My Fiancé Fell in Love with My Older Sister. After Locking Myself in My Room for Five Days, 500 Years Had Passed. - 53 - I’m not saying this because I want to

After Felicia left the archive room, Magnolia stepped out into the hallway. That’s when her personal maid, Lucia, spoke.

“…That was nice, wasn’t it, my lady?”

“What was?”

Magnolia replied bluntly.

Lucia, her wet nurse and maid, chuckled softly and answered:

“Your first Frenzel, right? I hope you build a good relationship.”

“…That was obviously just to keep up appearances!! Let’s go, Lucia!!”

“Yes, my lady.”

…Felicia had no idea this conversation had happened. She was alone in her room, staring at the candy stone.

☆

After returning to my room from the archive, I was trying to sense something like magic power from the candy stone in my hand.

“Uuumm…”

Nothing. Not even a faint response.

No matter how much I focus, it doesn’t seem to do anything.

I picked up one of the candies Magnolia gave me and unwrapped it.

This one was lemon-flavored.

I rolled it in my mouth while holding up the stone.

“Mmmmmm…”

I stared at it for a while and then came to a conclusion:

(…This is impossible!!)

I gave up.

I slowly leaned back against the sofa.

Even after fighting with the stone for another hour, I made no progress.

Before dinner, Prince Lian came to visit.

He gave me some advice too, but it didn’t help.

Magic power (as a concept) is way too hard…!!

It’s like philosophy now.

This must be because I have a constantly active special magic.

If it were something I could turn on and off, maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult.

For me, magic has always been on. I’ve never used special magic on purpose.

And so, my daily struggle began.

☆

About a week later.

Prince Lian visited again.

He tilted his head and looked at the candy stone I had been carrying with me all week.

“How’s the practice going?”

“I’m sorry. Not good at all.”

I admitted honestly.

There’s no point in lying here.

Since that time, Prince Lian’s way of speaking has become a mix of polite and casual.

Sometimes he talks casually like now, and sometimes more formally, like before.

He said it’s hard to fully switch styles, and sometimes he slips back into formal speech.

He sat down on the sofa across from me and looked like he was thinking about something.

(Ugh… It’s painful not to meet expectations…)

If this were the House of Duke Frenzel, I’d probably be denied meals until I succeed.

That would be such harsh training.

I thought he must be frustrated with my lack of progress, but what he said next was completely unexpected.

“When you’re stuck, it’s good to relax or have a change of pace. Felicia, do you have any plans for the afternoon three days from now?”

“I don’t…”

I’m a jobless bum right now with zero plans.

I answered in confusion, and Prince Lian smiled warmly.

“Then let’s go on a short trip. Come to think of it, you haven’t seen the current Lumos, have you? I’d like to show you the empire, 500 years later.”

“Lumos…”

“There’s a lake on the edge of the royal capital that’s now a tourist spot. There’s a royal villa nearby, so why don’t we go there?”

His invitation was just what I needed.

Honestly, I’ve been staring at this stupid stone all week, from morning to night.

The stone has even become warm from my body heat.

If I keep going like this, I won’t get any results and might just go, “UGYAAAA!!” and smash it on the floor… Well, I wouldn’t go that far. I am the daughter of Frenzel, after all.

Still, this constant stress has been building up inside me.

So I was really happy about Prince Lian’s invitation.

But then… I remembered that girl’s face.

I thought she would be at the castle every day, but I haven’t seen her at all this past week.

I thought of her twin-tails, with perfect, curly ends, and tried to bring it up casually.

“In that case… would it be alright if I invited a Frenzel?”

“A Frenzel?”

Prince Lian raised his eyebrows, suspicious.

(Oh no, he’s already suspicious!!)

Things can get messy when outsiders get involved. That’s true in my past life, in the Kingdom of Tsobellar, and here in the Lumos Empire too.

I gave up, sighed, and said:

“Would it be alright if I invited Lady Magnolia as well?”

“Why?”

He shot back immediately.

I decided not to hide anything and answered honestly.

“She seems to have feelings for you, Prince Lian.”

“…So?”

He replied in a terrifyingly cold voice.

I could feel how annoyed he was at being dragged into this, and how fed up he was with Magnolia.

Why does he dislike her so much?

I thought about it, but maybe there’s a history between them that I don’t know.

Either way, it’s not my place.

Still—

I’m not doing this because I enjoy being a go-between.

(I’m not that meddlesome. And besides, love affairs always get messier when someone else gets involved.)

But Magnolia asked me—clearly, she was nervous.

So to keep things smooth between us, I needed to check.

I stared straight at Prince Lian.

He looked back at me cautiously.

“I’ve become Frenzel with Lady Magnolia. That’s why… I thought I’d like to invite her.”

I smiled as I said it.

Prince Lian let out a sigh, as if he was tired.

“I hate being moved around according to other people’s plans.”

He was clearly upset.

Unusual for him, his voice sounded rough.

It was obvious now—I overstepped.

(Still, if I suddenly said, ‘I’m terribly sorry, that was out of line!’ now, it’d just make things awkward…)

And since I already stepped into this mess, backing out now would also be rude to him.

So I thought for a moment, then asked, even though I knew I might be crossing the line:

“Why do you avoid her so much? Lady Magnolia has feelings for you.”

“…………”

“I’m sorry for being nosy. If it upsets you, you don’t have to answer. But… going on a trip just the two of us, it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. It’s not about her, really. It’s just… something I personally feel. So while I really appreciate your invitation…”

“She’s too forceful.”

He cut me off and answered.

I looked up in surprise.

Prince Lian had a very complicated expression on his face.

It was like a mix of confusion, frustration, irritation, disbelief, and anxiety—like someone threw all those feelings into a blender.

He furrowed his brows and slowly began to speak:

“I think I told you about her before…”