I Think My Fiancé Has Regressed

Chapter 88: Side story – The third son of the Lagarde family (1)

I had a lonely childhood.

It’s nothing but a distant memory now.

My childhood was filled with many bad memories.

Kael Lagarde, third son of Viscount Lagarde, that was the name I was known by until I was adopted into House Anastasia.

In other words, he was called Lagarde’s underachiever, a talentless illegitimate child, or an adopted child.

Each was a derogatory term, and for good reason.

I was the only one in my family, House Lagarde, who could not use arcane magic.

In a family that prides itself on being superior to all others in arcane magic, the birth of a child who cannot use arcane magic is quite unusual.

This meant that I would be naturally eliminated from the family.

Furthermore, unlike my siblings, my mother was a commoner, and I am told that she died of illness shortly after giving birth to me.

In effect, there was no one in House Lagarde to protect an unrelated child.

My biological father, my only blood relative, was an extreme meritocrat.

His hopes for me were dashed when my first manifestation of magic at the age of seven was fire magic, not arcane magic.

As long as my first manifestation was fire magic, even if I were to manifest arcane magic later, it would only be a supplement to fire magic.

He no longer saw any value in me.

At the same time, my other brothers, who were already ignoring me, began to openly bully me.

It didn’t take long for me to become a pariah in the family.

Less than a year after my first manifestation of fire magic, I was able to harness arcane magic, albeit feebly but it was not enough to reverse my already hardened judgment.

So, it didn’t take long for me, even as a child, to deny myself.

The moment that changed my life came quite suddenly. So suddenly that not even my father or my brothers expected it, let alone me.

“Kael.”

“Yes, Father….”

“Do not call me father from now on.”

“What ……?”

“Because from this day forward, you are not my child.”

Even at my young age, I had a vague idea of what that meant.

Fear flashed through my mind that I would be thrown out on the street overnight.

“Ah, Father….Just one more chance…!”

“The Duke Anastasia’s family decided to adopt you.”

“Yes, yes…?”

“You’ve been worthless, but you’ve finally been given a use, so be thankful from the bottom of your heart.”

My father, no, I don’t understand what he’s saying to me.

He explained, as if to inform me, a child, why House Anastasia had adopted me, whether I understood or not.

Only then did I begin to understand, however faintly, why I had been sold and adopted by another family.

The first and most fundamental reason was that House Anastasia had no heir.

The House of Anastasia, as it existed at the time, had not created another heir beyond their eldest daughter, Arianna Anastasia.

Now that her betrothed had been arranged, another heir was needed.

A lesser lord of any house would have been more concerned with Anastasia’s succession, and would have stepped up to the plate, no problem.

But the other man was in a position that would have made him unacceptable to the ducal family.

Prince Alexandros Leavrov, the First Prince.

It was obviously impossible to ask someone who could be called the next king to take over the ducal line.

It was only natural to adopt an alternative child to take over and it just happened to be me.

House Anastasia has long been well-versed in fire magic and they wanted an heir who could wield it, if possible.

I was the only one among the collateral children of the Anastasia family who could use fire magic.

More precisely, I was the only one who could use flame magic, as the others had either already founded families or had consorts.

It was by a strange coincidence that I, a mere inferior, was adopted by the Anastasia family.

Of course, it wasn’t a good thing to suddenly change homes, parents, and siblings at such a young age.

It was no different for me, who had already lost my place in the Lagarde family.

I was going to be a rolling stone wherever I went, whether it was this house or the new one.

Now, the mere fact that I manifested fire magic might have been enough to bring me into the family.

It was as obvious as slime to me that I would be a sack of crap as soon as they saw the rudimentary level of magic I could handle.

“You’re lucky, a duke’s family adopts you just because you know a little fire magic.”

“With your skills, even if you go there, you won’t be treated properly and you won’t be able to live there anyway.”

“…….”

My response to my brothers’ comments as we boarded the carriage before we left was, at best, to walk away without saying anything.

Because I had a vague sense of it myself.

As the third son of a mere viscount, becoming a duke’s apprentice was nothing more than a lucky break.

Hesitantly, unable to find a place to lie down even as a child, I climbed into the carriage bound for Anastasia.

As I gazed out at the swaying carriage, I could only worry about the future.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The first time I saw the Duke’s residence, I felt nothing but wonder.

Up until then, I had never seen the palace in person, but the Anastasia family’s castle felt at least five times larger than Lagarde’s mansion.

It was not unreasonable for me, a child, to mistake it for a royal castle.

I arrived at the Duke of Anastasia’s residence with a sense of unease.

Contrary to my expectations, everyone who seemed to belong to the Duke of Anastasia’s family greeted me warmly.

“…Greetings. I, I am Kael, Lagarde….”

After introducing myself in an unconfident voice, the first to speak was the man who appeared to be my stepfather.

This was quickly followed by the introduction of my mother, who was presumably my stepmother.

“Welcome, Kael. I am the man who will be your stepfather from now on. Feel free to call me Dad.”

“I’m Kael’s stepmother, and I know you’re tired from traveling all the way, so why don’t you go to bed early tonight and get some rest, and we’ll talk tomorrow over breakfast.”

After a moment of being taken aback by the unexpected hospitality, one of the servants leaned in and whispered the stepfather and stepmother’s names in my ear.

I barely register the situation before I turn to greet Duke Dominic Anastasia and Duchess Natasha Anastasia.

A girl of about ten, presumably my new sister, spoke up.

“Welcome, Kael, it’s nice to meet you! You’re my little brother from today on, so you can call me sister from now on!”

“Uh, uh….”

I was stunned for a moment by the casualness of the greeting, so different from my first impression of the unmistakably beautiful aristocratic young lady.

My new sister’s first display of sophistication was far less organized than that of my siblings in the viscounty.

I couldn’t quite figure out how to react to her right hand, which was thrust into mine as if it were a friend.

Was she testing me?

Would my response to this reaction determine my acceptance into the Duke’s household?

Should I respond lightly, mimicking her manners and tone of voice?

Or should I stand there, dumbfounded, wondering if I should be properly formalized according to the etiquette I’ve been taught.

‘Bam!’

The sound of flesh-on-flesh explosions snapped me out of my reverie.

Words of apology almost flew out of my mouth for a moment as I heard the familiar sound I’d heard every time I’d been spanked by House Lagarde.

“Ow!”

The sound did not come from my cheek, but from the back of my sister’s head.

“Ariana!”

“Why?!”

“It’s your brother’s first visit, and I told you to behave yourself today!”

“Hey, I’ve been quiet, I haven’t even used any magic today!”

“Then what the hell is with that little bit of uncultured attitude you have left!!!”

“Oh, Mom said I don’t have to be uncivilized when we’re with family!!!”

“That’s just something I said because nothing I do will fix it!!!”

As I looked at the two women who had suddenly started arguing in front of me, the feeling that I was dreaming flashed through my mind.

“Ariana, you’re not leaving the etiquette room tonight until you go to sleep!”

“Oh, come on, I haven’t done my magic research for the day yet!”

“Ariana, don’t you understand that what you need right now is a liberal arts education, not magic!!!!”

“Get off me, you minions of my mother!!!”

As I watched my stepmother and step-sister disappear with the family servants, I still hadn’t grasped the situation.

“…I’m sorry, Kael. Your sister was making a bit of a fuss.”

“Oh, no, Duke Dominic Anastasia….”

“You can always call me father.

Your sister may be confusing at times, but most of the time she will be okay, so don’t worry.”

“Yes, yes….Father….”

I thought quietly to myself as I listened to the story of Sir Dominic, who had become my new father.

‘The First Prince Alexandros must be a man of unusual tastes.’