Night fell over the second wife of Shion's father in the mansion of the Ranos family. She continued writing while recalling her dream:
"The person looked extremely similar to Shion, as if they were one and the same, yet he was taller and possessed an imposing physique. His hair was pitch-black, and his skin was pale like wax. He was, quite simply, unbelievably beautiful… yet his lifeless black eyes turned him into something terrifying. I did not dare approach him.
He began speaking, and honestly, I could not understand a single word he said. It was as though his voice never reached my mind. I could hear every word, yet comprehend none of them. He smiled with a perfect smile, but my consciousness began fading away. The last thing I saw was that perfect smile on his face."
The second wife looked toward a sheet of paper she had drawn on. It contained the image of Shi Yun Lan—the figure she had seen in her dreams, a figure no one else knew about.
She continued:
"When I woke up, several days had already passed. When I asked whether I had fallen ill or something similar, the physician shocked me by saying that I had been in a dead-like state. I was utterly stunned.
After several examinations, everything seemed normal… but as time passed, I felt something strange within me. My mind had become clearer, as though some power flowed through my veins. Eventually, I discovered that I had inherited my family's heritage.
I still remember what the guardian spirit of the inheritance told me:
'The inheritance had always existed within you, but the silk-like magical pathways necessary for it were blocked.'
Years later, I learned that these pathways open when a person enters a near-death state. From the moment I obtained my inheritance, I decided to train, even if I was already older and married."
The second wife opened her hand, revealing a complex magic circle.
Normally, complex circles could not be developed beyond the fourth level, yet she could manipulate her single circle with complete ease—activating parts of it, shutting down others, and controlling both the scale and limits of her magic.
These were the signs of a Mage's Mind that had reached the fifth level.
She continued writing enthusiastically:
"I remember when I learned from the guardian spirit about my family's divination magic. I began studying immediately.
The magic resembled mathematical equations. It relied on probabilities and on the depth of my understanding of the world around me.
At the time, I knew little about the kingdom or the family I had thrown myself into, so I chose to study everything around me while attempting to construct the magical circle until the day I could properly use the magic.
I could not deal with the arrogant first wife or her children, so I instead grew close to the servants, among whom was Shion's mother. My relationship with them was good.
I tried playing with Shion, but he was extremely gloomy and always buried himself in studying.
In the end, I only managed to learn about the mansion and the servants before I completed my first circle and attempted a divination spell."
She held a strand of white hair belonging to Shion's mother and asked about her general fortune.
"It felt as though my mind had been drained dry. A terrible headache and unbearable dizziness struck me, and I nearly fainted. Yet I endured and saw the results.
They were nothing but probabilities:
a probability of being scolded,
another of being beaten,
another of breaking something,
and countless other endless possibilities.
At that moment, I realized how foolish my question had been."
The second wife began writing about the foundations of her magic:
To use divination, she needed an object connected to the target, gather information about them and their surroundings, and avoid asking broad questions. The magic extracted every memory and detail from the caster's mind, no matter how insignificant.
One had to ask about a single probability only. Leaving the possibilities open-ended could literally kill the caster from the resulting headaches.
As the magic evolved, the accuracy of probabilities increased, and eventually one could even alter probabilities and turn them into certainties.
She continued:
"At first, I learned the basics. Later, I became capable of using my magic constantly, seeing which actions would bring the greatest benefit with the least harm through ordinary conversation.
Through repeated interaction, my husband sensed that something about me was strange.
I used divination magic and calculated the best possible responses and outcomes. He left our conversations without ever realizing I could use magic at all.
Then Shion crossed my mind.
Why not try my power on him?
Was I afraid of that figure from my dream?
Or did I simply think it was not worth it?
Regardless, I decided to use my power on him."
At that time, she had reached the second level of magic and possessed only one circle.
Under the guidance of the guardian spirit, she gathered information about Shion by talking with him. She saw how deeply lonely he was and how he had begun distancing himself from his mother.
"Yet I realized that I had lost part of my humanity. I viewed little Shion as an experiment rather than as a child trapped inside a nest of hornets.
After finishing my preparations, I used the probabilities and asked:
'What is the probability that Shion will become a great mage?'"
The second wife sighed as she remembered what happened.
"There was no result.
Instead, it felt as though death itself surrounded me.
The magic circle became unstable before suddenly producing the answer to a question I had never asked:
'What is the probability of Shion's death?'
One hundred percent."
Although she understood that everyone eventually died and that immortality did not exist, overwhelming terror consumed her.
"What was wrong with the magic circle?!
What would happen to Shion?!
What in the world was going on?!"
Suppressing her fear, she noticed something horrifying:
The strand of white hair she had taken from Shion had turned pitch black.
She remembered the visitor from her dream and began trembling in fear.
Then the guardian spirit emerged, screaming at her violently while trembling itself. It told her that Shion's lookalike was unimaginably terrifying in reality.
"And then… I made another terrible mistake.
I chose to abandon Shion."
Her handwriting began changing, the beautiful script turning shaky and distorted. Yet she steadied herself and continued:
"I cut ties with everyone in the mansion. The family head no longer allowed me to leave my quarters and assigned servants specifically to watch me.
After some time, I gave birth to my children. They became my happiness—or perhaps half my happiness—because they were still the children of that hateful man.
Yet no mother could hate her children for such a reason."
She focused on raising them while continuing her studies in divination, astrology, palm reading, psychology, philosophy, and logic.
She even succeeded in summoning a spirit, though it possessed no combat ability and could only gather information for her.
Thus, from her tiny room, she began learning about the outside world and stopped caring about the small world around her.
Until one day, her son came crying.
When she asked what happened, he told her Shion had frightened him.
At that moment, the terror planted in her by Shion's lookalike resurfaced, and she became afraid for her children.
"For the first time, I left my section of the mansion. Some servants did not even recognize me anymore.
Yet I did not care.
Eventually, I found Shion and began shouting at him and scolding him for frightening his younger brother."
She had been so emotional that she failed to notice his pain.
Then, faster than she could react, a violent slap struck Shion's face, sending him crashing to the ground.
It was Shun Ranus, smiling at her.
At the time, he had been a third-year academy student whose strength had reached the second level and was close to entering the third.
The slap had been so powerful that Shion began bleeding.
"I felt fear and panic.
But what truly shocked me was that nobody reacted.
It passed as though it were perfectly normal."
Shun had said to her then:
"If you don't like him, just hit him. He won't resist."
She had been stunned.
When she looked at Shion, his eyes carried a horrifying mixture of hope for life, deep despair, and death carved into them.
Yet he did nothing except walk away.
"Without me realizing it, the child I once wished to protect had transformed into the kingdom's trash—the Shion everyone came to know."
Time passed beyond midnight as she blamed herself for what had happened to him and considered herself partly responsible for his transformation.
She continued:
"Shion began hurting everyone around him, intentionally or not. The ones who suffered the most were his mother and my children.
Yet immediately afterward, his older brother would beat him.
Over time, even the guards dared strike him under the excuse of obeying the eldest son's orders.
Shion's status fell below that of commoners despite being a noble.
Even at the academy, where he was then a first-year student, he was treated horribly. He became the first student in Karath Academy's history to suffer such humiliation."
Eventually, she could no longer endure it and decided to confront the family head to save his son.
By then, she had reached the fourth level.
She entered his office confidently and informed him of everything happening to Shion.
His response was cold:
"And what concern is he of yours?"
She used divination magic, determined to force that man to care about his son even slightly.
There were several probabilities she could exploit… but one probability was nearly absolute.
Her eyes widened when she saw it.
The family head calmly waited for her response.
Then she asked:
"Are you afraid of Shion?"
The cold look in his eyes instantly returned to the same expression she had seen the first day she met him.
At that moment, she realized something:
He did not merely want his son dead.
He was terrified of him.
Terrified beyond measure.
Though she did not know why, her magic relied upon every detail she had unconsciously experienced.
And that was the first time the family head slapped her.
Time continued passing until dawn, yet the second wife kept writing:
"The family head clearly knew about Shion's terrifying lookalike. He forbade me from leaving my private wing until further notice.
Though I preferred isolation, many mysteries began solving themselves.
Why couldn't a man like him simply kill weak little Shion?
The answer became obvious:
he was afraid."
He could only manipulate others into harming Shion because they themselves would never willingly commit outright murder.
When the order to exile Shion came, the spirit she had summoned had already gathered information.
She learned that Shion had been accused of harassing a female classmate.
Strangely, the accusation was half true and half false—physically, the act had occurred, but Shion himself had not understood what happened.
After gathering more information and using her magic, she discovered the true mastermind:
His father.
It seemed the man had despaired of killing Shion directly and instead sought to dispose of him another way.
Since Shion was an academy student, he was legally considered an adult, meaning the family head could expel him from the family without damaging his own reputation.
"Afterward, Shion Ranus changed during his departure and became the Shion Lan known today.
I remained confused until I realized something:
Shion Ranus had truly died, exactly as my divination foretold."
How did she know?
Because inside her room, she still possessed the poison the family head had used to kill him.
Yet it had failed.
Once again, it seemed that terrifying lookalike had protected him.
She wrote her final line:
"And now events have reached this point…
My final prophecy is the downfall of the Ranus family."
And morning arrived.