"Lilith was also tested and found to have a Light Element talent. You were overjoyed because your most beloved daughter was about to have a wonderful future. But at the same time, you hesitated, because the God of Light detests Dark Element talents, especially Undead System talents."
"To pick a side, I was the one who had to be abandoned." As she spoke, she looked at Catherine. "One is your favorite daughter, who possesses an outstanding Light Element talent."
"The other is the unloved one, who just so happens to have an Undead System talent. It was obvious which one you would choose."
Catherine’s eyes widened. She wanted to say that wasn’t what she was thinking, but when she searched her heart, she had to ask, ’Would I really not have made that choice?’
"I overheard your conversation. Father still had a shred of paternal love for me. He suggested sending me to the estate in Kandapes, far from the Imperial City, and telling outsiders only that I was ill to deceive the Divine Hall of Light."
Adina glanced at Dumont. She didn’t despise him; after all, Dumont had indeed shown her some warmth, however pitifully small it was.
"Mother, you outwardly agreed to Father’s proposal, but when you were sending me away from the Imperial City, you secretly ordered the guards to take me to the Mist Forest. I struggled in the Mist Forest for less than two months before I died."
"Perhaps I was blessed by the Divine. When I opened my eyes again, I found I had returned to two months before the talent test. This time, you wouldn’t be the first to abandon me. I would be the one to abandon you."
Catherine clutched her chest. "Adina, I’m not like that... You’re my daughter. Even if I favored Lilith, I would never..."
"But those are the facts. If you don’t believe me, I can swear a world-binding oath and let the oath determine whether or not I’m lying." Adina’s expression remained perfectly calm, as if she were telling someone else’s story.
"Mother, I died because of you. How could I possibly reconcile with you now, just because you regret it?"
"In this world, nothing is more important than life and death. The boundary of life and death lies between us, and it’s a line you can never cross."
Catherine slumped into her chair, tears streaming down her face. The joy she had felt when Adina came to see her was now matched only by her pain and despair.
Dumont clenched his fists. "So you were planning to leave us even back then? So when you were desperately reading and learning to write, you were preparing to leave us?"
"Yes. From that moment on, I was thinking of leaving you, of escaping you forever." Adina gripped her cuffs, trying to suppress a wave of heartache. "But I was too young, and I knew too little about this world."
"And the time I had after coming back was too short. I only had that little bit of time to plan for myself."
"I fought desperately to find a way to survive, but which of you ever gave me a chance?"
"I only stood out a little in Teacher Sofia’s class to save some time for studying, and that was enough to attract Lilith’s jealousy." Adina glanced at Lilith as she spoke, even offering a small smile.
Lilith immediately looked away, seemingly shocked that Adina remembered something from so long ago.
"That day, I knew perfectly well that Lilith had ill intentions when she took me to the Karina family. I even knew that you and your little friends were up to no good. But I still went with you to that small valley, because I needed an excuse to leave you for good."
"I had anticipated the viciousness in your young hearts, but I didn’t anticipate the Magic Beast riot on the night of the full moon. Nor did I expect my body to be so frail."
Adina recounted Tan You’s experience as if it were someone else’s story. "I fought hard against the pack of low-level Magic Beasts, struggling to hold on until I ran into you, Father. But I never expected that your paternal love for me was so meager."
"I was a mess after fighting the pack of Violent Tooth Rats, and you, Father, looked at me with disgust and refused to let me travel with you. Your personal guard, Schubert, took pity on me—a young child facing a life-or-death crisis—and protected me all the way back to the family."
"But what did you do? When I was bedridden and delirious with fever, you, Mother, stood by my bedside and refused to call a Priest to heal me, because you were afraid of ruining Lilith’s reputation."
"And you, Father, you said that if I had just died outside the valley, it would have been a clean end to it, and there wouldn’t be so many troubles. From that moment on, I made up my mind. I would leave you forever, and abandon you completely."
Dennis and Danit hung their heads, not saying a word. For years, they had resented Adina in their hearts, wondering how she could be so cruel. It was just their parents playing favorites when they were children; was it really worth holding a grudge for so many years?
But if there was truly a matter of life and death involved, then her actions made perfect sense.
Adina took a breath and couldn’t stop a cough from escaping. "COUGH COUGH... So you tell me, with incident after incident between us, what kind of attitude should I have toward you?"
"I think my avoiding you all these years has been dignified enough."
Catherine lunged forward and grabbed Adina’s hand. "Adina, I was wrong. I failed to protect you. You can hit me, you can curse me, whatever you want, but please don’t... don’t abandon me, your mother..."
"COUGH COUGH..." Adina turned her head and coughed again. "Why would I hit or curse you? I understand now. Mother, you simply don’t love me. You love everyone else in this family—Father, my eldest brother, my second brother... and you love Lilith the most. You just don’t love me, don’t care for me."
"But why? I’m your daughter too. Why were you so biased? For so many years, I could never understand. If you didn’t love me, why did you give birth to me?"
"How could I be so unlucky as to be your daughter? If being your daughter meant I had to endure so much suffering, then I would rather I had never... never come into this world... It’s just... it’s just been too bitter and too painful..."
"COUGH COUGH COUGH..." Perhaps because she had become agitated, Adina’s emotions flared. She leaned on the table, coughing nonstop, as if she were about to cough up her very lungs.
The others wanted to approach but hesitated, worried they might harm her frail body. Suddenly, a black figure darted in from outside the hall. The newcomer summoned a flow of Dark Element Magic Power, channeling it into Adina’s trembling body to soothe it.
"I told you I should have come with you, but you just wouldn’t listen. It’s a good thing I followed you secretly," Davidson said, but only after Adina had finally managed to calm down.
Adina wiped away the tears her coughing had forced out. "I... I thought I could face this calmly. Now I see how arrogant I was. I’m still not resigned to it. I still don’t understand."
"If you can’t figure it out, then don’t think about it," Davidson said lightly. "Are you going to stay here? Or go back to the temple now?"
Adina paused. "Since I’m already here, I might as well make things clear."
Dumont’s heart clenched violently. He instinctively wanted to avoid this topic, as if by doing so, their relationship with Adina wouldn’t get any worse.