Golden Mage - Chapter 19
Volume 1, Chapter 19
“Since I was young, I grew up under the care of my father and my much older brother. My mother, who gave birth to me, passed away just three days after my birth, and I was raised under the protection of my father and brother, receiving a thorough education befitting the high-ranking nobility of the empire.”
As she spoke, she seemed to reminisce about those days, gazing into the empty air, her eyes empty like a lifeless doll.
El could imagine the kind of life she had back then.
Born into a prestigious noble family of the empire, receiving rigorous education, and growing up under the pressure of maintaining the dignity of high nobility. Furthermore, as she grew older, she would have been destined to become a sacrificial victim of strategic marriage for the benefit of the family.
And Cilfir knew exactly what kind of life El had led.
“As I grew older, thanks to my father’s efforts, the strategic marriage with the Crown Prince of the Bleard Empire was arranged when I was just seven years old.”
Cilfir looked at the window beside her while speaking, and a desire flickered in her eyes.
It was the longing for freedom, to break free from the confines of her life and enjoy it as she pleased, like a puppet no longer bound.
“But I wanted freedom. Freedom to live life on my terms, unrestrained and to enjoy it as I wished. And that’s when I met him.”
Cilfir’s eyes clouded over, clearly reminiscing about ‘him.’
“He was just a simple magician, our family’s magician. Not exceptional or impressive, but he was the man who made me dream of freedom. And when I was fifteen, I fell in love with him.”
As she recalled that time, she closed her eyes. Even now, she was happy, but there was no time in her life when she felt happier than when she fell in love as a woman.
He was more manly and lovable than anyone else she knew.
Despite a ten-year age gap, love had no qualms.
However, there was a huge barrier of status between them. Cilfir was destined to become the future empress, the most noble woman in the world, and the man who loved Cilfir was just one of the hundreds of magicians in the Einhart Marquisate.
“When I turned sixteen, the engagement with the Crown Prince was decided. So I made up my mind to run away, to break free from the suffocating family for the freedom I had dreamt of.”
Cilfir persuaded him.
He hesitated, torn between his love for her and his loyalty to the family that had raised him. In the end, love won.
“We succeeded in escaping together and spent happy times. And Eli, you were born from that love.”
But the happy times didn’t last long. The influential Einhart Marquisate, which held centuries of tradition, did not allow any stain on its reputation.
They were relentlessly pursued, and Cilfir was captured just one year after leaving the family.
Cilfir and he were apprehended by the Einhart Marquis. When Cilfir ran away with another man, her engagement with the Crown Prince was already broken.
Naturally, the Einhart Marquis went into a frenzy. He was a man who valued the family’s glory more than his life. He couldn’t simply let Cilfir, who had tarnished the family’s reputation, go free.
And the next day, he was executed, right in front of Cilfir, in a brutal manner.
But even until the end, he didn’t lose his smile while looking at Cilfir. He assured her that even though their love ended this way, it would live on in her heart.
Drip, drip.
Tears flowed from Cilfir’s eyes, witnessing her husband’s death was too shocking for her.
After that incident, she was expelled from the family. It was because she couldn’t let her actions that tarnished the reputation of the Einhart Marquisate go unpunished.
Moreover, the Marquis even wanted to avoid the sight of Cilfir, who had ruined the marriage with the Crown Prince. However, he did consider various factors so that she could live outside.
Of course, it was not for her sake but to save the face of the Einhart Marquisate. In other words, it was because he cared about the external perception.
And the Marquis asked Cilfir to return when she reached 6th Class Master. He said that the family would accept her then.
In reality, it was almost impossible for her to study alone after being expelled from the family, even if she managed to do so.
At best, it would take until she was fifty years old to reach 6th Class.
El was left behind in the outer lands as a result.
But she lived diligently on her own. Luckily, she had a few trustworthy people around her, which is why she survived without trouble until today.
Having explained her past, Cilfir looked at El. Tears continued to flow from her beautiful eyes endlessly.
Unfulfilled love and a husband who died due to the family’s involvement.
Those emotions lay hidden in her heart, resurfacing to pierce it once again.
El’s eyes trembled.
She could feel Cilfir’s sadness all too well. It was so heart-wrenching and poignant… She could clearly sense Cilfir’s heartache.
Taking a deep breath, Cilfir looked at El with moist eyes and barely parted lips, and spoke.
“I am going back to the Einhart Marquisate to face the family I abandoned and reclaim my name, Cilfir von Einhart. I do this for my love, Elly, and for everything that you are to me…”
El’s eyes welled up with tears. She felt Cilfir’s love from her words.
Even though El knew that Cilfir loved her beyond measure, it was the first time she had actually heard those words.
While Cilfir knew herself that she loved El unconditionally, thinking about it and hearing it out loud were two different things.
El was briefly held in Cilfir’s embrace.
About ten minutes passed.
El lifted her face from Cilfir’s arms. Looking at Cilfir, she said firmly,
“I’ll follow your words. And… Mom, I love you.”
“I love you too, our Elly.”
Cilfir embraced El again. It was her mother’s embrace.
Her mother’s heart, which loved El to the point of overflowing, reached El completely.
El’s eyes were brimming with emotion. She felt extremely happy… but also felt a conflicting sadness in her heart.
El made up her mind.
She couldn’t just let Cilfir return to the Einhart Marquisate… she had to investigate everything related to her mother.
As everything related to her mother was tangled, El had no intention of just letting it go… even if Cilfir didn’t want her to find out. El simply wanted Cilfir to be happy, living together with her here, enjoying Serena and Kaina’s prepared meals, and practicing magic.
El didn’t want her mother’s happiness to be disrupted because of the Einhart Marquisate…