Lunch ended surprisingly quickly. Everyone had many matters to attend to, especially the crown prince. Brendu has told me how her father has delegated most responsibilities to his son—he wants him ready for succession as soon as possible. That will happen in several years… when his older brother reaches Obsidian rank.

  Ruddo promised to come get me at night for some light training before sleeping. I accepted immediately; training with such a powerful Diamond rank isn’t something I can do every day. Brendu just let out a resigned sigh when she saw us.

  The queens slipped away behind the king in a quick and elegant manner, mentioning another meeting with important nobles of the kingdom. I felt the gaze of all three when they brought it up… a chill down my spine told me the topic had something to do with me. I suppose it must be related to that damned count.

  When I open the door to the room where I’ll be staying these days, I freeze. This isn’t a room—it’s much larger than the apartment where I stay at the school, and the luxury everywhere is also worth admiring. There are different kinds of rooms and a bathroom as large as my room back in the town of Talar.

  “Are you ready already?” Brendu enters my room without knocking; she finds me changed and lying on the sofa bed. “Tiani is waiting for us—it’s time to go.” I get up, take her hand, and we almost run out. We’re going to walk around the wealthiest area of the city; commoners can go there without issue, they just avoid it because the prices are exorbitant.

  That part of the city is quite safe. I’m sure we don’t need guards, but the queen insisted we go with Tiani. We get into the huge carriage and set off. The route is wonderful—many massive buildings without neglecting nature, lots of small plazas, and overall very clean.

  We reach the commercial district quite quickly, and in less than an hour I’m already carrying several bags of clothes and accessories. When I ask Brendu why I can’t store them in my storage bracelet, she says: you’ll do it later—it’s just more fun to see the boyfriend carrying the girlfriend’s bags. I go blank at her answer and simply follow her without complaining.

  Finally, when she gets tired of going from shop to shop, I’m able to store all those purchases. I felt like a Christmas tree—except instead of ornaments, I was carrying dozens of bags. I can only store them now because we’re heading to try various restaurants.

  “That was quite de-stressing.” Brendu is sprawled across the carriage seat. Our whole outing was based on visiting multiple shops and food stalls. I don’t complain, because we went to different places where I ended up participating in archery and fencing contests; in the first I placed fourth, and in the second I obviously won by a wide margin.

  “Our bodies and beings need this kind of vacation.” I follow her example, completely collapsing into the seats. Knowing I don’t have to go to classes tomorrow or act as a professor makes me truly feel like I’m on vacation. The only thing I can’t remove from my head is the urge to train and keep getting stronger—but a few days off aren’t bad.

  Someone knocks on the door of my room. Brendu and I look at each other; neither of us has any idea who it could be. I’ve deactivated my Personal World—I don’t feel the need to activate it inside the castle. When I get up to check, I’m surprised to see Ruddo at the door.

  “May I come in?” Ruddo asks; before I can react, he’s already entering.

  “Yeah… make yourself comfortable,” I reply, a bit confused by the situation.

  “Is my favorite little sister here?” Ruddo looks at her, then turns to me and repeats the gesture several times. “Are you planning to have a child? I want a nephew soon…” I’m about to laugh at the prince’s joke when I see Brendu completely serious, thinking—and Ruddo isn’t laughing. That’s when I realize this isn’t a joke.

  “Children? We’re a bit young for that,” I try to sound calm and composed; inside, I’m somewhat nervous.

  “Young? At your age I already had a child.” Ruddo’s response leaves me speechless. Then I remember some situations at the school where some nobles were already parents; for them, it’s completely normal.

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  “It’s still too soon,” Brendu joins the conversation. I feel relieved when I hear her answer. “But I won’t rule it out for the coming years.” I nod slightly, not entirely agreeing with her. I’ll try to delay becoming a father as long as possible—maybe when I’m thirty it’ll be time.

  “That’s a shame.” Ruddo genuinely looks disappointed by our response. “Well, let’s go outside—it’s time to train.” We’re guided within the mansion to special training rooms. They remind me a lot of the school domes, all covered in runes and equipped with a control panel.

  “Don’t hold back—come at me with everything from the start.” Ruddo shouts at me from a distance. I look at Brendu, seated in a special area where she can’t be affected by any attack; she’s very calm, eating something.

  I reinforce my entire body. I’m not afraid of breaking anything in the room—my attacks shouldn’t cause damage. I’m even less worried about the Diamond rank in front of me; he shouldn’t have any problem withstanding my abilities. I exhale a breath to calm my mind, and all my skills activate.

  I can see a flash of admiration in Ruddo’s eyes when he feels the pressure of all my abilities activated. I shoot forward like an arrow, my body enhanced by gravity and electricity—my speed rivals that of a Ruby rank specialized in speed. When I reach his side, my right sword swings at full power toward his ribs.

  Ruddo simply places his hand in the path of my blade. When it strikes his palm, my arm is blasted backward. My hand goes slightly numb after the impact—it was like hitting an immovable wall. I don’t stop for even a blink; I keep swinging my swords side to side, trying to land a hit. I ignore the pain and immediately heal a few broken bones.

  Ruddo’s point of view:

  When I learned that my little sister—the one with a heart as cold as an ice cube—had gotten a boyfriend, I almost fell out of my chair. Brendu? The girl who had always rejected any date or commitment? My mind refused to accept it; I didn’t want to believe she had found a boyfriend.

  I shot straight to Mike’s office. He’s always on top of all family matters—I couldn’t find a more reliable source. “I see you’ve already heard.” Those were his words when I entered his office without knocking.

  “Yeah…” Before I could even sit down, Mike had already thrown me a folder full of papers. I sit in a corner so as not to interrupt him—he goes crazy when someone interferes with his work. I start reading each page in the folder one by one. The first surprise is his origins: the son of a humble baronet of the Empire. How did he do it? Is he looking for benefits from the family?

  Those thoughts soon faded when I realized his potential and talent. My own drinking buddy, Julio Timal, holds him in high regard and considers him like a nephew, and according to studies from his territory and the school, he’s not that kind of person. Three more girlfriends? I almost shouted when I read that—a smile slips across my lips. This one’s one of mine!

  Each page surprised me more than the last. He’s mature, strong, and kind-hearted, with incredible potential. According to many testimonies, he’s also incredibly handsome. He reminds me a bit of myself when I was young—but less wild. He’s missing a touch of aggressiveness. Even before meeting him, I had already approved him. If my brother from another mother, Julio, approves him, so do I.

  When I feel the weight of all his abilities operating at maximum, a surge of excitement washes over me. This violet-eyed boy is truly a limit-breaker—one of the strongest. His cuts are ridiculously precise, extremely powerful, and lightning-fast. What wonderful swordsmanship! Every movement of his body is perfectly in harmony, always thinking one or two moves ahead.

  It’s not just his sword mastery—those constructs are as strong as a Ruby rank dedicated to long-range attacks. Combining close- and long-range attacks at this pace is something worthy of applause. He even has a powerful sensory ability; every time I create small water constructs, they’re intercepted by his ice swords.

  I release poison into the water molecules around us—a poison capable of affecting Grade 5 beasts. Let’s see how he handles it. Several seconds later, I see his brow furrow; he knows something isn’t right. His movements are slower, and his body isn’t responding as he wants.

  I have to protect my neck from a sneak attack. I had relaxed for just a second when I felt the poison taking effect in his body. He used that brief lapse to teleport behind me. And I can’t sense my poison in his body anymore. Did he already eliminate it? What a powerful healing ability—the poison was diluted, but not so much that it should’ve been removed so easily.

  The more I watch him, the happier I am to have him in the family. After several seconds, I decide to play a prank: I release a bit of my Jurisdiction and trap him like a rat. I tilt my head when I see him try something—his first attempt felt like a rumble; the second cracked my Jurisdiction slightly; the third broke it.

  I stand there with my mouth open. I only used a quarter of my Jurisdiction’s power against him, yet it’s still astonishing that he managed to break free. I stop his final thrusting attack, and the force leaves a light scratch on my right cheek. Before I can even see a drop of blood, I’ve already healed. This kid is a monster—there’s no other way to describe him.

  “Welcome to the family, Maki!” I pull the confused young man into a tight hug. This test was essential to fully accept him—I needed to verify whether the rumors were true, and they fell far short.