The figure stopped in front of Kalia's house. She reached for the handle and pushed the door open without hesitation.
Her footsteps echoed as she climbed the stairs to the second floor. She halted outside Alicia's room and knocked softly on the wooden door.
"Alicia? Can you open the door for a moment?"
The gentle knock broke the silence. Alicia did not answer at once. She frowned, unfamiliar with the tone of the voice beyond the door.
"Who is it?" she asked curtly.
A soft chuckle came from outside. "Just a stranger sent by Miss Stubborn to teach you something."
Miss Stubborn? Alicia fell silent, trying to process the meaning.
"Go away. I don't feel like talking to anyone," she said without moving from her spot.
"Oh, what a shame. Miss Stubborn asked me to teach you about the Core. But if you're not interested, I suppose I'll leave."
Footsteps retreated, deliberately slow.
Alicia's eyes widened. The Core. That was the one thing she needed most right now.
"Wait!"
She yanked the door open and leaned into the hallway. It looked empty. But when she turned her head, a woman was already standing right beside her.
As if she had crossed the distance in the blink of an eye.
"Well, you've certainly grown," the woman said, resting her shoulder against the doorframe.
"The last time I saw you, you barely reached my knee. You were adorable."
She carried a different kind of aura. Calm, yet edged with something sharp. Alicia forced down her surprise at the unnatural movement she had just witnessed.
"Answer my question. Are you really going to teach me about the Core?" Alicia asked firmly.
The woman folded her arms, a faint, unreadable smile playing on her lips.
"Don't rush. May I come in first? Let me sit."
Alicia studied her for a long moment before stepping aside. "Fine. Come in."
Once the uninvited guest had taken a seat, Alicia pressed again. "Now answer me."
The woman leaned back casually. "I will teach you. But there's a condition."
Alicia paused, weighing the risk.
"What is it? I'll do anything, as long as I can form a Core," she replied quickly. The dullness in her eyes had been replaced by a fierce gleam of ambition.
Seeing that spark, the woman answered without hesitation. "Make up with your mother. And apologize."
"No!" Alicia shouted at once.
Her breath quickened. Her face flushed with a surge of emotion.
She turned away, fingers digging into the bedsheet until her knuckles turned white. "I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I be the one to apologize?" Her hands clenched tighter.
"I'm the one who's been caged. I'm the one who's always forbidden from doing anything. Why should I apologize?" Her voice trembled, not with sadness, but with the weight of injustice she had carried for so long.
Her eyelids quivered. A faint shimmer gathered at the corners of her eyes.
The woman watched her in silence before letting out a heavy sigh.
"Alicia, you asked why your mother was so strict with you."
Alicia only shook her head slightly, curiosity beginning to seep through her anger.
"Back at the Imperial Academy, your mother was the sun. A prodigy everyone admired."
The woman lowered her gaze, fingers pressing against the edge of the table.
"But that sun dimmed the day she attempted a Six Star Magic Spell. She lost control."
"The explosion destroyed everything. Your mother survived. The others did not."
Her fingers tightened, the joints paling.
"The supervising professor, her classmates… there were many casualties. It became a tragedy."
Alicia swallowed. Her gaze wavered. Her fingers gripped the fabric of her skirt without her realizing it.
"After that day, she could never reach her dream of becoming a Six Star Spellcaster. Whether her Core was damaged or her soul shackled by fear, no one knows."
Alicia's breath caught. Her shoulders stiffened.
"She didn't dare use magic for years. The trauma sealed her power shut."
The woman's shoulders sagged. Her eyes dropped to the floor before lifting again, bitter and heavy.
"She was branded a murderer. At her lowest point, almost everyone left her. Except for one man who stayed."
Alicia looked away. The tips of her fingers trembled.
"I may not have been the best friend back then. But I saw how she struggled."
She drew in a deep breath, her voice faintly unsteady.
"Your mother blamed herself every single day. Then she chose another path. She became an alchemist. She saved countless lives."
Alicia closed her eyes briefly. Her breath slipped out slowly, as if she were trying to ease the weight pressing on her chest.
The woman looked at her again, this time with warmth and a sincere smile.
"So don't blame your mother, Alicia. She may be stubborn and overprotective. But she's only trying to keep you from suffering the same fate."
"She's been alone for most of her life. She fought without anyone by her side before she met me and that man."
The woman paused.
"Maybe you think she doesn't love you…"
She let out a small laugh, though her eyes glistened.
"She adores you. When you were born, she couldn't stop showing you off to me every chance she got."
Alicia froze. Her vision blurred. She blinked slowly, then felt warmth tracing down her cheeks.
Her fingers brushed damp skin. She stared at them blankly.
Her lips trembled, yet no words came.
Memories resurfaced.
A woman locking doors.
A woman snuffing out the lantern of her dreams.
"Don't."
"You're not allowed."
No explanation.
No story.
Only cold prohibitions.
Alicia let out a hollow laugh. It had not been prison bars.
It had been a fortress.
"I didn't know anything," she whispered. "I was blind."
Her fists clenched until her nails dug into her palms. All this time, she had only seen a rigid back.
A back she thought was cold, when it had simply been carrying a burden too heavy for the world to see.
Alicia stood. The floor tilted beneath her, but she did not care. She had to go. Now.
The door slammed open. The stairs creaked in protest beneath her rushing steps. She ran with all her strength.
The midday wind stabbed into her burning lungs. Her hair flew loose, but she ignored the stares of passersby.
The world could crumble today. She would not look back.
The bell above the shop door rang sharply, shattering the heavy silence inside. The woman behind the counter flinched.
"Alicia?"
Alicia froze at the entrance. Her breath came in ragged bursts, her lungs straining.
The face before her looked more fragile than it had just yesterday. The lines at the corners of her mother's eyes seemed deeper overnight.
Alicia rushed forward. Her hands grabbed her mother's clothes, clutching them as if they were the only thing left in a collapsing world.
"Mom…"
Her voice broke. Tremors surged through her body.
"I'm sorry."
The single word fell with her tears. She bowed her head, letting them soak into the worn fabric she held so tightly.
Kalia stood stunned. Her eyes widened at the sight of her daughter, utterly shattered.
"All this time, I saw you as a prison," Alicia whispered hoarsely. "I just wanted to run, even if there was a cliff in front of me."
She gripped the cloth tighter, her shoulders shaking.
"I didn't know anything about you. I'm sorry I wasn't a good daughter. I'm sorry if I disappointed you… if you hated me."
Kalia slowly raised her hand. The movement was stiff, hesitant, as though she was unsure she still had the right to touch her own child.
Her fingers gently stroked Alicia's hair. The strands that had once been pure white had turned a pale, silvery blue.
"Hate you?" Kalia's voice trembled, thick with affection long left unspoken.
"How could I ever hate you, Alicia? You're my child. My daughter."
She pulled Alicia into an embrace, careful, as though holding cracked porcelain.
"Even if the whole world hates you, I will stay by your side."
Alicia's body stiffened for a moment, then collapsed fully into her mother's arms. Her sobs softened into uneven breaths.
Kalia whispered into her ear, "Forgive me too. I was so afraid of losing you that I ended up standing in the way of your dreams."
Alicia lifted her swollen eyes. "I'll become whatever you want. I won't disobey you anymore."
Kalia gave a small smile and shook her head. "No. Become a mage. I'll stand behind you and support you."
That smile was the most beautiful thing Alicia had seen all day. The shattered pieces of her world slowly began to mend.
"You two are making the person at the door feel like an intruder."
Alicia turned in surprise. The stranger leaned casually against the shop's doorframe, arms folded, a faint smirk on her lips.
"Eva…" Kalia murmured, startled yet relieved.
Eva stepped inside. Her boots tapped lightly against the dusty wooden floor.
"Sorry for eavesdropping," she said lightly. "But your crying was loud enough to hear from across the street."
Alicia quickly wiped her face, embarrassed to be seen in such a mess.
"Mom… who is she? She said she'd teach me about the Core."
Eva laughed brightly, studying Alicia with an unreadable gaze.
"You really forgot me? You once pulled my hair so hard I almost went bald. You were four."
Alicia blinked, then lowered her head slightly. "Sorry. I don't remember."
Kalia stifled a laugh at Eva's sudden scowl. "Go on, laugh, Kalia. Laugh all you want," Eva grumbled.
Exhaustion washed over Alicia. She leaned against her mother again, sinking into the warmth she had long forgotten. The embrace no longer felt like a cage.
Before long, her breathing evened out. She fell asleep in Kalia's arms.
Kalia carried her gently to the small resting room behind the shop. "Sorry, Eva. Give me a moment."
Eva nodded and waited in the dim shop.
When Kalia returned, her expression turned serious. "What did you tell her to make her run here in tears like that?"
Eva only smiled faintly, twirling a strand of her hair. "Nothing much. Just a little story about the past."
"Eva. I'm serious."
"There's nothing to worry about," Eva cut in. "The question is, can I start teaching her tomorrow?"
Kalia exhaled, knowing her friend would say no more.
"Very well. Starting tomorrow, I'm counting on you."
Behind the closed door, the two old friends continued their quiet conversation, planning the future that had just opened wide for Alicia.
Moral message: Children need explanations, not just restrictions.
Words like "don't" and "you're not allowed" without reasons made Alicia feel distrusted. A child who is never given an explanation will look for her own answers. Sometimes in reckless ways.