The Failed and Useless Noble Lady Will Be Reborn into Overwhelming Love!? - 05_The Odd Magician

Sir North went to call a female magician and quickly returned.

The person who appeared with him was clearly a mature woman, with long mint-green hair like a refreshing breeze.

“Oh my, so you’re the infamous Lutzia-chan! Nice to meet you, I’m Grace~”

“N-Nice to meet you.”

Lady Grace greeted me with a warm smile. She seemed like a very kind and gentle person. However, the word “infamous” that she used stuck with me.

I’d been the subject of rumors many times before. But they were never good ones.

Even though I didn’t want to think about it, unpleasant memories began surfacing in my mind one after another.

“Ah, so that’s the real daughter of the Liestella family. We always see Lady Lizette in public, so this is our first time seeing her.”

“She’s the failure of the family, right? Compared to Lady Lizette, she’s so plain.”

“I heard she was judged to have no magical power.”

“I bet the Count and Countess of Liestella were deeply disappointed.”

“Really? Even commoners these days have at least some magic.”

“That’s why they don’t know what to do with her in the family.”

“Well, the Liestella family already has a fine heir. Even if one daughter is incompetent, it won’t hurt the house. Besides, since Lizette is the daughter of the Saint herself, some misfortune is only fair, right?”

Because Lizette was beautiful and possessed rare abilities, a living image of the beloved Saint, she was loved by everyone and drew all eyes. And all the while, I had always been subjected to those kinds of words.

To my family, I was a burden—“misfortune.”

Looking back, it really did feel like I belonged to the family but wasn’t truly part of it. They never said anything cruel to me or physically hurt me. But now I realized—I had no memories of being loved by them either.

…Come to think of it, Sir North, Sir Selhi, and Lady Grace all seemed to know my name. Maybe it was because I had signed some kind of paperwork to be sold to the Mage Tower, and the news of the contract reached them. That was probably the more likely explanation.

Still, I couldn’t get Lady Grace’s word “infamous” out of my head.

(Maybe… maybe even here, the rumors about me being a talentless failure have spread too…)

The thought made my bl00d run cold—when suddenly:

“Grace! Stop saying things that sound so misleading!”

Sir Selhi scolded her with the same frown and annoyed expression he’d worn when he first appeared.

…Or so I thought, until the next moment, when he spun around to face me and spoke in a gentle, soothing voice.

“Lady Lutzia, I’m sure being brought here so suddenly has you feeling uneasy—and hearing talk about you that you don’t understand would only make things worse. When she said ‘infamous,’ she was just teasing me for how long I’ve been yearning to meet you. Ah, and by the way, I called that magician over there by name, but it’s only because magicians in the Mage Tower don’t use family names, since they’ve left their households. It doesn’t mean we’re close or anything, so please don’t misunderstand.”

“Ah, I… okay…”

The momentum of his words was overwhelming—I could barely respond!

Lady Grace looked a bit stunned as she watched our exchange, and I saw Sir North lightly pat her on the shoulder.

✳︎ ✳︎ ✳︎

“Ufufufufu! I can’t believe that Selhi acted like that~!”

Lady Grace laughed as though she was genuinely amused.

Right now, I was in the bath with her—she’d said, “Your body’s probably frozen solid, so let’s just go ahead and take a bath together!” and dragged me along.

“Is it really that different from how he usually is?”

I asked as I dreamily watched her use magic to heat the wide bath and warm the air.

“Completely different! I think that might’ve been the first time I’ve heard Selhi say more than two words in a row!”

“Huh?”

I couldn’t help but raise my voice in surprise. I mean, ever since he appeared, Sir Selhi had been talking non-stop, almost to the point where I was worried he might forget to breathe.

“That’s why it’s so funny~. Normally, he only says things like ‘ah’ or ‘I see.’ He talks a bit more around North and the other male magicians, but barely at all around women.”

“Around women…?”

“Yeah, so among us female magicians, there was even a rumor that he hated women and preferred men! But watching him frantically trying to explain things to Lutzia-chan like that… well, I guess that wasn’t the case after all!”

Indeed, the rumors I’d heard said that Sir Selhi was a misanthrope—silent, cold, and hardly ever spoke. But the man I’d just been with didn’t seem that way at all.

And the Selhi that Lady Grace was describing sounded like a completely different person from the one I’d just met.

“He usually talks so little that people always misunderstand him. And he doesn’t care enough to correct them. But with you, Lutzia-chan, it’s like he doesn’t want even the tiniest misunderstanding! Ufufu, it’s so funny! And cute!”

I didn’t fully get it… but come to think of it, even Sir North had seemed a little surprised earlier.

Still, if this is how he really is, why does he only act this way around me?

(Ugh, this is too much. So much has happened—I feel like my heart and head are going to explode.)

Since I wasn’t going to figure it out anyway, I let out a long breath and gave up trying to think.

Then, I found myself fascinated by the magic Lady Grace was using.

As expected of a magician from the Mage Tower—her magic was so beautiful.

I had never trained in magic since I was considered powerless, and I’d never even gone to a place where such training happened.

So the only time I’d ever seen magic in person was when Lizette used it in the Reestella mansion.

But Lizette’s magic and Lady Grace’s magic looked and felt completely different.

(Magic can be that different depending on the person…)

Noticing how intently I was watching her, Lady Grace gave a small chuckle.

“What is it? You’re staring so hard. Something on your mind?”

“Ah, um… I just thought it was really beautiful.”

It was a little embarrassing to get caught watching, but I spoke honestly. At that, Lady Grace tilted her head.

“Beautiful? I’m just heating up water right now.”

“Well, I’ve barely ever seen anyone use magic before… and your magic, Lady Grace, has such a beautiful orange glow.”

At my words, Lady Grace’s smile suddenly vanished.

(Oh no… was it rude to comment on someone’s magic…?)

What do I do? I always say the wrong thing. Lizette always misunderstood me too. Lady Grace had been so kind, and the bath was so warm that I ended up running my mouth.

I started to regret it and decided I should apologize before I made her angry… or maybe I already had.

“Um, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to say something unnecessary…”

“No, no, wait—it’s not like that! Sorry, it’s just that something caught my attention for a moment, that’s all!”