Since When Did You Have The Illusion That You Don’t Have Magical Powers?! - CH 17

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Sapphiras Perfectio, 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Aurora Steinfeld, daughter of the Duke of Bloomfield

Willide Patterson, son of Earl Brooks

Aquila Perfectio, 3rd son of the Earl of Aldridge

“!……Ah ……Ah!”

Willide groaned and looked up into the void where Gryphon had disappeared. It seems Willide is not the only one stunned. But if you can’t discipline your child, you deserve what you got. He was probably trying to fire up his son to attract His Excellency the Duke’s attention.

……It seems to have backfired big time.

“This is the difference in magical power. The appearance of the summoned beast has nothing to do with it. Rather, summoning a large summoned beast unnecessarily can be a bad move depending on the time and situation. Well, if the magical power springs out like hot water, it’s a different story, but……”

I went to the trouble of explaining, but Willide didn’t seem to hear me. He is on his knees with his head drooping. Aurora smiled and came up next to me.

“Looks like the match is over.”

“I didn’t intend to make it a competition though…….”

The other side started it on their own.

But the tea party was ruined.

No one seems to have been hurt, but some tables have fallen over and the beautiful garden has been damaged. ‘Ahhh’……I thought, when applause suddenly resounded.

“It truly is wonderful entertainment. Did you see, ladies and gentlemen, that his ability is genuine?”

When His Excellency the Duke, who had been quietly observing until now, said this, a flurry of applause erupted, and soon echoed throughout the venue.

The servants quickly arrived, cleaned up the broken tableware and tables, and reorganised the venue once again. As expected of the professionals of the ducal family. The participants in the tea party were also a little shaken, but had already regained their composure. Aristocrats may be unexpectedly stubborn.

“In any case, I am grateful to you for settling it so peacefully. Ever since Sapphiras sama gave up his family name, there seems to be a lot of commotion around the magical nobility.

“Peacefully? That?”

I unintentionally let out a frenzied voice. Is that what you call peaceful in the ducal family? What a surprise.

“It’s Sapphiras. It was thought that you would do it more flashily. His Excellency the Duke must have expected a certain amount of damage.”

“Eh? Why?”

“Fufufu, that’s right. I have seen how you are at the academy, so I thought you would be ready to show off your great skills if something like that happened. But you are the quintessential Sapphiras sama. You really know how to use magic.”

It’s true that I am aware that I was performing magic that is not popular at the academy, but I’m an adult inside. Naturally, I’ll use magic appropriate for the occasion. I unintentionally gave a wry smile, more importantly, wasn’t there some information in there that you didn’t want me to overhear?

“More importantly, what does my disowning have to do with this commotion?”

While we are having this conversation, the table is set for the three of us, and tea and snacks are being brought in briskly. It was as if nothing had happened.

“With the removal of Sapphiras from Perfectio, there began to be seemingly truthful whispers that Perfectio’s magical blood is getting weaker and weaker. Unfortunately, the last few generations of Earls of Aldridge have done little more than protect the blood of the direct magicians, so there are many aristocrats who are thinking of replacing the Aldridge family.”

As I began to go out, I started to hear many stories. Among them, I heard almost no good rumours about my former father.

The Earl of Aldridge, who is the head of the family, is in my opinion, not a very good magician. I don’t know about my former older and younger brother. Other than being the advisor to the Royal Order of Magicians, and sitting conceitedly on his seat of past glory, he doesn’t really do anything, apparently. I don’t understand why he is so obsessed with magic blood when he hasn’t done anything.

“The current commander of the Royal Order of Magicians is a very talented person who is trusted by his subordinates and has a good relationship with the Royal Order of Knights. However, I hear that the talks don’t go ahead because the advisor keeps intervening……”

Even though the country isn’t doing much right now, it seems that they are actually troubled in the handling of Earl Aldridge, who seems to be somewhat bossy and has a rather loud voice. Since he has achievements that will go down in history, they can’t be too harsh.

At that time, he cut off his son who doesn’t have magical power, and it seems that Earl Aldridge is about to go downhill, so the royal family wonders if there’s anyone else who’s suitable for the position……it’s a soft rumour flowing somewhere. Judging from Percival’s story, it seems like they want to get rid of the position of advisor if possible.

The future of the magic aristocracy, which has been buzzing about in a strange way, may also be bleak. Assuming so, it makes sense that His Excellency the Duke was silent during the earlier commotion.

……I see.

This is the possibility that the royal family is very seriously trying to do something about Perfectio. If he had not been so complacent and worked hard for the country, he wouldn’t still be an Earl.

There was more backstory to the duke’s tea party than I thought.

“That’s right, Sapphiras sama. If there are any sweets you like, please take as many as you like. There was fancy entertainment, wasn’t there? Everyone was so absorbed in the entertainment that there are still a lot of sweets left over after all the hard work our cooks put in.”

If you say so, there is no other choice but to take it home. I was shown to a table with sweets and snacks that were supposed to be served by the servants. Thanks to its location on the outskirts of the venue, it seems that it was not damaged by Fenrir. I was told that I could have as much as I wanted, so I put my heart into the array of sweets and snacks without hesitation.

“That egg tart, and that one with the dried fruit in it…”

The servant smiles pleasantly and boxes up the pastries I want. Aurora is right, they all look delicious and I can’t decide, but I have to be very selective because I can’t eat too much.

While I was seriously examining the treasures, a modest voice called my name.“’Sapphiras…….”

“……Countess Aldridge.”

My former mother was there. I looked at her questioningly, wondering what she was going to do, and she opened her mouth in bewilderment.

“You seem to be in good health…….”

“Haa, that’s right.”

Of course I’m in good health. After being released from that prison of Perfectio, I spent my days at ease from the bottom of my heart, and had a healthy diet every day in order to regain the growth period that had stopped due to lack of nutrition.

Then silence again. The servant, perhaps having read the atmosphere, quickly moves away.

What the hell? I’m in the middle of fulfilling an important mission, so if you need me for something, please hurry up.

“So Sapphiras is able to use……magic?

“Yes, well.”

Do you think that’s what I wanted to hear, after you haven’t spoken to me in 7 years? You’re really not interested in anything other than magic huh.

“……Why did you keep such an important thing from me for so long? If you had told us properly, you wouldn’t have been thrown out from the House of Perfectio……”

As expected, I was at a loss for words. What on earth is this person talking about? I understand what she is saying, but I have no idea what she means.

“It’s not that I was silent. You guys just didn’t listen.”

“But if you had said something,”

“If I’d just said something? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have been kicked out of the family without question for lack of magical powers, shoved into a detached house and left to die? In those 7 years, did you come to see me once? Even that man came once. To whip me. He beat me with a riding whip a lot and told me I wasn’t allowed to leave, that I wasn’t allowed to see anyone, and then he left. After that, I couldn’t lie down for a week because of the pain. Even the servants who brought me my meals only once a day didn’t care about me. With me like that, what can I say, how?”

When I said this to her, the madam’s complexion changed and her lips quivered. Since that day of the magic appraisal, I have not exchanged a word with this person until this very moment.

I only became able to use magic when I jumped down from the second floor of the dormitory, so even if she had come to me when I was away from her, I would have been a Sapphiras without magical power. Still, I think it’s permissible to say this much grudgingly. That’s how harsh the environment was for ‘me’.

“But now that you can use magic, you can come back. Your father will be happy to receive you.”

No, no, no, what the hell is this lady talking about?

I can come back now that I can use magic? In other words, Sapphiras, who can’t use magic, is not his son after all. I wasn’t pleading to go back, so I’m very troubled by the way you say ‘you can come back’.

“Did that man tell you to bring me back?”

“Tha, that’s not it, afterall……you’re my son……”

As soon as you found out I could use magic, I was back to being the second son of this lady again. From someone who is not even considered a parent, it is a mood dampener to be called their son.

I swept my gaze into the distance and saw Aquila looking worriedly at the lady from a distance.

She was the one who stopped Aquila, who didn’t know anything, from trying to talk to me. She easily cut down a child who needed the love of a parent, especially a mother, for her own selfishness.

It’s not like I don’t understand the feelings of the madam who can’t go against that man. My younger brother Aquila was only 3 years old when they found out I was powerless. She was criticised for being useless for giving birth to a child with no magical power, and she couldn’t afford to lose her position in the Earl’s family. But ‘I’ was also your son. I was only 5 years old. Originally, the mother who should be the only one who could protect ‘I’, who was a weak child, treated ‘I’ as a child who didn’t exist.

“……Did you know how I was treated when I was away from home? All I was given was a meagre meal once a day. That’s all. What Veritas and Aquila were given, I was not given at all. Even when I was about to be raped by Anderson’s second son and I desperately ran away, the Earl beat me up, saying I should have just shut up and given him my body.”

Let me be clear. I am not your son. Up until now, people who have never done anything like a parent saying that I am their son makes me disgusted. When ‘I’ was away from home, I thought every day that I would rather be dead. You think I want to go back to such a prison? Ha, it’s not a joke. That man is right, Perfectio and I have nothing to do with each other at all. So can you please stop trying to get involved with me now?”

“…..Tha, that. I didn’t know you were being treated so badly…….”

Tears overflowed from the madam’s eyes, who had a terribly hurt expression on her face, but ‘I’ was much more hurt.

Generally speaking, if you want me to come back, there’s gotta be something else to say. Although I have no intention of going back no matter what they say.

“It’s not that you didn’t know, you should have known. You were my mother.”

After saying that, I asked the servant who was waiting at a distance to come and sort out the takeaways again, without regard to the crying madam.

After a while, Aquila came and took the weeping madam to console her. To Aquila, that person must be his mother. Aquila bowed his little head as he left.

Aquila is on a ship that is about to have a hole in the bottom, but I thought quietly that it would be nice if he could successfully change ships.

I left with a lot of souvenirs. I had planned to transfer back to the dormitories, but His Excellency the Duke was so insistent that we take the carriage home that I reluctantly got in it with Percival. The carriage is comfortable, but I don’t like to ride in them because it stands out badly at the academy. But Percival is together today so it’s ok.

“Sapphiras, are you alright?”

“Yeah, that was a piece of cake.”

It’s true that I used summoning magic and barrier magic at the same time. If you’re a normal 14 year old, it wouldn’t be strange if you ran out of magic and collapsed and couldn’t stand up for a few days. But I’m out of the norm so it’s okay.

But the truth is, I know. That’s not what Percival was asking about. He’s talking about the conversation I had with my former mother. I thought he was still looking at me in all the weirdest places, but I was grateful that he was so careful to stay away. The thought of being related to that family by blood makes me want to dig a hole and bury myself in it because I can’t stand being there.

I could only wonder what the madam was saying from the bottom of my heart. I said what I thought for ‘me’ without hiding it, but seeing her tears didn’t move my heart.

That’s why I thought I was perfectly fine, both physically and mentally. I must have been really tired from the day’s events. I must have fallen asleep in the carriage. When I came to, I was in my bed in my room in the dormitory. Percival must have carried me.

It is quite a distance from the school gate to this dormitory room. Even though I was a dead branch, it must have been quite hard work.

I chewed the sheets at his manliness, and devoured the souvenir sweets. The Duke’s sweets were delicious, and having completely forgotten about today, I felt happy.

melon: what a bitchy mother.

Man this chapter was unexpectedly long and difficult to translate, I wanted to give up halfway.  But yay I made it…gonna sleep now, see y’all in like 2 days.