"Professor, with all due respect, isn't this a bit much?"
A maid stepped up to ask, and others followed. Aaran noticed them and agreed. The oldest among the nobles there were seven-year-olds. It was delusional to think they could turn those dolls to dust.
We'd be lucky to even make a dent on them.
Expecting the children to wield a sword properly was already a stretch, but she wanted them to break the dolls? That was nothing short of impossible.
Noticing Amara's lack of response, the servants grew bolder. They mistook her silence for hesitation, thinking she would go back on her statement.
However, Amara's words shocked them.
"If it is too much for your lieges, then please take them away," she said, crossing her arms. "I have no interest in pampering weaklings in my class."
The maid who spoke first looked around for support, but everyone was as shocked as her.
Professor or not, how could Amara talk to them like that? They represented the noble houses of the empire. No one in their mind would dare offend them.
Unfortunately, the maid forgot one thing.
Amara wasn't just a professor, she was also a queen and a virtue. While Aurelia might be a small kingdom, it didn't give those bratty servants to look down on her.
Meanwhile, Aaran was barely controlling his urge to laugh.
The servants expected Amara to reconsider her training methods. Instead, she told them to leave if they couldn't handle it. Only his savage mother could pull something like that in the academy.
"Now I know why your father didn't dare offend her," Darius said. "Haha! She's a true Aurelia! My lineage holds strong!"
Aaran rolled his eyes.
Where was your lineage after your death? Oh right, they were busy sucking the emperor's dick.
[You're part of that lineage too, boy.]
"…"
"Dread is correct," Darius nodded. "You, too, should take pride in your mother, like me. HAHA!"
At that moment, Aaran was thankful Darius could only hear Dread's words and not his thoughts.
Meanwhile, the servants hurried to pick weapons for their masters and mistresses. Some were helping them focus their mana.
As for his maid, she was nowhere in sight.
Usually, it wouldn't be a problem, but it had turned into one since Amara was there.
Amara had sent Analeis with Aaran to protect him. Yet, she was missing. If she learned the barbarian was off smoking somewhere, Amara might forget about teaching the students and teach Analeis a lesson instead.
Right on cue, Analeis jumped back in from the window, landing before Aaran.
"Wow, did a rat jump under their skirt? Why is everyone—?"
Before she could say anything else, Aaran aggressively nodded towards Amara. Analeis couldn't understand what he was doing, but all the color drained from her face when she noticed Amara's icy gaze on her.
Without a word, Analeis rushed to the weapon stand, grabbed a sword, and imitated the other servants. However, when she handed it to Aaran, he declined.
"I won't be needing that," he said, raising his hand.
Aaran didn't want to make a fool of himself. Only a fool would try to swing a blade without strength stat and as a two-century-old dumbass, he won't repeat that mistake. Once was enough.
Besides, he had the perfect plan to uphold Amara's pride.
A child might not notice it, but Aaran did. The servants had been eyeing him since Amara's comment. Even a blind person could notice their intention.
What a bunch of fools.
They wanted to upstage him and hurt Amara's pride. With their goldfish-like memory, they had forgotten he had the obsidian locket for a reason.
Well, being the kind soul Aaran was, he would gladly refresh their memory.
[Bought
***
Meanwhile, Amara was looking at Aaran from the corner of her eyes. She already planned on having a discussion with Analeis regarding her duties. But Aaran did something she didn't expect.
When Analeis offered him a wooden sword, he declined her.
Amara raised her eyebrows. Since he didn't want the sword, it meant he planned on using mana. But even the thought was absurd.
At birth, Amara noticed Aaran had some mana. However, all of it should've been used up after he contracted Dread.
Even if Aaran had some residual mana, he couldn't possibly know how to use it. After all, they never taught him any spells.
Could Analeis… no, she doesn't have any mana. How could she teach him any magic when she didn't know any of herself?
Amara's thoughts drifted to Dread. But even that was impossible. Even if he had the knowledge, he couldn't pass on any spells to Aaran as per the contract.
At last, Amara shook her head and looked away. She was overthinking things. At most, he'd make some sparks and that would be it.
Unlike the girl before her.
While the children were struggling to condense their mana, someone in the middle of the training hall and already materialized her mana. Amara looked at her and couldn't help but smile.
As expected of Leon's and Vericia's daughter.
***
"You're doing great, Your Highness," Rosaline, Seraphina's maid, applauded her.
Seraphina didn't reply, focusing on her mana flow. Slowly, her feet left the ground and her hair danced around. It almost felt like the winds were coddling her.
Soon everyone forgot the task and kept staring at her. At the young age of six years, Seraphina knew how to use wind magic. No wonder every professor wanted her for themselves.
Among the four basic elements, wind magic was considered the most difficult to master. Unlike water, fire, and earth, wind could only be felt, not visualized, and visualization was the most important aspect of magic.
That's why the magic tower was always on the lookout for such individuals.
In Seraphina's case, she was the daughter of the magic tower's master, the former mage of the hero's party, Vericia Marigold. It was natural for Seraphina to be well-versed in magic.
However, before she could cast the magic, there was a loud explosion behind her. Everyone was startled, and some children were crying.
Amara's head whipped towards the noise, only to see a gaping hole in the wall, and standing before it was Aaran.