Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 181:

Chapter 181 I’ve been waiting. For a whole week.

Is there a human who only has strengths?

Of course, there might be somewhere, but most are not. Humans grow their strengths to hide their weaknesses.

It’s natural to not reveal their flaws.

Aurora, who had lived thinking she was human, was no exception.

Aurora had spent her days like hell since she was young. It was because of the future of others that she saw, whether she wanted to or not.

The future of people, although there were subtle differences, was similar when seen from afar.

She had seen all kinds of scenes since she was toddling, so it was natural that her mind was exhausted.

She was afraid of the future where she was hated by others.

But the adults exploited her efforts thoroughly. Her parents were the first to use Aurora as a tool.

And in the end, she was completely abandoned, so it was natural that the girl distrusted humans.

─Don’t we get anything from them?

─Right. They have no sense. No sense…

There was always a back story about her in the future she saw.

Each one was a scene that reinforced Aurora’s disbelief in humans.

Those who were interested in success had Aurora’s bloodline as their goal.

Those who were interested in beauty were jealous, and many men did not spare sexual harassment.

They were all the same.

They were all the same.

Aurora came to dislike the word ‘exception’. She came to not believe it. It was because she had observed countless scenes beyond what others could see.

Even after spending eight years underground, Aurora had changed, but humans were the same.

She had felt lonely, but as soon as she saw their faces again, contempt rose again.

Yes, it was something that did not change even as time passed.

Those who brought Aurora to the surface had their own purposes.

There was no exception even for the one who was endlessly loyal. It was because he had a different goal that he was so loyal.

So Aurora decided to set that ‘goal’ for them.

─Please, just spare our lives!

─Your Highness! Please!

It was ‘survival’. Aurora instilled fear for their lives in them.

Anyone who wanted to survive had to pledge loyalty to her.

While living like that, she met a man.

Flan, he was a mage.

At first, she thought he was interesting and strange. It was because his future was not visible at all.

She had never met a human whose future was not visible before.

Of course, she thought there was no need to see it.

As always, there was no ‘exception’ for humans. Even if he looked calm on the outside, he must have been trembling inside.

He must have badmouthed Aurora behind her back.

She did not doubt her decision and had enough evidence.

But as her interest in Flan grew, she wanted to break him more and more. It was a kind of defense mechanism.

She remembered her past when she saw a human who did not bow down.

She would not go back to the cold and dark times.

She did not want to crouch in the basement. She did not want to be used as a tool by others.

Every time she recalled that feeling, she vowed to dominate even the future of others.

So she had to break Plan even more.

Wasn’t there a saying that you should keep your enemies close? Like a flower stuck in a vase, she was determined to display him by her side, who did not yield.

─You are nothing but a made-up doll.

But when she heard Dusk’s words in Lehren, all of Aurora’s thoughts were erased.

Her origin was a vampire.

She could not believe it.

How could Aurora be a vampire when she had the bloodline of the royal family, which was said to be the most noble among humans?

She did not believe it.

She thought it was nothing but a scheme to confuse Aurora.

But Aurora was not stupid.

Even if Aurora did not want to accept it, the circumstances told her one by one.

Half of the escort knights never showed up again, and after that, her fangs seemed to have become sharper.

She did not want to accept it, but it was reality. Every little clue proved that she was a vampire. It was just that Aurora could not accept it.

She had already come too far.

If her origin was a vampire, what would she be compensated for her hardships? How would she live from now on….

She could not belong to either humans or vampires. She could not think of any more cursed origin than this.

“…Flan.”

Then, it was Flan who saved Aurora.

He had the right to be angry with Aurora.

It would not have been strange if he scolded the incompetent princess and questioned her one by one.

But the man did not act like that.

─As long as there is a promise.

A word asking her to keep the promise. That was all.

There was not a bit of falsehood in Flan’s words and eyes.

Aurora understood it instinctively, skipping common sense. She realized that this was sincerity.

“That is… the present…”

She could be sure of the present even without checking the future.

Aurora realized it then.

“And this is… the dawn…”

It was not something that was stuck on the wings of a butterfly, nor something that illuminated the whole world, but a dawn that wrapped around and warmed only Aurora.

The dawn.

I wondered if this was the light I had been searching for so long. Aurora thought to herself, without realizing it.

She still remembered its warmth vividly.

But…

Clank-!

The carriage jerked violently.

It was because Aurora had urged the driver to hurry to their destination.

“Faster… Can’t you go any faster?”

The princess pressed the coachman.

She had lost her ability to see the future after meeting Dusk. But even if she still had it, she would have asked the same question over and over.

She wanted to save every second she could.

Sharp regrets, like shards of glass, tore her heart apart.

If only she had been less arrogant, more ordinary, more aware, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

“Please, speed up. Please.”

Aurora’s voice was no longer commanding. She was begging a mere coachman.

“We can’t be late. Never…”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. It’s impossible to go any faster.”

“Then, what about another route? Is there a quicker way?”

“There is, but it’s so narrow that the carriage can’t fit…”

Before the coachman could finish his answer, Aurora opened the door and jumped out.

The impact was huge. She rolled on the ground several times, as if she had been hit by a storm.

“Your Highness! Your Highness-!”

The coachman’s scream came from behind, but Aurora ignored it. She had a pain that she couldn’t bear right now, and it wasn’t physical.

“I have to go…”

Aurora staggered to her feet. With a blank expression, she started to run on the rough road.

The week that Aurora had been unconscious was a huge gap.

It was a big deal among the empire’s people that the princess had collapsed, and the damage that Flan had suffered was immense.

It was all Aurora’s fault.

The royal family members who had lost their lives, the harm that Flan had endured, the appearance of the bloodthirsty beasts. It was all because of Aurora.

“I have to go… I must go…”

That’s why Aurora had no choice but to repeat the same words. To blame herself for her shortcomings, and to never forget what she had to do.

And the place that Aurora arrived at was Fritz’s territory.

The place where the construction of the magic tower was planned.

◈

Aurora wandered around Fritz’s territory frantically.

Those who recognized Aurora looked at her barefoot and wounded feet with a stunned expression, or stared at her with a calm and emotionless face.

But even without her future vision, she could feel it.

Everyone in this space hated Aurora.

“…”

But Aurora had no right to blame them for their rudeness.

“Isn’t that the princess…?”

“Leave her alone. Princess or not…”

“She’s lucky to be a princess. This place is ruined.”

She pretended not to see or hear anything.

Whether Aurora regretted it or not, a tremendous hostility followed her like a shadow.

“…”

Aurora ran away.

She wanted to cry, to collapse and clutch her head, but she couldn’t.

She had too much to be responsible for, and meeting the manager of Fritz’s territory was her first priority.

The princess barely made it to Fritz’s mansion.

Someone was waiting for her, as if they knew she would come.

It was a woman with her back turned, but it was clear that she was the owner. She wore a badge with the jasmine, the symbol of Fritz, as if to show it off.

Trixie von Fritz.

“You finally came.”

Trixie slowly turned her body toward Aurora.

The owner of the blue flame.

“I’ve been waiting. For a whole week.”

She was as cold as the owner of the ice.