“At last... I’ve finally made it this far...”
Evan pierced Lieselotte with a gaze heavy with murderous intent.
The two had met during their student days.
Their personalities had clicked perfectly. Both possessed a high aptitude for magic, and their conversations on the subject were always lively.
In terms of appearance, they were a striking pair.
It was only a matter of time before they were naturally drawn to one another.
“Hey, Evan.”
“What is it, Lise?”
They were in the underground space beneath the Arnold Magic Academy. This area required a specific key to enter, but Lieselotte had pilfered it from a teacher. After using her magic to duplicate it, she had given one to Evan as well.
This was their secret place.
Having become lovers, the two met here repeatedly. Since the constant gaze of those around them was a nuisance, this was the ideal location.
Even as a student, Evan possessed a charisma that naturally drew people to him. He was relied upon by his peers and had built a solid reputation for himself.
Lieselotte, on the other hand, was solitary.
Even as a student, she was already a Platinum Rank sorcerer. At the academy, no one dared to speak to her—except for Evan.
Her skill as a sorcerer set her apart, but her appearance and personality only served to widen the gap.
Pure white skin and pure white hair. Most students found her flowing, silky locks and deep red eyes to be unsettling, or even eerie.
She was an albino.
Albinism was a rare trait among sorcerers. Furthermore, she was a person of few words. While she enjoyed talking, she remained composed even when alone. She had never once felt the sting of loneliness.
Because of this, Lieselotte was isolated.
However, she accepted it. She accepted every part of herself and her circumstances.
That was when Evan appeared.
He was captivated by her solitary nature. He fell in love with Lieselotte and the mystical aura she seemed to carry.
And so, they became a couple.
“I believe there is still more to magic than what we know.”
“Talking about magic again?”
“Yes. Personally, I think there are still secrets hidden within Code Theory.”
“I haven’t the slightest clue about that.”
“That’s why I’m thinking of becoming a researcher.”
“A career path, huh?”
“What about you, Evan?”
She stared at him.
Lieselotte gazed at Evan with eyes that seemed devoid of any emotion.
She was fundamentally emotionless. Her feelings of joy, anger, grief, and pleasure were faint, and she found it difficult to read the emotions of others.
She possessed high psychopathic traits; she was a complete psychopath.
That was precisely why Lieselotte wanted to understand the human heart.
Her relationship with Evan was a way to verify her own heart—to prove to herself that she was indeed attracted to him and capable of love.
“...I’m going to university. But after that, I’ll likely succeed my family.”
“I see.”
“There’s already talk of an arranged marriage...”
“Okay.”
She knew.
She knew this relationship was only temporary.
That one day, they would surely walk separate paths.
Though they never put it into words, both were aware of the reality.
Upper Nobility. For an elite sorcerer from such a background, free love was a luxury. This was merely a dream shared during their student years.
Lieselotte was also an elite sorcerer. Even without a noble lineage, those around her would eventually seek out her superior genes.
“Hey, Evan...”
“Lise...”
She stepped forward, slowly closing the distance between them.
Then, Lieselotte shared a gentle kiss with him.
It was the first kiss for both of them.
However, it was also destined to be their last.
She had wanted to know. She wanted to understand her own heart and the nature of the human heart.
—I am in love... or so I want to believe.
At that time, she did not yet realize.
She did not see that within Evan’s gaze, jealousy and hatred were beginning to mingle.
Time passed.
Lieselotte continued to hone her skills as a sorcerer. Eventually, she ascended to the rank of the Seven Grand Sorcerers.
The Sorcerer of Fiction.
That was her alias.
The first sorcerer in history to interfere with Causality.
Sorcerers everywhere praised her unreservedly. At the parties she attended, Lieselotte was warmly welcomed by countless nobles.
With her hair pinned up and wearing a crimson dress, she had even made a clumsy attempt at applying makeup to attend a party hosted by the Magic Association—a rare occurrence for her.
Under normal circumstances, she would never have set foot in such a place. The people who constantly tried to curry favor with her were a nuisance.
However, she had come today specifically to see Evan.
Surely, he would congratulate her.
They were no longer lovers, but they had maintained a correspondence through letters.
He had written that he would be attending today.
But... Evan never showed up.
“Evan...”
She whispered his name to herself.
Lieselotte decided to go to his home.
She recalled from memory that Evan’s house was located in the Noble District of the South District.
Night had fallen, and the moonlight illuminated the world.
There were streetlights, but the glow in this area was faint and the surroundings were quite dark. A normal person would have found it unsettling, but she proceeded without a hint of hesitation.
Lieselotte arrived alone, still wearing her formal dress.
She felt an inexplicable, intense urge to see him right now.
“...Not here?”
There was no sound when she rang the bell.
The rooms remained dark, and she sensed no presence within.
Furthermore, the front door was unlocked.
Lieselotte entered the house tentatively. As she did, she heard a wet squelching sound beneath her feet.
She looked down.
Was there a leak?
That was her first thought, but as she looked closer, she realized...
“...Blood? Why?”
She didn't panic.
Instead, Lieselotte felt a sense of confusion.
The door left unlocked, the lights out.
And the blood pooling in the room.
Had a burglar broken in?
However, the scene she found further inside was beyond belief.
“...Evan?”
In one of the rooms, she found the bodies of people who appeared to be his family. They lay on the floor in a pool of blood.
Standing before them was Evan, staring blankly into the void.
“What happened? Is that, perhaps...”
The situation was clear.
Furthermore, the lingering traces of Prima Materia in the room clearly belonged to Evan.
Lieselotte realized the truth.
This was all Evan’s doing.
“...Lise?”
He turned toward her.
His eyes reflected a pitch-black darkness, like an empty void.
His hair was disheveled—a far cry from the Evan who always kept his appearance impeccable.
“...Evan, why?”
She asked the question again.
In response, he let out a laugh filled with audacity.
“Why, you ask? You’re the one asking me that?”
“...Eh?”
“...I’ve hated you all this time. You kept pulling further ahead of me until you finally became one of the Seven Grand Sorcerers. At first, I really was in love with you. But that love turned into hatred. I am the eldest son of House Bernstein, the Upper Nobility. I have to reach greater heights...”
She hadn't known.
Hearing him speak was the first time she realized the truth.
She had never imagined that her casual words and actions had been wounding him all along.
And yet, her heart still did not move.
It felt as though she were watching a story unfold from a great distance.
Even when faced with clear murderous intent and raw hatred, Lieselotte’s heart remained still.
Confronted with her own nature, she—
“I was scouted by Eugenics. To explore the ultimate truths of magic.”
“...That organization? This is madness. How could you...”
Of course, she had been scouted by them as well.
But their offers were utterly unacceptable.
Sacrificing everything and casting off the shackles of ethics could only lead to a dystopia.
Because Lieselotte understood this, she had refused.
She never imagined that Evan would be the one to accept.
Was it because of her?
Had it turned out like this because of her existence?
That was the first time she truly felt regret.
“Listen, Lise. If only you didn't exist, I could have lived a happy life... I wouldn't have had to live in the shadow of your talent.”
“...”
“So please, just die.”
It began.
A magical duel.
Evan challenged Lieselotte with a clear, unwavering intent to kill.
But reality was heartless.
No matter how much emotion he poured into it, he could never reach Lise, who had already ascended to the rank of the Seven Grand Sorcerers.
The disparity in their strength was no longer a matter of adult versus child.
There was a gap as vast as heaven and earth.
Lieselotte forced that reality upon him. Emotionlessly, detachedly.
“Guh... ugh... cough...”
He spat up blood.
A large gash had opened on his face, and several of his bones were shattered.
—Even though I held back, is he this broken?
She analyzed the situation dispassionately.
Even with her holding back, he was in this state.
Lieselotte then spoke to Evan.
“Evan. You can't. With that level of power, you will never reach the truth.”
“Shut up!! You can say that because you have everything!! Someone with talent, with power—you could never understand how I feel!!”
In an instant, a smokescreen filled the room.
Simultaneously, another person entered and vanished along with Evan.
Naturally, she pursued. She was not someone who could be shaken off by such simple tricks.
Her pursuit led her back to the vast underground space within the Arnold Magic Academy.
“Evan...”
She had followed the trail of blood this far. Her neatly pinned hair had come undone, and her dress was torn in places from her reckless sprint.
But here, she was once again successfully diverted by another sorcerer.
The opponent was likely more skilled in the art of escape than she was.
Lieselotte reached this conclusion and decided to abandon the pursuit.
“...I see.”
She crouched down softly and traced his blood with her fingertip.
Despite being the one who had wounded him, she felt nothing in particular.
A thought suddenly occurred to her.
If she didn't understand the human heart...
Then perhaps if she completely impersonated others, the day would come when she finally understood.
With that thought, Lieselotte began to use her magic to transform into others.
Thus began her lifelong pursuit of the human heart.
Believing that one day, somewhere down the line, she would finally understand—