A Genius Boy Who Was Exiled From His Family Home for “Not Being Able To Use Magic” Becomes a Witch’s Apprentice and Masters All Magic in the Right Way. This Is How You Use Your Magic, You Know?

Chapter 106.1. Sara

──She loved fairy tales.

They were glittering, and slightly dark, yet ended in a gentle world.

They were about people who, though somewhat comical, lived earnestly.

She was hopelessly drawn to that atmosphere, that beauty.

She thought, as a child, how wonderful it would be to live in such a world.

‘It’s okay, Sara.’

Her mother told her this when she was young.

Then, she pointed to a character in the picture book, the one she liked.

A girl in a beautiful dress, gazing up at the starry sky from the balcony of a large castle in the center of the country.

‘Look carefully, this is what you should aspire to be. It’s every girl’s dream.’

In that dreamlike tone, her mother would always say her usual phrase:

‘──You are going to be a princess.’

It didn’t take long for her to realize that those words were a hopeless curse.

◆

The Hartmann Baronial House.

The house where Sara grew up was, though a noble’s mansion, the lowest rank among the nobility. There was little difference between it and the grander homes of commoners.

Thus, it wasn’t uncommon to bump into family members while walking around the mansion.

“…Mother?”

On a holiday morning,

after finishing breakfast and getting dressed, Sara noticed someone sitting in the living room, looking over some documents, and called out.

Noticing the voice, the woman──who seemed to be in a good mood today, responded.

“Oh, Sara! Perfect timing, come over here.”

Prompted, Sara sat down across from her and took a good look at the person before her──her mother.

Illumina von Hartmann.

Blonde hair like Sara’s, with dark blue-purple eyes. Her features were beautiful enough to be called a beauty, but her slightly heavy makeup and sharp eyes gave her a severe impression.

What was most notable──was the excessive amount of jewelry adorning her ears, neck, fingers, arms, and hair. The light from the colorful gems was so overwhelming that it was more noisy than beautiful.

In total, she looked every bit the image of a spendthrift noblewoman.

After looking at her mother’s usual appearance, Sara then looked at the documents laid out on the desk──and was speechless.

“…M-Mother. These──”

“Yes, you noticed? These are all──marriage proposals addressed to you!”

In stark contrast to Sara’s reaction, Illumina was beaming with joy, spreading her arms wide over the papers on the desk as if showing off treasures.

“It’s wonderful, Sara. To capture the hearts of so many men, it was worth raising you! …But with so many, it’s hard to choose, isn’t it? …Don’t worry, I’ll ‘sort’ them out for you.”

She continued speaking, picking up the papers and starting to read them.

“Let’s see, this one is… the second son of the Viscount Cusaire… are they joking? A mere Viscount’s house thinks they’re a match for my Sara? Rejected. Next… the eldest son of the Count of Rahatmaar. The family rank is so-so, and I haven’t heard of any outstanding mages from that house. They’re on the decline, this one’s out too. Next──”

Without hesitation, she discarded the letters one by one, criticizing each suitor.

And──even though these letters were addressed to Sara, she discarded them without her daughter’s consent.

Of course, Sara had never asked her to do so, nor had she even been informed that these proposals had come in.

“…Um, Mother──”

“It’s okay, Sara, leave it to me.”

Seeing this, Sara finally tried to speak up, but her words were cut off by Illumina, who began to speak instead.

“Listen well. Since you were born a noble lady, you should marry into a family of the highest possible rank. That is the greatest happiness.”

With gentle, affectionate words, but a dark obsession lurking beneath them.

“If you don’t understand that, or if you don’t gain the understanding of those around you, you’ll end up in an unwanted place, just like me. Sara, I don’t want you to make the same mistakes. This is all for you.”

Her mother──a woman who had married into a baron’s house from a marquis’s house, continued.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do everything for you. I’ll teach you all the ways to captivate men’s hearts, and how to marry into a great family… at least a marquis’s house. There’s nothing to worry about, you have a wonderful talent. I’ll do anything for you. Yes──”

Looking at her daughter, yet seemingly seeing someone else she was projecting onto her, her mother, in a trance-like state, said her usual phrase:

“──You are going to be a princess!”

…That’s how it is.

Illumina, originally the eldest daughter of a prestigious marquis’s family,

had been caught in a dispute over where the daughters would marry. Sara didn’t know the details. According to Illumina, “It’s all that sister’s fault. She stole my place with vile, dirty methods, without a shred of pride,” but it was easy to imagine that this account was heavily biased.

In any case, Illumina was caught in the aftermath of that dispute, and when no suitable match was found for her after she reached marriageable age──she ended up marrying into the Hartmann Baronial House.

She was consumed by intense jealousy and a desire for revenge. Even after marrying into the Hartmann Baronial House, she ignored her husband, the head of the family, and acted as she pleased, flaunting her former status, yet nothing could quench her thirst.

Unfulfilled, her tyranny only escalated. Acting as if she herself were the head of the family, it was during such a time──

Sara was born.

A girl blessed with extraordinary beauty from a young age, and a rare talent for magic, possessing ‘dual affinities.’

And Illumina──began to use Sara to quench her own thirst.

‘You are going to be a princess.’

That phrase became her mantra.

Born into a baron’s house, yet chosen by a high-ranking noble’s son and married into his family. A fairytale-like rise in status turned into reality.

At the very least, a marquis’s house. With that as the goal, Illumina subjected Sara to all kinds of education.

As a tool for revenge. As a vessel to achieve what she herself could not.

──Not as a beloved daughter, but as a projection, an avatar onto which she could impose her own desires.

She taught Sara how to dress and groom herself to maximize the appeal of her beauty.

She taught her how to use magic to protect, heal, and make others dependent on her.

She taught her how to behave and develop a personality that would charm men and satisfy their egos.

With an overwhelming, dark passion, disguised as motherly love, she relentlessly instilled in her every possible method to captivate a man’s heart.

Without any consideration for Sara’s own personality, nature, or desires.