"Mom, Dad, Freyr, Freyja! You guys are finally home! How's it, how's it?"

I quickly welcomed the carriage that I knew so well--it was the carriage containing my parents and my little siblings.

Today was such a special day that I felt so compelled to jump to the front door to welcome them.

"Haha, Lyra, slow down. Let's come inside first and we will tell you how's today," Mom chuckled looking at my impatience.

"Now now, Lyra. For some reason, I feel like you're becoming more child-like after you've become a big sister instead of becoming more mature, haha. But I guess for Lyra's case, it's different... In a good way," Dad said as he suddenly snatched me from the ground--I suddenly found myself being carried in his arms!

I looked at the others' reactions and when I locked eyes with the twins... I felt so embarrassed I turned my head around and buried it in my dad's embrace!!

"Daddy, put me down!" I said with a pleading voice. It's said that for an overdoting parent like my dad, this kind of "cute daughter pleading" act will make it possible for him to do what I ask for!

But I could feel slightly hot in my face.

I-I... Am I blushing?!

Must be the embarrassment for being treated like this in front of my little siblings...!

"Well, you're right, Cyan. For our Lyra, this is categorized as an improvement, I guess? At least to us, it is," Mom happily smiled in response to Dad's words just now...

Eh wait, what did Dad say just now?!

"What is it?" I quickly turned around again to look at Mom. However, she didn't give me any clue and only smiled meaningfully.

"Haha, don't mind it too much, Lyra. Now, now, let's go inside," Dad said as he prepared to step forward with me still in his arms.

At that time, I noticed Freyr and Freyja's intense stare at me and Dad.

Luckily, being a spy, Dad also noticed the twins' stare and...

"W-what's the matter?" He somehow became nervous and asked the twins.

It couldn't be helped, after all the twins had this stare that could guilt-trip you into something you weren't even sure of... Although their stare was calm...

"Carry me, too!" Freyja raised her hands up.

"...," Freyr didn't make any sound but he raised his hands as well.

"Uhm... That's...," Dad was at a loss of words.

Nice, Freyr and Freyja! Now I will be free from this embarrassing position, being stared at by my younger siblings from below...

"It's big sister's turn now, she's rarely being held like this, remember? Can you two wait for your turns later?" Mom unexpectedly came up with a nice answer!

"Oh... Right," Freyja didn't insist and lowered her hands obediently.

Meanwhile, Freyr nodded.

E-eeeh?! I have to bear with this embarrassment for a longer time?

Just as I felt my face growing hotter and becoming weirder again, I looked up and saw my Dad smiling so happily. Then, there was Mom who smiled happily as well.

T-this... I-it can't be helped, then! I'll just bear with it for now! It's not like... It's not like I feel it's so nice being like this... Okay?

I resigned my fate completely in my father's arms as I rested my head against his chest.

Hmm... I can hear his heartbeat and it feels warm being like this... Makes me feel safe and secure.

At that time, I didn't realize that Dad and Mom smiled even more looking at my simple gesture.

Fortunately for me, before Alt-nii and the others saw me like this and before I died out of embarrassment, Dad let me down.

It felt as if Dad understood me so well and didn't tease me more than this already... Or was it just my imagination? Did I overestimate Dad or was he really this thoughtful person? If it was the latter, then no wonder Mom fell for him!

I hope that I can find someone who's like Dad to my mom in the future--not the overdoting parent part, but I mean, the way he's kind, gentle, and thoughtful to his beloved ones while still being able to do his duty really well and maintain the image of a respectable duke.

I wonder just who is destined to be with me, though?

Screw that, I'm still 10 years old anyway~

After we all gathered, it was time to unfold the twins' magic test results and their weapons of choice!

As it would be troublesome for us to distribute the paper or to gather over two small pieces of papers, Mom decided to use her magic to make a floating holographic copy of the papers. This way, we could see the content of the papers with ease. Perhaps it was akin to seeing a cinema? Ah, the higher-ups probably used this kind of magic or similar technologies for their meetings.

With that being said, itadakimasu--I mean, thanks for the reading ease~!

I looked at the two's results and read them over carefully.

[Name : Freyr Arcturus Hartmann

Mana Capacity : 600

Magic Affinity :

Neutral : 5/10 Fire : 3/10 Water : 4/10 Thunder : 5/10 Wind : 0/10 Ice : 0/10 Earth : 9/10 Plant : 8/10 Dark : 0/10 Light : 1/10 Life : 2/10 Void : 0/10

Note : 0 = unable to use, 1-3 = weak, 4-6 = normal, 7-9 = strong, 10 = very strong]

[Name : Freyja Artemyscha Hartmann

Mana Capacity : 600

Magic Affinity :

Neutral : 5/10 Fire : 0/10 Water : 0/10 Thunder : 0/10 Wind : 9/10 Ice : 3/10 Earth : 5/10 Plant : 8/10 Dark : 0/10 Light : 4/10 Life : 1/10 Void : 0/10

Note : 0 = unable to use, 1-3 = weak, 4-6 = normal, 7-9 = strong, 10 = very strong]

If I were to judge... Their results were actually nice! As expected of the Hartmann family's descendants~ it still ran in their--correction, in our blood.

"Good!" I quickly turned to look at the twins who--ah, I could tell from their gestures! They were waiting in anticipation to our reactions.

"Nice results there~," Alt-nii casually commented.

"Rururu~," Rurune also gave her approval.

The twins' faces immediately lightened up. They were happy that we praised their results~! They were really children, haha!

But wait, even I would still feel happy getting praised!

I guess one would naturally be happy when praised, right?

"With their magic capabilities known like this, it will be easier to train them even more, right?" Alt-nii shifted his gaze to Mom.

Mom nodded and answered, "Of course. Now that you mention it, do you two want to have an increase in the magic training? Make it more intense?

Mom turned to look at the twins who eagerly nodded. She giggled at their responses and patted their heads, "Prepare yourselves, then."

I tilted my head in confusion.

After all, I didn't remember getting this kind of question from Mom. The training's difficulty was certainly increasing as per the norm, but as for the intense... Did that refer to the time spent? If so, I only remembered having the additional swordsmanship training.

Which brought me the question of the twins' chosen weapons.

"Ah right, what about their weapons of choice--"

Before I could finish my sentence, I felt Freyr's hand tugging my clothes. As I turned my gaze to Freyr and Freyja who was beside him, I saw Freyja's very curious eyes.

"What about Alt-nii, Lyra-nee, and the others' magic capabilities?" Freyja asked.

And so, it turned so silent all of a sudden.

Perhaps we were all thinking of the same thing. We didn't have the heart to let the twins compare and be disappointed.

I was sweating bullets because I didn't want competition among us ruin everything. Like, jealousy or such. As a person who had a first-hand experience in that--jealousy towards my little brother--I felt uncomfortable.

Even if my head was trying to tell me that it was going to be all right with this family, my heart was still quite anxious about the possibility (although it should be least likely).

Mom heaved a sigh and she opened her mouth with a look of determination in her eyes.

"Okay then, let's reveal the whole family's magic capabilities, shall we?"

I quickly looked at her in surprise.

Mom only smiled meaningfully and with a snap of her fingers, our magic capabilities were displayed alongside the twins'.

"How?!" I reflexively gasped.

Mom smiled and proudly answered, "I scanned it with my magic. It's actually possible to use this instead of magic test using the device, but it's quite strenous and... Wouldn't it take the excitement of the magic test if I were to do it this way? You wouldn't be able to get the printed results to save, too."

Well... I could argue that she could write it or use magic to write it, but that would be inefficient, I guess.

And so, all of us stared at the results.

[Name : Icarus Valkyane Hartmann

Mana Capacity : 754

Magic Affinity :

Neutral : 5/10 Fire : 2/10 Water : 10/10 Thunder : 3/10 Wind : 5/10 Ice : 8/10 Earth : 7/10 Plant : 7/10 Dark : 0/10 Light : 0/10 Life : 0/10 Void : 0/10

Note : 0 = unable to use, 1-3 = weak, 4-6 = normal, 7-9 = strong, 10 = very strong]

[Name : Cassiophelia de la Sanctuaria

Mana Capacity : 888

Magic Affinity :

Neutral : 5/10 Fire : 3/10 Water : 2/10 Thunder : 6/10 Wind : 7/10 Ice : 5/10 Earth : 1/10 Plant : 0/10 Dark : 0/10 Light : 10/10 Life : 9/10 Void : 0/10

Note : 0 = unable to use, 1-3 = weak, 4-6 = normal, 7-9 = strong, 10 = very strong]

[Name : Altaire Ophiuscus Hartmann

Mana Capacity : 1000

Magic Affinity :

Neutral : 5/10 Fire : 1/10 Water : 4/10 Thunder : 2/10 Wind : 9/10 Ice : 4/10 Earth : 1/10 Plant : 5/10 Dark : 0/10 Light : 7/10 Life : 8/10 Void : 10/10

Note : 0 = unable to use, 1-3 = weak, 4-6 = normal, 7-9 = strong, 10 = very strong]

[Name : Alrescha Lyra Hartmann

Mana Capacity : 999

Magic Affinity :

Neutral : 5/10 Fire : 4/10 Water : 7/10 Thunder : 6/10 Wind : 6/10 Ice : 10/10 Earth : 5/10 Plant : 6/10 Dark : 10/10 Light : 8/10 Life : 9/10 Void : 0/10

Note : 0 = unable to use, 1-3 = weak, 4-6 = normal, 7-9 = strong, 10 = very strong]

"...," The twins were looking up at our results for a while before they finally lowered their gazes in silent.

"Hmm?" Mom was the first one to break the silence.

"Freyr? Freyja?" I braved myself to call out to them.

"Is something the matter?" Dad asked.

"Hello? Earth to the twins?" Alt-nii went as far as waving his hand in front of the twins who seemed to be absent-minded.

Luckily, the twins snapped out of it and stared at us with... such pitiful look on their faces!!

“Our results...,” Freyr was the one to start the conversation.

“They weren’t as good as we thought they were!” Freyja looked very dejected.

“So... we’re not good?” Freyr asked.

Mom was unable to bear listening to them any longer, so she quickly answered.

“That isn’t it, Freyr, Freyja. Your results are quite amazing. It’s just that... there are other factors that made the others’ results higher than yours.”

“Factors?” Freyja tilted her head.

“Example?” Freyr directly asked.

“For example... it’s all in the bloodline, actually,” Mom answered.

“Bloodline? We’re related by blood, right?” Freyr asked.

“Yes, that’s right. But the unrelated part is the one that affects it all,” Mom simplified it.

“In short?” Freyja was unable to be patient with the step-by-step explanation.

“In short, my magic capabilities can be high because of my elven bloodline. Cyan’s magic had something to do with a dragon bloodline, apparently. And as for Altaire and Lyra... Well, you know why, right?” Mom raised his eyebrows.

“I see now...,” Freyr said, but it was quite apparent from his face that he was still thinking about Mom’s explanation, trying to really comprehend it.

“So, don’t be sad about your magic capabilities being different from us, okay? You two can still be strong and excellent magicians... right, Cassie?” Dad asked Mom.

“But of course!” Mom quickly answered.

With that, the twins’ expressions seemed to be brighter than before.

“And since you two are going to be more focused in magic... who knows that when it comes to magic combat, you can do better than your big sister or big brother?” Mom asked with a slightly teasing tone.

“Wait, Mom, what do you mean by them focusing more in magic?” I found something I considered strange and asked her.

“Glad you asked!” Mom happily answered.

I felt myself getting more interested to hear her explanation, but...

“Too bad you’re going to wait until it’s time to reveal their weapons of choice!”

Mom’s words caught me off guard and I could feel my face reflexively forming this image: Σ(･口･)

Why was I so certain of this?

Because Mom and the others quickly laughed as soon as I was caught off guard!

“Anyway... Freyr, Freyja, don’t be sad about the magic test results. It’s just that your big brother and your big sister are so inhumane... Technically, their bloodline’s been mixed,” Mom explained again.

“Uuu... Can we really be good? At least as good as Lyra-nee or Alt-nii?” Freyja asked with expectant eyes.

“As long as you two don’t slack in your training and train hard... I believe it’s possible,” Mom answered.

“Then, we will train!” Freyja raised her hand enthusiastically. She looked at Freyr and gestured him to follow her.

Freyr quietly raised his hand and followed Freyja in saying, “Yes, we will...”

But Freyr’s voice was definitely lacking Freyja’s spirit!

Ah, but then again, the look in his eyes showed his determination.

“That’s right. You are you. Remember, do not compare yourselves with the others, be it your own siblings. Just compare yourself with yourself—in the past and see how much you’ve improved?” Dad suddenly gave his words of wisdom to the twins.

See how much we’ve improved from our past self?

Well... I’m definitely stronger than I was before...

But in terms of maintaining good etiquette and image, I feel like... that’s the part of me that degraded?

“And remember that you set your own standards and goals. Everyone may have their own standards and thoughts, so let’s try to not mind them too much,” Dad added again.

I reflexively shifted my gaze to Dad.

It was as if he could read my mind back then—as his words coincidentally matched with what I was thinking about!

By Mother—my past mother’s standard, it was definitely a downgrade. However, none of my current parents said anything about it.

Personally, I feel like becoming a better version of myself instead of downgrading.

So... based on what Dad said, all is good, then?

Thinking about it like that, I felt like a load was taken from my shoulders.

At this time, Dad noticed my gaze and smiled warmly at me. Uu, Dad’s cool smile caught me off guard, so I smiled back at him and quickly turned my focus back to the twins.

“So... will you reveal your weapons of choice now?” I asked them.

The twins nodded and went to pick up two boxes that they carried with them before.

Freyr’s box was way smaller than Freyja’s.

Both boxes weren’t that big in the first place, though.

The twins put the boxes in the middle of us all and carefully opened the lids.

After that, they carefully put the lids to the side... whoa, really, they were such nice children to be this neat and tidy!

Or did they do this on purpose, to add more to the suspense?

A-anyway, that must have been my imagination, haha!

They couldn’t have such thoughts, right?

Freyr and Freyja carefully took out the items inside and... I was so surprised!

Alt-nii was caught off guard this time, as he blurted out, “Wait, what?!”

Freyja was carrying a small magical staff with a black handle and two golden ends. On one of the ends—or more precisely, the top of the stick formed a crescent shape. There was a pearl embedded inside the cresent-shaped part. From the looks of it, I could tell that it was a magical jewel.

Then, suddenly Freyja twirled her magic wand and touched something, and and... The other golden end suddenly extended in length, making it more like a long magical staff! In other words, it was up to her to keep the staff short or long.

"Cool!" Alt-nii exclaimed.

"Ruru!" Rurune seemed to express the same thing as Alt-nii.

"Nice choice! But is this really just a magic staff or is there some sort of hidden melee combative abilities there?" I asked, trying to figure her weapon out.

Contrary to my expectation, Freyja shook her head.

"No, this is a magic staff," Freyja clarified.

"Eh?" I tilted my head in confusion.

But my question remained unanswered as Freyr showed his weapon off.

More than a weapon, it was more like... An equipment?

Yes, he chose a pair of hand gloves!

The gloves were of an elegant black color, extending until around his elbow. There was a thin golden part around the elbow. And then there was a protruding golden line around his wrists. On that golden line, the part that faced towards his inner wrist had a pentagram carving.

"Magical gloves?" I concluded and Freyr nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes, gloves just like the detectives~," Freyr didn't even hide the underlying reason he chose this set of gloves.

"Can this be used to punch the enemies, like maybe a knuckle hybrid?" I tried to speculate again, but Freyr shook his head.

"...can someone please explain this to me?" I gave up and finally asked.

Mom chuckled and answered on their behalf--finally all mysteries would be answered!

"They aren't interested in melee combat. They just want to focus on magic," Mom shortly explained.

"Eeh? Really?" I had a hunch but it was now confirmed.

"That's right. Perhaps that's why the Maozi jewel chose them?" Dad suddenly dropped a bomb there.

Hearing his words, I clapped my hands.

"Oh! Maybe that's why!" It all made sense when you thought about it like that, after knowing this all.

Alt-nii tilted his head and muttered, "So, to keep the tradition of magician family going? Well, certainly I like combining it with melee too, because it's cool like Dad..."

"Hee... I see, I see... So you're not interested in melee at all... Magic lovers, huh?" I nodded several times as I muttered those words.

As I shifted my gaze towards the twins, I lightly patted their heads.

"Good, good! Keep the old tradition going, will you?" I smiled as I said those words.

The twins slightly narrowed their eyes as if they were enjoying my pat. They looked just like cats this way, haha!

I guess it was really fate for them to come back to the Hartmann family like this and for Maozi jewel to favor them as the heir apparent.

Well, if you were to ask me...

My love for swordsmanship was undeniable, after all. If I had to give it up in exchange for inheriting the house as the next duchess... Nah, I'd rather practice swordsmanship. Titles aren't everything for me.

From when I was Reinst, I didn't try hard for title. I tried hard for... Recognition and love, from the one person I had yearned the most.

But it was all in the faraway past.

I shouldn't let my past lifetime bother me anymore...

I had started to let go of it bit by bit, but some parts remained.

Can I really have it all resolved and move on? Or are some things better off not knowing and I should just put a blind eye to them, trying to live on?

Only time could tell, I guess.

Author's Note:

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