As Leah thought about it, there was a hubbub among the Kurkans.
"Half a bowl of porridge! Even a one-year-old doesn't snack on that!"
"Poor Princess...she was even kidnapped..."
Complaints and reproaches about the cruel abuse rose.
"Stop," Ishakan said calmly. "She will break."
The murmurs ended instantly, as if they had been an illusion. The Kurkans even covered their mouths with their hands, exchanging nervous glances. They watched her as if cracks might appear in her body.
At that, Leah couldn't contain her laughter. She laughed gently even as the Kurkans watched her curiously, a free laugh. Back in Estia, the eyes of others had been overwhelming and stressful, but now she felt comfortable.
Ishakan hugged her gently and lifted her into the air. The Kurkans all lifted their heads with the motion, following her with their eyes, and he placed the date she had dropped back into her hand.
"Also, from now on she will be called Leah, not Princess," he said.
At his words, she clutched the date tightly. Unfamiliar places, unfamiliar people, even unfamiliar names. Many things had changed. She knew they would continue to change. But in all the turbulence, one thing was certain. – Advanced chapters in NovelUtopia
Leah was now Leah.
***
In a silent corridor, there was the sound of heavy objects being dragged. The sound of heels tapping on a marble floor, followed immediately by a shuffling sound. The sounds were caused by a woman with an expressionless face. Normally her hair was meticulously groomed, but it was in disarray now.
As she walked down an aisle, she dragged a large animal in each hand, a billy goat and a black ram, both with horns. The animals were inert and unmoving.
It was a grotesque sight, but no one stopped her. The people she encountered were not surprised and did not scream. They only bowed their heads obediently, their faces expressionless.
Slowly, she came to the Glory Room.
"......"
Cerdina looked up at the light falling from the circular window in the ceiling. This place, steeped in Estia's history, would suffice.
Taking a small dagger from her pocket, she cut her palm and used the blood to draw an octagonal star inside a large circle on the marble floor. Placing glowing crystal orbs at each of the star's eight points, she dragged the animals forward.
In the center of the star, she cut the head off the black ram. Blood gushed out, pooling. Strangely, the blood filled the magic circle as soon as it touched it, and the crystal orbs slowly filled with black smoke.
After emptying the blood from black ram, she approached the billy goat and opened its chest, extracting its heart. With the heart in her hand, Cerdina smiled.
Leah had escaped.
Cerdina wasn't sorry the princess had run away. She was already ruined. The problem was that Blain had blindly pursued her. Cerdina had no choice to admit that her son needed Leah. Since it had come to this, she would have to advance one of her unfinished spells, but she could not yet do it alone.
Sitting in the light from the window overhead, she ate the goat's heart. As she chewed and swallowed the bloody flesh, the crystal orbs turned completely black. Cerdina licked bloodstained lips and tilted her head back.
"Ahh..." The strange moan escaped her, almost 0rgasmic. Her eyes shone brightly as she spoke, filled with joy.
The strange voice, which could not be said to be human, echoed. The eight crystal orbs trembled slightly as if in response. The more Cerdina spoke, the more intense the trembling became.
<I'm the one who has inherited the first power.>
Her bloodshot eyes were shining.
The eight crystal orbs cracked and burst into dust.
Maniacal laughter echoed through the Glory Room.