When we got home, we found Father waiting in the dining room, sipping coffee—his nightly ritual. One that signaled he'd retire to bed as soon as the cup was empty. After that, we weren't supposed to make noise. And fair enough—he spent nearly all day with the king, sometimes even accompanying him on night patrols.
When we walked in, he shot us an amused smirk.
"You two look terrible. Like someone mopped the floor with you."
Hilarious. Truly, comedy at its finest.
"Haha…" Isolde laughed weakly.
"Don't be discouraged," Mother chimed in, approaching with a towel in each hand. "You just need to be persuasive and have strong willpower."
Classic. Motivation in its purest form.
Still, I took the towel when she offered it and wiped my face. Isolde did the same.
"Thanks, Mother."
Not just for the towel—but for the words. She was right. This wasn't the time to mope. It was time to use this humiliation as fuel.
"Yeah! Thanks, Mother!" Isolde cheered, her usual energy resurfacing.
"We're going to rest," I said, heading out of the kitchen.
"Aren't you eating dinner?"
I wasn't hungry. Honestly, I hadn't felt hunger all day. I just wanted to sleep.
"Not hungry."
"What about you, Issy?"
"Mmm… No," she shook her head. "I'm gonna sleep with Lucy."
Mother smiled.
"Alright. Rest well, my twins."
She kissed our cheeks. Isolde dashed over to Father and did the same. He just smiled.
"Get some rest."
"Thanks, Father."
With that settled, Isolde and I headed upstairs, discussing our little "training session" with Alicia.
"Don't you think her strength was… overwhelming?" she asked, disappointment creeping into her voice.
It was. And her speed wasn't normal either.
"I do."
Too fast for a girl her age.
According to Paradox's book, a child barely reaches the strength of an average adult, and with training, they can match their speed. A teenager can surpass it. But by adulthood, physical stats no longer have a mortal limit—only divinity becomes the true barrier.
Alicia had the speed of an adult. Maybe slightly less. But not enough to explain the gulf between us.
That kind of gap could only mean one thing…
"I have an idea. But we're going to have to study harder than ever."
Isolde frowned.
"What? What do you mean, Lucy?"
"We're going to have to master healing magic. Completely."
I grinned.
Because if my theory was right, the gap that crushed us today wasn't just about talent or training.
It was about pushing the body to its absolute limit.
And if that meant unraveling the principles of healing magic to apply them in… unconventional ways?
So be it.
---
Isolde's Perspective
I can't... breathe...
Something heavy was crushing me. Oh... oh... it felt like...
"Lucy, get off!"
"Mmm? Oh, sorry."
Lucy rolled off me, finally letting me gasp for air. So funny! We'd stayed up late studying, collapsed on top of each other, and woken up in the most ridiculous positions. How did this happen? Who knows—but it definitely wasn't my fault.
Lucy yawned and stretched like a satisfied cat.
"What time is it...?"
"Mmm... Dunno." I tilted my head toward the window, squinting at the giant clock outside. Early. "Nine."
"Mmm... Pretty sure staying up late and waking up too early isn't healthy. But it was worth it. That healing magic research was insane."
Insane? More like maddening. Atoms, tissues, diseases, concentration—everything had to align perfectly, or the results could be... well... explosive.
"Yeah... but it's complicated."
"Sure. But we've handled worse, right? Remember gravity magic? We shattered Mom's plates."
I burst out laughing. True. No reason to get discouraged. Lucius always found a way to spin things positively, even with that cold, stoic face of his.
He hopped off the bed in one smooth motion.
"Alright, let's grab breakfast and head to Uncle Reginald's workshop." He tugged on his boots lazily.
Lately, we'd been spending way too much time there. But come on—it was a treasure trove of strange, dangerous, and potentially lethal gadgets. How could it not be fun?
My favorite was a tiny mechanical spider with lethal venom. So adorable~! Best part? It doubled as a surveillance drone that could imprint images directly into your brain.
Lucius didn't get the mechanism. Neither did I. But who cared? It was cool.
"Yeah! I'm starving!" I yanked my boots on in record time.
We bolted from the room and raced downstairs.
"Good morning, Mother!" we chimed in perfect sync.
Our dear mother smiled warmly.
"Good morning, my little twins. You must be hungry. Here."
Food materialized in front of us. Hot. Delicious. Gone in seconds.
Father was already out—as usual, he'd left early with the King. Mom stayed home most days, sewing, working... being adorably predictable~
When we finished, we brushed our teeth fast-fast-fast.
"We'll be back later, Mother!"
"Alright, be careful and come home early."
"Got it~!"
And with innocent smiles, we sprinted straight to Uncle Reginald's workshop.
We were halfway there when we suddenly ran into someone who, less than a day ago, had been training with us.
"Alicia!" I called out happily, waving my arm like a lost child in a crowd.
"Huh? Oh, Isolde."
Her eyes settled on me. How curious. Yesterday, she'd been so mocking during our training session—but maybe she'd just been trying to provoke us, to push us to do our best. Or maybe she just enjoyed messing with us. I won't lie, she kinda rubs me the wrong way… but I also like her.
"Good morning. Didn't expect you two to come train this early," she said, her tone casual.
"Well… that's just how it turned out," Lucy replied, a little nervous.
He leaned toward my ear and whispered:
"What do we do now? We can't go to Uncle Reginald's workshop anymore."
Oh~ he's right. But, if I think about it, we could go another day. It's not like Uncle Reginald was going anywhere. But training? That was important. In four years, the academy entrance exam would come, and I wasn't about to fall behind.
Most kids had already started training for that exam. Was Alicia the only prodigy in the kingdom? Doubtful. We had to push ourselves. Besides, we'd already gotten a little control over blood-based healing magic. And that was seriously fun.
"Mmm… Don't you think we should go to Uncle Reginald's workshop another day?"
"Issy, we already promised we'd study with him. We can't just skip out now."
"Mmm. But you also said something similar. You said that if we didn't show up, Alicia would just leave out of boredom. Wouldn't that be standing her up?"
Lucius fell silent. Thinking. He frowned.
"Either way. We already made plans with Uncle Reginald."
"I'm not going."
"What?"
"You heard me. I'm not going."
Lucy clenched his teeth.
"Fine. I'll go."
And just like that, he ran off.
Tch. So annoying. I mean, we couldn't always focus on studying, right? We also needed to train, to improve our physical condition.
But… if I'm being honest… I felt a little bad.