Reincarnated as a failed hero?! Watch me Defy Fate! - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Lyra’s Feeling Chapter 53: Lyra’s Feeling Lyra’s point of view: I am Lyra, the second child of the Waterfall family, a branch family of the heroic Winterfell lineage.

For generations, my family has served as assistants to the Winterfells, always relegated to the shadows, unacknowledged by the other noble families.

Since childhood, I’ve been relentlessly compared to the main family.

In my own family, I have one older brother.

But unlike me, he lacks magical talent, so he’s set to inherit the traditional role of the Waterfalls: serving the Winterfells.

As for me, I do possess magical ability-but instead of the water magic that my family excels in, my aptitude leans toward support magic.

My father, a renowned water mage and cousin to the patriarch of the Winterfells, placed all his hopes on me.

He wanted me to carry on the family’s water magic legacy.

He trained me tirelessly, pushing me to master water magic.

But somewhere along the way, he gave up on me.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t control water-element mana properly.

I didn’t understand why.

Support magic simply came more naturally to me.

In the end, I enrolled in Braveheart Knight Academy to understand and overcome this limitation, hoping to finally make my father proud.

But now, more than two years have passed since I started at the academy, and I still haven’t mastered water magic.

I can only use basic spells like [Water Ball], and even those lack the power to cause significant damage.

The professors examined me and concluded there was nothing wrong with my mana flow.

They suggested that the issue might lie in my mindset, that I lacked the mental readiness for water magic.

As I approached the promotion exam to advance to my third year, the academy partnered with the knight guild for a special trial: students would undertake missions to hunt monsters.

For this mission, I was paired with Freya.

We’d always been in the same class and often worked as a team.

She’s my best friend, perhaps because we share a similar fate-or maybe because hers is even harsher.

We support each other like sisters from different bloodlines.

One day, we received a guild mission to hunt a mini-boss: a Big Wild Boar in the monster forest near the Blackmore family’s territory.

It’s a Rank C target, commonly hunted by Rank C knights or magic knights like us.

If we could take it down, we’d earn our promotion to the third year.

Freya and I headed to the guild, hoping to find a party willing to help us.

That’s when we met Rowan, Tristan, and Baldric, senior knights of Rank B.

They often helped Freya and me with guild quests.

Despite looking like grizzled old men, they were kind and supportive.

They taught us the basics of monster hunting, survival in the forest, and more.

Freya and I were deeply grateful to them.

When we told them about our mission to hunt the Big Wild Boar, they eagerly volunteered to help.

They mentioned they’d hunted it many times before, as its tusks could fetch a high price.

And so, we decided to set out the next afternoon.

The next day, the five of us ventured into the forest.

Along the way, we encountered trolls and goblins.

Rowan and the others displayed incredible skill, dispatching them with ease.

When we finally reached the mini-boss’s lair, we prepared for battle.

Baldric lured the boar’s attention while Tristan, Rowan, and Freya launched attacks.

I cast defensive buffs to protect them.

Baldric, ever confident, said my buffs weren’t necessary-he could handle the boar’s attacks.

But something was wrong.

The mini-boss began to change.

Its body turned a deep red, and its eyes glowed with a menacing light.

It was enraged.

Its power surged to unimaginable levels.

Before we knew it, Baldric-our steadfast tank-was knocked down, his arm broken despite my protective spell.

Chaos erupted.

Tristan fell next, his arm and leg crushed by the boar’s devastating charge.

We were cornered.

Only Freya, Rowan, and I remained able to fight.

I raised a protective barrier around us, desperate to shield everyone.

But the barrier began to crack under the relentless onslaught.

My strength was fading.

Is this the end?

I thought.

Am I going to die here?

And then- Clang!

The sound of a sword meeting the boar’s attack echoed through the air.

I opened my eyes in shock.

Someone had stepped in to block the blow and protect us.

It was him.

For the first time, I laid eyes on Naoki von Blackmore.

Naoki was a noble from the heroic Blackmore family.

At the academy, he was infamous as a troublemaker-a flirt, a fighter, and a source of endless shame for his family.

Rumor had it he left the academy after failing to complete a quest assigned by his family, earning him the title of “Failed Hero.” But seeing him in person…

he wasn’t at all like the rumors.

He fought with unmatched courage, risking his life to protect us.

Though we lost Rowan, Tristan, and Baldric that day, Naoki-sama saved Freya and me.

He gave us hope when we had none.

His bravery in battling not only the Big Wild Boar but also the unexpected Berserker Troll King left me in awe.

Freya was equally captivated.

From that moment, we resolved to follow Naoki-sama, no matter what.

We owed him our lives.

Later, we escorted him-wounded and weary-back to the Blackmore estate.

There, we learned more about him from the maids and his younger sister, Milly.

He had lost his memory after a severe injury.

Even with no recollection of who he was, Naoki-sama still chose to save us.

I couldn’t help but feel something stir in my chest.

A feeling beyond mere admiration.

…

Some time passed, and Freya and I encountered Naoki-sama again in the royal capital.

He introduced us to Edwin, a peculiar man known as the “Miracle Hand.” That day, as we shared a meal together, Naoki-sama seemed different.

He was more expressive, more lively.

He spoke to women with ease, embodying the very image of the rumored troublemaker from his past.

Not long after, Naoki-sama returned to his calm, composed self.

I wondered if it was the effect of his amnesia.

Even so, I respected him deeply.

But somewhere along the line, my feelings for him began to shift-from admiration to something much deeper.

That’s right.

I realized I had developed romantic feelings for him.

Perhaps it started when he invited Freya and me to join him in completing a quest for the Blackmore family, a step toward reclaiming his place as a hero-in-training.

During that mission, he showed a side of himself I hadn’t seen before: responsible, protective, and dedicated to his allies.

It was then that I met Rosan, his personal maid-a support mage who, like me, specialized in water magic.

Seeing her mastery over both support and water magic, I took it as a chance to learn from her.

Under Rosan-sensei’s warm and motherly guidance, I trained in advanced support magic.

I cherished every moment spent learning from her.

She also taught me how to master water-element magic.

“The essence of controlling elemental magic,” she said, “is learning to control yourself.

Magic reflects the personality of its wielder.

For water magic, you must learn to accept yourself.

Be like water-calm, adaptable, and accepting of the shape of your vessel.” Her words struck me deeply.

I realized that I had never truly accepted myself.

All this time, I had been so consumed by the desire to meet my father’s expectations that I’d ended up hating the person I had become.

With Rosan-sensei’s advice and guidance, I finally managed to control water magic.

I was overjoyed and grateful beyond words.

I wanted to continue learning from her forever.

But fate had other plans.

Rosan-sensei fell in battle during our fight against Canis.

Naoki-sama was devastated by her loss.

I tried desperately to save her with [High Heal], a spell she had taught me.

For a fleeting moment, she opened her eyes and spoke to me.

“Lyra… I’m entrusting Naoki to you.” Those were her final words.

She trusted me to stay by Naoki-sama’s side.

I accepted her wish, and in doing so, I realized something: I didn’t just want to protect him out of duty-I wanted to stay by his side.

Naoki-sama cared deeply for those close to him.

His personal maids were like family to him.

At his induction ceremony, he spoke to me, offering comfort while I was still mourning Rosan-sensei.

For the first time, he reached out and held my hand.

Even through my gloves, I could feel his warmth.

It wasn’t just physical-it seeped into my heart.

I wanted to stay by his side.

He was kind, caring, and full of warmth.

Even with his occasional wild tendencies, he always treated me with respect.

When Freya and I heard that Naoki-sama might return to the academy, we were overjoyed.

The thought of being his classmates again made us ecstatic.

Once he rejoined the academy, we spent as much time as possible together.

Being near him made me feel stronger, like I could achieve anything.

That belief was tested when I was suddenly trapped in a teleportation circle and abducted by the Shadows.

Naoki-sama didn’t hesitate-he jumped in after me, entering the circle despite the danger.

I was stunned.

He risked everything for me.

Did he truly value me that much?

I still didn’t know the answer.

When we faced the Dark Knights of the Abyss, Naoki-sama ordered me to stay back and protect the other students.

But I couldn’t bear to leave him.

I wanted to fight alongside him, to support him with my magic.

My patience snapped when he stubbornly insisted I retreat.

I finally blurted out my frustration and scolded him.

He looked surprised-shocked, even-but in the end, he relented.

He allowed me to stay by his side, and together, we defeated the monster.

Soon after, Amelia and Freya arrived to rescue us.

I thought he might reprimand me afterward, but instead, he smiled and thanked me.

That smile… it threw my heart into chaos.

How could he be so kind?

How could I possibly hold back my feelings any longer?

And yet, I kept them buried.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS NAVIRUNAVIII Hello!

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