...

A couple of days later, the Entrance hall

Four youths stood in the entrance hall of Alexander's mansion in a circle, talking with each other, sometimes laughing, other times looking embarrassed away, with their tails slightly swinging from side to side.

The boy in this group, Alexander, turned to Matilda and opened his arms, wanting to hug her, "I will miss you, you barbarian."

She smirked at him, immediately bear-hugging him, "Tell me immediately when you get over whoever it is, but don't wait too long!"

After telling them that he still wasn't over someone and was still loving his ex-fiancé, which he didn't mention as such, Alexander became more casual, cursing and acting more like himself.

Matilda seemed to like his casual personality much more, still flirting with him sometimes, clearly not being over this whole thing he started because of his idiocy.

'She would probably love someone like Dad.'

The noble life seemed not to fit her, coming across as if she would rather be with someone who was a bit on the rougher side but still sensitive. Matilda reminded him very much of Linuel, who had the same problem, being clearly not cut out to be a noble.

Despite her endearing roughness, they had fun the last few days, even though he rejected her. Fortunately, she was okay with it but tried nonetheless to talk him into thinking it over, which became a little annoying but nothing too suffocating.

Regardless of those puppyish tries, they trained almost daily, with him learning some basic Cold-Snout [Sword Arts], seeing that he had zero talent when it came to swinging a sword.

On the other hand, Matilda learned the Leonandra movement techniques from him, almost breaking her neck while trying. One needed remarkably high [Acrobatic] and [Stretching] skills to make those happen. Alexander could only do them sloppily while assisted by magic, and even with that, he barely showed them off against Bartholomew.

'It was fun.'

After tapping her back, she let go, and he smiled at her amiably, "Hmm, good luck with whoever you get. Just don't kill them."

Both chuckled, with him turning to Vanessa, who smiled nervously, opening her arms slightly while blushing, "I... will miss you."

Alexander rolled his eyes, not understanding this girl, and went for a full hug, "Of course! I will miss you, too!"

Vanessa was a cute, sensitive, and forthcoming girl, but she had no ambitions. She told him that she only wanted to find a lovely husband with whom she could administer some idyllic town without all the hustle of a city and the intrigues of noble society, far from what Alexander decided he wanted to do.

However, even though their goals were very different, she still seemed very attached to him and enjoyed being close to him. Sometimes, she even flirted with him, appearing a little too pushy.

Fortunately, she wasn't trying to pressure him, and they had just their fun. She often played music for him, pieces he hadn't listened to for years, mostly classical ones from Earth, making him feel nostalgic.

On the other hand, Alexander showed Vanessa and the others his plays, mostly depicting some fairy tales, with them wanting to see more and more, to which he obliged, still feeling bad for deceiving them. It was exhausting.

After slowly letting her go, he turned to Emma, who looked still miserable after what had happened. Fortunately, she had found something she could concentrate on now, and hopefully, she would quickly forget him.

He came close, hugging her more gently, which seemed to surprise her since she made a cute noise, "I will miss you. Don't be too disturbed by what happened, and try your best at magic, okay? You have so much more talent than you think. Don't throw it away."

Emma hugged back, trying to grip him a little firmer than usual, "O... okay." Alexander could see how her fluffy tail slowly swung, finding it cute.

The day after their little fallout, he met up with Emma in the morning, trying to be open and honest with her. This seemed to work for him since she promised not to wait and live normally without being obsessed with him.

However, he wanted to help her find an outlet for all her energy. From what Alexander saw, it wasn't normal that she was so focused on him, but after thinking it through, it made sense. She was intelligent, thus, mostly finding conversations with others rather dull, and because she couldn't stand them, she probably also felt increasingly lonely and bored.

As such, when she found him, having suddenly someone to talk to, which they did for hours daily, felt like a blessing to her. Thus, also the outburst when Alexander rejected her, probably having anxiety as she didn't want to return to being isolated and bored.

Because of that, Alexander gifted her all the necessary mana skills to do magic. She became immediately focused and interested in it, even forgetting to meet him for a rendezvous once.

It was a great sign to him. Emma now had a great outlet and wouldn't be focused on him anymore, slowly forgetting all those feelings she had.

However, with that, he also discovered something much more intriguing. While he also gave Matilda and Vanessa the mana skills, Emma was genuinely showing incredible talent, even much more than him, in his opinion.

She immediately learned those skills in less than a minute, even comprehending the ignition spell after a day. Seeing this, Alexander copied all his spellbooks and pamphlets for her since such a talent needed support and encouragement.

He even copied her all his alchemy-specific knowledge, which was more challenging to learn, but nonetheless, something she should've been able to do since he saw her aptitude.

Of course, others would say that Alexander was actually much more talented, but he would disagree heavily. He reincarnated and learned everything by pure accident because he had a lot of help through other skills, which she hadn't. On the other hand, Emma clearly had no headstart like him but learned everything magic-related extremely fast.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Alexander let go of her, which she did only very slowly and clearly involuntarily. He stepped back and opened his arms wide, "Now, it's time to say goodbye, my Ladies..." they chuckled, his smile widening, "...I will surely write to you and hope we stay on good terms whatever may happen!"

They nodded, looked at each other, and came for one last hug from him, which he happily accepted, 'I should be more honest in the future.'

In the beginning, he played too much of a character than being himself, which resulted in many misunderstandings, problems, and other things which, in the end, hurt not only him but all of them for no reason.

He would now be much more honest and truthful. Fortunately, they were also open and sensitive, making his mistake not too apparent. If they had been much more spiteful, he would've ruined the relationship by that point for nothing.

It was a blessing for him to find new friends. While not as deep as with Patricia, they were nonetheless slowly growing on him, something he had never enjoyed on Earth since he worked day and night for his siblings, trying to bring them through their parentless household in the best way possible.

He let go of them, smiling joyfully and bringing out his farewell gift, holding a fancy spatial bag before them, "Now, this gift I made especially for you, and everything is labeled inside..."

He pointed his index finger toward the ceiling, becoming serious, with them looking confused at him, "...I only give you this under one condition..." He again looked much more seriously at them, deepening his voice, "...only if you promise to write me if you like it! Honestly!"

They rolled their eyes while chuckling. Like that, they only talked for a couple more minutes and said their goodbyes, leaving the Leonandra estate, 'Life is wonderful.'

...

Inside a carriage, On the way to the Cold-Snout fief

All three sat inside a carriage, reading through the stacks of books Alexander gifted them and couldn't take their eyes away. However, they were somewhat confused and astounded rather than happy.

Vanessa was the first to frown, "It's impossible. How can I actually learn alchemy to this extent?!"

Matilda looked over, also somewhat annoyed, "Did he also gift you something insane to learn? Look at this..." She shoved her book toward Vanessa, who flinched but read it, only to chuckle, "Does he want you to become stronger than Father?"

Looking back at her gifted book, Matilda shrugged, "Dunno, but I like it..." She smiled, though, "...it's not like I have much to do otherwise, right?"

Vanessa smiled at her, "That's right..." She made a gesture as if playing the piano, "...I would love to learn what he wrote about."

Emma finished reading her book, closed it, and sighed, "Just do it. What's the problem?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes, "Well, you are the mage genius here now..." Matilda interjected, "...should we now call her Archmage Puppy, too?"

Vanessa chuckled, "That's right, with her talent, according to Alex, she will eclipse him soon."

Matilda nodded, "You can call me soon, Archmage-Swordmaster!..." She tried to build a construct with her [Mystic Skill], obviously to show off but immediately failed, "Damn it! I can't even do something so easy!"

Vanessa patted her, "Don't be angry. Remember what Alex said..." She started sounding much more arrogantly, an octave deeper, holding her index finger up while casually leaning back, imitating him, "...Matilda, it's normal for you not to understand everything immediately even though I, a genius, needed like two seconds, but for you, you need months... obviously!"

Matilda let her head and ears hang down while chuckling, feeling somewhat downcast, "I guess..."

Vanessa smiled nervously, quickly taking the pamphlet Alexander had written specially for Matilda on how to use her [Mystic Skill] with the mana skills, "Here, let's learn together, okay?"

Matilda nodded, and they started to read aloud and discuss this exciting new topic as if they were young puppies again who found a new toy.

As Emma observed them, she couldn't agree more with their enthusiasm, 'Magic is truly amazing.'

Emma could never imagine what he discovered, even gifting them something precious. Still, after she heard his speech about what he wanted to do with all his knowledge, she almost screamed at him out of frustration but could hold back, trying to understand him first.

Only after a day or two did she truly understand him. While she found it stupid for anyone else, it was acceptable for him since he was genuinely different. It was like looking at a fire burning increasingly brighter. Most would just burn out after some time, but not Alexander. He burned and burned, becoming bigger and brighter.

She felt like a moth as he mesmerized her with his creativity, which he showed through the plays or his thirst for knowledge by telling and presenting all his exciting inventions. She barely could keep her hands away from him at all times and even almost kissed him, nearly ruining her plan.

After the unfortunate morning, she saw that Alexander was in distress, indeed pressured by her trying to be as forthcoming as possible, but ultimately deciding to abide by his request.

She was annoyed, barely holding back her temper, but what could she do? Still, pressure him? Like this, he would never love her back and would even try to distance himself from her.

Fortunately, she saw that he showed his vulnerable side, wanting only friendship, which she gladly took. From there, she had already planned out the following years, even preparing all the letters for Patricia to send, who would be, with a bit of trickery, a trusted ally in getting Alexander. She needed to encroach on him slowly, step by step.

Emma understood him somewhat. He was intelligent, precisely what she wanted, but still immature. While not ideal as a husband, it was perfect for her current situation. She could exploit this fortunate combination, knowing what she did was for his own good, which he would be thankful for later. There was no doubt in her mind.

Until then, she would learn alchemy and magic, which she discovered that she loved, as they were perfect for her high intelligence, giving her strength, which was her only fault, which she could now correct.

Emma had a weak body, could not swing a sword correctly, and barely learned basic combat skills. Still, now, she would learn how to fight in a way fitting for her, with her mind, killing all those who would dare to touch her—quite the exciting and juvenile feeling she had, which she enjoyed very much.

'I can't thank him enough.'

Of course, she understood why Alexander gave her such a great gift and even wrote such fantastic books for her, describing everything in an easy-to-learn way, but such a distraction would never work. She wanted him even more than before.

Fortunately, there was another positive aspect of his gift: magic and alchemy gave her an excellent excuse to avoid balls and rendezvous. She could not stand anyone else, especially now that she knew there was someone out there who was perfect for her.

After sighing, knowing she would need to wait a long time, she moved her mana, trying to build her first contraption. She herded the water in the air and imagined what was written in the book, recalling the images, calculations, and descriptions with her own interpretation.

It was hard, with her mind feeling the strain, but it worked. A water ball appeared before her and grew larger, creating her first contraption, 'Interesting... argh!'

Emma flinched from the pain after hearing Orbis's call multiple times. Fortunately, the small water ball dissipated, and her sisters did not notice, 'Nature's brake?'

It was a problem she had for a long time, thus trying to avoid learning too many unnecessary skills. Still, with Alexander now giving her so many levels and experience through magic, alchemy, and all those indirect skills, she was plagued by this problem again.

She first increased her weight increase artifact from 1.3 to 1.5, feeling intense pressure immediately. After a moment, when she acclimated to the new weight, she looked to the side, cringing.

She saw a particular book Alexander wrote for her. It was a gift, which he probably composed after she told him she also had the same problem as him, but to a much lesser extent.

It was adorable, and she thought it was somewhat unnecessary, at least until now when she felt that she needed to strengthen her body somehow, 'With An Ache and Abs Against Nature's Brake ... he really has no naming sense.'