After Evan disappeared, Lieselotte informed the Magic Association of the truth.
She then made a specific proposal to the Association’s President, Gregg Imston.
“You’re saying you will take his place?”
“Yes.”
“However...”
“With my magic, substitution is possible. Besides...”
“Besides?”
“If it were to become known right now that a member of the Upper Nobility had defected to Eugenics, it would be a scandal, wouldn’t it?”
“...”
Gregg crossed his arms and fell into thought.
The situation was indeed highly irregular, and it would cause significant issues if made public. With Lieselotte's magic, a cover-up was feasible. They could essentially claim Evan was in poor health and have her show her face at social gatherings as needed. As for the rest of the Bernstein family, they could occasionally use others capable of similar magic to maintain the facade...
Having reached a decision, Gregg granted her request.
Everything was for the sake of maintaining peace in the world of sorcerers.
From that point on, the time Lieselotte spent as herself grew even shorter. She did not stop at impersonating Evan; she lived as many different people.
She yearned to understand the human heart.
Lieselotte was a person who could not naturally understand human feelings, making her the kind of individual who wouldn't have been out of place had she joined Eugenics herself.
However, there was one decisive difference.
That was... her desire to know others.
She did not understand the human heart. But it was Lieselotte’s deepest wish to comprehend it.
“Hello.”
“That is what I believe.”
“No, I wonder about that.”
“I think it’s wonderful.”
“Ahaha! That’s exactly right!”
“Eh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
She played every kind of person imaginable.
She continued to act out the lives of those she envisioned. Eventually, she decided to write novels, believing that the best way to understand the human heart was to depict it.
“...Something like this, I suppose.”
She did not understand the human heart. Because of that, she was able to write stories about it better than anyone else. She could imagine human emotions more vividly precisely because she lacked them—because she yearned for them.
The romance novels Lieselotte wrote became an immediate sensation in the Kingdom, eventually turning into global bestsellers.
Human beings live by believing in fictions.
They do so because they do not truly understand one another.
Because she did not understand, her creations surpassed reality. People were captivated by her fiction.
“...”
Yet, her heart remained unfulfilled.
Empty and hollow. That was her essence, and no matter how much she sought the hearts of others, it did not change.
Several more years passed.
She devoted herself to magical research and made a living taking on occasional requests from the Magic Association.
Then, a rumor reached her ears.
A Magic Eye Collector was operating in the shadows of the Kingdom.
“Could it be... Evan, have you returned?”
She organized the information and arrived at the truth.
He had realized that Rebecca Bradley was the Saint. He intended to use her to raise his status within Eugenics—that was his scheme.
It was, in a sense, a challenge from Evan.
He was throwing the gauntlet down at Lieselotte’s feet.
He meant to settle the score from ten years ago.
At that exact moment, a request arrived from House Bradley. Bruno Bradley wanted her to save his daughter, Rebecca Bradley.
Lieselotte orchestrated the current flow of events as if she were writing a novel.
She would drive Rebecca into a corner and ultimately use Ray White to seal her Magic Area. To induce the Magic Area Overheat, she simply needed to destabilize her emotions.
The opponent also desired Rebecca in that state. It was obvious that as things stood, she would eventually break. His plan was likely to seal her power and then perform a dissection.
Evan’s strategy was to deliberately let the opponent do just that.
It was a battle of wits like a game of chess. Their faces were hidden, but their respective intentions played out on the board. Precisely because they knew each other so well, their moves meshed perfectly.
And then, finally... the encounter.
The two faced each other.
Lieselotte wore a doll-like expression, while Evan was consumed by rage.
“Lise. Finally... I’ve finally made it this far.”
“Evan. You...”
“Lise. Die for me, okay?”
“...”
“When you’re around, I’m no good. You’re always there, dominating my heart. Your existence keeps me in turmoil. So... just die.”
“...Evan. I—”
She tried to speak to him.
She wanted to reach out, but Lieselotte realized her feelings would never touch him again.
“──Dark Triad System, Activate.”
The battle began.
Evan activated the Dark Triad System. Jet-black Prima Materia flooded the area.
Lieselotte had already extracted information about this system from the captive Gray. She already knew the countermeasure.
“DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEE!!”
Evan mutated into a grotesque form.
It differed from Gray’s transformation; his entire body was stained a purplish-black. He manipulated the jet-black Prima Materia, lunging forward to reap Lieselotte’s life.
I know, Evan. I know about the Dark Triad System.
An ability that augments the dark side of a human to temporarily expand their Magic Area. However, it was a double-edged sword. Once used, there was no guarantee of returning to normal.
An anomaly that artificially triggers a Magic Area Overheat. That was the true nature of the Dark Triad System.
“...”
Lieselotte gazed at her former lover, who had changed beyond recognition. Her eyes did not waver. Without a flicker of emotion, she continued to fight him.
But unfortunately... the conclusion had already been reached.
Lieselotte Eden.
For a genius sorcerer like her, even one who cast aside the shackles of ethics to cling to the Dark Triad System would never reach her level.
《Prima Materia = Encoding = Material Code》 《Material Code = Decoding》 《Material Code = Processing = Synesthesia》 《Embodiment = Phenomenon》
“──Magic Area Apoptosis.”
Designating coordinates directly within Evan’s Magic Area, Lieselotte activated her magic.
There was no need to use her Essence. There was no need to manipulate Causality. The weakness of the Dark Triad System lay exposed before her.
Presumably, this was not the latest technology from Eugenics. It was likely a byproduct born during the experimental phase. Lieselotte’s analysis was exactly on the mark.
“U... u-waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
A scream tore through the air.
The magic she activated was Magic Area Apoptosis. It was a spell that bypassed the Material Field to act directly upon the Magic Area itself.
By using Synesthesia, she shared the Collapse Factor she possessed with his domain. Originally, it was a magic designed to alter perception, but she had applied and refined it specifically for the Dark Triad System.
She had created this magic solely to settle the score of her destiny with him.
“U... guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... ah, aaaaah...”
Evan collapsed.
She watched his pathetic state with calm detachment. She felt no sympathy—she simply watched as he writhed in agony.
Evan was already broken. His Magic Area was on the verge of burning out. For ten years, he had pushed his Magic Area to its limits. He had spent his days in a living hell, all to surpass Lieselotte.
But that effort had become his downfall. Lieselotte possessed magic that acted directly on that overworked domain.
“Evan.”
“U... aaaaaaaah... Liiiiiiiiii... zeeeeeeeeeeee!!”
He crawled toward her, using what remained of the strength in his arms.
Blood overflowed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. But he did not stop. His hatred, the despair he had endured—Evan prayed amidst the agony that it would not end like this. It was no longer a goal; it was a delusion.
Evan had known his death was near. He had hoped to achieve his revenge against Lieselotte with his final breath, but he had failed to reach her.
The wall of talent between them was too high. Even after casting aside his humanity for a dark path, he could not even reach the feet of the Seven Grand Sorcerers.
“I-Is this... the strongest sorcerer... the Sorcerer of Fiction... is... it... guh... cough...!”
He muttered the words weakly.
Evan had always believed it. The strongest was not the Ice Sword or anyone else. Lieselotte was the pinnacle of the Seven Grand Sorcerers.
But she denied it. She shook her head and presented him with the cold facts.
“You’re wrong, Evan. The strongest is the Ice Sword. And even among them, the current Ice Sword Sorcerer, Ray White, is in a league of his own.”
“Wh... What...?”
“Suppose there was a sorcerer who ruled this world. If I were asked who that would be, I would answer like this.”
Lieselotte paused for a single breath.
“──That the Ice Sword Sorcerer would rule the world.”
She stated the fact with detachment. She knew that Ray White was not a being who could be contained within the rank of the Seven Grand Sorcerers.
“Wh... What...?”
“Well, almost no one knows his true abilities. It can’t be helped that you didn't know, Evan.”
“Liiiiii... zeeeeee... eeeeeeeeeeee!!”
His breathing became a ragged wheeze. He was at his last gasp.
Evan’s time was up. She had delivered the final blow.
She knew this was the end, but what was this feeling in her chest?
With that thought, she quietly approached and embraced Evan’s body.
“Rest now. Evan.”
“Ah... Li... ze... I... am...”
And there, Evan Bernstein’s life came to an end.
Despite his jealousy of Lieselotte, his fall from grace, and the fact that he had sold his soul... he had failed to reach her until the very end.
His life had been in vain. Had he lived as an honest sorcerer, he would have likely been an excellent one. Even if he had never reached the rank of the Seven Grand Sorcerers, he could have led a stable life.
But he had imagined such a life and despaired. To him, that was not living. Only by pursuing magic, only by standing at its peak, could he truly exist.
It was a curse. Evan had fixated on it until the end, reaching a destination where nothing remained.
Without time for regret, Evan’s life ended.
But he did leave one precious thing behind.
Lieselotte gently lowered his eyelids with her index finger.
In that instant, a single tear fell from her crimson eyes.
“Hey, Evan. I... truly did...”
She finally spoke the words—the true feelings she had only just discovered.
“──Love you.”