Sorcerer’s Handbook

Lise Deya: “We don’t really understand it either; we can only speculate. Perhaps it is because Nina and I were born with… well, using the Observer’s words, we have an extremely deep Bond. The stronger the Bond, the more empowered the fate transfer becomes. If an ordinary person can only receive 100% of an Unrelated’s fate, then maybe we can get 1000% of Nina’s.”

“Even now, if I close my eyes, I can still recall Nina’s childhood look, covered in mud. Perhaps it is precisely because of our Bond that we were chosen by the Sorceress as the First Gospel and the Unrelated.”

“This is why we have to escape the Tower-not just to break free from the fate of the First Gospel, but to save Nina! She is probably already at the top of the Ranking of the Unrelated, and if we don’t rescue her, she will undoubtedly die as an Unrelated!”

“But we have no power to resist the Sorceress, nor can we invade the Royal Palace to save Nina. Our original plan was to somehow capture the Divine Sovereign’s Wish and then wish to abolish the Ranking of the Unrelated. That way, not only can Nina be saved, but there will never again be sisters as sorrowful as us!”

From birth, Lise Deya and Nikki Nalu were twins immersed in sin and pain. Nina bore all the pain, while Deya bore all the guilt.

Since the day they were separated, she lived on another girl’s grief.

From the start, it was destined that on the day Lise Deya became queen, the gem in the crown would be the last drop of Nikki Nalu’s blood.

So, upon learning the truth, Deya couldn’t bear the torment of her conscience. Crushed by the pressure, in her desperation she summoned the Masked spirit, urgently splitting into the White Queen, Black Butler, Scarlet Dead Apostles and the like to share the pain, like fish struggling to breathe air can only console each other by being close.

And because of this, although Deya constantly called her grandmother an old witch, she did not resent her grandmother. Because she knew that fifty years ago, her grandmother went through the same ordeal as she did; the only difference being that her grandmother never knew the truth from beginning to end.

This is why Deya wants to obtain the Divine Sovereign’s Wish—once the Ranking of the Unrelated is abolished, all problems can be resolved. Nina wouldn’t need to sacrifice herself, and the Yisuo Royal Family wouldn’t need to create sinful twins in the future.

“…Deya and Nina are indeed pitiful,” Lise said after a moment of silence. “But the person most likely to obtain the Divine Sovereign’s Wish now is Aunt Annan. We have no chance.”

“Although we can’t abolish the Ranking of the Unrelated, we still have a chance to save Nina,” Deya said, “because there is still a princess in the Tower within the Royal Palace.”

“After our discussion, we believe there are two possibilities: this princess might be an ‘alternate’ we don’t know, and the Sorceress might use the deity’s ‘Gospel’ power to transfer Nina’s fate to the alternate.”

“But I have never heard of another princess apart from Nina and me, so there is another possibility: this princess is Nina.”

“Since we disappeared, the Yisuo Royal Family still needs a future emperor. So, the Sorceress might have taken Nina out of the Ranking of the Unrelated on the night we left, but the price would be Nina becoming the new First Gospel.”

The Little Witch quickly realized: “But without a sacrificial offering, Nina can only live for ten years!”

Deya: “Exactly. The Sorceress won’t have time to cultivate a new Unrelated one, but this also gives us an opportunity—Nina wasn’t originally raised as the First Gospel. The Sorceress has her in the Tower, certainly to make her follow my past trail, thus causing the Gospel Ranking to misjudge her.”

“If we can bring her out of the Tower, and then let one of our sisters enter her body to temporarily replace her personality—given the Bond between Nina and me, I’m sure we sisters can freely come and go—then we can definitely help her escape the fate of the First Gospel!”

“Although we can’t completely abolish the Ranking of the Unrelated, at least both Nina and I can survive. So, we must follow Ashe and the others into the Royal Palace. We cannot let him assassinate Nina! On the contrary, we have to find a way to save Nina!”

Lise: “…You all have been through so much hardship…”

Deya: “It’s my responsibility.”

White Queen: “It’s our responsibility. Nina is our sister too.”

Black Butler: “Actually, when it comes down to it, there’s only one way left for us to stay.”

Scarlet Dead Apostles: “Complete honesty.”

Deya: “I’ve been thinking about this too—should we come clean to Ashe, tell him that I’m actually Princess Lise Deya, and then ask for his help in saving Nina… but…”

Black Butler: “You’re afraid to reveal the secret, even to Ashe. Not because the secret is immensely important, but because you’re scared he will resent you for hiding it.”

White Queen: “But we don’t have any other options now. No matter what we try, Little Ashe will never bring us into the Royal Palace. If we don’t tell the truth, we don’t have enough reason for him to risk his life for us. He’ll just throw us out of the palace!”

Scarlet Dead Apostles: “Honesty is the best negotiation skill.”

As the sisters passionately discussed the feasibility of full disclosure, a young but firm voice echoed in their minds: “No.”

Lise sat down, took off her glove, and looked at her arm, avoiding all reflective surfaces. She spoke in her mind:

“Deya, White Queen, Black Butler, Scarlet Dead Apostles, I sympathize with Nina, and I understand your determination to save her. I also understand the sense of justice in your hearts.”

“Princess Lise Deya knows Nikki Nalu, but Lise does not.”

“Lise doesn’t want to save anyone, nor does she need strangers to applaud for her.”

“I just want Dad’s affection and my sisters’ love. There are only a few people I like, and only a few people who like me. Aside from you and Dad, no one else cares about me… Uncle Harvey doesn’t care about me, Aunt Bukin just tolerates me because of Dad, Aunt Annan treats me as a tool, and Uncle Banjeet only cares about Annan. So, I don’t want to lose any of you.”

“I won’t risk you and Dad to save someone I don’t know. Absolutely not.”

“Elder sister, if you want to achieve something as great as you plan, you should have a younger sister with a great personality.”

“But I’m just the Little Witch: immature, timid, easily satisfied, and selfish.”

“You won’t convince Dad, and you can’t even convince me.”

Having poured out her heart, Lise made up her mind and turned to Ashe, who was flipping through the Gospel Book:

“Dad, let’s run away. Don’t join the assassination plan. Let’s hide together until the Weaving Festival is over, alright?”