Chapter 58

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* * *

The long-awaited day of admission.

“Lilith, Cheshire. I’ll write to you. Make sure you eat well.”

“Brat! If anyone bullies you, write to your big brother right away. I’ll take care of it!”

“Eat well, sleep well, and take care of yourself.”

“Work hard and come back.”

Cheshire and I left for the training facility, receiving farewells from our family.

The training facility was located in the Valkyrie territory in the central-north, which was owned by the royal family, and could only be reached through the warp gate inside the palace.

Upon arrival, Valkyrie turned out to be a remote, nature-friendly place.

I thought it would be like a kindergarten, but no.

It was definitely... a military camp!

<Patriotic Cradle>

Is this training facility really that detailed?

I read the four characters ‘Patriotic Cradle’ hanging at the entrance of the training facility and was dumbfounded.

The author... must have meticulously reflected everything from the K-military in the ability training facility!

“Daughter...”

“Yeah, Dad.”

I turned around at the wistful voice and was startled.

Dad, who was kneeling beside me, was covering his eyes with his hand and trembling.

“What, what? Are you crying?”

“Huh.”

He had been depressed since morning...

I hurriedly patted Dad’s shoulder.

“Why are you crying? I’m not going to die. I’ll work hard and come back in a month, okay?”

“How can you be away from the princess for a month...”

That’s true.

It was the first time in my life. I would be away from Dad for so long.

“Make sure you eat even if the food is bad?”

“Okay.”

The twin seniors, who were also from the training facility, had given the same advice before leaving home.

‘The food in the training facility must be really bad.’

They advised not to skip meals even if the food was tasteless.

“Get along well with your friends?”

“Of course.”

“Don’t cry if you miss me?”

“Okay.”

“Don’t get hurt. If you do, tell the teachers right away?”

“Got it.”

After a while, Dad, who had calmed down, hugged Cheshire and me tightly.

“Right. Cheshire, you haven’t forgotten what Uncle told you, right? You need to remember it.”

“Yes.”

“Good. Take care of yourself.”

Cheshire, who had exchanged meaningful words with Dad, glanced at me.

He seemed worried that I might ask what it was about...

‘No, don’t worry. I won’t ask. I already know everything.’

Dad must have recognized Cheshire’s special qualities early on while teaching him.

Cheshire’s special quality is that he is a 100% magic user.

Unlike ordinary ability users, whose powers are a mix of holy and magic energy in a certain ratio, Cheshire is different.

This means he is the only one who cannot be controlled by the final villain, the Emperor, also known as ‘Primera’.

Primera’s power is based on ‘holy energy’...

Ability users who possess even a little holy energy can all be brainwashed by Primera.

‘But not Cheshire!’

That’s why, in the original story’s finale,

Cheshire was able to cut off the Emperor’s and my necks.

‘If he were to be discovered, it would be a big problem, so he must have told Cheshire to hide it well.’

I nodded, guessing what Dad’s advice might have been.

After waiting for a while,

“Special admittees of the 1026th batch, please proceed with your admission.”

Finally, the call from the training facility manager came.

“Princess, your dad will be waiting for you, so come back strong, okay?”

“Okay, Dad. I’ll be back!”

I gave a final goodbye kiss to Dad, whose eyes were red, and held Cheshire’s hand.

Finally, the admission!

* * *

The training facility auditorium.

Cheshire and I changed into our admission uniforms and headed to the auditorium for the admission ceremony.

The admission uniform was designed like a white sports uniform for easy movement.

“Wow! There are so many friends.”

The auditorium seats were filled with children our age, who were staring at us as if we were monkeys in a zoo.

They were the regular admittees who had already been admitted in the annual March admission day.

“Special admittees of the 1026th batch, please prepare. The great Primera will soon arrive.”

A researcher in a white gown with a strict appearance lined us up.

Special admission is for ability users who missed the regular admission day and are admitted separately from time to time.

Most of them are commoners who didn’t know they were ability users...

In other words, illegitimate children of nobles discovered during inspections or third or fourth-generation descendants with the blood of ability users.

I glanced at the fellow admittees standing next to me.

There were eleven special admittees, including Cheshire and me.

Except for me, they were all commoners.

‘Hmm.’

I looked down at the gold name tag on my admission uniform.

[Lilith Rubinstein]

The surname is written.

[Cheshire]

Cheshire’s didn’t have one.

The name tag was also a different white color.

‘Impressive.’

While thinking, I also observed the children sitting in the auditorium seats.

The colors of the name tags on their chests varied.

Red, blue, green, white...

I didn’t see anyone with the same color as mine.

‘Really impressive.’

I couldn’t even laugh at the absurdity.

The training facility, where all ability users in the empire are required to be admitted by the age of nine, is like a kindergarten or elementary school where children first develop social skills.

Surprisingly, the training facility is a miniature society that has directly transplanted the class system of this corrupt empire.

The reason for distinguishing children by the color of their name tags?

To imprint the power of their families and the differences in class as early as possible.

‘Yeah, if the revolution succeeds, I should tell Dad to blow up this crazy training facility first.’

If this is what they learn from a young age, it’s no wonder everyone is brainwashed into living in a class society.

“His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!”

At that moment, a loud voice of a knight announced the Emperor’s arrival.

The noisy auditorium fell silent like a graveyard.

‘Finally, I’m meeting him.’

I swallowed hard, tense.

The front door opened, and the Emperor walked in, his red cloak billowing.

A young and beautiful man with hair almost white and mysterious emerald eyes...

The Emperor, the final boss of this novel.

Nicholas von Pavillon.

‘...?’

For some reason, the Emperor didn’t go to the prepared podium but walked straight toward us.

Or rather, directly toward me.

As he got closer, his face became clearer.

‘Indeed, Primera.’

With an average lifespan twice that of ordinary ability users, he was as young as my dad, despite his age.

“Gasp!”

“What, what is it?”

People gasped in surprise.

I was also surprised.

The Emperor, with a beautiful face, smiled brightly and sat down in front of me, matching my eye level.

“I finally see you, little one.”

“...”

Trying to act friendly.

I bowed my head to avoid eye contact, but the Emperor’s hand suddenly reached out.

He then picked me up with one arm, as if a father would his daughter, and stood up.

“Huh.”

“Goodness...”

The Emperor’s face, seen up close.

My heart was pounding.

The formidable villain from the original story who imprisoned me and exploited my power for life.

Now, my ultimate goal to destroy.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

His smiling face was infinitely kind, but I felt it was like a cunning snake.

“...It’s