I was Reincarnated as the Villainess's Older Brother, but it seems My Sister is Obsessed With Me. And for Some Reason, the Male Love Interests are also Doting On Me.(BL) - Chapter 9

Today was a rare day off, so I decided to take Fiona and our butler, Louis, on a picnic by the lake.

The weather was perfect, and, as always, Fiona looked absolutely adorable.

“Fee, you are always so lovely. I could gaze at you all day without ever growing bored. How about we spend the entire night having a staring contest in my bed?”

“And why are you even here!? Get away from Fiona!”

The one bombarding Fiona with poetic flattery and making her uncomfortable was none other than Stefan.

“Now, now, don’t be so rude to a dear friend. That would be quite unbecoming.”

“And just who is the rude one here!?”

“Oh, it’s fine. I brought plenty of food, so there’s more than enough for the son of the Duke of Raveles as well.”

Louis smiled as he handed Stefan a cup of tea.

“I was the one who invited him. Actually, Steve is quite skilled in magic.”

“Wait… did you just call him by a nickname!?”

“You allowed it the last time you visited our estate, didn’t you?”

Well… yeah, I did. But still. Ugh, arguing with him is just exhausting.

By the way, in case you’re wondering why I don’t use honorifics with someone of Stefan’s rank—it’s because he insisted on it.

“We’re friends, aren’t we? No need for such formalities—just be yourself, Clive.”

And that’s how it happened.

“So, let me guess—you want me to learn magic from you?”

“Exactly! From this day forward, you may refer to me as ‘Master.’”

“Not happening.”

“But brother-in-law, the academy starts in just half a year, doesn’t it? I thought it would be good to help you improve before then.”

She had a point—once we entered the academy, I’d be the one struggling.

According to Allen, I apparently had a reputation as a “prodigy with two magical attributes.”

I had no idea how that rumor started, but Allen clearly didn’t have a favorable opinion of me. Given how things were looking, I could already imagine him setting up some kind of public humiliation session disguised as a ‘demonstration’ in front of the entire student body.

More than anything, I didn’t want Fiona to witness her brother-in-law getting bullied for being a complete failure at magic.

It annoyed me to no end to take lessons from Stefan, but at this point, I had no choice.

“Fine. But let me warn you—I am not an easy case. Many instructors have tried and failed to teach me magic. I am a certified lost cause!”

“That’s… not exactly something to brag about, but I see you’ve had a hard time.”

“Brother-in-law, Steve, do your best!”

“You’ve found yourself a good friend, haven’t you?”

And so, with Fiona and Louis watching over us, my magic training officially began.

◇◇◇◇

“First, let’s assess where you currently stand.”

“Got it!”

Focus… focus… Picture the ice—

Plop.

“How’s that!?”

If you want to laugh, go ahead. I’ve already been through this dozens of times. I’m immune to the pain now. Totally. Absolutely. Completely fine.

…Yeah, no. This still hurts like hell. I kind of want to cry.

Stefan, meanwhile, placed a hand on his chin, deep in thought.

Why isn’t he saying anything? Come on, just laugh already. I can take it—I swear I can take it.

…Okay, I can’t. This is brutal.

“It’s a fundamental issue with your visualization. But don’t worry—you’ll get it soon enough.”

“You’re not going to laugh?”

“Why would I? A friend is trying his best.”

…Damn it.

Is Stefan actually a really good guy?

Was he secretly a god all along?

I take back every insult. I misjudged him.

“Master, I’m in your care!”

“Finally, you recognize my greatness.”

“Hehe, brother-in-law, you’re so funny.”

Stefan, clearly pleased at being addressed as “Master,” turned to me with a smug look.

“Now then, Clive, you’ve been trying to picture ice forming, haven’t you?”

“Of course. Everyone always tells me that visualization is the key to magic.”

“And that is why it isn’t working. Do you know how ice is formed under normal circumstances?”

“When water drops below a certain temperature.”

“Exactly. Now, where do you think the water for magic comes from?”

…Huh.

I never thought about that before. Where does it—?

“Doesn’t it just… appear?”

“No. Magic cannot create new matter. If it could, the world’s balance would collapse.”

“Oh… so that means I need to visualize using existing elements in the world to form ice?”

“Precisely.”

Whoa.

That actually makes sense.

“So that’s how you conjure water pillars and such, Fiona. That’s impressive.”

“Oh, not really. I never thought about it in detail. I just kind of… do it.”

“O-oh… I see.”

Now that I thought about it, all my previous instructors had been the same—saying things like “Just go grrghh and do it!” or “You know, like… whoosh and bam!” as if that somehow explained everything.

Maybe I really was the odd one out.

“Well, everyone has their own way of learning. Don’t overthink it.”

“Yeah… you’re right.”

As strange as he was, Stefan was starting to seem like the most reasonable teacher I’d ever had when it came to magic.

Maybe, just maybe, if I learned from him, I could unlock the talent I had long assumed was nonexistent.

I finally understood the theory behind magic. Now, the real challenge was putting it into practice.

“Typically, we gather water molecules from the air to manifest magic. But since this is your first time, let’s use the lake’s water instead.”

“Got it!”

Just as I was preparing myself, Stefan suddenly reached out and grabbed both of my hands.

“Wh-what are you doing!?”

On reflex, I immediately yanked my hands away.

Stefan looked genuinely hurt.

…Was I in the wrong here? If another man suddenly grabbed your hands out of nowhere, wouldn’t anyone instinctively pull away?

“I was trying to circulate my magic through you. It helps improve the flow and makes learning faster.”

“Then say that before grabbing me!”

For a brief moment, I had definitely pictured a dramatic rose-filled backdrop. I quickly pushed the thought aside and gave him a small bow.

“Alright. I’ll leave it to you.”

“Good! Just trust in your master!”

I closed my eyes as he took my hands again. Slowly, I felt magic flow from his palms into mine, spreading through my entire body.

Huh. So this is real. I’d seen this kind of thing in manga before, but I never thought I’d actually experience it myself.

To be honest, if I had to do this with someone, I’d much rather it be a cute girl like Fiona. At this rate, I felt like I could pull off anything. Maybe even start singing and build an entire ice castle.

I extended my hands toward the lake, focusing on rapidly freezing the water—

“Freeze.”

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

…That was a lot of noise.

“Clive!”

“Lord Clive!”

“B-brother-in-law! Look at the lake!”

“You don’t have to shout, I can hear just fi—…huh? No way!”

As I slowly opened my eyes, I was met with an unbelievable sight—

The entire lake had frozen over.

I knocked on the ice, and sure enough, it was solid—like a skating rink.

“This is remarkable. Clive, you truly are a genius.”

“No, no, no—this was your magic at work!”

I had struggled to create even a tiny piece of ice before, and now I had frozen an entire lake? Stefan was the impressive one here, not me.

But then, he looked me in the eye and said—

“I only helped circulate your magic. This was all your doing.”

“Brother-in-law, that was incredible!”

Hearing them say that made me… a little embarrassed.

Fiona, looking curious, suddenly asked—

“Brother-in-law, what was that spell you used earlier? ‘Freeze’?”

“I just thought saying what I wanted out loud might help me focus.”

Stefan nodded in agreement.

“That actually makes sense. Words are said to carry power, after all.”

Exactly! Spells should have incantations. It’s just cooler that way.

“Alright, Clive. Now try it on your own this time. Since the lake is already frozen, use the water molecules in the air instead.”

“O-okay!”

I closed my eyes, recalling the way magic had flowed earlier. This time, it actually felt possible.

I stretched out my hands and released my magic—

“Freeze!”

Splish, splish, splish—

…Wait.

Did ice always sound like that?

When I opened my eyes, a strange mixture of snow and rain—like sleet—was falling around us.

“…”

“What exactly is this?”

“Mmm… it seems like a temperature issue. But I must say, this is quite an innovative result! Making it fall like rain is impressive!”

Stefan sounded way too impressed, but this wasn’t what I had intended.

I had just wanted to make a solid chunk of ice! If ice actually rained down, it would just hurt.

More importantly, Fiona was here—I couldn’t afford to use dangerous magic around her.

Still, doing it alone was a lot harder.

“Alright—one more try!”