I Think My Fiancé Has Regressed

Chapter 90: Side story – The third son of the Lagarde family (3)

This is probably a really embarrassing story to tell now.

I once harbored feelings for my sister…no, I had a brief crush on her.

Not in the sense of familial love or affection, but in the sense of true, rational love.

I’ve even said before that I don’t understand Prince Alexandros’ feelings for her.

I had once felt love for her, even temporarily, to the point where I felt foolish for thinking such a thing.

It happened about three years before I entered the Academy.

It was one day, three years after I was adopted by House Anastasia.

I had been adopted by House Anastasia at the tender age of eleven, and I was no longer a child.

By this time, most children who grow up fast enough are able to pass for apprentice wizards.

I had a shameful routine that I was too embarrassed to tell others.

“Ha, ha, ha…!”

I had spent at least two hours a day, every day, alone in the secret garden in the backyard of House Anastasia, chanting and practicing my fire magic.

That was my daily routine at the age of fourteen.

My talent for fire magic was little more than creating tiny embers in the palm of my hand.

That was my daily routine at that age, trying to blossom that insignificant and stupid skill.

“Please, please bloom just a little more…!”

I was chanting, my eyeballs threatening to pop out of my head, at the flame that flickered faintly in my palm.

I had spent every waking moment in this secret garden practicing my flame magic, hoping to somehow hone the flame magic that threatened to boil over every time it flickered a little bit.

I chastised myself daily for my slower-than-a-snail’s pace of progress.

I suppose I was a bit overwhelmed at that point.

I was lucky to be adopted by House Anastasia, with a talent that could barely produce a small ember.

But not being able to control even this one magic that lifted me out of hell.

It has always felt like a fatal weakness to me, having spent so much of my life in House Anastasia.

My mother and father told me not to be impatient, that it would open up in its own time.

Unlike House Lagarde, there was no one here to criticize me for my inability to handle magic, no one to look down on me.

Nevertheless, I always felt inferior for not being able to handle fire magic properly.

It was an inferiority complex that wasn’t caused by anyone, but was entirely of my own making.

I wandered for quite some time in those days, drowning in that simple inferiority complex.

If someone hadn’t caught me at a crucial moment, I wouldn’t have grown into the laid-back person I am today.

Yes, if that person hadn’t caught me.

“Ah, there you are, Kael.”

Ariana brazenly strode into the deep secret place I thought only I had found.

Faced with her maid, Elise, who had followed her in, I felt a modicum of panic.

“…Sister?”

“Yes.”

“Sister….”

After nodding her head in satisfaction at the casual title, she immediately asked me why I was here.

“What are you doing here? You always disappear somewhere around this time every day.”

“…It’s none of your business.”

“Hmph, then why don’t I guess?”

“…I don’t know.”

Ariana didn’t even bother to listen to my story and immediately started talking to her maid, Elise.

“Elise, am I fourteen or so now?”

“You are fifteen, Lady Ariana.”

“After twenty or thirty years, I often forget how old I am.”

“…You are not old enough to say that, Ariana.”

“Then let’s count to fourteen when Kael was fourteen, and one, two, three from the day he was adopted into House Anastasia….”

My sister, who had started the conversation with me with her usual breezy bullshit, folded her fingers and began to calculate something.

“Got it!”

She pounded her palm into a fist as if she’d figured it out, looking exhilarated.

“What do you mean you figured it out?”

“Why you were stuck in this secret garden all by yourself, Kael!”

“…what?”

“It’s been three years since Kael was adopted into House Anastasia, so it must be around that time!”

“…What’s that time?”

“You’re in a period where I’m depressed and on the edge of a psychological cliff because you’re not good at using fire magic in the Anastasia family, which is famous for fire magic!”

“…….”

I wonder if she has a knack for coming out of nowhere and digging her heels into people’s chests.

Even though I knew she meant no offense, it was still enough to make me feel bad inside.

“……when you say that…….”

“Ah, ah, yes……! Uh, what can I do…….?”

“As you say…….You know best…….”

Then she left me alone, and I realized that watching her talk with her maid would only intensify this feeling.

I pushed past her blocking the entrance and strode out of the secret garden.

“Move, I’m leaving.”

“Now, wait a minute, Kael, I’m sorry about what I said!”

“I’m sorry, I’m an adopted child who can’t even handle fire magic.”

“Ka, Kael, I was wrong! Please don’t blacken me!”

How the hell am I supposed to blacken when I can’t even handle dark magic?

Still unable to comprehend what she was saying, I turned to walk away and head back to the mansion when I felt my sister’s weight on one arm.

“Ka, Kael, let me help you!”

“……with what?”

“Fire magic, I’ll help you get a handle on it…!”

“……it’s okay.”

“Why!!!!!!”

I hadn’t thought that my sister could do what neither my father, who was skilled in flame magic, nor the wizard in charge of Anastasia’s education could teach me.

That she had some human virtues, I had to admit, but that didn’t bolster my confidence in her ability to do anything well.

I was understandably skeptical of her suggestion, which seemed like a hastily conceived idea to make me feel better.

“I’m serious! I’m going to help Kael get better at fire magic..”

“…….”

“Well, according to the original timeline, Kael, you’re supposed to be good with fire magic in about two years….Oh, no, not that…!”

“……..”

“Just trust your sister, huh?! I promise you won’t regret it!”

I snapped my head around to look at Elise, feeling like something was going to grab me by the wrist and not let go for good at this rate.

“…….”

She locked eyes with me wordlessly, then shook her head, and I finally gave in.

“…Okay, you can do it.”

“Really?!”

“But it’s dinner time now, so do it tomorrow.”

“Okay!”

I’ll do it tomorrow, and I’ll get away with it.

That was the initial thought.

“Then come to the secret garden tomorrow after lunch, and we’ll start with fire magic, and then I’ll make sure you’ve got a handle on everything else.”

I wondered if I could say anything.

Up until that point, I hadn’t believed her at all.

“Tomorrow after lunch, at 2pm, you have to come. I’ll be waiting for you!

“Okay, okay.”

Without even looking back at her face, which was set to the hour as if on cue, I waved my hand appropriately and hurried away.

…I’ll have to practice somewhere else tomorrow.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The afternoon of the next day passed in a blur.

‘Shootaaaaaaa….’

I sat wordlessly in my room, lost in thought as the rain pounded hard outside the mansion.

It’s raining so hard, I can’t do anything but make promises.

Well, it was a good excuse to break an irresponsible promise.

She probably hadn’t thought of a way to teach me fire magic anyway.

It was probably a good rainy day for her, too, in that she didn’t have to deal with the hassle of showing up, and I didn’t have to deal with the responsibility of having said something irresponsible.

I sat in my room for the rest of the day after lunch, lost in thought, listening to the rain.

“Haaaaa….”

What would become of me if I couldn’t even handle fire magic properly?

I wonder if I’ll be kicked out of the Anastasia family as a child with no talent.

As I tried to shake off the ominous thoughts that cluttered my mind.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Three knocks suddenly pounded on my door.

“Who is it?”

“Sorry to interrupt your break, Mr. Kael, but is Ariana inside?”

I questioned, recognizing the servant’s voice from outside the door, and answered her.

“Sis…ah, no, Sis, she’s not in my room.”

“…Is she?”

“Why do you have to go all the way to my room….?”

“Well, Ms. Elise is also missing at the moment….”

So the master is the servant.

For a moment, I was lost in thought with the sound of the rain again, thinking of my sister who must have disappeared alongside her servant.

An ominous thought flashed through my mind.

“BANG!”

“Ka, Kael?!”

“I’ll be right back!”

“Wait, Kael, where are you going to….with all this rain?”

I grabbed the umbrella that was in my room and ran out the back door of the mansion and hurried to the secret garden in the corner of the backyard.

I found my sister shivering in the rain, holding the same umbrella as Elise.

“Ariana, I think it’s time for you to go home.”

“I’ll wait a little longer, just in case our paths cross…ah, Ka, Kael!”

A gasp escaped my lips as I turned to see my sister waving at me as soon as she saw me inside the secret garden.

“Elder sister…are you really an idiot…?”

“…….”

The look in Elise’s eyes as she glared at me has stayed with me even after all these years.