Volume 3, Chapter 3-3 – Where Is the Real Pale Daughter?

Stella’s heart instantly tightened like a taut violin string, trembling nonstop.

Aetlana Samael.

The fictional guardian who had once existed only in Remedios’ stories, someone Stella had used as a shield.

Back then, in order to cover up her lie, Stella had casually fabricated a guardian she had never met before, only to later discover that such a person actually existed.

Coincidence or not, who could have imagined that a wanted criminal who lived only in legends, a high-ranking demon imprisoned within the White Tower, had now truly appeared?

And on Nightmare Street, of all places?

Stella had no idea how Aetlana had escaped. She distinctly remembered that the Holy See had filled the White Tower with invisible holy souls known as Punishment Spirits, beings ranked among the upper echelons even within the Holy See’s Holy Art system.

A wave of lingering fear swept through Stella.

What had Aetlana come here for?

To find family?

Don’t be ridiculous.

‘If she is another loyal servant like Mara who wanted to resurrect the Pale Lord…’

Stella instinctively touched her chest.

Back then, Mara had wanted to use her as a vessel, using the Eye of the Black Mass to house the remnant soul of the Pale Lord within her body.

‘If Aetlana has the same idea…’

Captured, sacrificed, possessed.

Stella shuddered.

Without a doubt, this was the “blessing” that came with being the Pale Daughter.

But the problem was…

She was a genuine fake!

The title of Pale Daughter had been forcibly slapped onto her. She was a genuine fake!

But trying to explain that now would probably just be an act of self-deception. The person she needed to convince was no longer herself, but someone who firmly believed it was true.

If Aetlana discovered that she was fake…

What would Aetlana do?

Kill her?

Or… something worse?

“Listen carefully, Stella.”

Gehenna’s voice turned stern.

“Lavinia, that dog of the Nexus Council, is gathering evidence against me. If she discovers that you’ve had contact with Aetlana, or if she notices that half of your bloodline comes from the Pale Lord… when that happens, forget about me. Even Vivian won’t be able to protect you.”

“Under joint pressure from the Six Electors, Valentine would never make an enemy of the entire Abyss for an illegitimate daughter.”

Stella swallowed.

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The mansion she had only just gotten suddenly didn’t seem so appealing anymore.

“Alright, I understand.” Stella obediently nodded. “For the next three days, I won’t go anywhere. I’ll just stay in my dorm and sleep.”

“Good.”

Gehenna’s expression softened somewhat.

She pushed open the iron gate covered in vines.

Stella saw a garden inside.

Or rather, an abandoned little alley overgrown with glowing moss and nameless wildflowers.

Under the moonlight, a very short path wound through the courtyard toward the steps before the door. Brilliant berries dotted both sides of the path. Layer upon layer of buttercup petals swayed in the warm breeze. Abyssal roses that had yet to bloom grew crookedly in every direction, while faded lucky charms were tied to the trellises.

“Speaking of which, Principal.”

“Why did you bring me here? This place looks like… it’s been abandoned for a long time.”

Gehenna did not answer immediately.

She ran one hand over an Abyssal rose that had yet to bloom, the dew cool against her fingers.

The courtyard that had once been bustling was now desolate, nothing like it had been before.

Vines grew wildly throughout the courtyard, along the bases and tops of the walls, and between the cracks of the stone walkway. It was difficult to tell whether they represented decay or vitality.

Gehenna silently glanced at Stella, as though a thousand words were hidden within that gaze.

“This is Firefly Dark Alley,” Gehenna said quietly, her voice very soft. “This is where you were born as the Pale Daughter.”

Stella blinked blankly.

‘…Huh?’

What did she mean, this was the place where she had been born as the Pale Daughter?

—————

Some memories had been burned away. Some had been buried deep within the heart. So many memories had flowed away like running water.

But there were some things Gehenna had never forgotten at all.

All she could do was force herself not to think about them, or force herself to make it hurt less whenever she did.

For Gehenna, every memory concerning Vilpana’s past was far from pleasant.

And yet, what Vilpana had left behind for her was not limited to those memories capable of burning straight through her heart.

There was also one…

One extremely precious legacy.

Perhaps it was fate, or perhaps it was nothing more than coincidence.

Inside Firefly Dark Alley, the place she had once personally given to Vilpana, Gehenna discovered something.

An egg.

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An egg pure white from end to end, yet wrapped in ash-colored patterns.

It carried Vilpana’s scent.

It was not an insignificant empty egg, but an embryo in the process of hatching.

Without question, it was a seed of calamity. Its mere existence was enough to set the entire Abyss ablaze once again.

She had to eradicate it completely and crush it in the cradle.

Now.

Immediately.

But in the end, it was only an egg.

A life that had yet to open its eyes, one that had nothing to do with Vilpana’s sins.

Within her heart, joy and sorrow tangled together, alternating with one another at an unfathomable and bewildering speed.

In the end, she merely placed a seal around it and left it where it was.

But fate always seemed fond of cruel jokes.

Three days later, the egg disappeared.

The seal had been broken, and traces left behind by the Ash Drinkers remained at the scene. Gehenna did not know who had leaked the existence of the Pale Egg to the Ash Drinkers, nor did she know where the egg had ultimately ended up.

She had forever lost the right to decide that child’s fate.

Gehenna had thought she would never see it again in this lifetime.

But now, that egg which had once been only the size of her palm, that tiny life which should have died somewhere in the Abyss long ago, was standing alive before her.

Gehenna raised her eyes and met Stella’s pupils, bright as a sky full of stars, as though she had touched the vault of the Abyss itself.

A tiny fragment of a soul, like a dim spark bobbing upon a dark sea.

If Stella had never appeared, perhaps Gehenna could have comforted herself by saying that her memories of Vilpana ended there.

But Stella’s appearance was so familiar to her, so captivating, as though ominously hinting at an emotion deeper than mere physical attraction.

A mire of the soul that trapped her within it, leaving her struggling desperately and unable to pull herself free.

She clearly wasn’t happy. Her chest was clearly so filled with loneliness that it felt ready to burst. Yet in front of others, she would rather hide it all behind a smile, unable to put aside her pride. Gehenna sincerely hated the trouble Stella brought her and resented the disasters she caused.

And yet, for Stella to remain safe, for Stella to give up on sisters killing each other during the Laxia Ritual, to do something as foolish as challenging the Lord of Blood, to make a choice different from Vilpana…

It moved her.

It thrilled her.

It made her happy…

Whenever she thought of Stella, Gehenna would think that the sun and the stars were the same kind of thing.

And she would be filled with happiness.

And tormented by pain.

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“My… birthplace?”

Stella murmured.

‘Born in the Abyss?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous!’

She was Stella von Einzbern, raised and taught by the old dean, a pure-blooded human who had grown up listening to bells and hymns.

Gehenna definitely wasn’t talking about her.

If that was the case…

Then the person Principal Gehenna was talking about had to be the real Pale Daughter.

Stella looked around blankly at the crumbling walls and wildly growing vines.

So the one who truly carried the Pale blood had been born here?

It was already absurd enough that the guardian she had made up actually existed, and now an actual Pale Daughter had appeared too?

But the problem now was…

If the real one wasn’t here, then where was she?

A ridiculous sense of displacement rose in Stella’s heart.

If the rightful owner someday came knocking and discovered that her identity, status, and even her very existence had been replaced by an impostor…

‘Dear Lord, who in the world had I offended to end up in such a bizarre situation?’

The scene was far too horrifying for Stella to even imagine.

“Stella.”

Gehenna’s voice interrupted her wild thoughts.

Her figure was small, yet beneath the moonlight, the shadows of the two standing shoulder to shoulder stretched so very, very far behind them.

“Let me ask you something. Is there any goal or dream you hope to achieve someday?”

Stella blinked.

The topic had changed so abruptly that she could barely keep up.

Why was she suddenly asking something like that?

“A goal?”

Stella scratched her cheek, her gaze wandering somewhat.

Facing the walking lie detector that was Gehenna, she had no intention of lying.

“I want to become an outstanding… important person. Travel to all sorts of places, or maybe become a hero in people’s eyes, something like that…”

Her voice grew quieter and quieter.

“N-No, that’s not right…”

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Stella covered her face, the tips of her ears growing warm.

“I feel like I’m saying something incredibly embarrassing. Sorry. It sounds like something you’d only hear in a boring fairy tale. It doesn’t feel very realistic, does it?”

“Not at all.”

Gehenna’s voice was very soft.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

She stepped forward, rose onto her toes, and gently touched Stella’s slightly warm cheek.

At the instant they touched, Gehenna seemed to feel the warmth a little kitten had left upon her fingertip.

She felt that Stella was no longer part of some unreachable past.

She was right here before her.

Close enough to embrace.

“It’s true that human fairy tales don’t fit the worldview of us demons.”

Gehenna spoke softly.

“Stella, every demon has the freedom to strive for their dreams. That isn’t decided by your birth or whether you possess talent. It depends on your heart.”

“Follow your heart and live this life without regret. You and I are both capable of it.”

Gehenna closed her eyes.

She stopped thinking about the Nexus Council, stopped thinking about the Ash Drinkers who would inevitably rise once again because of the Pale Daughter in the future, and stopped thinking about her worries for the children at the school.

“Because… you, Stella, are my disciple, the disciple of Gehenna Jelansika.”

Whenever Gehenna spoke, she always sounded casual. Whether her tone was teasing or melancholy, she somehow always made it seem effortless.

If one wasn’t paying attention, it simply felt light and soft, all blended together into something gentle and tender.

“As long as I’m here, no one will be allowed to decide your fate without your consent.”

Translator Note

Stella is just your disciple in name only dammit TvT

Hmm… So there might be a real Pale Daughter… Well, it could be Stella herself is the real one.

But the divination said Stella has 1 more sister, isn’t it?

And the current Saintess has the same appearance as Stella’s.

So, what’s your theory~?

Maybe the egg contained twins?