Well, time has passed—and it's been six months since Mother Anneliese arrived.
Her presence changed the atmosphere quite a bit. Like, the maids and butlers have become more active in their duties.
As well as, a noticeable shift in the family dynamic can also be seen. Father now has to divides his time—to be with my older brother Aurelian and Mother Anneliese. Before, we had him mostly to ourselves—but now, that time is shared, making his presence feel just a bit farther away. But that can't be changed—he has to give them time, and that's only natural.
Alongside these changes, the world itself has begun to transform. the winter is slowly fading away, and the first signs of spring are beginning to show.
In some ways, I've changed as well. Over the past six months, I've grown bigger and even learned how to crawl. When I crawled in front of Mother, she was over the moon—she couldn't stop kissing me. I don't mind the affection, but it was a bit more than I could handle.
My big brother Aurelian's growing too. He turned two just a couple of weeks ago.
It feels like everything around me is evolving—the seasons, the people, the atmosphere in the manor… even myself.
But there's one thing that hasn't changed.
My magic.
No matter how much I try, I can't make the smallest bit of progress. I've repeated the same steps over and over, willing my mana to move, trying to form fire, water, or any other element—but every time, I end up unconscious. After so many failed attempts, I came to understand that the problem was that I simply didn't have enough mana,which make sence.
So I, hoped that, with time, my mana would grow on its own… but months passed, and nothing changed.
Now, after six months, I honestly have no
idea if it's even possible to learn magic this early. Maybe it's just too soon. For now, all I can do is wait and hope that with time, my mana will grow—and maybe then, I'll finally be able to use magic.
But, I really wanted to start growing already. I've got this loving family now… and I don't want to lose them.
After what happened during that past event, I realized how cruel this world can be. Power rules here. If you're weak, you might not survive—and worse, you might not be able to protect the ones you love. That's why I need to become stronger. Because the one thing going right in this life—a warm, loving family—is something I can't afford to lose.
If only I could find a way to grow my mana. Haa....I'am so desperate that if mana is problem, If I don't have enough—like let's steal that damn mana. But, Like that's even possible I'am really started to considering reckless ide...
Wait… maybe that's not such a bad idea.
Why shouldn't I try to steal it? It's not like I've made any progress otherwise, and I've already tried everything I could think of. Even if I fail, it'll just be another drop in the ocean of failures behind me.
Okay, I'm going to give it a try. And I think I've found a way to do it. I don't know if it'll work, but I've made up my mind—and that's that.
So here's the idea: Instead of forcing my mana to move outward and grab the surrounding mana—which I already know I don't have the strength for—what if I focused on the traces of mana already leaking from my body? My magical aura. That might be easier to manipulate.
I can control my mana to a degree, but shaping it into something which can grab and steal would definitely fail—most likely due to my low capacity. But if I can control my own aura, maybe I can use it to reach out and pull in mana from outside.
Alright then… let's do this. If I fail, so be it.
Closing my eyes, I took a slow, shaky breath and tried to clear my mind.
I shut out everything else—the cold air, the quiet room, the weight of all my past failures, and concentrated—this time, not on my core mana, but on the faint magical aura drifting off me.
And as I opened my eyes, I could see the colors of magic—the aura of everything nearby. That familiar glow.
let's chose a target: ha the small plant near the window it's perfect for my first try.
Focusing harder, I guided my magical aura toward the plant's green-colored aura. Slowly, I closed the distance. So far, I didn't feel drained. That was a good sign.
After a couple of minutes, my aura reached the plant.
Now came the difficult part—stealing it.
I imagined my aura grabbing the plant's mana and pulling it away from its source. Gradually, my black-and-white aura wrapped around the green glow of the plant, the colors merging and swirling together. I could feel it—my aura surrounding, clutching, mingling.
Then I pulled.
It wasn't easy. I had to focus—gripping tightly, pulling with everything I had. Bit by bit, the plant's green magical aura began to move… and then, something more emerged, The mana.
It was working. I'm sure of it. Not, just magical aura—I could see it clearly. Something more was coming through from it…It was the plant's mana.
The mana was detaching from the plant, blending with my own aura, and slowly changing color to match mine. Could I really be doing this? Was I truly stealing mana?
I'd been so desperately chasing—finally, it was coming to me.
The closer it came, the more afraid I became. What if it all slipped away at the last moment? What if this ended like all my other failed attempts?
But I didn't let go. I held on tighter. And finally, the last bit of plant mana fully detached—it had become part of mine.
Please… don't fail now.
I gave it one final tug.
The mana surged toward me, and as it entered, I felt a warm sensation inside. A soft heat. A flow of energy I had never felt before.
And just like that—it was done.
The mana was no longer the plant's. It was mine. It had joined my mana… and for the first time, I had truly grown.
I had done it.
I stole mana.
I can grow now.