I Adopt The Male Lead - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

(T/N: This chapter was a pain to translate, well I did my best to make it understandable)

* * *

Karina didn’t hesitate. It’s better to know the problems first and then get rid of them in any case.

“Bad news.”

“No. You need to hear the good news first.”

Karina frowned. If he’s going to be like that, then why did he ask?

“I thought Mrs. Bloe would say she’d hear the good news first.”

Wilder explained with a slightly apologetic face.

“That’s usually the case.”

“Is that so?”

“Hmm, at least the people here are. They’re trying to comfort themself with hearing the good news first.”

“Isn’t it comforting to have good news in itself?”

“You can’t say that until you hear the exact details.”

“Okay. So what the hell is the good news?”

Karina wasn’t very interested in the order. Wilder will tell her both anyway. She felt Wilder just passing the time by talking about this and that, it just made her more curious about the news.

“First of all, Mrs. Bloe’s current phenomenon will disappear within three days at most.”

Karina was relieved. Wilder seemed to have no intention of firing her and spoke as if nothing happened. Of course, it’s also good news that this phenomenon would disappear in three days without any action.

“For three days I have to avoid contact with plants as much as possible.”

“Yeah. If you’re thinking of quitting this job and opening a flower shop, feel free to touch plants anytime.”

“That’s too bad. If I had the money to open a flower shop, I’d quit right away.”

Wilder chuckled as if he liked Karina’s joke.

“It’s a good thing Mrs. Bloe doesn’t have any money.”

“What’s the bad news?”

Karina rushed Wilder. She was nervous because Wilder was making a big deal out of it, but the good news turned out to be nothing much when she heard it.

Karina didn’t think this strange phenomenon would last long anyway. The bad news seemed insignificant, still, she couldn’t help but be nervous.

“The bad news is…”

Wilder’s voice sank even lower.

“Mrs. Bloe shouldn’t use magic in the future.”

“…What?”

Karina bit her lips and asked. She couldn’t believe what she just heard.

“Why…”

“This will happen every time the lady tries using magic. How are you going to handle it?”

“…!”

Karina breathed in. Her head was pounding as if a giant bell rang right next to her and she couldn’t think of anything. She couldn’t even ask for a detailed explanation.

Because if she heard it, even the hopes that remained in her would be shattered. Wilder looked at her pitifully.

“Don’t be so heartbroken. Mrs. Bloe didn’t do anything wrong. It was just bad luck.”

“…”

“You must be wondering why. It’s simple. Kind of your physique.”

She felt dizzy.

‘My physique…?’

Words such as weak and healthy physique seemed to have nothing to do with magic and the current situation. Wilder continued in a really reluctant tone.

“This rarely happens. There are people born with wizard talent, but they can never use magic because of the dangers. The lady is the first one I met in person.”

“Ah…”

Karina let out a low groan.

‘Sir Wilder is right.’

Karina couldn’t help but agree with Wilder’s words without any questions or doubts. In her childhood she grew up without even trying magic, supporting Wilder’s words.

‘If he had the chance, Lord Lenque would have tried to raise me as an Archwizard too.’

Until now, Karina thought that the reason Lord Lenque didn’t teach her magic was simply that she’s his illegitimate child.

Everyone in the mansion knew of her birth, the Empire’s perception of illegitimate child status is that all their social activities must be blocked no matter how talented they are.

However, Wilder’s explanation suggested a completely new possibility. When Karina was really young that she can’t remember, Lord Lenque could have tested her.

‘…’

Karina’s body stiffened for a moment. Since she knew what magic was the first thing Lord Lenque taught to children.

Fire.

Children who succeeded in their first spell were quickly dazzled by the beauty and warmth of a fire. The difficulty level was also relatively easy, so Lord Lenque never taught any magic other than fire for the first time.

Young Karina also must have learned how to create fire as her first magic. The result could fully be predicted without even having to remember it.

‘That’s when Lord Lenque found out. I have a body constitution that shouldn’t use magic.’

Then Lord Lenque freaked out and wouldn’t allow Karina any magic. Karina hated and feared Lord Lenque all her life. However, she couldn’t deny the fact that it was the right choice to block magic from herself.

‘I’m someone who wasn’t supposed to touch magic.’

Was it his last consideration as a biological father that Lord Lenque didn’t tell her why he had banned magic?

Karina wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. The past is in the past, and Lord Lenque is nothing more than a thing to escape from.

“I get it.”

“Are you okay?”

“Of course not.”

Karina bit her lip.

“Still… I didn’t have the chance to learn magic at the beginning. I got an opportunity to learn thanks to Sir Wilder, so I have no regrets because it made me realize that I shouldn’t.”

“But I’ll continue my teaching.”

“Why?”

“I never intended to raise the lady as a good wizard from the beginning. It was teaching to learn what makes a good wizard.”

“…!”

Now that she thinks about it. It was purely Karina’s illusion that she thought it was a wizard teaching. No, even the expression of illusion was self-deception. Wilder just said it’s essential for wizards to learn. There was no mention of raising her as a wizard anywhere.

‘Of course, basic magic knowledge is something that I need to know about magic… I didn’t think of it.’

The feeling of guilt flooded her stomach.

“However, don’t learn magic from the children anymore. For Mrs. Bloe’s sake.”

“…Of course I shouldn’t.”

Karina replied bitterly. It was only a minor incident at first, but it could have turned into a major accident. If Roland had taught her how to make fire or water magic instead of flower magic…

Her body trembled.

‘What will I do…’

In the meantime, the excitement of being able to learn magic covered her eyes. If she had been a little more careful, it wouldn’t have caused Wilder any harm or put the children in danger.

“Mrs. Bloe.”

Wilder’s stern voice was heard.

“Stop thinking of weird things.”

“I didn’t.”

“It looks like you did.”

“I was just glad that the first magic Roland taught me was flower magic.”

“…Lady.”

Wilder narrowed his eyes.

“You don’t have to blame yourself for something that didn’t happen.”

“Still, if I had learned fire or water magic…”

Wilder scolded Karina who was at a loss for words.

“If? What if? Then what if I had taught Mrs. Bloe fire magic?”

“That didn’t happen.”

“Yeah, and neither did the lady learning fire magic.”

“Ah…”

Karina nodded her head.

“Got it? So stop thinking about all that stuff and get to work.”

* * *

Karina came home with a heavy heart. The children ran to the front door as soon as she opened the door.

“What did Sir Wilder say?”

Roland was in such a hurry, holding a pen in one hand.

“He said it would be gone in three days at most.”

“Phew, that’s good”

Roland and Melissa were relieved without saying anything first, tangling the hem of Karina’s skirt.

Karina didn’t miss the fact that Roland’s shoulders were shaking as he was holding back his tears.

She hurriedly sat down on the floor and looked at the children’s eye level. Sure enough, Roland’s eyes were wide open.

“I was worried…”

Roland murmured.

“Aigoo, Roland.”

Karina hugged Roland while stroking Melissa’s head. Not so much time had passed since they left the mansion, but she becomes used to distribute affection equally to the two children. At that moment, Melissa whispered in Karina’s ear.

“He keeps saying it’s because he didn’t teach mom properly. He’s been trying to find out what he did wrong.”

Karina closed her eyes. Her throat felt sore. Although all of this was obviously her own problem, Roland was blaming himself. The fact that the children seemed brave despite the sudden accident was only the siblings’ response to overcome it.

Karina separated Roland and Melissa from her arms. Tears welled up in Roland’s big eyes, her heart ached. Melissa was fidgeting and rubbing her hands also worried about Roland. Karina spoke one syllable at a time.

“It’s not Roland’s fault.”