Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Chapter 114: Adrian’s jealousy

What made Adrian jealous of her? What could it possibly be? She had initially thought that it was his way of mocking her. But that didn’t seem to be the case.

The answer came moments later as Adrian began speaking.

"You might think the biggest advantage of having multiple elements is your versatility. But in my eyes, the biggest advantage you have is... options. You can freely choose whether you wish to be a caster or an infuser, you can choose the element you are most compatible with and focus on mastering it, and you can also choose a lot of things if you try spell creation."

He let out a sigh.

"I, on the other hand, have never had a choice. I didn’t have options to choose from. Being an infuser was the only possible choice. Even then, there was only one existing infusion art for my element, so I didn’t have any options to choose anything there either. In the end, I was forced to settle for mediocre things because I had no other choice."

Evangeline unconsciously sat up straight.

"At the start, I struggled desperately and tried a lot of things. But it all failed without producing any meaningful result. So in the end, I simply chose to give up and accept my limitations. But when I see you train in front of me, I start having these thoughts. Thoughts like, ’If I had all these affinities instead of her, I could’ve done so much.’ ’If only I had as many options as her.’ I had never thought I was someone who could have such thoughts."

Even as Adrian finished speaking, Evangeline continued looking at him blankly.

’Ah... what the hell... that really is Adi, right?’

After spending so much time with him, she had learned about him to some degree. He was someone who always remained quiet and rarely spoke unless spoken to. And even when he did speak, he would only say what was necessary.

The Adrian she knew would not speak the things he was speaking now.

’What happened to him?’

Even though she was not very good at social interactions and had a hard time picking up on things, even she could understand what Adrian was trying to do right now and why he was telling her all these things.

He was... trying to comfort her.

Evangeline’s lips slowly curled up into a bright smile as she spoke dramatically.

"Aww, Adi, you’re so cute. Come here; lemme give you a little hug."

Adrian frowned and looked at her strangely.

"No thanks. I would rather not."

Evangeline giggled as she saw his reaction.

’But really, it’s kinda hard to put my finger on it, but something about Adi really feels different from before.’

He was giving a somewhat different vibe compared to yesterday. It was as though he had changed in one night.

Well, maybe it was just her imagination.

"Anyways, Adi, our birthdays are only a month or so away. What do you want for your birthday present?"

There was only a three-day gap between Adrian’s birthday and her own, so instead of celebrating them separately, House Ravenshade had decided to organize a five-day-long banquet in order to celebrate both their birthdays together.

This world didn’t have the concept of yearly birthdays. Birthdays were only celebrated when the child turned one year old, ten years old, and fifteen years old. Apparently, the birthday at the age of fifteen was especially important since that is the day the child gets recognized as an adult by imperial law.

’Mama also said that there is a birthday when one turns fifty. Is it to celebrate that you have passed your prime and entered old age? That sounds kinda malicious now that I think about it.’

Adrian shook his head.

"I don’t really want anything. No, it is more so that I can simply have anything I want, so I do not need to use the birthday as‌ leverage to demand it."

Evangeline made a strange expression.

’He worded it kinda weird...’

It was as though he thought of birthday gifts as some perk he could utilize to get things. Like some sort of discount coupon or exchange coupon.

Adrian then looked at her and asked.

"Seeing as you are asking me such a question, you must have something in mind that you yourself want as a birthday present."

Evangeline thought back to the birthday gift she wanted.

"I want a wand that shoots out spells when I feed it with mana. I am kinda annoyed by how hard it is to cast spells."

To cast spells, one needed to mold the mana into the shape of the corresponding magical formula. But that needed a ton of focus and was hard to do in situations where your focus was being constantly disrupted.

’I can’t even imagine how they use spells in a fight. I’d be like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube when a fist is flying towards your face.’

Adrian shook his head and replied evenly.

"You just have to train casting the spell so much that it becomes second nature to you and you can do it instinctively. Also, I think there can be such a wand that you described. It would probably be a magitool, but it most likely wouldn’t be able to cast more than a single spell."

Evangeline’s eyes widened as she asked excitedly.

"Really?! Really?! Are you sure such a wand really exists?"

Adrian nodded.

"It probably does. Making it wouldn’t be all that hard either, so it should be rather cheap."

Her heartbeat sped up as she heard those words.

It would be so convenient to have a wand that could simply shoot water when you channel mana into it. You would be able to use it as a shower, use it to water plants, or simply use it as a portable tap.

’He said that they should be cheap. Shouldn’t we buy a bunch of them, then? Each for a different spell. No, maybe that would be too much.’

After all, how would she even carry all of them around?

Adrian’s voice suddenly came, bringing her out of her spiraled fantasy.

"Evangel, I have something I want to ask you."

His voice didn’t sound dull and flat like it usually did.

"Why do you work so hard?"