"If you lose to me in the upcoming match, I'll tell you where that torn little teddy bear of yours is."

Her brother lifted her chin with a claw-like hand, mocking eyes fixed on Nana as he laughed. "You're too stupid. If you liked it that much, you shouldn't have let anyone know."

The moment he walked away, Nana's gaze shifted almost instantly to the attendant standing beside her.

The maid who had taken care of Nana since she was five—almost the moment she saw that look in Nana's eyes, she instinctively fell to her knees. "My lady, I…"

"You even tremble in fear, yet you dare to betray me?"

Nana's voice was still childish, carrying the tone of a young girl, but it was enough to make the maid shake uncontrollably as she stammered, "Please, allow me to explain—"

Would Nana give her two years of service the chance to explain?

Of course not. She raised her hand, and countless strands of light wove into a magic circle. It pierced through the maid's body in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the maid was sliced into pieces, fresh blood spraying like a fountain. She died without even being able to scream.

The other maids stared wide-eyed, tears falling silently, none daring to utter a sound. The entire space grew oppressively heavy, deadly quiet.

None of them dared look at Nana. Even her silhouette before their eyes seemed to distort, twisting into a monstrous, demonic shape.

A storm was coming, and all ordinary servants could do was tremble.

That day, Nana ultimately lost—much to everyone's astonishment, and to her brother's arrogant delight.

She had sworn that once she retrieved what she wanted, she would kill that brother of hers.

But nothing ever happened the way she expected.

She went to find him, but in the darkness—where the only light was the moon's faint glow streaming through the window—it did not illuminate her brother.

Instead, it fell upon her father, the head of the Aurellan family.

He sat in a chair, backlit. Only his towering silhouette could be seen. In Nana's eyes at that time, he was colossal—a mountain no one could ever conquer.

Nana immediately knelt on one knee to greet him. She had almost already guessed what was coming.

Sure enough, her father spoke shortly after: "He will never appear before you again."

Both of them knew who "he" was.

Nana lowered her head and said nothing.

At that moment, her father stood up, his voice low and icy. "Nana, do you know where you went wrong?"

"I shouldn't have allowed myself to be threatened," Nana answered directly.

Her father laughed. "No. From the very beginning, you should never have had a weakness."

Something was thrown to the ground. His footsteps grew closer and closer.

Just as he was about to walk past her, he spoke slowly, "Nana, remember your position and your responsibility. Even if one day I, or your mother, or anything else is used to threaten you, your choice must always be the pride of the Aurellan family. You are the one chosen to uphold our clan's glory. This is your first lesson—resolve it yourself."

His footsteps gradually faded.

Nana lifted her gaze, and sure enough, she saw the teddy bear lying on the floor, completely intact, without a single tear.

It seemed to be looking at her with those glimmering black eyes, just like her mother's—forever gentle, forever calm, forever peaceful.

She knew that from this day on, she might never see her mother again.

Nana raised her hand. Flames burst forth from nothingness, consuming the thing she had once cherished, devouring the affection she had desperately tried to cling to.

A single tear rolled down the corner of her eye, but before it could fall to the floor, she wiped it away herself.

Nana had sworn that it would be the only tear she shed from that day onward—and her mother would not be the next thing to burn.

From that day, Nana despised everything. She despised commoners and would never again go near them.

She never saw her mother again, because her mother was merely an ordinary commoner who had caught the eye of the head of the Aurellan family—and had been fortunate enough to bear Nana, the child of the purest bloodline, carrying the strongest light-based power, rising instantly to a noble's privileged position in the most magnificent castle of Luminous.

Her mother had once told her about the mountain ranges, about rivers. She had said she wanted to travel the world—she had been a mage, after all. But ever since giving birth to Nana, she had become nothing but Nana's mother, nothing but a lucky commoner.

If her mother had wings, perhaps she would have flown away from that luxurious castle. But her father had never allowed it, and Nana hated him for it.

Yet she didn't know when it happened—she had become just like him.

Mother, you only had to stay there. As long as you did that, you would be safe. You would never share the same fate as the gift you once gave me. I would never allow that to happen.

Nothing—nothing—would ever become my weakness again…

At least, that was how it should have been.

But before Nana's eyes appeared that radiant golden hair, and that face wearing a smile filled with freedom and unrestrained ease.

Someone who liked protecting others…

Perhaps this was the curse of their family. Her father had fallen for a commoner, clipped her wings, and turned her into a rose trapped inside a magnificent castle.

And she—no matter how much she denied it, no matter how superior she believed herself to be—seemed unable to escape that fate.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Suddenly, the sound of applause echoed sharply, like a bell striking her mind and pulling her consciousness out of the void.

Her eyes snapped open, focus returning.

She turned her head. Even though she couldn't see a silhouette, her gaze locked precisely onto the source of the sound.

"Hahaha, you have such interesting memories."

The voice spoke—and at the same time, its owner slowly appeared before Nana.

A pink mer-tail, darkening in an ombre gradient toward the tip. Fins so pale they were nearly white. Flowing hair with a rosy sheen, adorned with jewels and precious stones upon her head. Her eyes sparkled like gems, breathtakingly beautiful.

A shimmer weave floated lightly over her chest, covering only what needed to be concealed, yet still careless, half-revealing, half-hiding—enchanting enough to leave the mind adrift.

Nana recognized that delicate, striking face. She was the princess who had sat closest to Queen Thalassa in the royal palace.

But the color of her tail was… undeniably wrong.