"Aur, catch me if you can…" Nina said as she happily ran, hiding from him.
Aur closed his eyes while he was blocked from sight, slowly counting numbers.
"One… Two… ten. Ready or not, I am coming to find you."
Aur said as he slowly opened his eyes and looked around Nina's home, which was quite big and exuded a vibe of luxury. The tables were made of expensive wood, there were many picture frames, and even a tiger skin hung on the wall. The home itself emitted an aura of luxury, unlike his simple house with basic furnishings.
"This girl is troublesome to deal with…" Aur thought with a sigh.
"Well, I gotta do the job since I am getting paid for it." He grumbled as he walked around the house, trying to find her.
"Oh, where are you hiding, Nina?" Aur said out loud as he moved from one room to another.
Since the mansion was huge, there were at least a hundred rooms, making it natural for him to find it difficult to locate Nina.
Nina was hiding under a large-sized bed, crouching down with a silly childlike smile.
"You won't find me even in a million years, hehehe," she thought. However, Nina suddenly saw a shadow, causing her to catch her breath.
The shadow slowly moved towards her, making her close her eyes as Nina knew that she was caught.
"Milady, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, it's you, Mary. I thought it was Aur," Nina said frustratedly, her cheeks reddening from embarrassment.
"I am sorry, milady," Mary said as she bowed, her face becoming sad.
Seeing this, Nina felt a little guilty. "It's alright now, hurry up and go," she said, impatiently waving at her.
"Looks like that won't be needed." Suddenly, Nina heard a deep voice that made her body freeze in place.
"Aur, you caught me," her face turned bitter as she slowly turned around to see Aur. However, the moment she saw him, a small blush formed on her face.
"Yes, I caught you, milady," Aur said in a teasing whisper to Nina, making her blush even more.
"Humph," Nina looked to the other side. "I will beat you next time."
"I will look forward to that day," Aur said as he looked at the red-haired girl in front of him, about the same age as him—twelve years old.
"Your birthday is tomorrow, right?" Nina quickly changed the topic, sensing herself losing in the previous conversation.
Aur was stunned when he heard this, nodding his head.
"I will look forward to how high your talent as a wizard will be," she said with a small smirk on her face, fully prideful.
A strange glint appeared in Aur's eyes, but he revealed a bitter expression. "I don't really care," he muttered to himself.
"What do you mean you don't care? It is the deciding factor of your future," Nina said in disbelief.
Aur looked at the blue prompt flickering in the air between him and Nina as he wielded it, which she was ignorant of, and internally nodded his head.
"Milady is a high-ranked talent already. Even if I don't open my mental space, I am sure Milady will help me…" Aur walked close to Nina and said in a devilish tone.
"Cough, cough." Nina coughed when she heard this, running from Aur and hiding behind Mary.
Mary sighed helplessly, watching the drama unfold between Aur and Nina.
"Milady, it is time for your training already; we have to go now," she said in a strict tone, looking at the clock hung on the wall.
Nina had a reluctant expression when she heard this, nodding with a heavy heart before following her maid out of the room.
"You should go as well, Aur."
"Yes, Miss Mary," Aur respectfully bowed as he left the room, heading towards the exit.
Seeing the broad back of Aur, Nina had a longing expression. He was the only one who treated her as a friend when they first met, and they became good friends since then. From that time on, he always came to play with her and became her one true friend.
Although there were countless boys and girls who had always tried to be friends with her, they were always very respectful to her and maintained a safe distance from her, which made her lonelier on the inside.
Aur was the only bold one who could talk to her like this without even a flinch in his eyes.
And most of all, he was handsome. Although she was a month older than him, he was bigger in height and had a muscular build.
One time, she had seen him training shirtless and had seen his muscular body in full display. Although he didn't have curved six-pack abs, still faint lining was seen, with his arms always hidden in his baggy clothes that were almost half the size of her head, and that too when he was twelve years older. She could only imagine how muscular he has become in these almost four years.
Thinking of this, her face flushed with a red hue.
Mary shook her head helplessly, seeing Nina stare at Aur's back for a long time before he left in the distance, exiting the mansion.
"It's time for the lesson."
Nina snapped out of her dazed state when she heard the voice of Mary.
She nodded her head as she took one last glance in the direction of Aur before leaving to do her wizard training.
As Nina had high-grade talent, she could easily enroll in the best academy of the kingdom with just her talent alone.
So, all she needed was to learn the basics before they travelled to the capital to enrol in the academy.
Nina could only hope that Aur would at least get a middle-grade talent if he wanted to have a chance to enrol in the academy, and that too would be a rare case since he was from an ordinary background.