Approaching her mother was a woman with pale black hair and eyes as purple as amethyst. She looked rather exhausted.. Astrid stared, a sense of recognition rising within her.
She looked familiar. No, if Vanitas were a woman, he would look exactly like her.
“Hmm…” Julia pressed a finger to her lips. “Is it because of Zen again? You should bring him with you next time, Clarice.”
The woman named Clarice smiled but said nothing.
Astrid watched the two converse as if frozen in time. There was no mistaking it now. The woman speaking to her mother was none other than Clarice Astrea, Vanitas’s mother.
Whoosh——
A sudden breeze swept through the air, cold enough to make Astrid shiver. Her hair flew across her face. She brushed them aside quickly, trying to make sense of what was happening.
Mist rolled across the ground, curling in the air until it filled her vision. Within that mist, white petals fluttered, surrounding her like snow suspended in time.
Astrid took a step forward. The scene ahead blurred and changed with each passing second, shapes forming and fading within the haze. She could still see her mother and Clarice in the distance, but their figures were becoming ghostlike.
“Wait… Mother!” Astrid called out as she reached forward.
But the more she moved, the farther they seemed to drift away. The mist thickened, and soon, only the petals remained, floating endlessly in the air, emanating a bittersweet scent that reminded her of spring.
“Unfortunately… Your Majesty, Princess Astrid suffers from stigmata deficiency.”
“…What?”
“How could that be?!”
Through the haze, Astrid saw her father, Emperor Decadien, and her mother, Empress Julia, sitting across a man dressed in the robes of a royal physician.
The doctor hesitated before continuing. “To put it simply, her soul is fading. This child… will not live past the age of four.”
Julia staggered, her hand flying to her mouth. “No… there must be a mistake.”
The Emperor’s expression darkened. “You’re saying my daughter’s life is already slipping away?”
“I’m afraid so, Your Majesty,” the doctor replied. “Her body cannot sustain the imbalance between her mana and her stigmata. It is deteriorating faster than we can stabilize it.”
Astrid gasped. She could hear their voices and feel their despair, yet none of them could see her. It was as if she were watching a memory from long ago.
“There has to be a cure,” Emperor Decadien pleaded. “Tell me there’s a way to save her.”
The doctor lowered his head. “There are… theories. But it’s never been tested. Moreover, it’s considered immoral.”
Empress Julia’s eyes narrowed. “Explain.”
The doctor glanced around before whispering, “Artificial stigmata transplant.”
Emperor Decadien’s eyes widened. “Artificial stigmata? From what we know, a stigmata is tied to the soul itself. How would such a thing even be created? Humans aren’t gods. We cannot just forge a soul.”
“That’s the thing, Your Majesty,” the doctor said. “A soul can never be created.”
“Then how—”
“By using one that already exists,” Empress Julia interrupted. Her eyes were hollow, as though she already understood what that meant.
The room fell silent. Even Astrid was taken aback by the sudden shift in the atmosphere.
Her father’s voice broke the silence. “You’re saying that to save her, another soul must be taken.”
Whoosh——
Once again, the world was consumed by white. A cold breeze swept through. Astrid’s hair whipped across her face, but this time, she didn’t bother to fix it.
“…What did they do,” she murmured.
Astrid just stood there, eyes wide, her mind spiraling from what she had just discovered.
“Julia… don’t tell me you’re actually going to go through with it…”
The scene changed once again. The mist cleared, revealing her father and mother in their private chamber. Emperor Decadien’s expression was tense, while the color on Julia’s face was slowly draining in desperation.
“And what?!” Julia’s voice rang through the room, trembling with emotion. “Just let our daughter suffer and die?! I can’t believe you, Decadien!”
“I’ve been here before,” Decadien said. “I’ve taken lives without reason, for my own gain. It never ends well.”
“Then do it again!” Julia’s voice broke. “Why stop now?! Why are you trying to stop me when you, of all people, know what it means to lose everything?! You are no noble ruler, so don’t pretend to be one now! Astrid… she is our daughter, Decadien!”
Decadien’s eyes softened, sorrow evident behind his stern expression. “And you think she would want to live knowing another had to die for her?”
Julia’s hands clenched into fists. “She’s only a child. She should not be forced to choose between life and death. I will not let her choose.”
Decadien closed his eyes as if trying to bargain with his conscience.
“There are other ways to help her,” he said. “We will search for them. We will consult scholars, the Archmage, the Great Powers, even the Pope.”
Julia laughed. “Search then. Search until the letters wear thin. Search until the scholars fall silent. While you search, my child will waste away.”
She turned away, breathing heavily, as if every second wasted was another breath stolen from Astrid.
Whoosh——
“Mother, don’t do this.”
“Not you too, Franz.”
Astrid’s eyes widened as the next scene unfolded before her. Just like their father, her brother, Franz, too, pleaded with Julia.
“….”
Astrid’s heart tightened as she watched. In her childhood, Franz had always been distant. He rarely spoke to her, unlike how he interacted with their sister, Irene.
To Astrid, he never smiled, nor did he ever look at her with affection. She had once thought he despised her for reasons she could never understand.
But now she understood.
The way he had looked at her all those years wasn’t indifference, but guilt.
He had known all along.
“Mother!” Franz shouted, his rage palpable. “If what you’re planning ever comes to light, it will be the end of our family—no, the end of Aetherion itself!”
“Franz.”
“Don’t—”
“Get out.”
“….”
Franz froze where he stood. The word struck harder than a blow. Julia didn’t raise her voice, yet her tone left no room for defiance.
“Mother.”
“I said get out.”
“You’re too far gone.”
“Get out!”
“For one child, you’re willing to risk everything and lose the ones you already have.”
“Franz!”
“Do it then, Mother,” Franz said through clenched teeth. “Do it, and I’ll kill Astrid myself!”
“….”
Astrid stepped back as a gasp escaped her lips. Pain reverberated through her chest as her hand instinctively went to her heart.
She finally understood.
All those years of distance, the cold glances, the way they avoided her…
She had been the reminder. The reason. The sin that had divided her family.
She had been the unloved child. The unwanted one.
“Why…” Her vision blurred as tears threatened to fall.
And as the light swallowed everything once more, Astrid’s heart broke with the realization that her very existence had come at a price too great for any family to bear.
Whoosh——
Astrid witnessed every sin her mother had committed in her name.
The scenes came one after another like a nightmare. Prisoners chained and dragged. The sound of their screams echoed. Julia gave out orders to the knights and mages at her disposal.
When the prisoners were gone, the vision changed again. Villages burned under the night sky. The scent of ash and blood engulfed the air as soldiers carried out the Empress’s orders.
The attacks were blamed on demons, but Astrid saw the truth. The soldiers wore Imperial colors. The cries of the dying were swallowed by Julia’s silence as she observed from a distance.
Astrid’s stomach churned. She wanted to look away, but the vision refused to fade. Each image cemented itself deeper into her mind. The experiments, the corpses, the desperate attempts to replicate what could not be replicated.
Her mother had done all of it for her.
“Mother… what did you do….”
The air around her trembled as the visions continued. Scenes of laboratories filled with lifeless bodies and scholars being driven mad by what they studied.
Every sin had been committed with one purpose. Every life lost had been offered in exchange for her own.
“All of this… for me…”
Astrid fell to her knees as the sound of the dying echoed in her ears. It was as if she were witnessing hell itself.
“Your Majesty, we have a problem!”
Astrid turned toward the voice.
Clarice Astrea rushed toward Julia with a pale expression. “Astrid… is missing…!”
Julia’s eyes widened. For a moment, panic flashed across her face before she steeled herself and gave out her orders.
Immediately, Knights were dispatched, searching for the missing princess all over Aetherion.
At that moment, due to the familiarity of the situation, a memory resurfaced in Astrid’s thoughts.
——Do you love Mommy, Astrid?
’Yes!’
——Me too. To the point it breaks my heart seeing her lose herself.
’Hmm? I don’t get it.’
——Hehe. But it’ll be okay now, Astrid. Come, take your brother’s hand.
’Un!’
The vision cleared. She was small. Her hands were barely long enough to reach her brother’s arm. Her tiny hand gripped Franz’s tightly as they navigated through the dark forest. The air was cold, but she wasn’t afraid.
——Keep close, Astrid. Don’t let go of my hand.
’Okay!’
She understood it clearly now.
——Astrid… I’m s-sorry…
That night, Franz had tried to kill her. His tears glistened under the moonlight as he gripped the dagger in his shaking hands. Torn between his mother’s madness and his own conscience, Franz couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Instead, he dropped the blade and fled, leaving Astrid alone in the forest.
The night grew darker. The trees seemed to close in around her. For the first time, fear crept into her chest. She remembered what her tutors had once told her. If ever lost in the woods, stay still. Wandering only made things worse.
And so she did.
Astrid sat beneath a large tree, hugging her knees to her chest. The forest was silent except for the rustle of leaves and the sound of her crying.
She waited for her brother to return. For her mother to find her. For anyone to come.
Astrid waited, and waited, and waited.
But no one ever did. Not Franz. Not Decadien. Not Julia. Not even her sister, Irene, who had long been sent abroad.
It was a memory so painful that her mind had sealed it away. But now, as the pieces fell into place, everything came rushing back.
She had been left to die.
It was then.
Rustle——
The sound of leaves rustled. Little Astrid looked up, only to find a boy battered in wounds and scratches, hanging a rope up a tree. At first, Astrid was afraid. He looked like a ghost than a real person. As if he had already given up on life.
——What’s your name? Where are your parents?
’Astrid….’
That was the first time she had met him. The boy who introduced himself as Zen.
It was, of course, none other than Vanitas.
Under his guidance, with his hand firmly holding hers, Astrid had found her way back to her mother’s embrace.
Whoosh——
The scene changed once more.
From that day on, Astrid saw clearly how her mother, Julia, favored the boy she called Zen. Julia smiled more often when he was around, even insisting that Clarice bring him to the facility.
And Astrid understood.
Everyone else had abandoned her. Her father turned away. Her brother had tried to kill her. Her sister was sent far from home. But he, the boy who appeared when she was lost, had saved her.
To a lonely child who had known only fear and rejection, that single act had been enough.
“Zen… I’m really tired…”
“Then take a break, Aunt Julia,” Vanitas said. “It’s alright. I can watch over Astrid for as long as needed. It’s better than… staying at home anyway.”
Julia glanced at him. “Is it because of your father?”
“….”
“Do you want me to make him go away?”
Vanitas lowered his head. “That… it would make Mother really sad.”
“I see,” Julia murmured. “That’s how it is, isn’t it?”
All of a sudden, she pulled the boy into her arms, holding him close and stroking the back of his head.
“Then, do you want me to make it all better?” she whispered.
Astrid’s eyes widened. She covered her ears and shut them tight. She understood what was happening. It wasn’t affection. It wasn’t comfort. It was something wrong.
“Don’t tell your mother, alright?”
Something she didn’t have words for. Her mother, abandoned by her family, sought solace in a child who was just as lost as her.
“…Make it stop…” Astrid whimpered. “Make it stop…”
Astrid sank to her knees.
“Please… make it stop… Why… why are you all doing this to me…!”
