Just before we were about to leave the Badila residence to attend Utrecht Metropolitan Self-Development School, Kanda and Balela called for a conversation.
We sat across from the Badilite royal couple in the living room. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Usually, I can anticipate what people want to say, but this time I couldn't get a read on them. The tension in the air was palpable, and it didn't seem like they were going to wish us well.
Perhaps they had bad news to share.
"Sansula," Balela began, breaking the silence. "Do you love Maria? Or at least feel some romantic affection for her?"
"Mom, why are you asking that?" Sansula responded, sounding slightly puzzled.
"Just answer the question," she insisted.
"I'm engaged to her," he replied with a sigh. "Whether I like her or not won't change that, will it? You want me to marry her."
Kanda leaned in, his gaze sharp. "The way you answer makes it clear you have no romantic feelings for her," he said. "In that case, it's not hard for us to announce that we have decided to nullify the engagement."
The words hit us like a thunderclap. I felt stunned and betrayed, while Sansula was more surprised than anything. However, Benesha seemed shocked in a positive way, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Why?" I managed to ask, my voice trembling.
Kanda's response was blunt. "Because you are nobody," he said coldly. "At first, I thought it would be a good match—your support would help Sansula. But ever since you brought that proposal to me, the world has shifted."
"How has it changed?" I asked, my voice shaky.
"Adanna has grown into a stunning and intelligent young woman," Kanda continued. "Even though I exiled her, the Badilite noblewomen can't stop talking about her. She still represents the union of two royal bloodlines—one European and one African. Many Badilite noblewomen would love for her to be their future daughter-in-law. Sansula deserves to have her as his wife, because he is the most noble Badilite. A union between them would mark a new era for the Badilite family."
Balela took over, her voice smooth. "Then there's Princess Ame of the Imperial House of Japan. She's descended from the exiled Badilite Princess Akela. Her family holds significant economic and political power in East Asia. A marriage between Ame and Sansula would benefit the Badilites greatly."
"Let's not forget Amira, the daughter of the North African Badilite Patriarch," Kanda interjected. "If Sansula were to marry her, it wouldn't be a disaster. But personally, I favor Adanna."
"Yeah? Well, I prefer Ame," Balela said, her eyes narrowing. "What about you, Benesha?"
Benesha looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "I know both girls. Ame is arrogant and domineering, coming from a matriarchal culture. Adanna, though... I can't stand how she's glorified by all the Badilite grandmothers. If I had to choose, I'd pick Amira. She's simple, kind-hearted. A perfect fit for Sansula."
The conversation left a bitter taste in my mouth. The choices were clear: Adanna, Ame, or Amira—each one more suited to the Badilite legacy than I could ever hope to be.
"Either way, all three of these girls would benefit the Badilites if they marry Sansula," Kanda said, his tone matter-of-fact. "You, Maria, cannot offer us the same advantages. You can't help us assert our influence in other parts of the world the way Adanna, Ame, or Amira can."
Balela leaned forward, addressing me directly. "We're telling you this now because you'll be living in the school dormitories in Utrecht from now on. But when you graduate, you'll no longer be welcome here. We've arranged for you to live alone in a house somewhere in the city."
"Why am I being exiled?" My voice trembled, barely able to conceal the hurt and confusion.
Balela's expression softened slightly, but there was no sympathy in her words. "Maria, you've put us in a very difficult position," she said. "Adanna, being of mixed heritage, has a unique physical appearance. Her mother is Dutch, and her father a Badilite, both of them are known to the community. And you, Maria, also have a unique look, despite carrying the Badila name. Yet no one knows your true origins. So there's a rumor spreading among the Badilites that you're the product of an affair I had with a Dutchman. Or that Kanda had an affair with a Dutch woman, and that you're the result of that illicit relationship. To protect the family name and put those rumors to rest, we have no choice but to exile you."
The weight of her words hit me like a slap. The bitterness in my chest festered as I struggled to keep my composure. I wasn't just being cast aside—I was being erased, and my existence was being reduced to a scandal.
A tear slid down my cheek, and Sansula instinctively reached for my shoulders. "Maria?" His voice, filled with concern, only made more tears spill from my eyes. I cried silently, my face devoid of expression as the weight of everything crashed down on me. "Maria?!"
The tears kept coming, but I fought to hold them back, unwilling to let him see my pain. Sansula, blissfully unaware of who I truly was—of what I was—continued to gaze at me, oblivious to the fact that I was a homunculus.
Why had I even been created? What was my purpose? Kanda and Balela had given me a role—to marry their son, to be his support. But now, that purpose was ripped away, leaving me adrift, lost and without direction.
This, without a doubt, was the worst day of my life. I felt utterly destroyed. Was this my punishment for everything I had done to Mandane, Haniya, Kayla, Eliza, and Zipporah? Perhaps it was...
But the pain was too much to bear, the unfairness of it all crushing me under its weight. Why was I the one who had to suffer? Why was I the one left in agony, while the world moved on?
In my despair, a dark thought slowly began to take root: If I had to suffer, then the entire world should feel the same misery I did.
The first day at Utrecht Metropolitan Self-Development School arrived, and as I passed through the gates, suitcase in hand, I found myself face to face with the seven sisters I had longed to meet—my beloved sisters. The sight of them brought me back to that fateful day, a decade ago, when they first entered my room.
"I wondered when we'd see each other like this again, my sisters," I smiled, though my heart was anything but light.