Family Would Understand?

(My family would understand now.)

That evening, after dinner in the common room, I mustered up the courage to confide my thoughts to my parents and Maxim.

As the fire in the fireplace flickered, my father, having finished listening to me, slammed the wine glass he was holding onto the table.

"What kind of stupid thing are you talking about?!"

The father's angry shouts echoed through the room. The mother's face was pale, and she was trembling, covering her mouth with her hand.

"If you do something like that, the Liam family will be ruined. You'll lose your privileged status, your fortune, everything! And you might even be hated by other wealthy families and assassinated."

"That's an exaggeration."

"Can you guarantee that it's not the case?"

As my father spoke coldly, I looked at my brother with pleading eyes. My beloved brother, whom I had saved from the curse of petrification. He would understand. But Maxim turned his face away in pain and shook his head quietly.

"Susie, are you going to disrupt the world order? We, as the privileged class, must control magic."

"Huh? Brother..."

I never imagined even my brother would object. I clenched my hands tightly on my lap. My nails dug into my palms, and it felt like I was about to bleed.

The silence said it all.

There's not a single reliable ally here.

"Susie, this world is all a rigged game. The winners and losers are decided before you're even born."

My mother gently held my hand and said. I've heard these words many times before.

For some reason, I was reminded of Bob, the 16-year-old waiter I met on a luxury cruise ship before I started school. He's probably still working as a waiter on some ship somewhere.

"Okay, I understand. Forget about it."

I swallowed my words of protest and pursed my lips so tightly I felt like I might bite them off.