What!! This is an Otome game? But I’m going to be a magician so I won’t go after the game capture targets - Chapter 2
- Chris Lancaster
It was the day after Lucinda regained her memories of her previous life.
Not long ago she had decided to live life as she pleased, but in this world she was physically only ten years old. It seemed like she wouldn’t be able to live on her own just yet.
‘I have no choice. I’ll just stay quiet until I’m older and let myself be taken care of in this mansion until then.’
Sighing, Lucinda headed off to her father’s study. She had been told to see him after breakfast.
When she knocked on the door of the study, she heard her father’ s voice from inside commanding, “Come in.”
“Excuse me,” she murmured as she entered quietly, somehow feeling like she was stepping into the principal’s office.
Her father asked without even offering her a seat–
“Is Chris still confined to his room?”
“Yes, he is. Sorry, we haven’t really gotten to know each other yet……”
Lucinda apologized while standing in front of the cold figure of her father.
“He must not be happy with having a younger sister again. Hmph, how much longer is he going to behave like a sulking child? And here I thought he’d be happy to have a sister again. Why don’t you try to make him happy and make yourself useful for once?”
As he dismissed her with his hand, Lucinda silently bowed and left the room.
‘I guess I have no luck with my parents.’
In her previous life, she was an unwanted child, and the way her parents treated her was close to neglect. However, she had been blessed with a kind brother who helped her grow up without any problems.
In this life, her biological parents—who she didn’t remember much about—had loved Lucinda, but they died early on. And now her adoptive parents were like this.
‘Well, I’m used to being treated coldly, so it’s okay.’
In her previous life, Lucinda had learned firsthand that there are some things you just can’t obtain no matter how hard you try. The other person won’t always return your feelings. That’s why it was better not to have any unnecessary expectations.
‘Lord Chris wouldn’t just open his heart to me, a random person, would he? ……. But it’s my “job,” so I’ll have to go there again today.’
That’s right. Lucinda was taken in by her adoptive parents to perform a certain “job”.
That is, to solve the problem of Chris, the legitimate son of the Earl of Lancaster, who also happened to be a shut-in.
Chris missed his sister Maria, who died of an illness six months ago, and he had been confining himself to her room since then. For this reason, Lucinda, who resembled Maria, was ordered to take her place as his little sister. Her hair and eyes were the same color as Maria’s, and she also had magical powers.
‘My father said the fact that he’s been living as a shut-in all this time doesn’t look good in the public eye, but I think that bringing in a girl to act as his sister’s substitute is much more distasteful. And I don’t think this kind of thing will touch Lord Chris’s heart….I just can’t understand how aristocrats think.’
Her parents said that she should call Chris “brother” and talk to him every day, but Chris stubbornly stayed in his room and ignored Lucinda when she tried to talk to him. It looked like he didn’t want to accept her at all.
When Lucinda arrived in front of Chris’s room, she called to him from outside the door as usual.
“Big brother, it’ s Lucinda.”
“……”
As expected, she was going to be ignored again. However, she tried her best to talk to him.
“It’s a beautiful day, and it feels good to be outside.”
“……”
“I’m good at making flower crowns. I’ll make one for you.”
“……”
“Would you like to come outside and play with me, brother?”
“………… I’m not your brother, and you’re not my sister. I don’t need you, so give me back my sister Maria!”
When she thought that he was finally going to respond positively toward her, the answer she heard instead was a sorrowful voice asking for his deceased sister, Maria.
‘I think what I’m doing is having the opposite effect.’
Lucinda turned her back on the room from which soft sobs could now be heard escaping, and walked away with an indescribable feeling.
◇◇◇
A knock on the door was heard in Chris’s room.
“My Lord, I’ve brought you your meal.”
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
“Just leave it there…… You!”
Chris, who was lying on the bed, raised his body to give orders to the maid. However, to his surprise it was not the maid but Lucinda who had entered his room.
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to apologize…….”
“……Apologize for what?,” Chris asked, giving her a glare.
“I’m sorry for calling you brother, Lord Chris. You don’t have to force yourself to think of me as your sister. Lord Chris has only one sister, and that person is Lady Maria.”
When he heard Lucinda’s answer, Chris’s eyes widened for a moment, and then he clenched his fists.
“My sister was really sweet, you know? Maria was quiet and spoiled by everyone. She always followed me around, and she loved me dearly. I just can’t believe that Maria is no longer with us. I can’t believe …… that I’ll never see her again.”
“I think I know what you’re feeling……. I’ve actually experienced something similar.”
“Have you lost someone you cared a lot about, too?”
“……Yes.”
“Well, you are an orphan……”
Chris probably thought that she was talking about her parents who had died in this life. But to be honest, she had been too young at the time to remember much about them.
What she was thinking about was her precious brother, whom she had loved so much in her previous life. The thought that she would never be able to see him again made her heart sting, and she was overtaken by sorrow.
In front of Lucinda, who was looking down with a pained expression, a bitter smile spread across Chris’s face.
“You’re younger than me, but you’ve already gotten back on your feet and are moving forward. I really am pathetic…… I just felt so disgusted by the fact that my sister and I were living with the same cold blood as our parents running through our veins. Did you know that when my sister got sick, they didn’t even take her to the doctor? She ended up dying because of their negligence. And they didn’t even grieve, they were just going to bring you in to be her replacement! All because they didn’t want me to bother them with Maria’s death…..!”
Chris slammed his fist on the bed, and his shoulder-length silver hair shook softly.
“I’ve always wondered if that’s what real parents would do. I’m horrified at the thought that I have the same blood running through my veins. Maria was always there by my side, reminding me that I could be different. But now that Maria is gone, I just don’t know what to do…… With the blood of those people in my veins, I might as well just die……”
Chris’s light blue eyes looked dark and dull, as if he was about to be swallowed up by the despair of losing his precious sister and resentment towards his own parents.
‘I don’t care how they treat me, but it’s terrible that they’ve driven such a cute child like the young Lord Chris into this state.’
At first glance, Chris seemed quite cool with his refined features, but he was still a young child at only eleven years old.
‘I was protected by my brother in my previous life, but now Lord Chris is hiding here and trembling all alone. I have to protect the young lord……!’
Lucinda sat down beside Chris and gently wrapped her hands around Chris’s still tightly clenched fists.
“It’s true that what your parents did to you was heartless. But please don’t say that it would be better for you to die. You and your parents may be related by blood, but you are completely different people. Lord Chris is a kind and warm person who loves his sister and is able to grieve her death.”
Chris looked at Lucinda with a surprised look on his face, and it looked like tears were about to gather in his eyes.
Lucinda smiled softly.
“Besides, you may need to depend on your parents now because you’re still a child, but when you grow up and become independent, you can keep your distance. You can even leave this house if you want. That’s right, come on a journey with me! I’ll protect you, Lord Chris, so don’t worry!”
“What……? A journey?”
Chris looked confused at the sudden leap in the conversation, but a small smile appeared on his lips.
“I think you’re right. I don’t see myself dying for those parents. I feel a little bit lighter now.”
After seeing Chris’s smile, Lucinda’s face flushed and she muttered, “Oh …….”
“Lord Chris’s smiling face resembles Lady Maria’s smile in the portrait hanging in the hall. If you keep smiling like that, you’ll always be able to see Lady Maria.”
At Lucinda’s words, Chris’s face twisted into a pout for a moment, but then he let out a sad chuckle.
“…… I see. Maria is still here with me……. Thank you, Lucinda.”
As Lucinda gently stroked Chris’s back over and over again, he quietly shed a few more tears.