Meanwhile, Nigel Ars climbed the mountain relentlessly, unaware that the egg providing warmth to her chest had disappeared.

In the night mountain, all Nigel had to rely on was the map given by Jane, the guild staff member, and the weak magical flame that dimly lit her surroundings, but her steps never faltered.

Each stride taken with wide steps was filled only with the desire to know the identity of the woman she had encountered as a child.

After walking continuously for 30 minutes, Nigel’s steps finally came to a halt.

“……”

Before Nigel’s eyes was a large mirror.

Upon closer inspection, the mirror had numerous large and fine cracks, with pieces missing here and there, leaving less than half of it intact. As befitting the name of this mountain, it looked more like fragments rather than a mirror.

An undeniable, immense magical power emanated from the mirror fragments.

According to rumors, it was said that a great magician had breathed the last breaths of his dying lover into this mirror, trapping a fleeting moment within it.

Some called it an evil curse that lured humans. They argued that people should stay away, citing the fact that quite a few had gone missing on the Mountain of Fragments.

‘Whether it’s magic or a curse contained in this mirror…… I don’t care either way.’

Nigel’s hand touched the sharp mirror shard. As a drop of red blood fell from her fingertip and seeped into the mirror, it reacted with a flash of light.

The light that started from the upper rim of the mirror traveled along the ancient characters engraved on the border, surrounding the mirror, and then spread instantly through the gaps between the mirror fragments.

−Visitor, who is it that you wish to reach?

A faint and distant voice, impossible to determine whether male or female, resonated from the mirror.

“……When I was ten years old.”

Nigel, unable to finish her sentence, clenched and unclenched her empty fist.

“I want to meet the woman I saw when I went to take the novice priestess exam at ten years old.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the mirror vibrated greatly.

−The time granted to you is but a fleeting moment, and this time will be as sharp as fragments.

“What does that…!”

The mirror left behind these enigmatic words and instantly fell silent.

Then, a faint human figure appeared on the mirror fragments. The image became clearer, revealing a woman wearing a long, white priestess robe that seemed to drag at her feet, just as in Nigel’s memory.

As Nigel stood dazed, unable to say anything, a soft laughter was heard from beyond the mirror.

−You seem nervous.

The voice was slightly muffled, as if a layer of veil had been placed between Nigel and her. But there was no problem in communicating.

“You are……”

Nigel, still unable to properly speak, grasped the cold surface of the mirror that she couldn’t actually touch. It was where the woman’s hand was positioned.

Though she tried to move her lips, her mouth only exhaled and inhaled air, and her desperately flailing hands couldn’t reach the woman’s, only tapping the mirror intermittently with a clack, clack sound.

‘I need to speak…… If not that, then I need to grasp that hand……’

At this crucial moment, her whole body’s thought process malfunctioned, refusing to listen to her. Nigel’s vision blurred as time passed without giving her even a moment’s respite, like sand slipping through her fingers.

−……Why couldn’t I be certain back then? When you resemble both me and Kestnia so much.

At that moment, she pulled down the robe she had been wearing deep over her head. Platinum blonde hair, brilliant even under the moonlight, cascaded down like a waterfall. In between, a pair of purple eyes met Nigel’s directly.

−Hello, Enaigel.

At the same cheerful hand wave as when they first met, tears rolled down Nigel’s cheeks.

No more words were needed. Abellina had recognized her and called her name.

And it was Abellina, who had longed for her daughter all her life, who had much to say.

Abellina opened the conversation with questions about whether Nigel had eaten and scolding her for coming alone to this mountain in the dark night.

Nigel weakly protested, asking for a chance to ask questions, but quietly acquiesced when Abellina said that information about herself was readily available in bookstores.

All the actions and words of the woman who was called Princess Abellina more often than Duchess of Dien until the day she closed her eyes were recorded in magazines and books.

Nigel was busy nodding and shaking her head to Abellina’s barrage of questions that came without pause, as if trying to fill the years they couldn’t meet.

Among the numerous questions, Abellina allowed Nigel only two moments of respite.

One of those was when she asked if Nigel had met her family.

−……I see, even though you’ve met them, you haven’t revealed your identity yet.

Abellina reached out to stroke Nigel’s hair as she looked hesitant, but when her hand couldn’t pass through the mirror, she withdrew it with a look of regret.

−It’s alright. Kestnia and Meriel will always be waiting for you to return, and Rubert…… Although he might be wary of you because you have the right to succeed the throne, and he has a soft spot for his son, he will surely welcome you warmly. After all, it was my dying wish.

“……Pardon?”

−My goodness, that dumbfounded face is exactly like Kestnia’s.

Abellina smiled as she stared intently at Nigel, then slowly opened her mouth.

−Well, your mother was worried about you until her last breath. I wrote in my will to prevent Rubert from harming you in my absence. Not a single lie was mixed in, so when you meet your uncle later, ask him to show you my will.

Abellina winked her right purple eye and then started bombarding questions again.

As she was asking whether Nigel preferred tea or coffee, Abellina’s eyes widened and she grinned.

−Unfortunately, this seems to be the last question.

Nigel clenched her fist tightly.

−……Don’t clench your fist too hard, Enaigel. There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to do anything when my child is hurt right in front of me.

At Abellina’s gentle voice, Nigel slowly unclenched her fist.

−That’s right.

The brief voice that came out was so warm and comforting, as if embracing her whole body tightly, that Nigel felt like she might cry.

−Don’t cry either. In my memory, you’re still a crying newborn, so I’d rather see a smiling face. Besides, if I make you cry any more, Kestnia and Meriel will scold me.

At the playful voice, Nigel pulled up the corners of her mouth.

−Well, this really will be the last question.

Abellina smiled faintly and slowly opened her mouth.

−Enaigel, my beloved child, how is life at Sienna? Are you enjoying it as much as this mother recommended?

Abellina looked at Nigel in her school uniform, not missing a single detail.

The child who introduced himself as a boy named Nigel at the temple she went to for recuperation kept flashing through her mind.

There were many times when she tried to superimpose this child onto her second daughter, whom she parted with without even making eye contact, only to shake her head alone, dismissing it as a vain imagination.

When Noah, who returned from recuperation in the north around the same time, suffered from early lovesickness, crying and longing for a girl of similar appearance, she had to swallow her laughter alone, thinking that the mature and affectionate side of that young child must have been just like her.

And when the goddess no longer allowed an extension of life, I imagined the future.

I often imagined you grown up, wearing the Sienna uniform, with me and my family attending your entrance ceremony as your sponsors to congratulate you.

But imagination could never overcome reality.

−The uniform suits you very well.

Despite lecturing you not to cry, I felt like crying myself.

But a mother can’t cry her eyes out in front of her child and cause worry, so I clenched my fist behind my back to hold it in.

You take after me in this regard. Discovering this small commonality made my heart flutter like a child receiving a gift.

−Won’t you tell me about the academy until this time ends?

The good child nodded and smiled brightly.

I couldn’t help but smile at the unbelievable story the child was telling. Of course, even if this child had been reciting boring scriptures, it would have sounded like beautiful poetry to me.

And the moment Noah Beselion’s name came out of the child’s mouth, things changed.

Noah, that rascal, is he still after my daughter?

No matter how adorably bright and clever Noah was, having inherited only the good points of the Beselion Marquis and his wife, Abellina clearly remembered how the Beselion Marquis had persistently wooed her innocent friend, and how he had eventually made her the Marchioness Beselion.

You’ve got a persistent one on your hands.

Abellina swallowed a sigh. She wanted to tell Nigel everything, but time wouldn’t allow it.

−……Diary. Find my diary hidden in the bottom of the third drawer of my study in the Imperial Palace. What I want to say to you is written there.

Worried that the two children might fight over reading the only diary, I had written two separate diaries from the moment I learned they were twins. I never imagined this diary would become a secret one, written alone while longing for you after losing you.

Now I felt it was time.

I still haven’t been able to hold you tight in my arms and tell you how much I love you, or that the guilt lingering in your eyes is not your fault at all.

Suppressing my regret, I raised my eyes to see Nigel still smiling and nodding.

Yes, I can trust and go, believing in you who resembles Kestnia and me. I felt such certainty.

−I love you.

All I could do was give you the trust that I believe in you.

The child before me smiled brightly and replied with the same lip movement.

And so, the light of the mirror gradually faded. Nigel watched the fading light until the very end. Then, with a relieved smile, she turned her steps around.