Christa was born as the third daughter of the Filiaregis family. She was promised everything from birth: a warm family, kind servants, and the wealth and status she needed to have any selfishness of hers forgiven.
She had a twin sister who had shiny silver hair and eyes of different color—one crimson, one blue. Her elder sister’s coloring made her look like she wasn’t connected by blood to the rest of the family, and her beauty was so unparalleled, it was nothing short of inhuman.
However, her elder twin was born without magical power. In aristocratic society, where the higher your magical power was, the better, that was a critical flaw for the daughter of a venerable ducal family.
As a result, her elder sister was labeled as an “abomination” soon after she was born. Her parents despised her sister, but in order to maintain the dignity of their family and her value as a duke’s daughter, they provided for her and bought her dresses and jewelry.
For as long as she could remember, Christa had never truly disliked her sister. In fact, she had admired her sister, who was as beautiful as a doll and did everything perfectly, with the exception of magic. And though she was clumsy and awkward about it, Drossell had opened her heart to Christa in return.
Drossell had a friend named Alec. Since she had no place at home, Drossell almost always went over to Alec’s house to play. Christa had played with Alec a few times as well, but she was told that Alec had a very weak constitution. Due to Alec’s mother’s concerns, they hadn’t been able to play together much.
To a young Christa, Alec felt like a horrible child who monopolized her beloved elder sister. Whenever Drossell came home from playing with Alec, Christa would act hurt and lonely. Drossell always gave her a troubled smile and played with her or read her books.
Eleven years ago, when the twins were five years old, war broke out in the Sphylia region in the far northwest near the kingdom’s border. The war was confined to Sphylia, so no one outside of it was frightened and they celebrated their peaceful everyday lives. Christa and her family, who lived in the capital city of Nirvaan far from the battlefields, weren’t bothered by the war at all.
But it was during that time that Alec unexpectedly passed away. It was truly sudden. The young twins hadn’t been told any details, but they overheard adults talking about how Alec had died in a fire.
Drossell was the most affected by Alec’s death. The day she heard the news, she was so shocked that she collapsed and stayed unconscious for three days. Even after she had recovered, she was present in body but not in spirit, as if her soul had left her body.
Christa went to play in her older sister’s room each day. Her family and the servants tried to stop her, but she paid them no mind. She noticed that her sister’s room was starting to get messy each time she went, but she told herself that Drossell just needed to relieve stress because her grief was so deep. Every day, she talked to Drossell, hoping to console her twin sister.
CRASH!
One day, in the early hours of the morning, Christa was woken up by the tremendous sound of glass breaking. She could still hear the sounds of other items breaking, but she wasn’t sure where they were coming from. Pulling on a cardigan, she opened her door and went into the hallway.
A few butlers ran past her a moment later, followed by her older brother, Freid. Watching them run, she wondered what was going on before realizing that they were heading for her older sister’s room.
“Christa, what’s wrong? It’s dangerous out here, go back to your room.” Her father, Scarlough, appeared.
Clinging to his legs, she looked up and anxiously asked, “Father, what’s going on?”
“Don’t worry, Christa. Just be good and wait in your room. Diane will wait with you.” Patting Christa’s head, Scarlough followed the butlers and headed for Drossell’s room. Her mother appeared in front of Christa, immediately taking her father’s place, picking Christa up and taking her back into her room.
“Mother, what happened? Why is everyone going to Drossell’s room?”
“Christa, you needn’t worry about that. That abomination is just destroying everything with her evil power.” Her mother held Christa in her arms, trying to get her back to sleep, but she stubbornly refused to allow Christa to see Drossell no matter how many times she asked. Christa pretended to fall asleep. Once her mother had left the room, she didn’t miss her chance and flew out of it.
Drossell’s room was the furthest down the hall on the second floor. Opening the heavy door, Christa let out a small shriek at the devastation she found inside. Small items, utensils, cloth, and paper were scattered across the room. She had no idea how it’d been broken, but small fragments of wood speckled the carpet. Some of the windows were broken, letting in a cold breeze.
Her sister wasn’t in the room. That made Christa even more anxious. She ran out into the hallway and searched the manor for her sister. She did not eat breakfast nor did she change her clothes. A few servants tried to stop her, and her parents tried to persuade her many times, but she never stopped looking.
Her sister must not have been in the manor, because she couldn’t find her no matter where she looked. Still, she was young enough that the duke’s manor was her entire world, and she continued to search, believing that her sister must be hiding there somewhere. When the sun began to set, an exhausted Christa returned to her sister’s room once more.