Your Son's Girlfriend (2)
The empire's greatest mage family. In the Raymond Ducal House, a special child is born once every hundred years.
Red eyes. Also called crimson eyes. A hereditary trait passed down to the child who possesses the special talent to sensitively read and emit flows of mana.
Born with those red eyes, she ascended to the rank of grand magus at the age of seventeen and was hailed as the greatest mage in history—Raymond Eve.
With her overwhelming prowess, she became the head of the Raymond family, reviving the ducal house, and played a pivotal role in the War of the Roses, earning such infamy that the Saint family branded her a witch...
But Raymond Eve was defeated in a duel by the supreme swordmaster of the era, Duke Saint Reinhardt.
The War of the Roses, which had dragged on for years, came to an end. The grand magus Eve ended her life as a mage, holing up in a back room to live out her days as a living corpse.
".....Darling."
And the witch's only daughter—the genius mage Elise Raymond, who, by a sheer coincidence of fate, was born in the same era with those same red eyes.
"Yes, Mother."
".....You came back from the academy early."
"....."
After the war ended, the Raymond family had to pay enormous reparations for their defeat. Their mother, the family's symbol, lost both her eyes and became a cripple.
As a result, even the supporters and backers who had sponsored and upheld the ducal house began to slip away one by one.
"....I miss the children."
"....."
Elise bit her lip and slowly helped her mother to her feet.
Eve. The genius mage who had lived her entire life being tossed around by others.
Her supreme talent had drawn all the expectations and attention of the family upon her, and she had shouldered that lonely burden alone to satisfy them all.
Relentless training verging on abuse and the duties of heading the family. In the end, even her indomitable mother had been brought low by the Saint family.
Supporting Eve's body, Elise slowly began to walk, gazing at the graves.
Crunch—crunch—
The soft trampling of grass sounded to her like the screams of vengeful spirits.
The groans of her dying uncle, the screams of her brothers. All souls who had lost their lives to Duke Reinhardt and the Saint family's knights.
"....I'll make them pay for everything."
She hated the world.
She hated her family members who had discarded her like a used rag the moment she lost her value, never to visit again. And she hated those repulsive people who changed their attitudes and came crawling back the instant they learned she had the red eyes.
But, naturally...
She hated the Saint Ducal House the most.
She didn't care who was right or wrong. No—in truth, she knew full well that the act of revenge itself was wrong.
"The price for my brothers' lives, for Mother's suffering. I'll make that family pay for it all."
Elise stared blankly at her dead brothers' tombstones, then withdrew the hand supporting Eve and placed a blue rose atop the stone.
Something felt off.
I was thrilled to see my brother Leon after so long...
But mixed in with his familiar, comforting scent was the inexplicable aroma of red roses.
'....Creepy.'
Lena's pupils clouded over as she blankly tugged at Leon's collar.
"...Who is it....?"
"....Lena? I have no idea what you're talking about...."
"....."
'....What's gotten into her?'
Lena fixed me with a look of pure contempt and condemnation such as I'd never seen before, then asked again in a small voice.
....She looked just like a cat with its fur bristled sharply.
"...You got a girlfriend?"
"Huh?"
I don't know why Mom and now Lena were so obsessed with my love life...
But I let out a hearty laugh and patted her head.
"...What are you even saying? To someone who's never even dated once in his life?"
"....."
"By the way, when did your spirit magic get this good? I've never seen anyone at the academy handle it like you."
At my sincere gaze, Lena snapped back to her senses and flashed a bright smile again, linking her arm with mine.
"....Hehe. I worked really hard... so I could enter the academy with you, big bro Leon..."
"Oh, I see. Good job."
I stroked her flowing silver hair and smiled.
Her sharp glare had melted away, replaced by a drowsy expression as she nuzzled against me like a cat.
Lena's always been an incredibly affectionate little sister.
When we were young, Mom had worked as a mercenary alongside Dad, so I often ended up taking care of Lena on my own.
I didn't have much else to do, so I'd teach her to read or play with her now and then.
Sure, there are plenty of families where siblings don't get along, but ours? We're pretty tight-knit.
"....Yawn. It's late—let's head back."
"....Yeah..!! T-Tomorrow... let's go into town together...."
"Sure, that sounds good."
I strolled along the familiar paths of Arden Forest, a quiet smile on my face.
The ever-beautiful scenery blended perfectly with Lena's humming, washing away all my tangled thoughts.
"......Hah, huff...."
The next afternoon, I panted heavily as I slowly looked up at Himmel.
Even years after retiring...
His strikes were so formidable it felt impossible to surpass him.
If Lady Ariel's sword existed on a level above mine, Dad's felt like it belonged to an unreachable realm.
"You've picked up some pretty interesting swordsmanship. From the academy?"
"....Huff, yeah.... s-sort of."
".....Hmm."
Himmel hid a satisfied smile as he regarded his son.
Leon’s talent outshone anyone he'd ever seen.
He'd just finished theory classes at the academy and barely started practical training, yet his swordplay already incorporated techniques from various styles.
A natural eye that could mimic an opponent's style after a few swings. Aura and basic fitness were crucial, but for a swordsman, the real key was applying them technically—
Watching his grown son, Himmel felt a surge of positivity.
....But.
"Is that all you've got? Guess you didn't pay proper attention in those high-level instructors' classes."
"....."
Himmel knew his son's temperament well. Fiercely competitive, thriving under pressure—the epitome of prodigious talent.
That’s why he pushed Leon even harder.
Clang—!!!
"......."
'....Oh? Isn't that... elven swordsmanship?'
Himmel's face lit with surprise.
Elven style was aggressively selfish. Dodge if attacked, counter the instant they paused. No defense—just pure speed.
Himmel bolstered his body further, accelerating to match Leon's heightened pace, spinning his sword even faster.
'Time to wrap this up.'
Aiming to end the spar, Himmel flicked his sword up a half-beat quicker, knocking Leon's wooden sword flying from his grip.
As he eyed the spinning blade midair, pondering some praise—
Flash—
".....Urk?!"
Himmel reflexively squeezed one eye shut and leaped back.
Flash magic. Magic and aura differed in use, but their essence was the same.
He could handle basic spells himself, but he'd never imagined Leon would unleash an advanced one like this out of nowhere.
Spar rules: First to be grazed by the wooden sword loses.
Himmel heightened his hearing, smell, and senses in an instant—
Locating Leon's presence. He was—leaping into the air.
"......!!"
Himmel snapped open his light-adapted eye, instinctively shifting to guard.
But the sky was already blanketed in red rose petals.
"I-I won...!!!!"
"......Heh."
Seeing Leon collapse in a heap, jumping for joy, Himmel simply smiled warmly in silence.
"......Hmm~ Hm-hmm~"
Lena rummaged happily through her wardrobe, holding up her favorite outfits against the mirror to pick one for going out.
A cozy town date with big bro Leon after so long. Thinking of new restaurants nearby or fun sights to see had her in an even better mood.
[Tweet—tweet tweet...]
'.....Huh?'
At the sudden bustle outside, Lena wondered if her brother had come back early with Dad and cracked open her door.
"Oh, Lena. Perfect timing. Come say hi!"
".....?"
Whatever good thing had happened, Catherine was beaming and beckoning Lena over.
At the table sat a woman in elegant, unfamiliar clothes...
Stunningly beautiful.
".....H-Hi....?"
"....Hello."
Lena greeted her swept up in the mood, but shot Catherine a puzzled look.
In response, Catherine's words were shocking.
"Can you believe it, Lena? She says she wants to date our Leon and hiked all the way up this rugged mountain path to find us? Tell us—what do you like about our boy?"
"....Um, well...."
"Oh, are you shy....? Sorry, it's been ages since I've heard a fresh young love story like this. So, who confessed first? Leon?"