Published: March 21, 2026
When did this castle start feeling like this?
“Lady Maria, the meal is ready.”
I nodded at the maid’s words and followed behind her to the dining room.
Along the way, mixed in with the castle staff, boys and girls about my age who had been summoned here by hero summoning bowed their heads to me.
I glanced at them and passed by.
The king—my father—had schemed to drive the troublesome hero and the assassin out of the castle, and hadn’t bothered with the other hero summoners.
To him, the threats were Saran Misurei and the hero, and the assassin who’d been living under our radar.
At first he tried to turn the summoned hero into a puppet using the brainwashing curse, but once the plan to assassinate Saran Misurei was in sight, and after the curse was temporarily lifted in the labyrinth, he decided to expel the hero.
Framing the assassin for Saran Misurei’s murder was also to ensure he couldn’t return here.
It was a miscalculation that six of the summoned—excluding the hero—broke free after having the brainwashing curse undone, but it was fortunate that one of them was a curse removal specialist.
When we discovered her profession, we didn’t even assign her a private tutor so she’d learn nothing, and yet in the labyrinth she temporarily解除 the hero’s curse.
Even if they look the same, humans and the Human race must be fundamentally different.
Her brainwashing curse was sometimes undone, but she’s useless now.
I kept watch because Saran Misurei had been showing signs of concern, but she probably doesn’t remember ever talking with Saran Misurei.
Not even her own sins.
The other hero summoners had their memories altered by my magic to believe they’d worked here since birth.
The other maids of course know everything, but I silenced them, so they say nothing.
Still, everyone must be thinking the same thing.
“This can’t go on forever.”
Not everyone agrees with the king’s and my actions.
In fact, after disbanding the knights order, leading figures including Vice Captain Zeal Asty left the castle.
Recently there’ve even been reports that some nobles are acting suspiciously.
Ah, how long do I have to keep doing this?
“What's wrong, Sophia? Doesn’t the meal suit your taste?”
“…No. As always, it’s delicious. Your—”
I force down tasteless food and lift the corners of my mouth.
My father smiled at me with affectionate eyes he never turned toward me before.
Seeing the likeness of my mother in me seems to be painful to watch.
Poor father.
After my mother died and he couldn’t see reality anymore, he began to recognize me—who increasingly resembled my mother day by day—as his wife.
As king he handled affairs with dignity; he sees me as a piece on the board, but in daily life he’s broken.
At first I corrected him every time, but once I learned that him believing I was my mother stabilized his mind, I gave up.
In the end, the only one my father loved was my mother; he never truly looked at me.
He keeps me close simply because he wants a face that resembles my mother.
My father was already broken before my mother died.
A plague took the brothers who were his father and heirs apparent, and my father—forced to abandon his dream of becoming a painter and bound to this country—was supported and saved by my mother.
With my mother gone, there was no reason for him to care for this kingdom, and as a result he reached for forbidden things.
“Come on, we have to keep trying today too. It’ll be okay, I’ll properly bring you back to life. Sophia. Let’s be happy again.”
I lowered my eyes to avoid those warped, molten-looking eyes full of obsession and love.
“Yes, I count on you, my king.”
Poor father.
Poor me.
Bringing my mother back to life would violate the taboo set by the creator god Aitel.
It would break a principle that any human in this world must strictly obey.
If I truly loved my father, I should stop him—by killing him if necessary—for letting himself be swayed by the Demon Clan.
But even broken like this, he was still my father.