The next level was actually expanding the distance I could travel through the portal, or the distance between the entrance amd exit.
I wanted to be able to move anywhere freely so I nodded.
"My lady already has a good grasp about creating a portal, you would only need to learn how to create some distance." Sebastiene explained. "How about we start from inside this room to outside the door?"
"Okay." I replied.
Just like that, I started to train for the distance my portal could reach. We started outside the door. Then a few more meters away and add another few more meters. By the time it was lunch, I was already able to open portals and travel anywhere within the castle.
"Mel, where have you been all morning?" Father asked me during lunch.
"I was training with Seb." I answered him while cutting through my steak.
Athy looked up from her plate and frowned at me.
"You were training for the whole morning?" She asked.
"Uh-huh.." I nodded.
"Are you training your attack abilities or something?" She snickered.
I smirked at her before answering.
"He was teaching me about portals."
Uriel dropped her fork when she heard what I said.
"Heyy! I want to learn about that too!" She exclaimed and then looked around for Sebastiene who, unfortunately for her, was also having his lunch at the servant's dining area at the moment.
"You should ask Seb to train you." I told her. "It would be very useful for us."
"Can you open portals now?" Father asked.
"Yep." I nodded at him. "But the distance is not that great yet. I still need more practice."
"How far can you go using a portal?" He asked looking interested.
"Not far, I can go anywhere within the castle." I shrugged indifferent.
Everyone became quiet. Athy was quitely looking at her food, her face black like coals.
"I want to learn too!" Uriel yelled childishly before asking me. "Are you going to continue training later?"
"Nope. I'll be training swordsmanship with him later." I answered.
"Yah! Just train with the knights, let me borrow your butler for a while." She said then looked at Athy who has been quiet. "Athy, let's train how to make a portal too.!"
"Hmmm.." Athy nodded looking at me sharply.
The heck is wrong with this girl glaring at me in front of my steak?
We finished lunch and my sisters went to find Sebastiene while I went to my room to rest. I think I need a bath and new clothes since I was so sweaty earlier. No, I did not take a bath before going to the dining room.
I was lying inside my bathtub, my eyes closed and just resting when I heard an explosion. It startled me awake. I was about to get out of the tub when Uriel's voice rang in my head.
"Everyone, please calm down. The explosion just now was from my ability. Sorry. Oh! And continue with whatever you are doing."
Hearing her mall like announcement, I laid back down on the tub and relaxed.
'What could they be doing to create such an explosion?' I thought to myself. 'I really hope it's not Athy and Sebastiene fighting over something petty again.'
I sighed and submerged my head underwater.
After finishing my bath, I dried my hair and changed. I have gotten used to not having any maids to assist me but I know that we should have some for the sake of appearances.
Being a noble is such a hassle.
I thought about what we needed, personal maids, four more butlers, healers and more knights. I don't know how to get the others but personal maids for mother would be the easiest ones to find. As the highest ranking noble family, our personal maids are expected to be lower rank noble ladies, but when I think about it, there are a lot of setbacks on it.
Betrayal is number one on the list. It could be betrayal towards our house or towards my mother. I don't want any scandals of a mistress ruining our name.
Number two is safety. I want mother's maid to be able to protect her or at least, themselves, during emergencies. Just like Astrid. She is mothers current head maid and she can fight. Noble ladies are not that strong as they are normally well protected.
Number three is being able. As much as I want mothers maid to be able to fight, I also want them to be able to serve mother well.
I laid in bed and closed my eyes thinking about it.
When I opened my eyes again, it was already late afternoon. The sun was already hanging low in the sky.
I hurriedly combed my hair and was about to run outside when I thought of something.
Portal.
I have never tried travelling outside the castle using it. Maybe now is the perfect time to try it. I was fully recharged from my sleep and I was confident that I could do it.
I took in a deep breath and opened the portal. Threw all doubts behind and stepped in.
Oh well, the only downline in this is that I'll be seeing Sidapa if this fails.