Vina’s expression remained unchanged. She had seen such scenes countless times. Every parent came with confidence, but those with talent were few and far between. Just as she was about to let the boy test, a scene before her made her frown.
When the woman saw her son about to test while still holding a paper windmill, her face fell. Her thin lips appeared even sharper as she turned to glare at the girl beside her who kept her head down, her face filled with disdain.
"Fool, take that thing from your brother’s hand! If you delay him from becoming a mage, just wait till I get home to deal with you!"
The fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, dressed in tattered linen clothes and frail as if a gust of wind could knock her over, trembled upon hearing this. She quickly stepped forward to take the windmill toy from the boy’s hand, still not daring to raise her head throughout.
Seeing this, the woman gave the girl a look of annoyance and muttered under her breath.
Upon hearing this, the little girl shuddered and lowered her head even further.
Vina’s expression behind the round table subtly changed, anger rising within her, but she said nothing. Women in this world were lives of little value unless they possessed great power.
In commoner families, boys always held higher status than girls—a scene she had witnessed far too many times.
Even if she reprimanded this woman now, the one who would suffer back home would still be the little girl, unless she killed the woman.
"Place your hand on it, and you will feel the mana lingering around you. All you need to do is gather the mana and channel it into the mana affinity crystal. The denser the mana, the brighter the crystal will glow, indicating a higher level of aptitude."
Vina's voice grew colder by a few degrees. Though she knew there was nothing she could do to change this reality, she couldn’t help but feel disgust toward the mother and son before her.
This scene reminded her of that cruel stepmother. If it weren’t for Lord Li De, she might have spent her entire life serving that crippled nobleman instead of becoming the lofty mage she was now.
The sharp-featured woman didn’t notice the disdain in Vina’s eyes. Turning her head, she smiled sweetly at the little boy.
"Kili, do your best! Once you become a mage lord, Mommy will buy you everything you want~" Her kind demeanor toward the boy was as different from her treatment of the girl beside her as an angel was from a demon.
"Yes, Mommy~" Kili, the little boy, laughed happily, his cheerful expression and bright clothes starkly contrasting with the silent, ragged girl beside him who carried his things with her head bowed.
Vina felt a pang of pain in her heart as she looked at the girl. In this child, she quietly saw herself from long, long ago.
Kili stepped forward confidently. "My name is Kili, and I will definitely become a noble mage lord~"
The boy’s proud proclamation drew curious glances from the surrounding crowd. After declaring this, Kili placed his hand on the crystal ball under the watchful eyes of the onlookers.
Meanwhile, the sharp-featured woman behind him couldn’t help but feel her heart race.
Vina watched the scene impassively. Even the dozen or so apprentices maintaining order at the mage tower turned their heads curiously.
One minute passed. The crystal ball remained unresponsive.
Two minutes passed. Still no reaction.
Three minutes passed. The crystal ball lay dormant, showing no signs of activity.
The woman’s face slowly turned pale, and she began muttering to herself.
"It’s impossible, it’s impossible! Last night, the priest told me in bed that Kili had mage aptitude. It’s impossible! This crystal must be broken!!"
At this moment, Kili opened his sweat-drenched eyes. Seeing the gazes of the surrounding crowd, his face instantly flushed red.
"I... I sensed the mana, but... but I couldn’t draw it out. There must be too little mana here, that’s why!"
His words caused the crowd to burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, you brat! If you don’t have any talent, just get lost and stop wasting our time!"
"Too little mana? I remember someone passing the test just a Sun-hour ago!"
Under the jeering laughter of the crowd, both Kili and the sharp-featured woman turned pale. However, they didn’t dare to question or defy the mage conducting the test.
The sharp-featured woman turned to leave but, seeing the girl beside her bowing her head as if none of this concerned her, slapped the girl across the face in a fit of anger.
The crisp sound echoed far across the open space in front of the Crimson Mage Tower.
"You filthy, lowly monster! If your brother can’t become a mage lord, I’ll sell you to the nobles!"
The already frail girl was knocked to the ground by the force of the slap, her belongings scattering everywhere.
It was only then that Vina got a clear look at the girl’s face. She had a thin yet fair complexion, delicate features like a doll’s, but what surprised Vina was the girl’s crimson-colored pupils.
Her originally exquisite face took on an eerie quality when paired with those red eyes.
Just as the surrounding crowd was about to direct their anger at the harsh woman, someone noticed the girl’s eyes and let out an involuntary cry.
Monster? Many people had been dissatisfied with the harsh woman’s actions, but after hearing this shout, they immediately realized and turned their attention to the girl.
The girl was still dazed. Although being beaten had become routine, the sharp pain in her cheek prevented her from reacting quickly, so she didn’t lower her head to hide as she usually did.
Her crimson eyes were seen by everyone.
Some people instinctively backed away, their faces filled with terror.
"Is she a vampire? Why does she have red eyes?!"
"She’s a monster!! A monster!!"
"Kill her quickly! She’s a demon sent by the devil!"
In countless human legends, demons and vampires were monsters with red eyes.
In this world, where countless races existed, evil races with red eyes were not uncommon. Yet, at this moment, the girl was immediately categorized as a monster by the crowd.
Ignorance, combined with fear of evil beings, caused the crowd to erupt into chaos.
"Mage Lord, please kill this monster!"
"She’s probably a vampire!! The sunlight during the day must be weakening her. By nightfall, she’ll surely drain all our blood!"
"Hurry, let’s kill this monster together!"
The frail girl lay on the ground, her crimson eyes gradually filling with despair and helplessness.
Her mother’s anger and panic, her younger brother’s disdain and disgust, and the loud accusations of the terrified crowd—all of it was reflected in those red eyes.
At this moment, it felt as though the entire world had abandoned her.
Her own mother, who should have been closest to her, had abandoned her. Her beloved younger brother despised her. Even strangers feared her.
Am I really a monster? But... I only have red eyes.
That small body seemed to bear the weight of the entire world. The girl slowly curled up, her tattered linen clothes wrapping around her fragile form like a shroud.
The world seemed to lose its color at this moment, turning from vibrant hues to a gray monotone.
The girl’s crimson eyes dimmed, their light fading bit by bit.
When Vina saw the girl lying on the ground, helpless and subjected to the angry jeers of the crowd, even facing the threat of being lynched, her heart ached. She thought back to when she had been just as powerless as the girl.
Standing up, she began channeling mana, ready to cast a spell, when a series of massive fireball explosions plunged the scene into chaos.
Fireballs rained down from the sky, smashing into the ground. Violent bursts of mana exploded.
The hard slate stones shattered under the magical impact, sending debris flying. More than a dozen craters appeared on the floor.
The scorching air caused the crowd, which had been preparing to rush forward, to hastily retreat.
A mage lord had intervened!!
The crowd was filled with doubt and fear, their clamor causing the entire square to boil over.
Miraculously, the fallen girl remained unharmed amidst the violent barrage of fireballs. A line of craters created by the explosions separated the crowd from the girl.
When the crowd finally calmed down slightly, they turned their heads in panic to see what had happened.
A figure stepping down from a carriage caused the scene to fall silent.
Dressed in a pure white mage’s robe, with a crescent-shaped emblem embroidered on the chest signifying the status of an advanced mage.
His handsome features were dazzling enough to captivate any girl, exuding an elegant and noble aura. Every movement he made was flawless and impeccable.
"No one decides the life or death of another on my territory."
The overwhelming presence of this single individual subdued the crowd of over a thousand.
His cold words carried an unyielding dominance.
"Even if the person in question is a grand mage!"