Villainous Minds

Prologue: Zinnia Snowdrop

Zinnia's entire world was shattered that day.

It was the ninth birthday of Zinna Snowdrop, the (illegitimate) daughter of Marquess Silver Snowdrop of the Kingdom of Roseridge, and a grand ceremony was to be held for celebration.

Zinnia took a deep breath, hoping that it would cool down her inner turmoil.

In this ceremony, her magic attribute, and her level of mana will be revealed, which will decide her capacity to do magic.

'Your mother wasn't a noble. Who knows if she even had mana or not.' some noble children had said.

Zinnia had retaliated with facts to shut their stupid mouths. A person's lineage didn't matter in the case of magic and Mana. That was a myth made by greasy, old, power-hungry people.

She had thought that they were ignorant idiots who couldn't even read the alphabet and that she would never be like them. But their words still stuck with her. What if her mana level turned out to be low?

Zinnia saw how those with low mana were treated. It was basically a social death. It could lead to nobles even abandoning their children.

It was at times like these that she wished she had the confidence of that ignorant bliss.

She probably shouldn't have read that one book about noble society. Maybe that's why she was nervous, her father did say that it was too advanced for a nine-year-old...

There was a knock at the door. Polite, but impatient.

It must be her stepmother.

Zinnia hurried off the bed and smoothed out her dress and hair. She stalked to the door, paused for a moment, and then opened it.

There stood Marchioness Sarel Snowdrop, a prestigious, elegant, beautiful noblewoman.

She smiled gently down at Zinnia, "What took you so long, dear? The ceremony is about to start." She said as she slowly tucked one of Zinnia's stray hair behind her ear.

Zinnia tugged at the hem of her dress."Uh- My apologies, mother. I was a bit… nervous so I…"

Zinnia couldn't finish her sentence, unable to think of an excuse.

Her stepmother laughed," There's no need to be nervous, dear. You'll have a high level of mana, you're the eldest daughter of the Snowdrop family, aren't you?"

Zinnia looked up and smiled at her mother. She was an angel, to accept even an illegitimate child of her husband as the eldest daughter of the family. Zinnia was just a child, but even she could see that it was a big deal for nobles.

"Yes, mother."

"Let's go, dear."

And they set off towards the grand hall.

___

The gates opened with a flourish to let in the mother-daughter duo.

Zinnia had never seen so many nobles in one place before. The lavish dresses and smooth talking were dazzling for the little child.

She saw the Duchess, The Count, The Viscount, and was that .. was that the Royal family? The King, the queen, and their sons?

Zinnia gulped. Now she couldn't screw up. Not even a little. She felt the need to prove herself more than ever.

Her father, the man she inherited her silver hair from, greeted them with a warm smile. Her older brother, with blonde hair like her mother's, also greeted them.

"You'll do great." A brief hug and some words of encouragement from her father didn't calm her nerves, but it was reassuring nonetheless.

She was sure, even if she got a low level, at least her family would be there. Even if the whole wide world turned on her.