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17th of Novera, 512

Sareid Capital Estate — Main Training Hall.

Outside, light, weightless snow was falling from the sky. Cold breeze flew past leafless trees, whistling through the branches as it passed. The streets were covered in white, and the sounds of steps and carriages were muffled above them.

Inside, the estate was kept warm, but not just in temperature.

An intense, heated duel was taking place in one of the many training halls of the estate. Though the crowd of students watching wanted to cheer and heckle, the presence of their instructor stopped any attempts to do so.

Despite only wooden swords being present in the ring, each swing carried the weight of months of grueling training, one more so than the other.

A wooden blade caught another in its path with a loud crack. With a swift push, one of them flew into the air and clattered to the wooden floor outside the mat.

A quick series of gasps echoed throughout the room, reaching my ears despite how silent they tried to keep themselves.

“Feyt wins.” A commanding voice announced.

Lately, I’d been used more and more as the one new students were ordered to measure themselves against. Whenever a student gets cocky, whenever the instructors need to prove a point, whenever one of the students is being annoying… I was called forth.

Normally, that role belonged to Carine. But with her attending fewer classes each passing week, I’d become the next best option.

I hadn’t noticed how far I’d come until moments like this. That moment of being able to stand toe-to-toe with others, even without external help. That feeling of knowing my victory is assured.

The student before me, realizing a few seconds late that the duel was finally over, collapsed to all fours like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

He panted hard, as if he had put it all into the duel, or the stress was getting to him. Most likely both.

I rested my blade on my shoulder, placing it casually as if it were an extension of myself.

I approached my opponent and extended a hand.

“Are you alright?” I asked with a concerned smile.

After a few more tired pants, he looked up at me with sweat all over his face, but an undeniable smile was there.

He grabbed my hand, and I helped him up.

“Man, you’re as strong as the instructors said… Barely broke a sweat too… How did you do it?”

Yes, compared to him, I barely sweated at all. But it wasn’t something I was wholly proud of.

“I just trained hard, that’s all,” I lied as naturally as I breathed.

This bright young man was one of the many new students the house had welcomed this month, which was arguably irregular.

This was Novera, the ninth month of nine. Not exactly the time you'd expect a lesson to take place, not to mention accepting an influx of new recruits. And yet here they were. Not only were there quite a lot of new faces, but some of them seemed older than usual recruits.

But it was clear this was something that the Sareid family expected, as the estate had prepared everything to accommodate them and the weather.

Still though. A few of the students weren’t attending today’s lesson. The ones who were here? Well, despite their excitement over the duel earlier, even Feyt’s eyes could tell they weren’t exactly thrilled to be here. The cloth-heavy modified training armor they wore probably didn’t help much with the cold.

I shook hands with my opponent, and he sat back down with the rest of the students.

Steps echoed behind me. The one who had been watching over the duel by the edge of the mat finally approached.

I turned to face her, head already bowed down by instinct.

“Don’t be proud of yourself yet, Feyt,” Mother said, her voice as cold and distant as ever. “You still have a long way ahead before Carine’s level.”

Even after five months, she still seldom gave me praise. But I had learnt that this wasn’t her being distant or dismissive of me. She just has a hard time finding words to praise others, thus her often cold attitude towards me…

…At least that was what I kept telling myself.

Anyway, the only response I could give without getting a smack on the head was to nod and offer a deep bow. “Yes, Instructor.”

Mother walked past me to face the student. I turned once again to face the same direction.

“I hope this spar opened your eyes to just how much your skills are lacking.” Mother shifted her hand, gesturing to me. “Feyt here has no Mastery-Type Talent, be it with a sword or anything else. Yet he has beaten one who possessed such Talent.”

She was referring to the new student I just dueled. Even without Mother telling me, I already figured he was one of the few students who had a Mastery-Type Talent, especially with how quickly he adapted his moves against mine during the duel.

Still, he clearly lacked any firsthand experience wielding it, which was something I could easily exploit.

“From today onwards, each and every one of you shall be carved and tempered into fine candidates worthy enough to attend the Royal Knights Academy.”

The new students looked at Mother with silent gulps. Just how harsh would this training be? Was it worth braving the snow for this? Those were questions undoubtedly echoing inside their minds.

The old students, however, seemed like they were pretty bored with the introduction already. They made sure it wasn’t noticeable to Mother, who would definitely punish them for even yawning, but my ears picked up their tired sighs and whispers.

I don’t know if I should be glad about not attending today’s class.

“Today’s lesson will be overseen by the Duke himself, so I expect utmost discipline from each of you.”

Father, who had been sitting on his small desk by the corner of the room, stood up. The student’s attention turned to him.

Father would usually welcome new students with a bang, usually a surprise ambush where they’d get attacked by fellow students and then told to always keep their guard up. But today, he kept himself rather composed and serious.

“With that,” Mother said, turning on her heel, “I take my leave.”

She exited the training hall. And like usual, I followed suit.

Out in the mansion’s halls, I walked a few steps behind her, matching her pace. Even with her back to me, I kept my posture straight. I was close enough to jump in if there was anything amiss, but distanced away to make sure she had space.

This, too, was a form of her training I had to go through.

Mother had a tense expression on her face as she kept a hand on her chin.

“That entrance exam… what would it entail this year…?” she mumbled to herself.

Though this much space was meant to give her privacy, I couldn’t help but hear her mumble to herself about various things. Sometimes she would mumble about tasks that needed to be done, students that annoy her, but most of the time, it was about me.

I tried not to listen. But knowing she was aware of my hearing, I sometimes wondered if she wanted me to.

Whilst walking behind her, trying not to be absent-minded, I realized that I had gotten a bit taller.

Although Mother was taller than most other women of her age, usually, I was eye-to-eye with her in height. But now, my eyes were just a little bit above her eyebrow level.

It reminded me that I was still in a growing body.

Well, bodies, technically.

And speaking of which…

Mother was here in front of me. But where’s the daughter? You might be asking.

Well…

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17th of Novera, 512

Sareid Capital Estate — Family Library.

Another week, another stack of disappointing books.

I closed the final volume of the book, placing it on the pile—well, more of a tower really—standing tall on the polished wooden desk.

That was another batch of new books done, and once again, I was swept up in the flow. This was a week’s worth of books, gone in an instant.

I was glad that I finally gathered the courage to request new books for the library. Father and Mother accepted the request far too easily, however, which made me wonder what kept me from asking for it for so long.

But even with new books every week—either newly bought or carted straight from the main estate in Arlen, our family’s home region—I often find most held little to no real substance.

As expected, most of the books shipped here from Arlen were storybooks or novels. I suspected Ranette had a hand in that.

Looks like I’ll have to head out for the real hunt.

A soft clink caught my ear. Shifting my gaze, I saw a new cup being placed before me. As soon as it settled on the table, freshly brewed tea was poured in, steam curling gently into the air. The stream halted just before reaching the gold trim of the porcelain. With one final, graceful touch, the cup was nudged toward me.

I gave a quiet nod and my best attempt at a genuine smile. “Thank you, Leila.”

“It’s my pleasure, Lady Carine,” Leila said with a bow. Straightening up, a small smile on her face greeted me.

I took a sip, and the warmth nearly drew a sigh from me, though it came out as a deep exhale through the nose instead.

This winter was without a doubt the coldest I had ever felt. Whether it was because I felt both sensations at once, or the world was actually getting colder, I didn’t care. All I needed was some cozy, warm tea, and Leila’s brew never disappoints.

“Exquisite brew as always, Leila.”

“You flatter me, My Lady.”

With all the books read, the only thing I could do with my free time now was look at the scenery outside. The window had frost by the edges of the glass, and there was definitely some haze over them, but I could still see through them as if they weren’t there at all.

The capital city of Setus, Setosia.

Around half a year ago, terror had struck its core. A mage had targeted the First Prince’s birthday party at the palace with a [Fireball] spell. Though damages were kept to a minimum thanks to the fast response of the Royal Knights and the medics, it had left quite an impact to many.

The sight of that billowing smoke from the castle was still often talked about in the estate and especially in the city.

Though we lost the mage after he took his own life with a [Self Detonate] spell, Father managed to bring in the fallen noble who had hired him in the first place. Eventually, it was announced that the man had been furious over losing his assets after being caught embezzling royal funds. He was executed the next day.

Today, though, the city was covered in white. People outside were wearing heavy clothes, and I saw more carriages than before. Despite the cold and the terror it faced, the city hadn’t lost its life, it seemed.

Observing it all, I couldn’t help but notice there really wasn’t anything interesting to look at. Instead, as always, my mind began to ponder…

Five months…

With around forty-four days a month, around two hundred and twenty days had passed.

The end of the year was nearing as well, in the 45th of Novera.

Through it all… what had I accomplished? How much had things changed?

A lot, actually. Like, quite a lot.

It was definitely more than I’d expected of myselves.

But my pride would only last for so long.

Because no matter how many books I had read. No matter how many trainings I had gone through. One thing still loomed before me.

The Royal Knights Academy.

The entrance exam for the new semester was fast approaching.

That was the reason Mother was so tense today. From what I heard from her mumblings, she was pondering the best ways to prepare me for the exam.

It was also the reason why Father was serious with the new students today, as he knew this wasn’t a time to be lighthearted.

And the influx of new older-aged students? They were sons and daughters of families who believed that last-minute training would be enough to have them score well.

In the end, everything pointed to the Royal Knights Academy’s upcoming exam.

Although I might have finished all the books I could… Rest was still a long way to go.

After all, this would be the start of my new lives.

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