CFC 06

Chapter 06

Throughout their academy days, Lelsis was always pushed down by Asuka. He was always first, Lelsis second.

Perhaps that’s why people bound them together not as ‘friends,’ but as ‘rivals.’

It wasn’t entirely wrong either. Lelsis would get angry at the slightest word from him, and on grade announcement days, she would glare at him all day as if she wanted to kill him.

So once, he had purposely gone easy on Lelsis. He thought she would surely be happy if she beat him, but the result was the complete opposite.

—

‘Are you messing with me?’

—

Lelsis realized that Asuka had intentionally held back and became furious. It was as if she was determined to beat Asuka with her own strength alone.

After realizing that, Asuka gave up the idea of going easy on Lelsis. Lelsis competed with him throughout the academy and lost every single time.

As graduation from the academy approached, their relationship was at its worst. At the time, Asuka thought that wasn’t so bad.

Because it meant that the existence of ‘Asuka Willovice’ was significant enough to Lelsis.

Just as she was to him.

—

‘Please don’t tell anyone that I have a child.’

—

But that Lelsis.

Lelsis Valtine, who would never back down from Asuka no matter what, had actually ‘begged’ him.

Her earnest voice and tear-filled eyes wouldn’t easily leave his mind.

‘I’ve known her for quite a long time, yet there were still new things about her.’

The little girl who looked like she was carved from the same mold as Lelsis also bothered him.

That was a ‘real’ family that had appeared to Lelsis, who had always been alone. Her only blood relative. An incredibly special and unique existence.

Asuka didn’t like it. He felt displeased, but it was hard to pinpoint a clear reason. He was just annoyed.

That’s why he visited his family home for the first time in a very long while.

Not all noble families have them, but prestigious families usually have a secret intelligence agency under their command.

The Duke Willovice family also had such an organization.

The so-called ‘Owls.’

As soon as he entered the Swan Mansion, Asuka summoned all of the Owls.

The members, gathered at the unusual call-up, were on edge.

‘If all members are mobilized, it must be a matter as serious as a national crisis.’

Number One, the head of the Owl organization, waited nervously for Asuka’s instructions.

‘A rebellion? Or a declaration of war? An assassination attempt?’

Just as Number One’s imagination was running wild, Asuka spoke.

“Investigate Rel’s activities when she was on the Southern Continent.”

At the unexpected instruction, Number One nearly fell over.

“…Y-You mean Lady Lelsis Valtine, the Chief of the Royal Magic Division?”

“Yes.”

“Specifically, what points should we…”

At the question, a twisted smile appeared on Asuka’s face.

“Everything. Don’t miss a single detail, no matter how trivial.”

Number One realized this was no ordinary matter.

‘What could have upset the Young Master this much?’

Most people, including Number One, knew ‘Asuka Willovice’ as a person who was strangely devoid of emotional change.

The embodiment of apathy, indifference, and numbness. A person like a rocky island, unmoved by any storm.

Seeing such a rare expression from him, the Owls cautiously held their breath.

‘Even though they’re rivals, he always treated Lady Lelsis rather generously. Surely he’s not planning to eliminate her…?’

Number One, unaware of what had happened between the two, had no way of grasping the situation.

“How much time should I give you?”

“We’ll find out as quickly as possible.”

“Don’t make me wait too long.”

The Owls bowed their heads in obedience and vanished in an instant.

Left alone, Asuka’s eyes gleamed like ice.

—

Immediately after Asuka left, I quickly began searching for a way to send Sis back.

I reviewed the collected materials and the formulas used, and dredged up every piece of knowledge I had in my head, but…

“I’m going crazy.”

The conclusion was that there was nothing I could do for now.

‘How was I supposed to know I’d end up pulling my past self into this timeline!’

With the inevitable prolonged stay of ‘young me’ in this timeline…

I swallowed my tears and got my story straight with Sis.

We would have to pretend to be mother and daughter for the time being, and if our stories didn’t match, we wouldn’t be able to avoid suspicion.

“You said you’re still at the orphanage, right. So, how old are me—I mean, you right now?”

“Six years old!”

“By any chance, did Asuka—no, did a silver-haired young noble ever come to the orphanage?”

“Hmm, I don’t know.”

With a few questions, I was able to deduce roughly which time period little Sis had come from.

At six years old, not knowing Asuka meant it was before she had received sponsorship from the Duke Willovice family.

“From now on, if Asuka comes, you have to call me ‘Mom.’ If he asks you anything, never answer carelessly—just say you don’t know, no matter what. Got it?”

“Okay. I get it. I said I get it, okay?”

Amazingly, little Lelsis hadn’t been scared or cried even after hearing the whole story.

“…So anyway, you’re saying you’re me from the future?”

On the contrary, she was even more excited and bouncing around.

“So I grow up to be this pretty? Awesome! Where is this right now? Your house? Do you live alone? Is the bed big? Do you have a roommate? Any pets? How many bathrooms are there? Is there a bathtub? Does warm water come out?”

The child unleashed a torrent of questions, then gasped for air, out of breath.

“Could you please ask them one at a time…?”

My head already felt like it was going to explode.

I frowned and organized my thoughts.

‘First of all, she’s definitely me.’

After observing her for a while, she was practically my spitting image. It was almost strange that I hadn’t recognized her right away.

Just in case, I checked her body carefully, and even the position of a mole was identical.

No matter how much I pinched my cheeks and tried to escape reality, nothing changed. The water had been spilled, and now I had to pick it back up.

“This house is sooooo big!”

Whether I was tearing my hair out or not, little Lelsis ran excitedly down the hallway. Then she tripped and fell on her own, startling me.

“Sl-Slow down! You’ll get hurt!”

I couldn’t take it anymore and went to grab Sis, but the little brat smirked and nimbly slipped out of my hand.

This little thing? I reached out again, and she dodged again.

“Wow, it’s tag!”

“Are you coming here or not?”

“Gasp, big trouble! A monster is chasing me! Everyone run!”

“Who are you calling a monster? Stop right there!”

“Kyaaang!”

Little Lelsis laughed brightly and darted through the mansion like a flying squirrel. Perhaps because she was young, she had boundless energy.

“Haah, haah…”

On the other hand, I, exhausted and worn out, quickly tired and gasped for breath. In the end, I used magic to bring the little one in front of me.

“Wow, floating!”

Little Lelsis, suspended in the air by levitation magic, even treated that as a game.

“Big sister, are you tired already?”

“Haah, just, haah, just taking a short break, phew…”

“Hmm, okay, I’ll rest too.”

Little Lelsis, back on the ground, smiled brightly and rolled around on the carpet.

How is that resting? I couldn’t understand a child’s way of thinking.

‘When was the last time I washed that carpet?’

I couldn’t remember. Seeing Sis lying face down on the dusty rug made me feel complicated.

‘Was I this much of a brat when I was little?’

It was so long ago that my memories were hazy.

I was already devastated that Sis had been discovered by Asuka, but seeing her ditzy behavior made my mind even more chaotic.

From what I remembered, ‘past me’ was a prodigy who had awakened her magical talent early and was a model student. At least, that’s what I believed.

‘They said the Duke Willovice family even readily decided to sponsor me.’

Maybe that’s why. I was a little disappointed.

The ‘young Lelsis’ I met in person was just an immature neighborhood kid. She was just an ordinary, common child. The clever and exemplary image was, well…

No matter how many times I looked, it was hard to find.

‘Sigh, forget it. Now’s not the time for these thoughts.’

I had a mountain of things to deal with. Not only did I need to clean up the mess, but I also had to catch up on the schedule I’d put off because of the experiment.

The biggest problem among them was the performance review meeting.

Unfortunately, the ‘His Highness the Crown Prince,’ who had his eyes on my neck, faithfully attended the royal research performance review meetings.

Every time the review meeting was held, he demanded more and more unreasonable things from me, and if he wasn’t satisfied, he’d immediately discipline me for negligence of duty.

‘If I don’t have any significant results to show, he’s probably planning to strip me of my position right away.’

I was backed into a corner. The demands kept getting higher, but the human body had its limits.

That’s why, during this time of suspension, I had put the royal research project aside with the single-minded determination to succeed in regression.

‘But since I failed…’

I had to survive in this reality again.

Just thinking about completing the project within the deadline made me feel like my hair would fall out in clumps.

Just then, I felt a tug on my hem.

I looked down to see little Lelsis had come up close to me. Her cheeks were flushed from all the running around.

“Hey there, future Lelsis big sister.”

“What do you want, past Lelsis?”

“Hey, you know. What kind of work do you do now?”

With eyes as bright as a child who didn’t know any better.