Chapter 241: Noble Lady

Ravian entered the room Lysandra had indicated and closed the door behind him while she stood near the window with her arms crossed over her chest.

There was no one else inside, and Lysandra made certain of that before she began speaking.

"Well, you’ve finally come back."

Ravian smiled faintly.

"Weren’t you the one who asked me to return?"

"I asked you to come back, yes, but I didn’t ask you to make your return the topic of conversation for the entire camp. Everyone’s saying things like ’the return of the white-haired disciple’ or coming up with some other strange title."

"That has nothing to do with me, if you don’t mind. Thank the company commander for that. He decided to announce my arrival in a way that made me feel as though I’d returned victorious from a war against an entire empire."

Lysandra raised an eyebrow.

"And you didn’t enjoy it?" she asked, giving him a bored look.

Ravian froze at the expression, noticeably different from the usual coldness she wore.

"Are you making fun of me now?"

"A little."

"..."

Ravian stared at her blankly, but this time Lysandra made no attempt to hide her smile.

It was obvious she was enjoying the sight of a man who had grown accustomed to nobles and high-ranking officials in the capital treating him like a once-in-a-generation talent, only to become helpless before his own master and squadmates in an ordinary military camp.

Naturally, Lysandra knew about that side of him. Before leaving the capital, she had looked into what Ravian had been doing there; sometimes, she simply couldn’t restrain her curiosity.

Her smile gradually faded, however, when her gaze dropped to the arm Claria had been treating only moments earlier.

"Did the company commander give you those injuries?"

Ravian moved his arm from side to side to show that it was perfectly fine.

"We were training."

"That much is obvious, but I didn’t expect you to start training with him the moment you returned."

Ravian waved a hand as though the matter wasn’t worth so much attention.

"Don’t worry about it. The injuries weren’t serious, and I already got something out of it that made the whole thing worthwhile."

"Who said I was worried? I just want you back on squad duty as soon as possible so I can see how strong you’ve become... and what exactly is this thing you got that made all of that worthwhile?"

Ravian hesitated, then raised his right hand and slowly closed his fingers, recalling the sensation of summoning his aura for the first time.

He could tell Lysandra that he had begun learning how to use aura, but she only knew that he intended to attempt his ascension after she left the capital, not that he had already reached the Ninth Rank.

For now, Ravian had decided to consult Karius before revealing anything important about his new condition, especially after learning that he was what his master called a dual-essence cultivator.

So he offered her something else to satisfy her curiosity.

"I learned a few things about fighting, and I’ll soon begin learning the Dmitri family’s sword art."

Lysandra’s eyes widened slightly.

"The Dmitri family’s sword art?"

Ravian nodded.

"Did you really not expect that? I’m his only disciple, after all."

"I didn’t think he’d teach you his family’s style this quickly, especially when you’ve barely returned to the camp."

Ravian smiled with deliberate pride.

"What can I say? It seems my talent is so exceptional that he simply couldn’t resist teaching me."

Lysandra stared at him for several seconds before shaking her head in resignation.

"..."

She still made sure to give him that bored look, despite not actually feeling bored at all.

"Huh? What’s with that look? You’ve been giving it to me a lot lately, Noble Lady."

She stepped slightly closer and changed the subject the moment he started addressing her that way.

"Did you tell him about the capital?"

Ravian’s smile disappeared, replaced by a more serious expression as he finally realized why she had asked to speak with him alone.

"I told him I stayed at Earl Viola’s residence for most of my absence, and that I met you there."

Lysandra’s expression barely changed, but Ravian noticed the way she stopped moving when he mentioned the last part.

"You told him that you met me?"

"Of course. Is there a problem?"

Lysandra stared at him in silence for several seconds before raising a hand and pressing her fingers to her forehead as though suppressing a sudden headache.

"Ravian, do you realize that I still haven’t told my brother that I met you in the capital?"

"..."

Ravian blinked.

’Of course I know.’

He had mentioned Lysandra to Karius deliberately. Ravian wanted his master to understand that he was already beginning to gather exceptional people around himself, because that would matter for the next step he had in mind.

He wanted to become a faction leader as soon as possible.

Some of the places he had read about in the Higher Academy’s library were far too dangerous to enter alone, and his future expeditions would require a capable group if he wanted a reasonable chance of surviving. Ravian had therefore already begun considering which exceptional people he wanted beside him and how he might gradually draw them to his side.

He had known Frank might become suspicious after seeing Lysandra’s behavior earlier, but he hadn’t expected Karius to discuss the matter with him, so he had dismissed the risk of putting Lysandra in an awkward position.

Whether Lysandra knew that, however, was another matter.

"Well, if anyone asks, you can just say I asked you to keep it secret," Ravian said.

Lysandra narrowed her eyes.

"And you expect me to lie to my brother that easily?"

Ravian looked at her with genuine confusion.

"Didn’t you already do that when you pretended we’d never met?"

"..."

This time, Lysandra was the one who couldn’t find an appropriate response.

After a moment of silence, she released a long sigh and turned toward the window, leaving Ravian to enjoy his small victory.

His satisfaction didn’t last long.

"Anyway," Lysandra said in a quieter tone, "what’s going on with that body of yours? What kind of relic are you using to rewind your body through time like that?"

The mocking smile on Ravian’s face faded slightly.

This was the question he had been reluctant to return because of.

But now he had to reveal a little if he wanted to avoid revealing everything.

"It’s just a relic I obtained from Earl Viola in the capital. Nothing major, just a Soul Liberator-grade relic."

Lysandra looked slightly surprised when he mentioned House Viola.

"How did they give you a relic like that so easily? Do you have any idea how much a Soul Liberator-grade relic costs? That’s worth thousands of gold coins, Ravian."

Ravian shrugged.

"Well, I have some business dealings with them, and their young lady seems to be rather fond of me, so getting it wasn’t particularly difficult."

The moment he finished speaking, Ravian strangely felt the temperature in the room drop a little.

He looked toward Lysandra, only to find that she had returned to an expression of complete disinterest.

’Huh? What’s wrong with her?’

"Well, it’s good that you’re fine, anyway," Lysandra said before abruptly turning around, her military coat trailing behind her as she headed for the door. "I’ll leave you to rest now."

She finished speaking in one moment, and by the next, she had already left the room.

’What the hell was that?’

Ravian was thoroughly confused, but he wasn’t in the mood to think about anything else. Right now, all he wanted was to rest and sleep peacefully for a while.

’Maybe I’ll think about it tomorrow?’

...

At last, Ravian returned to his own room, closed the door behind him, and sat down on his bed with a long exhale.

’What a long day...’

It was still far from the time he normally went to sleep, yet he felt as though he had spent several consecutive days without getting any proper rest.

Even so, sleep wasn’t the first thing that came to mind now that he was finally alone.

He reached out and took out the Void of Prohibition book, placing it in front of him as he recalled Karius’s words about meditation techniques and aura.

He had managed to use his aura for the first time, but even after repeated attempts, he hadn’t been able to reproduce it. Merely possessing the power clearly wasn’t enough to use it properly.

If Ravian wanted to learn the Dmitri family’s Moon Knight Sword Art, he would first have to master the fundamentals that any ordinary Awakened was supposed to learn after reaching the Ninth Rank.

But Ravian wasn’t an ordinary Awakened, and the meditation technique he possessed was anything but ordinary as well.

’All right, you damned book. Looks like we’re going to be spending a lot of time together over the next few days.’

Ravian opened the book, recalled the instructions of his cultivation technique, and began studying the section he had neglected while focusing on ascension and developing his body.

Before he could actually begin practicing, however, Karius’s final words from their conversation on the training grounds resurfaced in his mind.

’The direct, exclusive support of one of the Taboos, huh?’

Ravian looked down at the book in his hands, and a strange smile appeared on his face as he realized just how ironic his master’s words truly were.

If Karius knew the real nature of the power his disciple possessed, or what had happened only a few hours earlier when Ravian used the Law of Void to deceive the power of the very Taboo Karius personally served, he probably wouldn’t have looked quite so pleased at the idea of Ravian receiving a Taboo’s support.

But none of that mattered right now.

He had a master willing to teach him a valuable family sword art, a book containing a meditation technique unknown to the world, and a body whose physical strength far exceeded what someone of his rank should have been capable of possessing.

If he could combine those advantages properly, then perhaps he wouldn’t have to rely on physical strength alone in his next battle.

Ravian smiled as he turned to the first page of the section he intended to study.

’All right. Let’s see how far I can develop this power before that old man summons me again.’