Brilliant chandeliers illuminated the hall.
Instruments played music on their own, with no musicians present.
On the ceiling, Beasts of the Gods drawn with twinkling stars moved about vividly.
The Magic display was so captivating, one could watch it forever without growing bored.
“Congratulations on your graduation! And to all of you who will go on to support the kingdom, I have something important to say!”
Today was the graduation party of the Foren Noble Academy.
The one offering words of congratulations was Richard, Crown Prince of the Foren Kingdom.
He had only just graduated from the academy last year, yet he was attending this party as the king’s representative.
With his short golden-brown hair and violet eyes, Richard’s handsome features charmed all the young ladies.
In the midst of all this, Sharon Sdulc—the star of today’s event—stood alone in a corner of the hall, gazing absentmindedly at the ceiling.
‘Wow, it’s so beautiful… But I still feel like I don’t belong here.’
Even though it was her own graduation, Sharon felt overwhelmed by the dazzling atmosphere and wanted nothing more than to blend in with the wall.
She couldn’t even be called a wallflower.
Her black eyes, which everyone said revealed nothing of her thoughts, and her vivid rose-red hair, too ostentatious for her own worth.
Though she was a Countess, she didn’t own a dress suitable for such an occasion and wore an old dress of her mother’s that didn’t fit.
As the young ladies whispered about how shabby she looked, only the silver hair ornament in her rose-red hair managed to shine.
Unlike the other graduates, Sharon’s family wasn’t present, nor did she have a fiancé to escort her.
She’d actually planned to skip the party, but her best friend Leona had begged her to come.
When Leona gave her the beautiful silver hair ornament as a token of friendship and asked her to wear it at the graduation party, Sharon couldn’t refuse.
Yet, even now, she hadn’t seen any sign of her best friend, and the party had already begun.
Suddenly, the music stopped.
Sharon looked toward the front where everyone’s attention was focused.
Richard, who had been giving his speech, was nowhere to be seen.
Just as she thought that, Richard returned, escorting a certain young lady.
When Sharon saw who it was, her eyes widened.
“As everyone knows, this is my fiancée, Leona.”
Her beautiful golden hair flowed down her back, and her dress—white with gold embroidery—was simple yet refined, and she stood tall and dignified, truly befitting the Crown Prince’s side.
Her large almond-shaped eyes looked directly at Richard.
“To mark her graduation, we’ve decided to get married! Please give us your blessings!”
The hall erupted in joy at the royal couple’s happy announcement.
Leona, too, pressed a hand to her chest in delight.
As Richard pulled Leona close, gazing at her with affection, everyone raised their voices in celebration.
“His Highness Richard and Lady Leona, what a perfect match they make.”
“May you both be happy!”
“Congratulations!”
As the applause and mood of celebration swelled, Sharon’s heart leaped for her friend’s happiness.
‘Congratulations, Leona!’
Leona’s happiness felt as precious to her as her own.
The reason Leona had wanted her at the graduation party was because of this announcement.
Wiping away tears, Sharon clapped along with everyone else.
“However, there is one thing that must be judged here.”
Richard’s sudden stern words threw the hall into confusion.
“Sharon Sdulc!”
“Eh?” Sharon froze, her name called out of nowhere.
In an instant, she was surrounded by Royal Guard knights.
“You wicked woman, who tried to assassinate my beloved fiancée. I’ll expose your crimes here and now!”
The moment Richard declared this, her arms were twisted behind her back and her wrists bound with rope.
“Ouch!”
She was dragged to stand before Richard and Leona.
‘What is going on? Assassination? Wicked woman?’
Leona looked worried, while Richard glared at Sharon with a grim expression.
Before she could make sense of what was happening, a knight forced her to her knees, as if she had shown disrespect.
With her hands tied behind her, Sharon couldn’t balance herself and fell to the floor.
Seeing this, Leona cried out.
“Please, don’t be rough with her. Poor Sharon…!”
“Leona…”
“Sharon, are you alright?”
Leona pleaded with Richard, looking as though she might burst into tears.
She looked just like a merciful saint.
But Richard gently embraced her shoulders and shook his head.
“Leona. You’re too kind.”
“But, Your Highness…”
“It’s alright. Leave this to me.” Richard spoke gently, as if comforting Leona, then stepped forward.
He looked down at Sharon with cold eyes.
The room fell silent; everyone’s eyes were on Sharon.
Her nerves stretched taut, her mouth grew dry.
“Sharon Sdulc. How dare you brazenly show your face at this graduation party?” Richard’s temples pulsed with anger as he trembled with rage.
“Do you know how much Leona has suffered because of you?”
“…What?”
The words slipped out without thinking.
To Sharon, Leona was her only friend.
Cast aside by her family, with nowhere to belong, Leona had become Sharon’s one refuge.
Leona had always been kind to the hopeless Sharon, telling her “You’re fine just as you are.”
Sharon had never once wished to hurt or trouble her beloved Leona.
But Sharon had no other friends, and never knew the right way to interact.
‘Have I…hurt Leona without even realizing it?’
When she looked up at Leona, she saw that her friend, too, was gazing back at her in anguish.
“At the academy, you envied and harassed Leona, didn’t you? I heard it from Leona’s friends! You spread rumors behind her back, stole her precious things, forced her to use Magic… Even so, Leona forgave you, but to go so far as to try to take her life!”
“W-what are you talking about?”
She had absolutely no recollection of any of this.
Her voice shook with fear.
Unlike Sharon, Leona had many friends.
Many admired her as a Duke’s Daughter.
Sharon knew that Leona’s friends resented her presence.
She’d often been bullied at the academy, told to stay away from Leona.
But Sharon had never once done anything to Leona or her friends.
“Still trying to feign ignorance? You sent a poisoned cake as a graduation gift! Because of you, Leona nearly died!”
The mention of poison and death sent screams rippling through the hall.
Sharon herself gasped sharply.
“There is evidence. Isn’t that right, Leona?”
Prompted by Richard, Leona hesitantly—yet with determination—spoke up.
“In truth…when I collapsed after eating the cake, they found a strand of rose-red hair in it.”
At those words, every eye in the room turned to Sharon’s rose-red hair.
“I always thought of Sharon as my friend, so I don’t want to believe it…” Leona lowered her eyes, lashes trembling.
Sharon was stunned.
Rose-red hair was rare—no one else had it but Sharon.
She understood why she was suspected in the poisoned cake incident, but she truly had no memory of any such thing.
Even as everyone doubted her, Leona still tried to believe in Sharon as a friend.
So Sharon summoned her courage and spoke up, “Leona, please believe me. I would never send you a poisoned cake!”
“Silence! Even now, you refuse to admit your crimes. You were the sender of the cake, and the owner of the rose-red hair found in it!”
At Richard’s shouted signal, a Royal Guard knight seized Sharon’s head.
Her words of denial were drowned out; her head was forcefully pressed down, and Sharon groaned in pain.
The forceful grip yanked out several strands of her hair, sending the silver ornament tumbling to the ground.
“Hm?”
Richard’s eyes caught on the fallen hair ornament.
He bent and picked it up.
As he studied it closely, his eyes widened.
“This…isn’t this the heirloom Leona said she lost, her grandmother’s keepsake? Why do you have it?”
It was Sharon who was surprised to hear it called a keepsake.
She had no idea Leona had given her something so precious as a token of friendship.
Thinking she must return it, Sharon forced herself to speak through the pain.
“Th-that was a gift from Leona. I didn’t know it was her grandmother’s keepsake…”
“Enough! Stealing even an heirloom—you have no shame. Poison, theft…resorting to such measures is just like someone unable to use Magic would do. You should be ashamed!”
His words hit Sharon’s sorest spot, catching in her throat.
It was something that had troubled her since she was old enough to think.
It was the reason she hated herself most, the reason she felt miserable, powerless, and wished she could disappear—
She lost all strength and was pressed flat against the floor, while the others rained further accusations down upon her.
“Disgusting…you murderer!”
“Lady Leona’s kindness just made her bold…”
“You’re just the ‘Outcast of the Sdulc Family.’ Don’t you know any shame, clinging to Lady Leona like that?”
‘Outcast of the Sdulc Family.’
Every time she heard those words, Sharon’s heart ached anew.
‘Why am I the only one without Magic…’
In this world, there once were Beasts of the Gods.
As messengers of the gods, they protected and guided the people of earth.
However, the Beasts of the Gods eventually had to return to their divine realm.
It’s said that before they left, they granted their blessing to humans who ruled the land.
That blessing is Magic.
Those who received the Beasts of the Gods’ blessing became royalty and nobility.
That is why, in high society, being born with Magic is proof of nobility, and one’s Magic attribute and strength determine one’s worth.
And yet, Sharon had no Magic.
A Countess who couldn’t use Magic had no value at home, at the academy, or even in the Foren Kingdom.
Her rose-red hair, unlike anyone else in her family, was another reason she was despised.
Her mother’s hair was gold-brown, her father’s and brother’s brown, and her grandparents had similar hues—only Sharon was rose-red.
Hair as garish as blood was considered ominous; her father suspected her mother’s infidelity.
Her mother, with no idea how it happened, took out her hatred on Sharon.
That’s why Sharon was known as the “Outcast of the Sdulc Family”—
‘Even without Magic, you do your best, Sharon.’
It was Leona who reached out to Sharon, becoming her friend.
Leona wasn’t just kind—she was also blessed with great talent for Magic.
Magic comes in various attributes like wind, fire, and water.
Leona possessed Wind Attribute Magic.
Wind Attribute Magic was highly compatible with other elements and very versatile, useful in everyday life, and often relied upon.
Sharon had often been helped by Leona’s Magic.
When she was suddenly soaked by a deluge of water while walking at the academy, when her textbooks were left high up in a tree, when she almost got run over by a carriage.
If Leona hadn’t been there, Sharon’s school life would have been a misery.
Thanks to being friends with Leona, a Duke’s Daughter, even her indifferent parents recognized some value in sending Sharon to the academy.
For the Outcast of the Sdulc Family—neglected and looked down upon by everyone—Leona’s kindness had shone a light into Sharon’s life.
And yet, for it to end like this—
As Sharon stood speechless, Leona pleaded with everyone.
“Everyone, please stop. Sharon has had such a sad life. It can’t be helped—please try to understand her. It’s my fault for not expressing my feelings well. If only I had been more attentive to Sharon’s feelings, this wouldn’t have happened…”
“Leona…” Desperately, Sharon looked up at Leona.
Even now, Leona tried to save her, blaming herself for what had happened.
But everyone’s sympathy only grew for Leona, and Sharon’s position became worse and worse.
Richard gently held Leona’s trembling shoulders, wiping away her tears with his finger.
“Leona, it’s not your fault. It’s this woman who betrayed your friendship.”
In support of Richard’s words, everyone chimed in.
“Lady Leona, how unfortunate to be hounded by the Outcast Sharon…”
“She’s so kind she couldn’t push her away.”
“And then Sharon tried to poison her—what a terrifying woman.”
“To think Lady Leona would even try to comfort an unsalvageable ‘Outcast of the Sdulc Family’…ah, Lady Leona, you’re so compassionate.”
“She truly is a saint.”
Leona was defending and trying to believe in the very person who had tried to kill her.
Moved by her saintly behavior, her classmates who revered Leona were deeply touched.
Leona, who would marry the Crown Prince, would someday become queen.
Surely, she had the heart worthy of a queen.
Everyone’s admiration for Leona only grew.
By contrast, everyone felt nothing but anger for Sharon, who refused to confess her crimes.
‘I haven’t done anything…’
She wanted to deny it, but no longer had the strength to speak.
The more she tried to defend herself, the more it sounded like excuses.
“No, there must be some mistake. I believe Sharon would never do such a thing. Isn’t that right, Sharon?”
Leona’s voice trembled as she questioned Sharon.
It was always Leona who believed in Sharon.
Sharon nodded firmly at her friend’s words.
However, as Richard whispered something in Leona’s ear, Leona suddenly burst into tears.
Richard embraced her, spoke words of comfort, and handed her to the waiting maid, who led her from the hall.
‘Wait, what…? Please, wait…’
Supporting Leona’s shaking shoulders, the maid took her to the waiting room.
Richard stared straight at Sharon.
“Sharon Sdulc. You tried to kill my beloved fiancée. To take advantage of her kindness with such cruelty—unforgivable!”
Richard’s voice thundered through the hall.
“I sentence this vile woman to exile from the kingdom!”
At that moment, Sharon realized that there truly was no hope left for her in this life.