A Genius Boy Who Was Exiled From His Family Home for “Not Being Able To Use Magic” Becomes a Witch’s Apprentice and Masters All Magic in the Right Way. This Is How You Use Your Magic, You Know?

Chapter 149.2. Birdcage

──And so, this is the result.

Everything was too late. Herc-niisama was completely cornered. The malice directed toward the kingdom was overwhelming, infecting it deeply.

Some buildings in the royal capital are visibly burning. All over the capital, the sounds of angry voices in conflict echo.

The peaceful capital I dreamed of, the family time I longed for—it’s all slipping further away.

“──Why…”

She mutters in a daze. Why is this unforgivable? I just wanted to be with my family. Why does the world, why does fate, bind me so mercilessly?

Cursing, resenting, and then──

“…It’s okay, Lily-sama.”

Even now, just like always, there is still someone here to protect her.

Hermes, who had spoken, continues in a reassuring voice.

“We knew that our magic activation and focus weren’t suited for defense. We’ll have some trouble as they exploit these weaknesses, but… I will absolutely find a way.”

Just as he declares, he calmly handles each attack defensively. Not a single threat reaches Liliana, as he observes each strike and carefully seeks an opening.

…Surely, as he says, he’ll find a way. Even if the situation is unfavorable now, he’ll reverse it somehow. He’ll recover the capital and lead her to safety.

Because that’s who he is. Because he’s a hero. He’s the type who makes the impossible, possible.

So I should simply stay protected. Find him, rely on him, and watch his path; that’s enough──

──Is it really enough to be someone who only watches while precious things are broken?

(…No. That is… unacceptable…!)

A light returns to her eyes. And once again, she recalls the life she has led.

──My life was like being trapped in a birdcage. From birth, things beyond my control were wrapped around me. The malice of those who resented me constantly weighed me down.

And──I was caged by the kindness of those who protected me.

Making excuses, telling myself it was all inevitable, helpless. Grieving over tragedies outside the cage, merely being comforted. Admit it──that felt… comfortable.

This scene right now, surely, is the price I pay. It’s punishment for the person I was, who cried but did nothing, who pretended to act but left everything to someone else.

That’s why, here and now, if I don’t change… I have no right to even call myself a disciple.

‘Not interested in becoming queen’?

──What foolishness.

‘I couldn’t do anything’?

──Nonsense. It’s that I didn’t want to do anything.

‘The royal family’s legacy ends with us’?

──Silence. Then turn it around yourself.

“…Lily-sama?”

Perhaps sensing her shift in mood, Hermes calls out.

…I have no intention of criticizing my teacher. But perhaps he is, more than anyone, the greatest part of this cage. If I asked, he would protect me. Save me. Indulge me.

That’s exactly why she had to admonish herself. ──Stop being weak.

Now, ask yourself, Liliana Josef von Eustia: Is being a ‘princess who is only protected’… enough for you?

“──It is not enough.”

She answers herself once again, this time clearly, in her own voice.

Stop passively observing tragedies. Don’t rely on salvation from the start. ──Have the will to do something yourself.

Because I’m young, because I lack magic, because I’m just beginning, because I’m a girl, it can’t be helped. Destiny won’t listen to such excuses.

More than that──if I only depend on others to accomplish things, I won’t be able to take pride in myself when that time comes. As long as I am this way… the family moments I dreamed of will never come back.

There’s no logic to it. But she felt certain of this.

Thus, as her first step, she declares:

“…You’re short of hands, aren’t you, Master?”

Assessing the battlefield, she realizes her teacher is at a disadvantage. So, what should she do?

The answer is clear. She herself must become that final piece.

Whether she can do it is unknown. Until now, she hadn’t had the courage. Above all, she hasn’t trained long enough to control it. But that doesn’t give her a reason not to act. She must discard the self who only relied on her master.

“Leave it to me.──I will handle this.”

Besides… truthfully, she had thought about it. Though she was scared to say it, though she locked away her anxieties, deep down──she was sick of a self that only cried in the face of fate.

Now, Liliana, it’s time. Cast away that sweet birdcage and soar free. It’s okay, there’s nothing to fear. Because──

──she has already received wings from her beloved master.

And so, the girl rises. With her own will, she chooses to stand and face forward. Taking a deep breath, embracing what she has inherited, and with a spirit to journey forward, she chants:

“──’Thus the world was created, and here is recorded the true truth of who created it, without distinction between heaven and earth, for the sake of one miracle’!”