"Alex."
I heard a voice I knew well, yet in that moment it felt strangely unfamiliar.
I slowly raised my head.
Standing before me was my beloved sister. But the look in her eyes… it wasn't the warmth I remembered. It was disgust. Pure disgust. She didn't even try to hide it.
"How could you?" she said, her voice trembling with anger. "How could you try to rape your own best friend? And to make it worse… she's the Saintess of the Church. The only daughter of the Pope."
My heart clenched.
I turned my gaze toward the girl standing behind her.
The girl I used to spend hours with… whispering secrets, laughing together late into the night.
She was on the floor, pretending to sob.
But even through her fake crying, I could see it clearly.
That smirk.
That faint hint of mockery in her eyes.
"I told you," a deep, confident voice echoed from the staircase. "He's always been a beast."
Everyone turned.
Walking down the stairs was a young man with long white hair—the unmistakable symbol of the Lionheart family.
He carried himself with absolute confidence, as if the entire world was already under his control. A gentle smile rested on his face, and his pure blue eyes looked almost innocent.
But I knew better.
Behind that innocent mask hid nothing but hypocrisy.
The hero of the family.
My younger brother.
Alen Lionheart.
He spoke calmly while standing beside a middle-aged woman who immediately drew everyone's attention.
She wore a bright orange dress that burned like fire against the room's dull colors—as if announcing to the world that she deserved its attention.
And she did.
After all, she was Lucy Lionheart, matriarch of the Lionheart family.
The Flaming Witch.
One of the very few Rank 7 Magi in the entire world.
And my mother.
I could feel the terrifying pressure radiating from her body.
Her anger.
Her power.
And all of it… was directed at me.
Under her gaze, I felt like prey trapped beneath the eyes of a predator.
"M-Mother—" I tried to speak.
"Silence."
Just one word.
Yet it felt like judgment had already been delivered.
She didn't even allow me the chance to explain.
In that moment, something inside me broke.
I felt betrayed.
Angry.
And completely powerless.
"How dare a useless, depraved beast call me mother," she said coldly. "From this day forward, you are no longer part of the Lionheart family."
Her eyes were colder than ice.
"And I never want to hear you call me mother again. Do you understand?"
My fists trembled.
Rage burned inside my chest.
"You're throwing me away without even letting me explain," I shouted. "And you dare call me useless?"
My voice cracked with fury.
"You're the one who removed my Supreme Bone and gave it to my brother! You're the one who made me the useless person you despise!"
For a moment, the room fell silent.
Then she laughed.
A soft, cruel laugh.
"Your brother needed it more," she said casually. "You should be grateful I didn't kill you."
Her eyes suddenly turned cold.
"But perhaps you need to remember who you're speaking to."
She looked at me.
Just one look.
An unbearable pressure crushed down on my body.
I felt my bones creaking… breaking… my lungs collapsing as the air was forced from my chest.
Pain exploded through every part of my body.
My vision blurred.
And the last thing I saw before losing consciousness…
Was her cold gaze staring at me as if I were nothing more than trash.
"Servant," she said calmly.
A man stepped forward and bowed.
"Yes, Matriarch."
"Throw him away."
Her voice carried no emotion.
"I never want my eyes to fall on him again."
"Yes, Matriarch."
I felt someone grab my arms.
My body was dragged across the floor.
Like garbage.
Like something that had already been discarded.