The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 184

Raven felt a little dazed and quietly lowered her gaze.

"Ugh! Haaah!"

There, several people were moving busily, centering on a woman who was letting out painful groans.

"The influence of the jewel?"

Seeing that, Raven realized that she was in a dream.

And for good reason, the appearance of the haggard woman who was letting out painful groans in the center of the people was exactly the same as her mother, whom she had seen several times in pictures.

"Kkeuae… euae…"

How much time had passed?

Around the time the haggard woman's face turned pale and her whole body was soaked in cold sweat, the small cry of a baby was heard in the room.

The midwives carefully received the baby, washed it with clean water, and wrapped it in a soft cloth.

Normally, the midwife would have shown the baby, who had been thus prepared, to the mother and said, 'you've worked hard'.

But the midwives ignored her, who was gasping for breath as if she would stop breathing at any moment, as if their business with the mother was over.

Kiiik-

Around the time the midwives had finished all their preparations, the door opened and a man entered.

A man with sharp golden eyes that reminded one of a bird of prey, wearing high-end clothes that matched his pure white hair without a single crease.

His gaze, which seemed to look down on everything in the world, was also extremely familiar to Raven.

Cheok-

Simultaneously with the man entering the room, everyone in the room knelt down to him.

"We greet the head of the Ziz family, the great wings that cover the sun."

Because he was the head of the Ziz family, one of the only three ducal families.

"How did it go?"

At the duke's cold voice, which was reminiscent of a blade, the midwife swallowed her saliva in tension and said.

"The mother's body was so weak that it seems she will stop breathing soon. But the baby is safe and healthy."

"Then it doesn't matter. If she has given birth to a child with the family's blood, she has no more value."

The duke said that, looked at the woman who was breathing faintly for a moment, and then looked at the bundle in the midwife's hands.

"Is that the baby?"

"Yes."

"Show me."

At the duke's words, the midwife carefully unwrapped the bundle and showed the baby's appearance, and he examined the baby with sharp eyes.

It was not the eye of a parent looking at their child, but the eye of an appraiser appraising the usefulness of an object.

And Raven already knew how the emotion would conclude.

Because when he saw her wings and hair, he would frown and always say the same thing.

"Unpleasant. Is it a mongrel?"

Pure white hair and wings, and sharp golden pupils were the symbols of the Ziz family.

But what Raven was born with was the complete opposite: pitch-black hair and wings, and black pupils that seemed to absorb light.

That's why, to him, who had a stronger pride in his family than anyone else, the existence of the living, breathing baby in front of him felt like nothing more than an insult and a disgrace to the family.

"Is it a son or a daughter."

"It's a daughter."

"Tsk, then at least it can be sold somewhere, so let's take it in for now."

At the duke's words, the maids who had been waiting outside the door began to move busily.

Meanwhile, the duke looked at the baby and said.

"Although you were born a dirty crow that cannot become an eagle, at least become a great crow (Raven) and be of help to the family."

The name, called out in a voice filled with disgust, not love, was filled with disappointment, not affection.

That was the moment Raven was first called by her name by her father.

◎ ◎ ◎

A useless mongrel.

Dirty trash.

The shame of the family.

These were the words that had followed Raven since she was a baby who couldn't understand words.

Normally, it would be impossible for a person to remember all these things.

But Raven remembered all the words and actions of the people towards her without forgetting.

Whether it was a blessing or a curse, even after she grew up, the memories of when she was a baby remained intact in Raven.

Thanks to the memories that had been accumulated since she was a baby, Raven was able to quickly accept her situation and understand her circumstances.

Under the temple that served the gods and carried out the words of the divine child, the three great noble families that received their orders and carried them out.

Behemoth, Leviathan, and Ziz.

Among those three ducal families, the Ziz family, which had developed with magic as its center, the head of that family was Raven's father, and the lowly maid who had worked in that family was Raven's mother.

The head of the family had great pride in his family and at the same time was a person with a strong sense of authority about being a noble.

That's why he considered Raven a stain born from defiling the blood of the noble family, and he hid her existence without even giving her the family name of Ziz.

Raven was locked up and neglected in a warehouse, receiving only enough support to survive, for the sole reason that she might be useful on some day in the future.

The duke assigned a suitable wet nurse to give milk to the baby Raven and take care of her, and with that, he made no further mention of her.

And so, Raven was raised in a warehouse, out of sight of the family members, with the warehouse as her nest.

Kwoong-

Although it was an environment more restrictive than a bird in a cage, time did not stop even in that situation, and Raven gradually grew older.

But everything that surrounded Raven had not changed a bit from when she was a baby.

The maids who came to bring her food always said the same thing when they saw her.

"You must not come out of here."

"Why can't I go out?"

"Because your existence is a disgrace to this family."

The old maids who had sworn allegiance to the family looked at her and spoke in an indifferent tone, as if talking to themselves.

They did not see Raven as a person like themselves.

In their eyes, Raven was one of the objects that the head of the family had decided to keep because it could be of benefit to the family, and so her position was not much different from the objects rolling around in the warehouse.

Was it because of that?

Raven naturally began to take an interest in the objects in the warehouse, and she began to rummage through the warehouse and read the books rolling around there.

It was not an action done with any intention or purpose.

It was just a small curiosity about the objects rolling around in the huge warehouse with her that had led Raven.

"Ma… gic?"

And that small curiosity completely changed Raven's life.

The Behemoth family had martial arts as its foundation, the Leviathan family had the mind, and the Ziz family had knowledge.

So the warehouse of the Ziz family, which boasted a size similar to the mansion of a lower noble, contained books with a wide range of knowledge and strange artifacts.

And naturally, among the books in the warehouse, the majority were books containing knowledge about magic.

Of course, they were not valuable books, but to Raven, who could do nothing but sit still in the warehouse, those books were more valuable than a million gold coins.

From that day on, Raven began to learn letters little by little and read the books rolling around in the warehouse, and so she began to fall into magic little by little.

Raven enjoyed the moments she learned magic.

In an isolated environment, Raven read books alone, continued to think, and learned about magic on her own.

Thanks to the many reference books, artifacts, and reagents she could use in the warehouse, Raven's skills improved rapidly.

And so, time passed, and on a certain day when Raven turned 10 and had succeeded in creating three circles.

"You were alive."

The head of the family came to Raven, who was in the attic as usual.

In the sudden situation, Raven looked at the head of the family, completely stiff.

The head of the family's eyes had not changed a bit from when he had looked at her as a baby.

They were still shining sharply, and they were still disgusted with her.

Even if the day came when the heavens and the earth were overturned, the contempt in those eyes would never disappear.

Raven, meeting the head of the family's eyes, was finally able to realize that fact.

And the moment she realized that fact, Raven felt something in her heart slowly crumble.

It was the illusion that Raven had been continuously drawing in her mind while learning magic.

-Excellent.

Her existence was affirmed as her talent for magic was recognized.

-It's a waste to keep you locked up in a place like this.

After leaving the warehouse full of books and objects, she spread her wings wide.

-From now on, I will give you a family name and treat you as a formal family member.

A future where she would be called a person by someone else, not an object whose usefulness was being measured and who was afraid of when she would be thrown away.

The small, small dream of a child.

"Is it because you're a dirty crow that you survive so well even in a trash can like this."

That small dream was so easily shattered by the head of the family's single cold word.

The head of the family looked at Raven with a cold, contemptuous gaze, then turned his back and went out.

With a handkerchief covering his nose and mouth, as if he didn't want to breathe the dirty air.

Leaving Raven in the warehouse.

Even after that, Raven did not stop learning magic.

No, she became even more engrossed in learning magic.

Because now, the only thing she had left was magic.

And so, time passed and passed, and on a certain day when she turned 20.

"The head of the family is calling for you."

The maid, who had done nothing but bring her food and take away the empty dishes, called her.

And so, Raven came out of the warehouse that had been imprisoning her for the first time.

Although everything was sudden and bewildering, Raven moved quietly, following the maid's guidance, without showing any particular agitation.

The maids said that she had to meet the head of the family tomorrow and groomed her.

Thanks to that, Raven was washed in warm water for the first time in her life, her long, unkempt hair was trimmed, and she got to wear high-end clothes.

After preparing for a day like that, Raven stood before the head of the family once again.

And at that, Raven once again held onto hope.

"Even after being dressed up, you're still dirty."

A futile hope that would disappear in an instant.

No matter how much she adorned herself and no matter how good the clothes she wore, in the head of the family's eyes, she was just a dirty crow that tarnished the family's name.

At the head of the family's words, Raven lowered her head, and the head of the family spoke indifferently, as if he had no interest in her.

"I will give you a mission."

'A mission?'

When she heard the word 'mission' from the head of the family, Raven had a dazed expression.

Although she wasn't ignorant of how the family worked, having eavesdropped on the maids' conversations while she was locked in the warehouse, it wasn't very helpful in this situation.

"The temple has given an order to all three of our ducal families. To send one person each to be dispatched to the dimension we are trying to absorb this time."

Saying that, the head of the family glanced at Raven.

"Normally, a crow like you would not have been mobilized for a mission, but the situation is special, so be grateful that I am sending you."

With those cold and sharp words, Raven was moved to her room in a daze.