Standing still, observing the crystal orbs, Evangeline asked with suppressed excitement.
"What do I have to do? Tell me, quickly!"
"It's not too difficult, sweetie," her mother guided her. "Stand in front of the table. Raise one hand towards an orb and try pulling it towards yourself by focusing on the foreign energy flowing inside you."
Evangeline did as her mother instructed. Walking up to stand in front of the table, she raised one hand, stretching her palm toward the orb in the last place on the left side.
That orb had a dull grey color, which looked very unnatural. It felt as though that wasn't actually a color, but what was left after all colors were extracted from it.
"Try attracting it in your direction with a mental command."
And so she tried to command the orb to move toward her palm. Her eyes remained focused on the dull grey orb; her gaze was filled with determination. But the orb didn't budge even slightly; it remained completely motionless.
'Am I doing it wrong?' Doubt began to surface in her mind.
"Leave that, try it with the next one."
Hearing her mother, she shifted her attention to the orb that was next to the dull grey orb. It was an orb that was completely pitch-black, with countless tiny dots of light shining in the dark void. It had such a striking resemblance to the night sky of this world that it felt as though it was actually a fragment carved out from it.
Just as before, Evangeline tried to command the starlit black orb and pull it toward herself, but the results weren't much different from before.
Evangeline's doubts began to grow. Perhaps she really was doing something wrong. Although she didn't quite know what all of this was supposed to accomplish, it felt as though she was somehow failing.
That was, until her mother's voice entered her ears, calming her thoughts.
"Baby, don't worry. Time and Space elements are extremely rare, almost nonexistent. Try it with the next orb."
Having cheered up slightly, Evangeline shifted her focus to the next orb. It was shining with a radiant, pure white light that seemed even brighter than the strange lamps illuminating the office room.
'It almost feels like a lightbulb.'
Evangeline tried her luck with the radiant white orb, and the result remained the same. After a slight nudge from her mother, she shifted her attention to the next orb, which was pitch black, much like the starlit black orb. But nothing was illuminating its darkness, nothing shining within. It was simply pitch-black.
Evangeline failed with the pitch-black orb as well. And now, she had tried half of the orbs, with nothing to show for it. This made her slightly anxious.
With a bit of hesitation, she shifted her attention to the next orb with growing anxiety. But that was when something strange happened.
"Huh…?"
It felt as though something had suddenly landed on her palm. As she looked down, shifting her attention to her outstretched hand, she noticed an orb resting in her outstretched palm. It had an oceanic blue color, and the orb itself seemed to glow subtly. Focusing on it more, she couldn't tell whether the orb was clear or clouded within.
Evangeline just stood still, staring blankly at the blue orb in her hand. But her daze was broken by a shout from her mother, who raised both her arms in the air and began cheering.
"Congratulations, sweetie! We've found your affinity! Considering that it moved directly into your palm, it's a major element. If it were a derived element, the orb would've only moved slightly."
Her mother's excited gaze shifted to the orb in Evangeline's palm. With a glance, she stated.
"It's the major element, Water. Congratulations!"
Evangeline only understood half of what her mother spoke, since she had no context to understand the rest of it. But seeing her so excited must have rubbed off on her as well, as she, too, began waving her arms in excitement.
As both of them continued to cheer and giggle, Evangeline, in her excitement, suddenly raised her palm towards the orbs lying on the table, without thinking much.
But she suddenly paused as she felt another sensation. Another orb had landed in her palm. It had a reddish-black color, and she felt subtle heat emanating from it.
She stared at it blankly, then slowly raised her head to look at her mother. Her mother was also looking at the reddish-black orb in her hand with her brows furrowed slightly.
As she noticed Evangeline looking at her, she shook her head, and her expression returned to normal.
"... It's not strange. Some people do possess more than one element. Though possessing two major elemental affinities is very rare, since major affinities are rare to begin with."
She once again flashed her excited smile as she began cheering.
"Congratulations! You have two major elemental affinities. Fire and Water!"
But this time, Evangeline didn't join her mother in her excited cheers. She stared at her mother blankly for a few moments, then slowly raised her palm towards the orbs. And again, another orb fell into her hands. It had a mix of green and purple colors swirling inside.
She raised her palm again, and another orb fell into it. This one had a mix of bronze and golden colors.
By the end of it, Evangeline had four crystal orbs in her hand. She stared at them blankly, then looked at her mother. Her mother, too, looked back at her, mirroring her own blank expression. But her mother's eyes were filled with confusion, looking half-dazed.
They stared silently at each other for a long time, until Evangeline muttered absently.
"Is this… the hidden power of the female lead…?"
***
Since that day, Evangeline's life underwent several changes.
The most prominent change was the attitude of the maids and servants who interacted with her. Before, they were always smiling, and their behavior was casual around her. They treated her like the cute little girl that she was, and Evangeline quite enjoyed their company.
But since that day, they treated her more courteously; their attitude seemed almost formal. Their casual behavior from before had shifted.
The second most significant change was that the mansion no longer felt peaceful; it now had a busy atmosphere. Different nobles continuously visited their mansion, nobles she had never seen in the five years she had lived here.
Her father always seemed busy attending to these guests. Her mother, too, seemed busy as she constantly received invitations for tea parties. Both of her parents looked extremely tired these days, completely exhausted from dealing with those nobles.
Nobles had tried to interact with her as well, but—
'I didn't quite like the way they looked at me.'
Their eyes seemed to contain a look she hadn't quite seen before, but it made her extremely uneasy.
Today was just another day, busy and chaotic. Evangeline stood by the window of her room, lazily looking outside.
'Uh?'
That was when she noticed something. Another carriage came to a stop in front of their mansion's gate. That wasn't anything new. She'd seen the carriages of nobles coming and going every day, in these past few days. But this carriage was different.
It looked nothing like the carriages of other nobles. The carriage itself seemed to have been made of an unknown dark metal, with golden patterns and designs carved into its surface. The carriage looked extremely luxurious and comfortable, compared to any carriage she had seen before.
The carriage had a large insignia depicting a crown with long, black, feathered wings.
The carriage door opened, and a maid stepped out gracefully, holding it open.
Then, another figure stepped out. It was a woman wearing a long black dress. Her golden hair spilled down her back, shining in the sunlight, looking almost ethereal. Her clear green eyes looked as though they were made of glass. The woman's beauty rivaled her mother's.
And she held herself with such grace that it made Evangeline unconsciously think.
'Is she… the empress?' She shook her head. 'No, that's probably not it.'
The gates of the mansion suddenly opened. And to Evangeline's surprise, the ones who came out weren't servants, but her father and mother.
'...Huh?'
And to an even greater surprise, they suddenly bent one knee in front of her and gave the woman a light yet courteous bow. Their expressions looked extremely submissive and restrained.
'Why are they acting like that? …Is that woman actually the empress?'
Her father and mother respectfully invited the woman inside, personally guiding her.
Evangeline left her room and went to follow the woman out of curiosity. The woman's background, her identity, she wanted to know everything.
As she dashed toward the mansion's entrance, her footsteps came to a halt in the hallway. From the other side, her parents approached, guiding the woman with golden hair and her elegant maid.
Now that she took a closer look, her father and mother seemed extremely tense, constantly casting nervous glances at the woman. It looked as though they were walking on eggshells.
The woman also noticed Evangeline and came to a halt in front of her.
Evangeline looked up, trying to gauge the expression on the woman's beautiful face. Unlike the other nobles she had met recently, the woman's gaze lacked that unsettling intensity. Instead, her eyes were cold, calculating. As if the woman was evaluating her.
In a few moments, that silent exchange ended, and her parents entered the guest room with that woman, closing the door after.
And after that—
…here she was, having just received the news.
As her father was just about to close the door and leave, Evangeline called out.
"Papa, wait! I have something to ask you…"
Her father's hand paused. Through the half-closed door, he gestured for her to ask her question.
"The one I'm being engaged to, who is it?"
Her father paused for a bit, observing Evangeline's expression. Then, he smiled softly as he replied.
"It's the eldest son of Ravenshade Ducal Family, known to be the greatest prodigy of his generation. His name is Adrian Caelis Ravenshade."