“...”

  Lucius woke as the first rays of sunlight slipped into his room.

  Another day…

  He stretched out across the bed, driving away the numbness and lethargy from his arms and legs.

  Then he got up and walked toward the bathroom at the back of the room.

  The floor was cold beneath his bare feet, a pleasant contrast that helped chase away the last remnants of sleep.

  The bedroom was spacious, its walls adorned with carved panels and discreet details. Opulent, but not vulgar—just as befitted the Aster family.

  Resting his hands on the marble sink, he studied his reflection in the mirror. His face still bore the stiffness of interrupted rest, his eyes tired and half-lidded, marked by heavy shadows that contrasted with the yellow of his irises. His black hair was so messy and unkempt it nearly resembled a bird’s nest.

  Another day.

  He slapped his own cheek, shaking off what remained of his drowsiness, and stepped into the bathtub, letting the cold water lash against his skin.

  During the mansion’s most recent renovation, his father had ordered Magical Artifacts installed in the bathtubs to regulate water temperature. It had been a pleasant surprise for all the residents of the estate.

  But the device still had its limitations. It took some time for the water to heat up, which was why he now tried to keep his baths short.

  It’s time.

  Feeling the water begin to warm, he stood up and stepped out of the tub, using one of the towels hanging on the bathroom rack to dry himself.

  Returning to the bedroom, he opened the dark wooden wardrobe, where his clothes were neatly organized by color and function. He chose a clean tunic made of fine fabric, adjusted his belt, and put on a light coat over it. Every movement was mechanical, the result of a routine repeated countless times.

  When he finished, he took a deep breath and went to meet his family.

  …

  Upon reaching the dining hall, he found the table already set, the family’s many servants lined up along the walls of the room.

  Cedric, his father, had already arrived, occupying the seat of honor at the head of the table.

  A tall man with a robust build and a sharp gaze. He shared the same eyes and hair as Lucius, though in his case, his eyes were wide and free of shadows, and his hair was glossy and neatly combed.

  A stoic and charming middle-aged man—or so the servants whispered in secret.

  The two exchanged a brief glance, acknowledging each other’s presence, but said nothing, remaining silent as they waited for the rest of the family.

  They did not have to wait long. Soon, Helena arrived—the first wife—a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her thirties, with long silver hair and ruby-red eyes.

  Like the very embodiment of nobility and elegance, she walked lightly to her seat, positioned to Cedric’s left, right beside him.

  Accompanying her were Alex and Camille, the second son and daughter of the family and Lucius’s half-siblings.

  Alex was a fifteen-year-old youth who had just gone through his adolescent growth spurt, now standing half a head taller than Lucius, who was a year older. Inheriting his mother’s hair and his father’s eyes, he had a handsome face that also attracted the servants’ whispers.

  Camille, a year younger than him, had also recently entered puberty, her body already showing the first signs of a more mature feminine charm. Unlike her brother, she had inherited her mother’s eyes and her father’s hair, which she kept long and tied in a ponytail. From her mother, she inherited her beauty; from her father, his sharp gaze.

  They took the two seats beside Helena, with Alex sitting closer to their mother and Camille sitting directly across from Lucius.

  Shortly after, Yuria, the second wife, arrived. Her light blond hair and emerald eyes, combined with her pale skin, gave her the impression of a gentle temperament—something that was not quite accurate.

  Holding her hand and looking down was Lilia, the youngest daughter of the family, only eleven years old. A very beautiful child with nearly golden hair and eyes of the same color.

  Yuria sat to Cedric’s right, facing Helena, with Lilia seated between her mother and Lucius.

  With everyone gathered and after polite greetings were exchanged, Helena ordered breakfast to be served.

  Obeying the lady of the house, the servants—who until then had acted like lifeless statues—quickly sprang into action, filling everyone’s plates and beginning the family meal.

  “My husband, are you busy today?” Helena asked after taking a sip of the tea in her hands.

  Cedric, busy cutting the meat on his plate, replied in his usual indifferent tone.

  “Yes. I’ll be meeting with some city merchants who want to discuss the province’s tax changes. That should take up my entire morning.”

  Despite being a family of warriors, the Aster family also governed the entire northeastern region of the Empire, so much of Cedric’s day was spent on administrative duties.

  “And in the afternoon?” Helena asked again.

  “In the afternoon, I’ll be training,” he replied before lifting the meat from his plate to his mouth.

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  “I see.”

  Helena nodded, not pressing the matter further.

  “Father, then could you help with my training?” Alex asked eagerly.

  “Mine too, mine too,” Camille added, just as expectant.

  Cedric frowned slightly.

  “Very well.”

  The answer delighted the siblings, and Alex’s gaze turned toward Lucius.

  “And you, Lucius? Don’t you want Father to help with your training too?”

  Lucius’s cutlery stopped mid-motion as his gaze shifted from his plate to his younger brother.

  “... If Father isn’t too busy,” he said before returning to his meal in silence.

  “My husband, later today I’d like to take Lilia for a walk through the city. Do I have your permission?” Yuria asked in her characteristically soft voice.

  After finishing the food in his mouth, he nodded.

  “Take some guards with you.”

  “As you wish,” Yuria replied with a nod.

  The rest of breakfast passed without incident, with brief conversations exchanged among the family members—except for Lucius and Lilia, who remained silent through almost the entire meal.

  Lucius briefly returned to his room, changed into lighter clothes that allowed freer movement, and then headed down to the training courtyard beside the mansion.

  When he arrived, he found Alex and Camille already dressed in training attire.

  Along with them was Elliot, the instructor of the three siblings.

  Elliot was already past fifty. Tall and broad, with a shaved head and beard, he gave the impression of a stone wall—resilient and unmoving regardless of circumstance.

  Elliot was Cedric’s trusted man, and so he had been tasked with training his children in the martial path.

  “What are we doing today, Instructor?” Alex asked.

  He seemed unusually excited, which was uncommon when it came to training. Lucius imagined it might be because their father would be joining them later.

  “We’ll start with a run to warm up. Seventy laps around the courtyard,” Elliot said in his deep voice.

  Surprisingly, Alex did not complain, though Camille pulled an irritated face.

  “Eh, can’t we do something different today, Instructor?”

  “No complaints!”

  The shout wasn’t even directed at him, but Lucius still felt his eardrums burn. Elliot was one of the few subordinates who never went easy on them.

  Maybe that’s why Father put him in charge of our training.

  Without waiting for his siblings, Lucius started running.

  Seeing this, Alex followed, and Camille—still complaining—soon did the same.

  Alex quickly caught up to Lucius, and Camille managed to do so shortly after. The trio ran side by side for a few laps, but around the tenth lap, Alex began to pull ahead. Seeing this, Camille also picked up her pace. It still wasn’t enough to overtake Alex, but it gave her a clear lead over Lucius.

  By the thirtieth lap, Alex was about three laps ahead of Lucius, while Camille had completed her first extra lap.

  By the fiftieth lap, the distance had more than doubled: seven laps for Alex and three for Camille.

  “Haa… haa… haa…”

  Lucius’s breathing was ragged, his forehead soaked with sweat. He began to feel pain in his chest and ribs, as if someone were hammering them from the inside.

  Just a little more, just a little more.

  It was the fifty-fifth lap. Only fifteen left. He just needed to endure fifteen more laps.

  Damn it…!

  Watching his siblings run as if without any effort, Lucius clenched his teeth.

  He was a year older than Alex, two years older than Camille. He had started training before both of them—so why couldn’t he keep up?

  “Ugh…!”

  His chest felt like it was about to explode, but he forced himself onward.

  When he reached the sixtieth lap, Alex completed the course.

  Puffing out his chest, he walked over to Elliot in search of praise, clearly showing that even after all this time, he still hadn’t grasped their instructor’s personality.

  “I’ve seen children run faster than that,” Elliot mocked.

  The words were aimed at Alex’s inflated ego, but they struck Lucius directly—Lucius, who could barely feel his legs obey him and still had seven laps left.

  Shortly after, Camille also completed the course, leaving only Lucius running the field while his siblings waited beside the instructor.

  “Hey, Instructor, let’s move on to the next exercise already,” Alex said.

  “Yeah, yeah, I don’t want to spend the whole day here,” Camille agreed.

  “Be patient. Your brother is almost done. Use this time to rest.”

  “Hehehe, rest? I don’t need rest. I’m at a hundred percent,” Alex said, puffing out his chest.

  “Oh? Is that so? Good to know you’ve got so much energy. I’ll make sure to squeeze every last drop of it out of you in the next exercises,” Elliot said with a malicious grin.

  “Ugh, no, there’s no need to go that far, Instructor.”

  “Idiot…!” Camille shot Alex an angry look. “You just had to open your mouth and say something unnecessary.”

  While the three talked, Lucius continued his inglorious run. What little he heard of their conversation was enough motivation to push harder, finally completing all seventy laps.

  “Haa… haaa… haaa… haaa…”

  When he returned to the group, he nearly collapsed onto the ground. Only the thought of avoiding further shame and humiliation kept him standing.

  “Here. Drink.”

  Seeing his pitiful state, Elliot handed him a water flask.

  Seeing how almost unaffected his siblings were made him hesitate. But in the end, he drank. With how much he had sweated and how hot his body was, if he didn’t hydrate now, he would surely pass out during the next exercise—which would be even more humiliating.

  “Now that everyone’s finished, we’ll move on to the next exercise.”

  Elliot pointed to the cut logs stacked beside the field.

  “Bring those over here. We’re going to start working those skinny legs of yours.”

  They then had to do squats with wooden logs that weighed more than twice as much as an adult man. The hardest part was keeping the thing balanced on their backs, since there was no support axis.

  Even Alex and Camille struggled during this exercise, but they were leagues above Lucius, who—despite using a smaller log—barely managed to complete all the sets.

  When they finished, their legs felt like jelly, but Elliot didn’t even give them time to breathe before moving on to the next exercise.

  “Now go grab those stones. I want one lap around the field carrying them.”

  “Eh? Haaa… haa… that’s easy, Instructor.”

  “In a squat.”

  “Ugh…”

  “Move it.”

  The physical training continued for several more hours, until Elliot had punished nearly every muscle in the siblings’ bodies.

  “Haa… haa… I’m dead,” Alex said, gasping.

  He was lying on the ground, his body drenched in sweat.

  “That’s because you don’t know when to shut your mouth,” Camille spat as she drank some water.

  She was in better condition than him, not because her conditioning was superior, but because she had done the entire training one gear below him.

  Even so…

  Both of them were far better off than Lucius, who at this point had a dark blot creeping across his vision.

  “You did well, so I’ll give you ten minutes of rest,” Elliot said with a laugh.

  “Eh? Only ten minutes?”

  “You’re still complaining? Want it to be five?”

  “No, no, no. Ten minutes is fine, Instructor,” Camille said hurriedly, covering Alex’s mouth.

  The scene only served to widen the smile on Elliot’s face.

  At this point, Lucius suspected he truly enjoyed seeing suffering and panic in their expressions.

  Ten minutes passed incredibly fast when you were exhausted. Before Lucius could feel his legs properly again, Elliot was already shouting for them to stand.

  “Assume the proper stance and focus.”

  Keeping his feet shoulder-width apart and his arms slightly bent in front of his torso, Lucius closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Forget the outside world. Erase unnecessary thoughts and breathe correctly, just as I taught you.”

  What separated an ordinary warrior from a true specialist was the ability to manifest one’s Aura and use it in combat.

  Mastering the use of Aura was the true watershed—the thing that separated exceptional individuals from mediocre ones.

  But before you could even talk about using Aura, you first had to be able to feel it, and that was precisely what this training was about.

  Lucius completely shut himself off from the outside world. He did exactly as Elliot said, following the breathing technique he had taught them.

  Damn it…!

  No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t feel anything.

  “That’s enough.”

  After an hour of frustrating attempts, Elliot ordered them to stop.

  “Damn it, tomorrow I’ll definitely get it,” Alex muttered.

  But he didn’t seem too worried. After all, he had only started this part of the training less than three months ago—unlike Lucius, who had been trying for over a year.

  “I’ll take over from here.”

  That was when Cedric appeared.

  Damn it.