Favored by the Family That Will Become the Strongest! - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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‘I’m sixteen now. That’s fortunate. If it had been any later, my awakening would have been discovered before I could act.’
In the original timeline, she would have awakened her Ability not long after Barcan left, and made it public.
Perhaps it was the circumstances just before the Regression that allowed her such unnatural composure. Her mind had already sketched out exactly what needed to be done.
Diena moved her hand slowly. From her fingertips, a luminous white aura began to bloom outward.
Her Ability had activated successfully.
Yet Diena’s face remained expressionless, even in the face of that dazzling sight. She knew all too well how many people this power had dragged into the abyss.
The people of the Rothwell Family still did not know that she had awakened her Ability.
‘The Five Great Families are coming to the estate, they said. I’ll use that moment to escape. And I’m going to the Kardian Family.’
* * *
“Sacrifice yourself for the family until the very end.”
The night after hearing those words from her Uncle before the Regression, Diena had sworn to run away.
She could not remain in this family any longer.
‘But Uncle will never let me go.’
He would try to exploit even her last breath.
So Diena found the secret passage deep beneath the estate—one that only Rothwell heirs knew about.
Fortunately, her Uncle did not know of its existence. He had not formally inherited the Duke’s seat from their father. The thought of her father brought a shadow of sorrow across her face.
‘If Father had lived, would my life have been even slightly different?’
But that was a pointless supposition. Diena fled the family along that path.
To avoid being caught by her Uncle, she had to leave the Duchy. She naturally fled beyond the Purification Zone, outside the protection of the Temple.
For her, who had awakened her Ability and lived like a princess, life outside the Purification Zone was an endless string of hardships.
The money she carried was stolen by a pickpocket not long after leaving the family, and she endured hunger and cold as she struggled onward.
She nearly fell into the grasp of Rothwell trackers more than once.
And then she met that man.
In the corner of a shabby tavern, a shadow fell across Diena, who was dressed in rags.
“Are you Diena Rothwell?”
He had silver hair and eyes as blue as a lake. His handsome face bore a deep scar, yet the scar seemed meaningless against such beauty.
Barcan Kardian.
Diena recognized him at once and thought he had come to kill her. The Rothwell Duke’s house, having succeeded in their rebellion, had dragged him and his family into ruin.
Beyond that, she knew what her Uncle and his family had done over the past few years.
All the base schemes carried out for the family’s gain. She had merely watched the situation unfold, driven by the desire to be loved by her Uncle’s family.
‘It’s just an excuse.’
She too had been used, but that did not make her any less of a Rothwell.
Yet he did not kill her. Instead, he clicked his tongue as he looked at her.
“You look a mess. Filthy as anything—a complete ragamuffin.”
“A ragamuffin…?”
Diena’s eyes widened at the casual tone that did not match his cold appearance at all.
He gave her a playful smile.
“Yeah, ragamuffin. So… want to come with me? To our Kardian Mercenary Group.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I heard the Rothwell Duke is desperately searching for you.”
Diena stared at Barcan, dumbfounded.
“I’m thinking of giving him a taste of his own medicine. What do you say? It’s good for you, it’s good for me. The longer you’re on the run, the more that Duke will go mad with frustration.”
‘What on earth is this man thinking?’
Unlike the bewildered Diena, Barcan laughed with wicked delight.
“Isn’t that better than wandering around alone?”
“…”
When Diena did not answer for a long time, he tilted his head slightly, puzzled.
“Hmm, you don’t trust me?”
He spoke with his arms crossed.
“I mean, I’ve lost everything now and hit rock bottom, but I’m still making decent money doing mercenary work. So I can support one more person.”
“…”
“I’m serious.”
“Ah, yes…”
“So it means you’ll be safe. At least better off than in a place like this.”
Diena blinked silently. Barcan continued, as if to persuade her further.
“There are a lot of eccentric characters, sure, but they’re all good people. Oh, and I’ll help you grow strong on your own too, so you can protect yourself. How about it?”
Diena, who had been hesitating, nodded. She had finally understood his intention. He must be planning to keep her close and torment her. Or use her, like her Uncle did.
At that, Barcan broke into a radiant smile.
‘Is he so pleased at the thought of getting his revenge on me?’
She let out a faint sigh and lowered her head. Barcan tilted his head for a moment, then added:
“You’ll need a cover identity. The two of us together look a bit odd to outsiders, after all. What do you say—want to be my sister? Diena Kardian. It doesn’t sound so bad.”
The way he said it, it sounded almost like family.
She had sworn never to have family again. And yet Diena found herself nodding like someone enchanted. The debt of guilt she owed this man was far too great.
‘If I hadn’t helped him with my Ability, my Uncle never would have defeated him.’
This was her own form of atonement.
‘I’ll give this man what he wants until his anger is sated. If he wants me to use my Ability until I die, then I will.’
So at first, she had no hope whatsoever.
Even if he treated her carelessly, or worked her like a slave. Even if her Ability was used until what little life remained was exhausted. She thought it all unavoidable.
She believed the Rothwell Family’s sins against him deserved punishment on that scale.
But the Kardian Family she followed Barcan to was far different from what she had imagined. The moment the members of the Kardian Mercenary Group saw Diena, chaos broke out.
“Lord Barcan, why on earth did you bring back a captive!”
“She’s not a captive—ragamuffin followed me here. I explained the situation plenty, didn’t I?”
“Who calls a person a ragamuffin!”
“Hasen, stop nagging.”
Barcan took Diena to an elderly man. The man with glasses was looking at her with bright, curious eyes.
“This is Lord Malacar. He used to be an elder of the Magic Tower, but now he’s a wanted man.”
The man called Malacar reached out and stroked Diena’s hair.
“I’ve heard the news from Barcan. Would you not like to study magic with me?”
Diena nodded without fully understanding, and from that day on, she began her studies as his student.
The mercenary group members themselves proved unexpectedly kind.
“Please, eat well, miss.”
They handed her warm cocoa and dressed her in comfortable clothes.
Then they spoke a name that felt strangely familiar.
“If Princess Bianca were still alive, she would be about your age now.”
“Shush, why are you saying such things!”
Bianca had been Barcan’s dead sister.
Had she lived, she would have been the same age as Diena.
Perhaps that was why Barcan treated Diena as if she were truly his little sister.
And then he said something entirely unexpected—he told Diena not to use her Ability.
“Just enjoy yourself. We’ll handle the rest. Don’t worry about the Rothwell lot.”
He too knew how remarkable her Purification Ability was. She had thought he would naturally exploit it, but instead he took her under his wing.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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