10. If Only They Could Live Freely (Father's POV)

"Now I see why you didn't want to present her to society. She'll be a target."

Stan said that while looking at Lia, and his words only fueled my irritation.

"Marriage proposals are already pouring in from all over. Do they really think I'd just let a violet eye out into the world like that? Honestly."

"But with the highly acclaimed Luke around, the Allvance family is secure. If anything, some might think having two heirs with such blood would only lead to conflict. Besides, they likely just want to plant a trace of violet potential in their own lineages."

I couldn't help but click my tongue. In this country, people celebrate first birthdays grandly, regardless of whether they are nobles or commoners. For nobles, it serves as a formal debut into high society. However, we did not hold a debut for Lilia. Why? It was because of the incident that occurred just before she turned one.

We nobles possess magic from birth, but at first, it is unstable and small; as we grow, our magic becomes more powerful and stable.

Because of this, it is difficult to master magic until around age ten when it stabilizes, so the rule is to not begin training until then.

However, when I returned from the castle just the other day, Sebas was waiting for me...

"Lady Lilia has infused mana into a magic stone intended for lighting."

...that's what he reported.

"Lia! Is she alright?!"

I demanded an answer, my face pale with worry. Even though it was a small magic stone meant for lighting, it still absorbed a fair amount of mana. Even a ten-year-old just starting magic circulation training would use a stone that was already half-depleted for their practice. If someone were to use a completely empty stone, they could actually collapse.

"She is perfectly fine. Furthermore, please take this."

Sebas held out a magic stone that had been beautifully infused with mana.

"Lia did this all by herself?"

"Yes. In fact, she looked like she could have done two or three more just like it."

"That's incredible!"

If people find out about her immense power in addition to her adorable looks, there will surely be those who try to claim her, even if they have to take risks. I've heard rumors that even among the lower nobility, there have been recent cases of kidnappings. I've made up my mind.

"We won't be showing her off."

"I believe that is for the best. It's better for her to not interact with outsiders if possible."

Sebas nodded in agreement. She was my precious daughter. We had decided just before Lia turned one that there was no need to show her off to the world.

Even so, what Stan said was absolutely revolting.

"Even if they were to take Lilia as a bride, what would they gain from her pale violet eyes appearing in their lineage? Instead of status and wealth, they'd get a lifetime of forced service and restraint. Besides, as nobles, they should be aware of why so many of our high-ranking peers die so young."

"They just want someone to work for them."

"So they can reap the benefits."

That's how it was with my first wife. We married solely because our social standings matched, despite not being able to stand each other, and only secured a stable position by giving birth to Luke. Even if she was a mother who barely looked after him. In the end, we ended up divorcing because we were so incompatible. Even so, she'll never have to worry about money for the rest of her life.

"Forget about Diana. She's the type who won't have a successful marriage no matter who she marries."

"I hadn't even thought about her until this very moment. More importantly, what happened to your father's illegitimate child?"

Stan shook his head. Stan from the Lisburn family is one of my few close friends from the academy, but he has his own set of troublesome family issues.

"Talk about bad timing for a confession."

He gave a weary shrug. About two years ago, right before his father passed away, the old man finally confessed that he'd had an illegitimate child—and that the kid had the Lisburn family's summer-blue eyes.

"We still haven't found them. After searching this much without any luck, I'm starting to think they might have left the Kingdom a long time ago."

"Don't tell me... they're in the Frontier!"

"What other possibility is there? It's called the Frontier, but it's split into several autonomous zones, and the population is several times larger than this country's."

"But..."

"Yeah, I've heard it's a harsh place for anyone raised in the Kingdom to survive. But it's precisely because the Frontier is like that that they produce magic stones, which is how we're able to maintain the barriers."

I knew that without him having to tell me.

In this country, besides humans and normal creatures, there are incorporeal beings known as the Void-kin, and they are what hinder human prosperity. The Void-kin take on physical forms similar to normal creatures, but they live by a different set of laws, and it seems they maintain their forms by draining the life force of other living beings.

Their bodies have no flesh to cut; only a special metal can slice through them, and once slain, their remains contract into magic stones. When mana is poured into those stones, they generate energy, serving as a power source to move objects.

Humans and the Void-kin have coexisted for ages, albeit reluctantly—one side as troublesome neighbors that kill people, and the other as a means to make life more convenient. However, at a certain turning point, the number of Void-kin began to steadily increase, turning them into a true threat to humanity. It was then that the barriers designed to keep the Void-kin at bay were developed.

These barriers utilize magic stones, which are the remains of slain Void-kin. It was a truly sickening relationship, but about a hundred years after the development of the first small-scale barriers, humanity finally succeeded in creating a barrier large enough to cover an entire nation. However, even maintaining a small barrier requires a massive amount of mana.

"But that requires a vast amount of mana. Which means the current Royal Family, the four Marquises, and the nobility are the ones with the power to do it."

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"No, it's just... in the end, those who can't fit inside the barrier have no choice but to live on the outer edges. And to maintain urban functions, they're forced into the endless cycle of having to keep killing Void-kin."

An endless struggle. It wasn't just about casting barriers; magic stones had become too deeply integrated into daily life. People killed Void-kin not just for protection, but for survival itself. It was a profound, inescapable cycle.

"I've never heard of Void-kin having emotions or building societies. They're nothing more than moving natural phenomena. We should just accept them as such."

"True."

Regardless, those of us living inside the barriers have never even seen a Void-kin with our own eyes.

Inside the barriers, women, children, and engineers are kept safe, while those with the power to hunt the Void-kin fight on the outside. Over time, those capable of maintaining the barriers became the privileged class, and the world shifted into one where those without mana were pushed out to the fringes.

"History is always interpreted to suit the present. I think it's a bit much to assume you deserve special treatment just because you have mana, but it's just as foolish to assume things were better in the old days, Dean."

"I know."

I know that. But I doubt I'll ever feel happy being tied down to the Royal Capital just to protect the barriers.

"If it were up to me, I'd let Luke and Lia do whatever they wanted to do."

"This country would never let them go. Just like my brother."

Stan looked up at the sky, which was covered by the invisible barrier.

"He's probably better off staying lost."

"A son even younger than my grandson, Gil? Your father really was a weakling when it came to women."

"I'm protecting and looking after all the sons whose whereabouts are known. It's only the one who inherited the Lisburn eyes who is missing."

"She must have been a very clever mother."

"Yeah, maybe so. I mean, she practically ran away from my father."

Stan and I watched our respective sons playing in the garden with Lia. Having been born into a Marquis's house, I never really had much attachment to life, but right now, I felt like I could watch this scene forever.