Chapter 96: Why do I need to train so diligently, when I could have subordinates at my feet?

*The year is 1537, Domain of the Water Elemental family… Drigan Manor.*

The light wind rustled the leaves surrounding the domain’s ponds, but for young Victoria, this tranquility was only a source of deep boredom.

At only six years old, she already possessed those long, cyan blue hair, crystal clear, falling in neat curls over her frail shoulders. Her black, precociously calculating irises watched the servants bustling around the fountains.

For her, the world was divided into two categories: those who commanded and those who obeyed. Indeed, she couldn’t understand why her peers spent hours sweating on the training grounds to master the flow of Chi when a single well placed word could bend any will.

“Why do I need to train so diligently, when I could have subordinates at my feet?” she mused, swinging her bare feet above the water.

Victoria had decided to put her theories to the test that day. She left the edge of the pond and headed toward her father’s office, Lord Drigan. The man, with his own long cyan blue hair, was absorbed in reading complex trade reports. Victoria stopped in the doorway, smoothing her small dress.

“Father… I would like to visit the Sword Clan today,” she declared.

Lord Drigan barely looked up from his scrolls, his brows furrowing slightly. “We visited them last week, Victoria. I am very busy with Magic Clan affairs today. Go play.”

Victoria said nothing.

She simply turned on her heel and walked away slowly.

She went to the inner garden and settled alone on a swing, her small figure looking isolated in the vastness of the domain. She knew, moreover, that her father would be watching her from his office window within minutes. Sure enough, shortly after, Lord Drigan stepped out onto the balcony, sighed at seeing his only daughter so forlorn, and came down to join her.

“Victoria… why are you sitting alone like this? Ermin is training in the south courtyard, you could join him,” he offered, approaching the swing.

Victoria kept her head down. “Ermin is always training… and Ermin isn’t my mama… I miss Mama so much…”

Lord Drigan’s stern expression shattered instantly. His wife’s death in childbirth was his deepest wound, and Victoria knew it perfectly well.

‘My mother died giving birth to me, how could I possibly miss her when I don’t even know her face?’ the little girl sneered inwardly as her father lifted her from the swing to carry her against his neck, rocking her gently.

“All right, my little pearl… we’ll go to the Sword Clan. Get your things ready,” Lord Drigan murmured.

…

Victoria particularly enjoyed visiting the Sword Clan, because there were children her age with unusual personalities she could observe.

There was the troublemaker who never sat still, the clan genius who was always disciplined. And finally, there was Katelyn, the shadow who never left Kristian’s side.

While the adults discussed politics, Victoria preferred to sit and watch, observing Katelyn as she ran through her sword forms.

Ermin’s presence beside her, however, irritated her deeply. Ermin was the orphan her father had adopted before her birth, a commoner Lord Drigan had taken in for fear of never having a biological heir. ‘What does this commoner even want from me?’ Victoria thought, putting some distance between them.

Katelyn eventually took a break, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. She approached the bench and sat next to Victoria.

“Lady Ravenna, why do you train so much?” Victoria asked, tilting her head to the side.

Katelyn looked at her in surprise. “Why the question, Victoria? Don’t you train too, at home?”

“Indeed… but only enough to stay average for someone of my rank. I don’t see the point in suffering so much,” Victoria replied, examining her perfect nails.

Katelyn clenched her fists, a spark of pride burning in her eyes. “My mother was one of the strongest in the Clan, an unmatched swordmaster. I want to become strong enough to learn the truth behind her disappearance, but before that, I must be worthy of being heir to House Summer.”

Victoria took a few seconds to think, an enigmatic smile stretching across her lips. “Hmm… you don’t need to become physically stronger, Katelyn. We’re women, we have other weapons far more powerful than Chi to get what we want. Here, watch.”

Victoria stood and walked shyly toward Ermin, who was training a little further off. She adopted a hesitant posture, hands clasped in front of her, and lifted her big black eyes toward the boy.

“Big brother… I… I’m terribly bored here…” she murmured.

Ermin, hearing Victoria call him “big brother” for the very first time, felt his heart leap with surprise. He, who had desperately sought his adoptive sister’s approval, was instantly won over. “Huh! Yes! So little sister… what do you want to do! I’ll do anything for you!”

“I want to go play on the frozen lake… but I’m afraid to go alone,” Victoria said with a vulnerable child’s pout.

Ermin scratched his head, his face marked with hesitation. “Ah… Father said the frozen lake was dangerous this time of year…”

Victoria pretended to turn away, her shoulders slumping. “Then if you don’t want to help me, I’ll go sit back down… it’s fine…”

“No! We can definitely go!” Ermin exclaimed hastily, unable to bear seeing her disappointed. “I’ll call Daemon, he knows the area well.”

Victoria returned to Katelyn with a triumphant look. “See? Nothing easier. Come with me, I’ll show you how to get what you want from Kristian.”

They went to the main training hall where Kristian was practicing alone with his two wooden swords. Victoria leaned toward Katelyn and whispered in her ear: “Go tell Kristian you’re sad and need comfort. He’ll stop training and do whatever it takes to bring back your smile.”

Katelyn stepped forward and stood before Kristian, but her body went rigid. She looked at Kristian, who stared back with indifference.

‘How can I say something so shameful?’ she thought with disgust. “I’m not some fragile little thing.”