***

“—Oswald, you’re worth using.”

Looking back, the first thing that came to his mind were the words of his father, the king.

In the spacious audience room, he kneeled on the red carpet, looking up at his father who sat on the throne.

As he had lost control of his magic, his father sealed him again. That event was taking place soon after that.

“I didn’t expect for you to possess this much magic at the age of seven. Your magic will eventually become a powerful force capable of threatening other countries.”

Even though those words rang clearly, he couldn’t picture the face of his own father. Somehow, his face was terribly blurred—black, as if it’d been painted over.

“So, I’ll let you live. As long as you remain useful, you’ll be my dear son. However, whether or not I make your existence public is another matter.”

“…”

Thus, his father engraved a seal on Oswald’s throat.

As for his father, the seal existed on his right palm.

He could still recall how his throat burned. During the sealing process, his father had wrapped his hand around his neck, as if strangling him.

“Don’t look at me like that. If you’re rebellious, a tighter leash is just inevitable. You also dislike pain, don’t you?”

“…”

“If you get too cocky, I’ll kill you. If you understand that, listen to me properly.”

Instead of listening to Oswald, his father instructed his subjects.

“Bring Oswald back to the tower. If he doesn’t have anyone to play with, just send Randolph or Nicholas.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

The mages tried to drag him away without question.

Oswald, who was forced to stand up, shook off the mages’ hands and tried to walk on his own.

His father saw it and laughed.

“It’s a good thing that you killed your mother when you were born. After all, she was going to conceal your birth from me.”

“…”

“You did a great job, Oswald, my dear son.”

His father spoke as if he had achieved a good score.

“—But keep in mind that the only way a monster like you, someone who killed his birth mother, to live peacefully is under my watch.”

“…”

Oswald didn’t look back.

For as long as he could remember, the fact that this person was the king and not his father was ingrained in him.

After returning to his room, the caretakers came to see him. Their faces were pale.

Few people in the castle were aware of his existence.

Ever since he was young, Oswald only ever interacted with some retainers, but all of them, without exception, would have fear in their eyes.

Once, he accidentally heard their conversation.

“—Don’t provoke Oswald. If he gets angry, we’ll be burned to death in an instant.”

“How terrifying…! Let’s not make eye contact. Refrain from any unnecessary conversation and stay away from him.”

Knowing their fear, Oswald avoided them.

Upon entering his prison-like room, he saw that one side of the wall was still frozen over.

After his magical power went berserk, his surroundings were frozen.

That evening, his half-siblings visited him.

“Oswald, I heard about it! You’re a disgrace to the royal family! Soon, you’ll be kicked out from here! I’m so happy!”

“I heard that you’re going to be adopted by a baron family in the countryside? Apparently, no matter how strong your magic is, father still refuses to recognize you as a prince! Haha, think about that!”

“You’re so pathetic, Oswald. If your mother hadn’t been such a lowborn, you might have been recognized as our little brother! But I can see why it’d be troublesome if this monster were pure-blooded…”

Oswald could see his own face on the reflexive surface of the thawing ice.

Monster…

Among the various magical attributes that existed, ice magic wasn’t his expertise.

No, he was fundamentally incompatible with ice.

However, ice was the most reassuring.

After all, even if it went wild, it wouldn’t pose harm to anyone. Ironically, he was the most compatible with fire magic—the same magic that killed his mother. He never used it for obvious reasons.

Thanks to that, whenever he went out of control, only ice appeared.

I’m a monster—I myself am aware of it.

Yes, that feeling had always accompanied him for as long as he could remember. Oswald pressed his forehead against the frozen wall and closed his eyes.

If I hadn’t been born, she wouldn’t have had to die.

Even though he never met her, he could always picture his mother, whose face he’d only ever saw in portraits, vividly.

That black-haired woman lost her life because of him.

…How can I ever be forgiven?

Oswald had always wondered about that.

I’d just have to defeat a lot of enemies.

He wanted to be strong. If he found someone who used violence against the weak, he’d fight them regardless of their age—regardless of the wounds he might suffer.

To defeat many enemies of this country on the battlefield…

He wished that he could master ice magic—which he wasn’t good at. No, if possible, all the elements—except for healing—and become a mighty magician.

—And then, I’ll save those in trouble. I won’t abandon those in need. I won’t let anyone suffer the same fate as my mother who had no one to rely on…

Believing so, he imposed various things on himself.

He mastered his magic, endured whatever his half-siblings did to him, and stayed quiet.

Even if they abused him, he always kept his head down.

At the age of ten, he finally mastered ice magic and was ordered to enter the magic academy.

At first, he couldn’t trust anyone, but along the way, he befriended those with similar fates. Even Ignatius, who always seemed laidback, had his own shares of troubles.

All of those friends, except for Ignatius, perished on the battlefield.

“Why didn’t you save him…?”

After the war, the families of his deceased friends paid Oswald a visit.”

“He always boasted about how strong you are. ‘If Oswald is here, there’s no way we’ll lose’, he said…”

---

***T/N: I wonder why he never questioned his dad’s action at all and instead chose to fight for the country without any question asked…

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