She's Not Our Daughter! Ch 104

Amille's Memory (1)

The proud search inside the mansion began with great energy, but the initial excitement quickly faded.

Unfortunately for the soldiers, Cassius hid his tracks perfectly. Consequently, the search consumed a long time.

The impatient Crown Prince scowled and strode through the halls. Every time the soldiers returned empty-handed, he swore loudly. He marked how Amille walked slowly behind him, delaying her steps.

[Prince] "Amille."

[Amille] "Yes."

[Prince] "I know perfectly well that you are hiding something. Do you know why I keep you alive anyway?"

[Amille] "......"

She stared at the prince in silence. He stared with delight at the mansion his soldiers had invaded before speaking.

[Prince] "Because I can still control you. And... this item you created."

He tapped the mana detector and continued.

[Prince] "This mana detector is also highly useful."

Mages could naturally sense the mana of others. In the case of the blue mana, this device could detect even the smallest trace over long distances, immediately revealing the owner.

In the past, when Amille first created this mana detector, she submitted a patent application to the patent office. A man approached her under the guise of offering a sponsorship. That man was none other than the Crown Prince.

The victims of the Icarus murder cases were all mana possessors discovered by that detector. This meant the very object Amille created caused the deaths of many people. Regret and sorrow consumed her.

Initially, I created this to help the empire, yet I allowed it to fall into the hands of an evil man.

Countless inventions created for the benefit of the world ended up bringing harm to humanity. Amille had repeated that exact mistake.

In the past, the creator of the explosive magic spell called "Dynamite" had stated that he never would have created it had he known it would be used for destructive magic. Amille shared his sentiment, but regret always arrived too late.

Her sanity, which the Crown Prince's brainwashing curse had partially broken, combined with her foolishness in delivering so many tools to the prince, caused this disaster.

Amille bit her lip.

The Crown Prince curled a lip in a sneer and quickened his pace. He didn't hesitate to show his back to Amille, believing she remained helpless under the brainwashing curse.

Step by step.

He walked down the corridor, following the direction where the vibrations in his hand grew stronger.

Passing rooms with large windows, moved past the second floor and climbed the stairs to the third-floor landing. He strolled down the hallway and finally stopped before a small door. The vibrations of the detector in his hand grew violent.

Clack.

The door opened. The detector flashed brightly in his hand.

Amille bit her tongue hard. The Crown Prince had successfully tracked down Hanael at last. This meant the tragedy of the past was about to repeat itself.

Through the open doorway, a puzzled Hanael stood with wide eyes. The child had stepped outside, unable to suppress her curiosity. Beside the small child, a maid stomped her feet in panic.

As the Crown Prince drew closer to Hanael, the mana detector in his hand throbbed rapidly, matching the child's heartbeat.

And......

[Prince] "I have finally found you."

He rejoiced upon seeing Hanael, while Amille's face twisted in horror.

He glanced at Amille, binding her to ensure she couldn't act on her own will to protect Hanael.

---

News of the Crown Prince's bizarre behavior inside the Ideos mansion spread rapidly, like flowers blooming in spring. This stemmed from the Countess spreading rumors in her anger. Although everyone in the core of high society pretended to know absolutely nothing about his actions......

[Citizen] "The Crown Prince is......"

[Citizen] "Rather......"

[Citizen] "He is strange, isn't he?"

It was a different story in the private salons where personal gossip flowed freely.

Gathered around a large table in the salon, noblewomen hid behind masks and gossiped quietly about the Crown Prince. Even with their faces hidden, they recognized one another, keeping their words guarded.

Because high society had lacked interesting rumors lately, their whispers didn't die down easily today. Furthermore, Philoes sat among them. The noblewomen kept their eyes fixed on Philoes, wishing he would reveal something.

[Lady] "Which gentleman here might know the truth?"

[Lady] "He must know exactly what happened inside that mansion."

With a calculated display of curiosity, the noblewomen pressed Philoes.

Yet he acted strangely. While he possessed immense loyalty, choosing to remain silent on all matters concerning the Crown Prince, his expression looked chillingly rigid.

Normally, Philoes would offer a smile and decline to comment. Noting this change with suspicion, the host of the salon coughed a few times and addressed him.

[Host] "Ah, the gentleman over there?"

Philoes flinched. He opened his eyes wide and looked back at the gathered crowd with a flustered expression.

[Philoes] "I must leave urgently......"

He stood up, cast off his mask, and spoke quickly.

[Philoes] "To the restroom."

The excuse was incredibly clumsy. As a prime bachelor of high society, speaking so directly broke etiquette.

[Lady] "Oh dear."

The noblewomen held fans to their lips, faces full of confusion. Philoes felt bitter about his reputation, which would surely plummet, but he could say nothing more. A far more critical matter outweighed his social standing.

[Amille] "Philoes, I have a request."

[Philoes] "What is it?"

[Amille] "If you help me just this once, I can bring your parents before you immediately."

[Philoes] "That is......"

[Amille] "Your parents lost you at Salle Square when you wore a red shirt and a polka-dot tie."

Her words were so precise they directly read his deepest thoughts.

Philoes bit his lip hard. Loyalty to his master, or Amille's offer?

Having agonized over this for a long time, his subconscious decision emerged quickly.

[Philoes] "I will give you the key once I obtain it."

[Amille] "Good."

He recalled the duplicate key to the dungeon that he kept in his inner pocket. The Crown Prince, who trusted him, had handed over this key without a single shred of suspicion.

Could he give this to Amille?

His subconscious urged him to hand over the key, but his conscious mind held him back firmly.

---

Meanwhile, Amille moved anxiously around the second floor of the Crown Prince's palace.

Hanael had been kidnapped and thrown into this dungeon. That small child might die in the same manner as the past timeline.

Under these circumstances, Amille couldn't sit idly by and rely solely on Philoes. Picturing the dungeon where the small Hanael remained confined, she brushed through her messy hair in distress.

I must break the brainwashing curse completely.

She chewed the fruit Philoes provided, constantly reminding herself of her duty. She absolutely had to rescue Hanael. She couldn't allow the past to repeat itself.

Wake up, Amille. You turned back time to save Sierra. And this is your absolute last chance!

To shake off the auditory hallucinations in her mind forcing her to obey the Crown Prince, Amille constantly recalled her very first life before the regression. Initially, when their parents passed away, she was left entirely alone with Sierra.

[Sierra] "Sister, Sister!"

[Amille] "Yes?"

[Sierra] "Is the baby pretty?"

She recalled a young Sierra, who used to be a little child with a runny nose. In that first life, Sierra was far more foolish and clumsy than now. Amille paid little attention to her younger sister.

She will grow up well on her own; I am too busy managing my own future.

True to her assumptions, Sierra grew up well on her own. She attended the academy and even announced her marriage to a man she met there. Even then, Amille barely cared about Sierra's life, consumed with creating inventions and meeting sponsors.

[Sierra] "Sister, I am getting married. My partner is......"

[Amille] "I am sorry, but I am busy. Let's talk next time."

[Sierra] "......Ah, yes! But you will come to the wedding, right?"

[Amille] "Where is it?"

Amille had no time to spare for Sierra. She continued to thrive at the Magic Tower, eventually discovering that the figure sponsoring her from the shadows was the Crown Prince.

The prince had funded Amille since her early childhood. Completely unaware that she had walked into a trap, she began working for him. From that moment, hallucinations and voices plagued her mind. She would even vomit blood if she defied him.

While Amille fell helplessly into the snare of his brainwashing curse, Sierra had visited her, trying to help her and warning her about the Crown Prince.

[Sierra] "Sister, about the Crown Prince."

[Amille] "What about him?"

[Sierra] "He came to see our baby, and it felt rather strange......"

[Amille] "Don't dare speak lightly of His Highness. He is my lord."

[Sierra] "Ah...... I am sorry, Sister. I want you to be careful...…"

Amille ignored Sierra's warnings. But she shouldn't have done so.

From that day on, the Crown Prince's relentless gaze fixed upon Amille and Sierra. Foolishly oblivious to the truth and the prince's sinister intentions, Amille occupied herself with defending him.

[Prince] "The Duchess, your younger sister."

[Amille] "Ah, yes."

[Prince] "Her child is quite lovely. Can you arrange a meeting for us?"

Though it struck her as odd, she naturally obeyed her lord. Amille brought Hanael to him.

On the very day she secretly delivered the newborn Hanael into the Crown Prince's palace, she discovered that a brainwashing brand forcing blind obedience to the prince marked her soul. She also learned that if he died, she would perish as well.

Yet the most terrifying truth was that all the inventions she created under the Crown Prince's sponsorship were not serving the world...... Instead, he used them in a dark, hidden room to harm and slaughter people.

The Crown Prince was the true culprit behind the horrific Icarus murder cases, driven by a desire to become incredibly powerful. To accomplish this, he brainwashed and exploited Amille. Above all, a single fear loomed largest.

[Amille] "Your Highness......?"

[Prince] "Ah, you are here, foolish Amille."

[Amille] "Why have you bound Hanael to a chair?"

Hanael, whom Sierra loved deeply—the young niece whose face Amille had barely seen—had fallen into his evil grasp.

[Prince] "She is the most vital asset to accomplish my goal."

[Amille] "What on earth......"

[Prince] "I never imagined this child could be so powerful."

That day, Amille fell into endless despair upon seeing the pure ecstasy on his face. Watching the prince stare greedily at Hanael, she felt utter frustration. She screamed inwardly to release Hanael, who sat frozen, eyes closed, like a small wax doll.

Yet her body, bound for over a decade by the Crown Prince, betrayed her will. Hanael slowly lost her life force minute by minute in his hands.

At that exact moment, completely unaware that the prince, her older sister served, had kidnapped her lovely baby, Sierra was also dying from the loss of her daughter.

---

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