After Retirement, Living a Stud Life in Another World - 176
Chapter 176: My First Sister
“Oh man, she was adorable…”
“She really was! With that vibrant red hair just like the ‘Hero of Flame’ and eyes that sparkled like rubies… even I couldn’t help but stare in awe!”
As I muttered to myself on horseback, Mikaela, riding alongside me, responded with her usual animated tone. This girl always reacts quickly, and she’s great at putting her feelings into words. Despite not having received a proper education and only recently learning how to read and write, her natural intelligence must be quite high.
Engaged in this casual conversation, we were on our way back from the capital, already close to reaching Baden by the end of the day. In place of Ayaka, who is pregnant, and Gretel, who wanted to come but was strongly dissuaded, 14-year-old Mikaela was leading my guard.
Though I had just been to the capital two months ago for the spring festival, this time I couldn’t resist the urge to visit my Freudenstadt family home. After all… I had just received the news that my first sister had been born.
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Even in their mid-forties, my parents are still as lovey-dovey as ever, and the baby they had—despite their age—was, as my mother predicted, a girl. Although she was only ten days old, her dark red hair shone like it was wet, and her big eyes opened wide, gazing innocently with jewel-like brilliance.
“Heh, not just Albrecht, but Lutz, you’re completely smitten too.”
“Yeah, I never knew sisters could be this cute. How’s your health, Mom?”
“There were no issues at all. This is my sixth, after all. I’m used to it by now!”
Even at this time, my mother remained her usual optimistic self. I was worried since it was a late-in-life pregnancy.
“You don’t see such striking red hair very often. She’s definitely fire attribute, and I think she’s got quite a lot of magical power too…”
Now that I remember, Mom has the ability to see other people’s magic power to some extent.
We extended our stay a little longer to attend my sister’s baptism. Just as expected, she was declared an S-class fire attribute. Though she didn’t reach my mother’s SS-class, fire attributes are considered top-tier during wartime… The capital was abuzz with excitement about the emergence of a successor to the ‘Hero of Flame.’
“I feel bad for her, even though she’s my sister. The weight of the world’s expectations is going to be heavy on her shoulders.”
My older sister, Liese, also suffered under the pressure of being the ‘Hero’s Daughter.’ And my new sister, having the same fire attribute as my mother, will face even greater expectations compared to Liese, who had the water attribute. She might either overcome it through effort, like Liese, or… well, there’s no point in overthinking it now. For now, I’ll just focus on celebrating the birth of my new family member.
“She’ll be fine! With Lady Hildegarde’s bright and positive spirit running through her veins, she’ll become a strong girl who can shake off any stress!”
“Maybe, but bloodlines don’t mean everything…”
I mean, just look at my mother—she’s cheerfully optimistic, yet here we are: my sister Liese and I are both deep thinkers. Actually, Mikaela, I’m more curious about how you turned out so cheerful despite your rough upbringing.
“Oh, seeing such an adorable baby makes me want one too!”
Whoa, hearing someone talk about wanting a baby naturally makes me wonder who’s going to father it. But seeing Mikaela’s carefree smile reassures me that she didn’t mean anything serious by it. Still, feeling slightly relieved also makes me realize the fleeting selfishness of men.
As we engaged in this lighthearted banter, the city of Stuttgart came into view. A warm sense of relief washed over me as I felt like I was returning home. When I get back, I’ll have to check on my childhood friend, who’s probably sulking after being left behind.
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It didn’t take long for us to notice something was amiss as we entered the city. A tense atmosphere lingered among the war prisoners moving about.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re back. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Max greeted me, his eyes shadowed with fatigue. There wasn’t supposed to be any event that would keep him up this much…
“I have something urgent to report.”
“Yeah, I also felt something strange about the city’s mood. I was just about to ask you.”
“Exactly. The thing is, an imperial female mage—who clearly lost her mind—attacked a duchy man with a full-power wind spell.”
“What? Why?”
“We don’t know. But after that incident, the duchy prisoners have started to see all imperials as enemies. And now, even the imperials, who were initially stunned, are starting to respond to the hostility… If things keep going like this, we’re going to have a full-blown riot between imperial and duchy prisoners in Baden.”
Wait… it’s gotten that serious??