FTA Ch 2

<Episode 2>

 

* * *

 

‘A child born in the lowest place will bring infinite glory and prosperity to the empire.’

 

Everything began with this divine prophecy.

When monsters began to appear all across the empire, the prophecy descended upon the Imperial Temple of Imperius.

From that moment, the royal family and the temple started seeking out those born of humble origins, desperate to find the one blessed by the gods.

At that time, Gloria was only eight years old.

An orphan with no parents, no known origins—completely alone in the world.

Back then, there were countless children like Gloria wandering the streets of the empire.

Children who had lost their parents to monsters and struggled to survive on their own.

Gloria caught the eye of a priest on a bitterly cold winter day.

That day, the temple had been distributing free meals to the street children.

Like the others, Gloria had stood in line, waiting for food.

Clutching her empty stomach, she longed for her turn, counting the moments with unbearable hunger.

Finally, her turn came.

At that precise moment, Gloria felt a warm, radiant light envelop her entire body.

It was as if something tender and protective had embraced her, shielding her from the biting winter wind.

Whether it was a blessing or a curse, it wasn’t merely her imagination.

A pure white light had indeed poured down from the sky, shining solely on Gloria.

Everyone present saw it.

 

“What… What is that?”

“It’s the blessing of the gods!”

 

There she stood, a scrawny girl begging for food among other frail children.

That day, Gloria was declared the “Child of the Prophecy”.

The girl born in the humblest of circumstances had become the noblest of all.

 

* * *

 

“God’s cursed blessing.”

 

Gloria glared at her reflection in the mirror.

More specifically, at the mark that stood out prominently on her forehead.

She stared at it for a long moment before furiously rubbing it with her fingers.

The “stigma”, as it was called—the supposed “blessing” of the gods.

Gloria knew better than anyone that it couldn’t simply be erased.

She had tried countless times, but it was impossible to remove.

The stigma was a six-pointed star, made of thin, glowing white lines.

It was proof that the hand of the divine had touched her.

It was also the mark that transformed her ordinary life into one meant for the masses.

Gloria glared at her reflection as though looking at her worst enemy.

Then, as if making up her mind, she reached a firm decision.

She swept her hair to the front with her hand, grabbed it tightly, and snipped it off with scissors in one clean motion.

The severed strands fell haphazardly to the floor.

Gloria glanced briefly at the hair on the ground, then returned her gaze to the mirror.

A woman with hair as pale as white looked back from the mirror.

Gloria let out a faint, bitter chuckle without realizing it.

The first thing that had changed on the day of her so-called divine blessing was her hair color.

The priests had been so horrified that they forbade her from cutting even a strand of it. For years, she lived without daring to touch it.

But what the high-ranking priests had feared did not happen.

Even after cutting her hair just moments ago, Gloria’s hair had not reverted to black.

It remained, infuriatingly, as dazzling silver.

 

“Those old fools and their needless worries…”

 

Her hair was just one of countless restrictions she had lived under.

She had been forced to give up every freedom a human could enjoy.

Her life had been dictated not for herself but for others, all under the reasoning that divine blessings were meant for the benefit of all humanity.

Gloria had always found that logic absurd.

 

“Well, whatever.”

 

There was no need to abide by it anymore.

The role forced upon her was over, thanks to the sudden arrival of someone claiming to be the real child of the prophecy.

“Irina Lothéas.”

An orphan who had wandered the streets before being adopted into the Baroness Lothéas’ household.

Rumor had it that just a month ago, Irina developed the same six-pointed star stigma on her forehead as Gloria.

The people who had demanded sacrifices from Gloria for years believed Irina’s claim.

They turned their backs on Gloria, pointing fingers at her in accusation.

Even the men who had fought countless battles alongside her were quick to condemn her.

The reason so many placed their trust in Irina so easily was simple: her abilities seemed far superior to Gloria’s.

Gloria could only manifest her healing power by injuring herself and using her own blood.

Irina, on the other hand, needed only to hold her hand near someone to heal them.

What’s more, Irina was widely regarded as possessing the gentle and refined nature befitting a noblewoman.

She was nothing like Gloria, whose brash and coarse demeanor betrayed her origins from the slums.

It wasn’t hard to see why people believed Irina was the true child of the prophecy.

 

“Probably because that sweet girl seemed easier to manipulate than me.”

 

But Gloria knew the truth behind it all.

 

“It’s about time to put our plan into action,” someone had said.

“Right, the most dangerous monsters have been eradicated.”

“But we haven’t completely cleared the empire’s territory yet. Shouldn’t we keep using Gloria for a bit longer?”

“What nonsense. I can’t stand that vulgar woman another second.”

“…Fine, no objections.”

 

Gloria vividly remembered the voices she had overheard in Crown Prince Alexion’s tent.

They were the very ones who had orchestrated the rise of the new saintess—a false saintess.

 

“They” were the ones who spread the rumors that Gloria wasn’t the true child of the prophecy.

 

The Crown Prince, the Duke’s heir, the Tower Master, the High Priest…

She didn’t know their reasons for plotting this, and she didn’t particularly care.

It had, after all, presented her with the perfect opportunity.

 

‘Soon, the monster subjugation will be complete.’

 

When that happened, she would have outlived her usefulness and become a nuisance.

It was fortunate she’d found a way to leave before then.

 

‘Thanks to the rumors they spread, I could escape in the ensuing chaos.’

 

Gloria had spent her whole life waiting for a chance to flee.

In this Holy Empire, its noble elite despised her existence.

They had always been desperate to get rid of her, unable to tolerate someone so brash and unrefined in their midst.

No matter how extraordinary her abilities were or how hard she worked, Gloria was nothing more than an eyesore to them.

It wasn’t the first time Gloria had been angry or expressed her frustration in front of them.

Why, of all people, had a woman like her been chosen to be the saintess?

Out of so many people, why had the divine blessing fallen on such an unworthy girl?

They always looked at Gloria with these questions in mind.

And so, long ago, Gloria gave up on seeking their approval.

Instead, she lived her life constantly waiting for the day she could escape.

If it hadn’t been for the stigma, she would have left this country long ago.

But the stigma would never allow her to leave.

Whenever she approached the borders, she would faint, and even after regaining consciousness, she would suffer from excruciating pain as if her whole body were burning.

The stigma was like a brand.

It was a cruel mark of slavery imposed by the god of the Immotus Empire, the only one who claimed to be attempting to save it.

As long as the stigma remained, she could never escape this hellish country.

She couldn’t even go to places where the god’s influence didn’t reach, places where people didn’t believe in the divine.

This was still true now, but it didn’t matter anymore.

At least now she wouldn’t have to live a life of sacrifice without any reward.

It was time to reclaim the life she had lost long ago.

 

* * *

 

Gloria settled her belongings at a traveler’s inn.

5 bronze for a one-night stay.

It wasn’t expensive, considering the shabby nature of the place.

But she couldn’t keep spending her money staying in inns forever.

 

‘I can’t keep wasting what little money I had saved, even though I haven’t been able to save more.’

 

Once her task was done, she would have to leave the capital and find a proper place to stay.

After calmly reviewing her long-planned course of action, Gloria grabbed her mace and left the inn.

The Duke’s residence wasn’t far from the inn.

Soon, Gloria arrived at the Duke’s residence and looked up at the fortress-like gates.

After a brief scan, she saw no sign of a gatekeeper.

So, she had no choice but to open the gate herself.

Gloria set her mace down briefly, then pushed the heavy gate with all her might.

There was a distinct clunk, as though something inside was securing it shut.

 

‘It looks like they’ve locked it with something on the inside.’

 

How should she open this tall gate?

The thought didn’t linger for long. Gloria decided to simply climb over the wall and picked up her mace.

That should be enough, right?

With a bit of distance from the wall, Gloria pushed off the ground and managed to leap over the wall with ease.

 

“…W-who are you?”

 

A woman who happened to be passing by stared at Gloria in shock.

Gloria strode over to the woman.

Smiling brightly, she handed the woman the basket she had dropped.

 

“I’m here to see the Duke who lives here.”

“Hi—hiik!”

 

The woman trembled violently before collapsing to the ground.

Gloria had tried to smile as gently as she could and speak kindly, but…

 

‘She’s scared out of her wits.’

 

I don’t think my face looks that scary.

Gloria awkwardly lowered her smile and scratched her cheek.

 

“I’m not a suspicious person.”

 

But this only seemed to scare the woman even more.

In the end, Gloria removed her deep hood.

 

“I’m really not suspicious…”

“S-Saintess?”

 

Only then did the woman stop trembling as she finally recognized Gloria.