……It wasn't as though nothing good ever happened.
A sympathetic servant would sneak dried meat into his soup, or pass supplies to him past the watchman's eyes.
And above all else…… *she* came regularly.
"……El, are you okay?"
The girl who poked her head out from the darkness was about the same age as Ermes.
Her hair was a vivid dark purple, as though it had trapped the night sky within it, and her features had an adorable roundness to them yet carried a visible strength of will. So beautiful and elegant that she seemed entirely out of place in this setting, she rushed without hesitation into the filthy cell and took Ermes' hand.
"You've got new wounds again. Uncle Zenos and Chris did this to you…… I'm sorry. I wish I could heal them, but my magic isn't that kind……"
"No, it's fine. Just knowing you care makes me happy, Kati."
Her name was Katia von Trackia. The eldest daughter of the Trackia Duke House — a prestigious family even above the Frenbreed line — which made her a duchess's daughter.
Like Ermes, she was a magical prodigy expected to have a brilliant future, and because of those common ground, the two had been close friends since childhood — childhood friends.
……And unlike Ermes, she had naturally awakened to a Bloodline Magic befitting the duke house.
Yet she was different from everyone around her. Even after learning that Ermes had Incompatibility, she never changed how she treated him, and was still the only person who came to visit like this.
"Uncle and Chris are both terrible. No matter how important they say magic is, to treat family like this……"
"……Maybe you're right. But you see——"
Her voice was laced with genuine indignation, but Ermes, emotionally cornered as he was now, couldn't honestly share in her sentiment.
"……I'm a failure. Father is right — I should be grateful just to be fed. No matter what they do to me, I have no right to complain——!?"
But his self-deprecating words were forcibly cut short when Katia clamped both of her hands around his cheeks.
"El. I believe in you."
"Huh?"
1. "For someone blessed with so much magic power, who always worked so hard. For someone who loved magic more than anyone. For someone who praised my magic — it's absolutely, definitely some kind of mistake that you don't have Bloodline Magic."
2. In the dim gloom, amethyst eyes reflected the candlelight, shimmering beautifully.
3. "That's why I believe in you. You're not the kind of person who belongs somewhere like this. I believe that one day, without a doubt, you'll become an incredible mage and stand before me again."
4. As though struck by her words and the glow of her eyes, a faint light returned to Ermes's own gaze.
5. "Yeah. You're right."
6. Slowly, he took her hand back and spoke.
7. "Father told me he'd let me out of here once Bloodline Magic manifested. I can't give up."
8. "That's right. That's the spirit."
9. "I guess I was getting a little discouraged. I'll do my best again. ...Thank you, Katia."
10. With a carefree smile — the first in who knew how many months — he offered his thanks.
11. At that, she froze for an instant, then immediately turned her face away with a huff.
12. "W-well, as long as you understand. It's unbearable for me too, watching someone I put my faith in rot away in a place like this. That's all."
13. She started to say something else in a slightly hurried tone, but then the sound of footsteps descending the stairs echoed through the air.
14. "Oh no, I'll be found! I have to go!"
15. It seemed she had come here in secret.
16. "Hey-hey! You're definitely getting out of here and we're meeting again! Absolute promise, you hear me!"
17. ...He couldn't help but think that shouting that loud would end up getting her discovered anyway.
18. With a wry smile at her slightly tomboyish behavior, Ermes gave a quiet wave of his hand.
19. And so, his wretched life continued on as before.
20. But there was Katia, still cheering him on without fail — and the faint hope that once he acquired Bloodline Magic, he would finally be able to leave.
With those two as his mental support, Ermes continued to search for his own magic within his prison cell.
Though it was painful, the depths of his heart never broke, and he desperately did what he could in the harsh environment.
He endured the irrationality, clung to the belief that his efforts would be rewarded, and worked tirelessly.
And then, when Ermes was ten years old.
——Everything would break in the worst possible way.
◆
"…El, may I come in?"
It began with Katia’s visit.
For the past three years, the joy of meeting with someone had been monopolized by her, so Ermes approached the iron bars with a smile.
Then he realized. She was wearing an expression sadder than any he had ever seen before.
"…I’m sorry, El."
A bad premonition rapidly filled his chest. Before he could shake it off, she delivered the decisive words.
"I can’t come here anymore."
"Why…?"
His mind went blank. It was a miracle he managed to form the question.
"Prince Aster, the Second Prince. Do you know of him?"
The next thing Katia revealed was a name.
Of course he knew. His father Xenos, who occasionally visited here, had spoken of him.
The prince of this country. A boy the same age as them, said to be handsome and brilliant. He was the strongest candidate to be the next king, having been granted the Bloodline Magic hailed as the most powerful of the current generation.
And both Ermes and Katia were members of noble families. The next words were easily predictable.
"...No way."
"Yes. There has been talk of an engagement. Between me and Prince Aster."
It was hardly surprising. As a candidate for the prince's betrothed, the Trackia Duke House's young lady was not merely suitable — she was arguably the most fitting match imaginable. On top of that, Katia was a girl of exceptional talent in both magic and appearance. It was only natural that such an offer would come her way.
"...Are you going to accept?"
"I am. My role will be to support His Highness Aster, the kingdom's greatest treasure, in both public and private matters. As a duke's daughter, I can only feel honored — there is no reason whatsoever to refuse."
Katia spoke with such calm detachment that her expression was impossible to read, and Ermes felt himself growing more and more confused.
"Then..."
"I will be moving into the Royal Palace from now on, receiving education as a future queen while staying by His Highness's side. So..."
She would never be able to come here again.
And it wasn't just that. This girl who had kept encouraging him through everything, who had held together a heart that was unmistakably on the verge of shattering — he carried a debt of gratitude and feelings toward her that could never be repaid.
He couldn't find the right words, but she was going to go so, so far away.
"B-but!"
Perhaps reading the despair on his face, Katia hurriedly tried to add something.
"A year — no, I'll make sure to find time within six months! And then somehow we can—"
"I'm sorry, but that won't be possible."
In that instant, a voice cut in from the side.
"...Chris."
"Brother..."
Both of them looked toward the figure who had appeared — Ermes's elder brother, Chris von Frenbreed.
"Chris, what do you mean by that?"
"Lady Katia. With your engagement, our Frenbreed family has also been placed under Prince Aster's banner."
Chris's voice oozed barely concealed delight, rising even higher as he spoke.
"And I myself! I have been appointed as His Highness's personal guard—his right hand! Ah, His Highness truly is brilliant. He possesses the discerning eye to recognize talent that has been smoldering unnoticed. Now that is a king's caliber—"
"Who cares about that! I'm asking you why El can't see His Highness again!"
A perfectly reasonable correction, but having his monologue cut short, Chris twisted his lips in displeasure.
But that lasted only an instant. Quickly, he turned a malicious grin toward Ermes.
"When the Frenbreed family pledged itself to Prince Aster's faction, His Highness declared the following:
'I have no need for incompetents among my subordinates. Anyone with Incompatibility is out of the question—get rid of them immediately, as if they never existed,' he said!"
"!"
Katia gasped.
Ermes understood precisely what that referred to, and the blood drained from his face.
"You understand what this means, don't you, Ermes? What a relief—finally, I won't have to live in the same place as a worthless waste like you!"
Glancing at Ermes with a look steeped in contempt and mockery, Chris finally raised his hand.
"Now then, Father is calling for you. You men—take Ermes away!"
At once, burly knights appeared from both sides and escorted Ermes away like a common criminal.
"Wait! This is wrong!"
Katia cried out and tried to approach, but was stopped by a knight as well.
"Whatever you say, this is going too far! Normally they wait until the person is fifteen! Just wait, El—I'll speak to His Highness and—!"
"That won't do, Lady Katia. From now on, you will be devoting yourself to His Highness. Why would you bother with such a worthless man—"
"You—!!"
The arguing between Katia and Chris could be heard echoing faintly from far away.
And just like that, Ermes was led — still dazed and bewildered — to the office where his father was, and there, as he had expected, he received the verdict of disownment.
All ten years of his efforts rendered utterly meaningless — he was cast out from his family home and thrown into the world as nothing more than plain Ermes.