Chapter 37

The door to my room opened with enough force to bring the dead back to life as someone walked inside. “Huwi, wake up! It’s time to train!”

Third day after both Luna and I arrived at Sir Cedric’s residence and second day after I joined Aaron’s training. My whole body hurt so much that just moving a little bit sent a jolt of pain throughout my muscles. It’s not so bad that I couldn’t move, but definitely painful enough to hinder my movement.

It’s been a year since I started learning magic under Master Elara. While I often did magic sparring with her during our time back in Cheon Clan, after we arrived at Veynes Magic Tower, I spent most of my time reading books in the library without doing any exercise, and I also spent months recuperating after the fight with the Dark Mage. My body had already gotten used to the routine, so it needed time to adjust to physical training again.

The hardest part wasn’t the muscle pain, it was the exhaustion. I felt so tired from yesterday’s training. I felt like I needed more time to sleep, but Aaron, who seemingly was just fine and already fully recovered, entered my room without so much as a knock.

“Ghhh… Fuck…”

Disgruntled, I forced myself awake.

…

“Ten more laps!”

After I woke up, washed my face, and changed my pajamas into a set of training clothes, Aaron and I walked together to the training ground. We did light stretches and warmed up just like yesterday to prepare for today’s training, and after we were done, I felt my muscle pain had lessened considerably. Some stiffness still remained, but nothing could be done about it. In the first place, it was my fault for not exercising regularly.

Sir Cedric arrived at the training ground not long after, and after making sure we had finished warming up, he told us to run around the residence.

“Don’t stop until I tell you to stop.”

That was what he said with a smile on his face. Aaron and I had been running around his residence since dawn, when the sky was still dark. The sun had come up, and the sky had already turned bright blue. Judging by the position of the sun and the warmth of its light, it had probably been around two to three hours since we started running.

I didn’t even know how many laps we had already done. The only thing I knew was that my breathing had already turned ragged, my clothes were drenched with sweat, and every breath I took was painful.

“Great job, both of you. Take your time to rest,” Sir Cedric said as Luna ran towards us together with the servants carrying towels, water jugs, and cups.

Aaron was sitting on the ground, wheezing, while I was crouching, trying not to pass out. My stamina had already hit rock bottom when Sir Cedric told us to run ten more laps. I finished purely through grit alone.

“Haah… Haaahh… You’re okay, Huwi? You look like you’re about to die,” Aaron said with a scoff.

“Haaaaahhhhh… don’t… talk… to me… haaaaah…” Just replying to Aaron already made me feel like I was about to die.

Luna handed us towels. Aaron just took his and grabbed a water jug from one of the servants, not bothering to use the cup they had brought. He just drank straight from the jug. Luna tried to help me recover by dabbing the towel around my face and neck. She then poured water from another jug into a cup and handed it to me, which I gratefully accepted.

Luna didn’t seem too concerned about Aaron, her own brother. Maybe it was because I looked much more pathetic than he did.

“Let’s end the morning training here. After both of you have rested, go eat breakfast. Just ask Hans to prepare it,” Sir Cedric said. His face didn’t show any change after pushing us to our limits.

Sir Cedric seemed gentle, but he was definitely a demon instructor.

“You’re not having breakfast with us, Master?” Aaron asked after finishing the whole water jug.

“No, I still have some work I haven’t finished. I’ll just buy something for breakfast.”

“Have a good day, Master,” Aaron said as he bowed to Sir Cedric. “Right, Master. How about the thing I told you about?”

“The thing about a suspicious guy around here? That’s also something I need to investigate. For now, don’t go outside the residence,” Sir Cedric said as his eyes turned sharp. “Don’t worry. As long as Hans is here, you guys will be fine.”

“Understood,” Aaron said with a nod.

…

After resting for a good while, Aaron and I went back to each of our rooms to grab a change of clothes and clean ourselves up after running around for God knows how many laps.

Luna was already waiting for us in the dining room, so I quickly cleaned myself up in the servants’ bath. Well, part of it was because I felt very hungry after spending all my stamina, so I just wanted to eat breakfast as quickly as possible. Even in my hurry, I still made sure to clean myself properly and thoroughly. I didn’t want to smell bad after training, after all. It was just basic etiquette as human beings.

By the time I arrived at the dining room, Aaron was already sitting right beside Luna, and lots of food had already been spread across the table. There were slices of toasted bread, butter, jam made from fruits I didn’t recognize, scrambled eggs, grilled sausages, and rashers of bacon laid out on the table. A plate of baked beans sat beside a small dish of grilled tomatoes and mushrooms, while a pot of hot tea and a pitcher of milk were placed near the center.

It was a lot more food than I expected for a normal breakfast, but I was so hungry that I felt like I could eat an elephant whole, so this was a very welcome surprise.

Without wasting any time, I pulled out a chair across from Aaron and took a seat as I prepared myself for the feast.

“Big bro, wipe off your drool,” Luna said with a sigh. I didn’t even realize I was drooling, but how could I not, seeing the spread of food in front of me?

Looking at the sight of me drooling over the food, Aaron couldn't help but cackle. “Man, you look exactly like the beggars living in the slums, drooling over food like that.”

“Who the fuck did you call a beggar, you beggar?” I scoffed at him as I started stuffing my mouth with food.

“I was a thief and pickpocket, never a beggar,” Aaron said proudly as he picked up his cutlery and started eating.

“That’s worse, you twat.”

“Brother… Big Bro… Please mind your manners, at least while we eat. We’re guests here.” Luna was exasperated at the sight of us. She just sighed, picked up her cutlery, and started eating. The way Luna ate was very… proper.

She sat with her back straight, kept her elbows close to her body, and used her cutlery with practiced ease. She took small bites, chewed quietly, and never reached across the table when she could politely ask for something to be passed to her instead. Even the way she held her teacup looked graceful.

It was hard to believe she was only nine years old.

Of course, this wasn't something she had picked up naturally. Aside from learning magic, Master Elara had also made sure Luna studied proper manners and the cultures of other countries. As her disciples, we were expected to someday meet important figures from both magical society and the nobility. That's why Master Elara taught her proper manners.

What about me?

I was already familiar with manners. I had grown up expecting to become the heir of my family, after all. While the Cheon Clan wasn't a family of aristocrats, our clan's standing was high enough for us to be considered their equals. There were some differences between the manners and culture of Chinese high society and those of British high society, but since I was already familiar with one, it wasn't difficult for me to pick up the other.

It was just that most of the time, I didn't care much about such things, so Master Elara put more effort into teaching Luna manners than she did into teaching me.

“By the way,” Luna said, addressing Aaron, “what were you talking about with Sir Cedric earlier, brother? Something about a suspicious guy?”

“Hm? Oh, that.” Aaron swallowed a piece of bacon before answering his sister. “These past few days, there’s been a suspicious guy appearing just outside the gate. Whoever he or she is, they haven’t done anything. The guy just stands still right outside the gate, wearing a black cloak that covers their body. Hwi saw them too.”

“Really?” Luna turned her head to face me.

“Yeah. The vibe was similar to that Dark Mage we met when you were kidnapped.”

“Another Dark Mage?” Luna asked, worried.

It was understandable. She had been kidnapped because a Dark Mage needed a sacrifice, and she had also seen one with her own eyes. She knew how dangerous Dark Mages were.

Between the three of us, Aaron was the only one who had never encountered a Dark Mage directly, but even he felt that something was wrong with that person.

“Something was weird, though.”

“Weird how?” Aaron raised his eyebrows at me.

“If that person is a Dark Mage, why would they show themselves so brazenly, especially right at the gate of Sir Cedric’s mansion?”

“Right, that's true. Sir Cedric is a Grandmaster. He's literally the strongest swordsman and knight in this kingdom.”

“Exactly. Any normal Dark Mage, if normal can even be applied to them, wouldn't stand a chance against Sir Cedric. I don't know how strong he actually is, but based on what I've heard and what Master Elara told me, Sir Cedric is freakishly strong.”

Luna seemed to relax a little after hearing that, though she still wore a thoughtful expression.

“Then why would they come here?” she asked.

“That's what we're trying to figure out,” Aaron replied. “Sir Cedric said he'd investigate it himself. For now, we're not supposed to leave the estate.”

“Not that we had any plans to go anywhere,” I added, cutting another piece of sausage. “We're guests here, and Master Elara isn't even around. It's not like we have anything important to do outside.”

“That's true, but I still wanted to explore London with you, Brother,” Luna said, looking at Aaron.

“Eh? Why am I involved?” Aaron pointed at himself with his fork.

“Because you know the city better than I do, obviously.”

“That's not a good enough reason to drag me around.”

“I'm your little sister. You should take me sightseeing at least once!”

“Somehow, I feel like I'm being taken advantage of.”

“You are,” I said, taking a sip of tea.

“Oi!”

Luna giggled at our exchange, and the worried expression she'd worn moments earlier finally disappeared. Good. Whatever that suspicious person was planning, there was no point in letting it ruin our breakfast. Sir Cedric was handling the matter, and as long as we stayed inside the estate, there wasn't much we could do anyway.

Besides, I had more pressing concerns.

I glanced at the remaining food on the table. There were still a few slices of toast, some bacon, and a couple of sausages left. I wasn't about to let such a feast go to waste.

We continued chatting about trivial things as we finished our breakfast. Aaron told Luna a few amusing stories about his time in the slums, while Luna occasionally asked questions about London and the places she wanted to visit. I mostly listened, adding a comment here and there whenever they dragged me into their conversation.

Eventually, the plates were cleared of food, and even I had to admit that I'd eaten enough. I leaned back in my chair, feeling considerably better than I had when I'd first dragged myself out of bed.

My stomach was full but my body was still sore so I planned to take it easy today.

With breakfast over, we thanked the servants for the meal and left the dining room together. For now, we had the rest of the morning to ourselves.