RONA'S POINT OF VIEW
I cast a meaningful look at Dylan, then at our praciens. They caught my intent instantly. They nodded and quietly slipped out of the room.
"You were still inside the burning house that day. How... how did you survive? I really thought you were gone. I missed you so much." Rhein's tears kept falling. "Did you... plan it too?" Her eyes shifted to me. "Sister?"
I shook my head and stepped closer. "Father planned it, yes—but I wasn't part of it." I sat beside her. "Just like you, I was a victim of this little 'test' of theirs. At least yours only lasted a few weeks. Mine? Months." I chuckled, shaking my head. "I was slow to realize what was happening to me back then."
Mother laughed softly at that, and Rhein's shoulders eased a little. She wiped her tears, though her gaze quickly returned to our parents.
"B-but why? I can understand giving us a challenge... but why raise us in the human world and hide the truth from us? Why?"
It was the same question I once asked when I learned the truth. I couldn't help but smile faintly at the memory.
"Forgive us, Rhein," Mother said gently, her smile tinged with sadness. "We raised you in the human world so you could experience a normal life, even if only for a few years before stepping into this complicated one. We didn't want you to end up like us—people who have never known anything but problems and burdens. We did it, even though it broke our hearts to be away from you. We did it because we love you... more than anything."
RHEIN'S POINT OF VIEW
I didn't expect this. I didn't expect any of it.
To be honest, I still can't fully process that this—this world, this life—is where I belong.
I used to believe I was just an orphan, living an ordinary life with my older sister and a few close friends. I thought my days would be normal, uneventful, simple. I thought I was just like everyone else.
Mnarill—back then, it was nothing but fiction to me. A made-up story. Yet here I am, carrying it inside me. And not just as an ordinary mnarillaza... but as something far greater.
The life I knew before is a universe away from the one I'm living now. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this was possible.
The parents I thought were dead are alive. The sister I thought was simply my sister is actually a princess, already well-versed in the leadership of this world. And all of it... was a plan—a carefully crafted illusion to let us live normally for a short time and test our abilities.
Mother's words keep replaying in my mind.
It's been almost an hour since they left me alone to think. I still can't fully wrap my head around what I've learned. But one thing is certain—my suspicions were right. What I can't figure out is whether the deore mnarillaza who's appeared to me multiple times was part of their plan. It couldn't have been Justin—he's a guy and far too young.
"Rhein."
I nearly jumped out of my bed when Mother appeared beside me without warning. She laughed at my startled reaction.
"M-Mother... you scared me."
Her laughter faded into a forced smile. My brows knit in curiosity.
"You're confused, aren't you? Wondering who the deore mnarillaza really is... and if she was part of the trial we gave you."
I simply nodded. I knew I hadn't completely closed off my mind—she could read my thoughts easily.
"You know Justin, right?"
"Yes, Mother. We're classmates."
"He's the only deore mnarillaza on our side. The rest belong to the DeorcanenClan." Her gaze lowered, avoiding mine. "The plan was for a deore mnarillaza to appear during your test. Your Sister Rona was supposed to impersonate her. But... the real one stepped in. My own sister posed as her."
My breath caught. I had no idea Mother has a sibling.
"B-but how? You're a hwizta mnarillaza... how could you have a sister who's a deore mnarillaza?"
"Like Justin, there was another deore mnarillaza who chose to side with the light—our mother. Our father, your grandfather, was a hwizta mnarillaza. They had twins. We are those twins."
"You said earlier Justin's the only deore mnarillaza on our side... so your sister is in the Deorcanen Clan?"
Her expression darkened. "Yes. Because of a rift between us."
She didn't explain further, and I didn't push.
"D-do you think she wants revenge on you? Is that why she approached me so many times?"
"I... don't know, Rhein. Maybe. Or maybe she's after the core of the Juelaetornulus Ruihnas—a crystal powerful enough to destroy the entire world because of the deore mnarill it contains."
A cold chill swept over me. My hand instinctively went to my chest. "Y-you mean—?"
"It's inside you. The crystal chose you as its guardian because of your strong mnarill. We never wanted this for you, but we had no choice. The moment you were born, it entered your heart on its own. We tried to remove it, but... it would have killed you."
"The Deorcanen Clan... they plan to destroy Mnarra?"
She nodded slowly.
My hand curled into a fist over my heart, a defiant smile forming on my lips. "Then I'll start doing my duty as a member of this family. They'll never take it from me. Not unless they kill me first."
Mother's smile curved upward, fierce with pride. "Then they'd better be ready to wait for a lifetime."