Morning, Ivory Palace
Souael was eating boiled eggs and cheese bread in the dining hall. Two maids stood by, waiting for him to finish his breakfast. Rebecca was nowhere to be seen. After finishing, Souael stood up and walked toward the door of the dining hall.
"Miya, tell Rebecca to meet me at the training grounds," Souael said warmly.
"Yes, sir," Miya replied with a slight grin.
Souael headed to the training grounds after retrieving a spear and a sword from the weapons storage room. He scanned the grounds for any sign of people, but saw no one. He walked to a corner of the grounds near the palace wall.
Planting the spear into the ground with his left hand and gripping the sword tightly in his right, Souael recalled what Dadena, the Malak, had said, but it offered no clear guidance. He began to remember the methods of manna before using ilm.
Manna existed in the surrounding environment. In theory, anyone with a soul could manipulate manna to perform magic. It was believed that the soul stored manna, and the amount stored varied from birth. No one knew how this was determined by external or internal factors.
When someone wanted to use manna, their will had to combine with the manna using intention. The flow of manna current would then produce different outputs.
Souael imagined his manna flowing out from his right hand in a spiral shape, intending to manipulate the air. Slowly, a wind began to form around the sword in his hand.
He recalled that manna could manipulate two aspects of sodau: insodau and ansodau. Sodau referred to elements or energies of reality. Insodau encompassed all physical elements and energies, while ansodau included virtual-physical elements and energies, meaning they would have mass as long as manna was supplied.
Souael swung the sword without manna, feeling no difference. He tried to envision using ilm but couldn't because he couldn't imagine what ilm was like. He thought of using luminos and lunasi but lacked those energies.
This time, he swung with his eyes closed, trying to sense his surroundings, hoping ilm would emerge. Suddenly, he felt someone cover his eyes. He stopped swinging his sword.
"Guess who?"
"Hmm, Rebecca," Souael answered confidently, believing only Rebecca would do such a thing.
"Correct, well done, Young Master Souael. Hahaha," Rebecca laughed cheerfully, releasing her hands from covering Souael's eyes. He turned to see Rebecca taking a few steps back.
"What are you doing, and why didn't you go to the library today?" Rebecca asked with a curious expression.
"Practicing without manna and warming up my body after being bedridden for three days," Souael replied, smiling slightly.
"In that case, I want to help, Young Master Souael," Rebecca said enthusiastically.
Without waiting for Souael's consent, Rebecca drew the sword from her waist.
Seeing this, Souael pulled the spear from the ground and threw it toward Rebecca. Rebecca dodged to the side, her eyes tracking the spear's movement.
Souael ran towards Rebecca and swung his sword at her left side. Rebecca raised her sword to block the attack. Souael pulled back his sword for a second strike, but Rebecca dodged and blocked until Souael's ninth attack. Then, Rebecca began to counterattack. Her movements were swift and precise.
Fifteen years ago
Rebecca stood in line, waiting for her turn in a beautiful courtyard. Many young women were also waiting their turn, standing scattered rather than in a straight line.
"Rebecca Ausriffia Gustoff," called a woman with white hair, looking around fifty.
"Yes, that's me," Rebecca shouted, running towards the woman.
The woman led Rebecca through a gate into the interior of a mansion. Rebecca walked forward and met several assessors.
"Please state your name, age, origin, strengths, weaknesses, and why you want to become a maid for the Irj family," one of the assessors asked.
"My name is Rebecca Ausriffia Gustoff, I'm fifteen years old, from a village in the southern region under the Irj family, and my strength is swordsmanship. My weakness... I haven't yet learned how to be a maid. I want to become a maid because Lady Hyxnne helped my family," Rebecca stated confidently.
The assessors glanced at each other. Then one of them asked, "If I asked you to fight now, could you?"
"I don't have a weapon with me," Rebecca replied.
One of the assessors, an older man with black hair streaked with gray, stood up from his chair and walked over to Rebecca. He handed her a sword. The other assessors looked puzzled but said nothing, as he was the head assessor.
He took a few steps back from Rebecca and performed a warrior's tradition before the duel.
"Drake Diana Dian, six stars," the man said calmly.
"Rebecca Ausriffia Gustoff, three stars," Rebecca responded.
The assessors began murmuring amongst themselves, surprised by her youth.
"She's so young," was all Rebecca could make out from their whispers.
Present
Rebecca's attacks were always aimed at Souael's neck, but they never carried any intent to kill, making him feel somewhat safe. Souael searched for an opening to break through Rebecca's relentless assaults, which seemed like the strikes of ten knights.
Under this pressure, Souael suddenly felt as if he could see three movements of Rebecca's sword where before he had only seen one. He quickly blocked two of her attacks and launched a counterattack, but Rebecca deflected it and spun, falling into Souael's arms. Souael was startled by her actions. Rebecca looked up at him with eyes like a cat's.
"You lost, hehehe," Rebecca smiled with a playful grin and giggled softly.
Souael patted Rebecca's head as a reward and then walked over to pick up the spear he had thrown.
"Rebecca, did you win when you fought Mr. Drake? How did you manage that?" Souael asked, curious.
"Hmm, I could see his attacks. Mr. Drake relied heavily on manna and magic, so every one of his attacks had a manna pathway. He may have been strong in magic techniques and manna quantity, but he couldn't control them finely, leaving traces of manna before the effects appeared," Rebecca explained, looking up as she recalled her duel with Mr. Drake.
Souael tried to visualize the situation to understand what she meant but couldn't quite grasp it.
"So how did you see my attacks?" Souael asked, slightly puzzled.
"Instinct."
Private Bath, Ivory Palace
Souael leaned back in the bath. The water was cold; he preferred cold baths over hot ones. His head tilted back as he looked at the bathroom ceiling. He felt confident that the moment he could see Rebecca's attacks was due to ilm, but he was still uncertain how ilm had manifested then.
After spending some time contemplating, Souael heard a knock, indicating his father wanted to see him. Souael got out of the bath and dressed in attire bearing the Irj family emblem.
Ivory Palace
Souael walked to his father's official room, accompanied by his three personal maids: Rebecca, Miya, and Layla. When he reached the door, two guards pulled it open, allowing Souael to enter. His maids stayed outside.
Souael stepped inside to find his father, Royll, sitting in a plush chair, focused on reading some documents on his desk.
"Souael, sit," Royll's voice was even.
Souael walked over and sat across from his father. Royll pulled out an unopened letter, though it showed signs of having been opened, and tossed it in front of Souael. Souael picked it up and opened it to read.
"To the Honorable Mikaila Family and the Irj Sub-Family,
Lord Royll Xu Soyll Irj Mikaila, we cordially invite your family to attend the 15th birthday celebration of Sarah Karie Roge Jach Mikaila at the end of the Daffodil month.
Sincerely,
Roge Diaen Rullqe Jach Mikaila."
"Souael, do you know what this letter means?" Royll asked sternly.
"It's a matchmaking invitation, isn't it?" Souael sought confirmation.
Royll nodded, saying, "Our family will send you as the main representative."
Souael wanted to protest but knew that the head of the family's decisions had to be obeyed, especially since Souael's influence within the Irj family was weak.
"Alright, Father, I'll go," Souael agreed reluctantly, standing up to show his displeasure with the decision.
Royll remained silent.
Souael left the room and headed to the training grounds to continue practicing and release some tension. Rebecca observed him, while Miya and Layla went to fetch drinks and snacks for Souael.