Raon narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the artificial energy center emanating a powerful scent of mana.
'I don't like my face being engraved on it, but the completion level of the artificial energy center is remarkably high.'
True to her reputation as a genius of the House Yonaan, Encia had created an almost perfect artificial energy center. It appeared to be of a higher grade than Rimmer's artificial energy center.
'No, it's definitely higher grade.'
While the inside of Rimmer's artificial energy center was empty, the one in Encia's hand contained pure mana collected by a dragon.
Even though it was made from a dragon heart, creating an energy center superior to the original was impressive. Encia Yonaan was the most outstanding genius Raon had ever seen.
"I'm planning to make this symbol my signature mark."
Encia smiled broadly, pointing to Raon's face engraved on the artificial energy center.
"What…?"
Raon blinked in bewilderment.
"I want to use your face as my signature mark. You'll allow it, right?"
"Doesn't the House Yonaan already have a signature mark? It seems more valuable…"
Raon muttered, trying to find an excuse to refuse.
"That's true, but I want to create my own mark. I want to use your face to symbolize a perfect artifact."
Encia shook her head, determined to use her own mark.
"If you put my face on it, it might not sell at all. Maybe something else would be better…"
"No way! It will become a symbol of trust and perfection, and it will sell like hotcakes!"
"Hmm…"
Raon looked at his own face engraved on the artificial energy center and licked his lips.
'I don't want to because it's embarrassing, but it's hard to refuse.'
Encia had spent almost a month locked in her room making that artificial energy center, driven only by her desire to help.
It was impossible to refuse her offer when she had shown such good intentions first.
"Hoo…"
Raon let out a short sigh and nodded his head.
"Alright."
"I knew you would allow it! Thank you!"
Encia smiled brightly, saying she would change the face mark according to the seasons.
"And of course, I'll give you a percentage for the portrait rights."
She made a gesture with her fingers, indicating it would be quite profitable.
"That's okay."
Raon shook his head. He was more interested in their mutual trust than in money.
"No, financial matters should be clear!"
Encia stepped closer, her eyes narrowing.
'I'll give it to you. Just take it!'
"Ah, yes…"
She spoke so firmly that Raon nodded in confusion.
-Groan...
Wrath stared at the artificial energy center, letting out a groan.
'Why? What's wrong?'
-If that idiot girl had seen the beauty of this king, my face would have been engraved there! It's such a pity!
Wrath pounded his chest, regretting not being able to wake Encia up at the Owen Kingdom's healing facility.
'There's a lot to envy.'
Raon sighed and shook his head as Sylvia and the maids ran in from the garden.
"What happened?"
"Young Master! Are you okay?"
They looked pale, startled by the black smoke filling the sky.
"It's finally completed."
Raon smiled, pointing to the artificial energy center in Encia's hand.
"Ah…"
Sylvia bit her lip as she approached the artificial energy center. Even though her energy center was broken and her mana circuit was solidified, she could still sense the powerful scent of mana.
"Isn't this Raon?"
But instead of the artificial energy center, she focused on Raon's face engraved on it, blinking rapidly.
"You recognized it immediately!"
Encia beamed, happy that Sylvia recognized Raon's face.
"That's right. It's Raon!"
"How could I not recognize my own son? Who gave birth to such a handsome boy?"
"Mother, he's handsome."
"Yes, handsome!"
"Mom!"
For the first time in a long while, Raon called out to her as 'Mom' instead of 'Mother.'
It was much more embarrassing when Sylvia called him handsome than when Encia or Runaan did. His face turned red.
"I know."
Sylvia nodded slowly, looking at the artificial energy center. Her eyes were deep like a lake reflecting sunlight.
"To create this small energy center, I know how much you struggled and how much Encia put her mind to it."
Her fingertips trembled slightly as if she were nervous.
"That's why I don't know if I deserve this energy center."
"Hoo…"
Raon sighed as he was about to speak, but Sylvia's lips moved first.
"If it were the old me, I would have said that."
"What?"
"I've changed a little, watching you."
Sylvia turned her gaze from the energy center to Raon.
"I just need to receive this energy center and become a person worthy of it. Right?"
She spoke the words Raon was about to say.
"Yes! That's right!"
Encia grabbed Sylvia's hand and laughed heartily.
Raon nodded as he met Sylvia's eyes. It seemed that through various experiences, Sylvia had also strengthened her resolve.
"Thank you."
Sylvia smiled calmly as she received the artificial energy center from Encia.
"I will become a person worthy of this energy center."
Glenn lifted his back from the deep throne and lowered his heated gaze.
"Is it true that Sylvia's energy center is completed?"
"Yes."
Rimmer, standing with a hunched posture, nodded. His red hair swayed, revealing the dark bruise under his left eye.
"It was completed yesterday, and soon, they will start the process of attaching the energy center to her body and connecting the mana circuit. They asked me to provide protection."
He waved his hand, saying Raon had personally requested it.
"What did you say?"
Glenn twisted his fingers and glared at Rimmer. If he had refused, he looked ready to kill.
"Of course, I agreed to my cute disciple's request!"
Rimmer nodded quickly as if his life depended on it.
"When will they start?"
"They will prepare Sylvia's body and begin soon, as Encia's artificial energy center contains a dragon's mana."
"Hmm…"
Glenn rubbed his dry lips and narrowed his eyes.
'I want to help.'
He wanted to check Sylvia's physical condition and help with the treatment.
However, it was difficult to approach because it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was responsible for breaking her energy center and cutting off her mana circuit.
"Roenn."
At Glenn's call, Roenn approached and bowed his head.
"Is the Black Swarm fully returned?"
"Yes. All spies have been dealt with, and they are on standby."
After the incident at the fifth training ground and the annex building, Balder had become even more rampant. Thanks to his rampage in the front, they managed to capture twelve spies operating behind the scenes.
"Deploy the entire Black Swarm to guard around the annex building. Make sure not even an ant can enter."
"I will follow your orders."
"Protection is important, but…"
Rimmer scratched his chin and tilted his head.
"Isn't connecting Sylvia's energy center and mana circuit more important?"
"Why are you stating the obvious?"
"Then why doesn't the head of house help with that important task?"
Rimmer's green eyes met Glenn's red eyes, cold as the north wind.
"No one knows better than I do that Raon is a genius, but connecting someone else's energy center and mana circuit is not an easy task. He will need help."
"…"
Glenn did not scold Rimmer as usual. Instead, he looked up at the high ceiling.
"You know best. It's my fault that Sylvia ended up like that."
He continued, his lips trembling slightly.
"If I hadn't been obsessed with power and the size of the house when I fell into darkness, she wouldn't have returned in such a state. My firstborn would have been smiling with us in that house. How can someone as pathetic as me help her?"
"That's why you should help even more!"
Rimmer pounded his chest as if he were frustrated.
"This time, I agree with this fool."
Sheryl stepped forward, her eyebrows furrowed.
"If you caused the problem, it's important to deal with the aftermath. Regardless of how much time has passed and how deep the resentment is, what needs to be done remains unchanged."
She looked at Glenn with steadfast eyes.
"Hmm…"
Glenn grabbed the armrest of the throne tightly, still hesitant.
"It's also odd to help without being asked."
Roenn smiled softly as he stepped between Rimmer and Sheryl.
"But there are many ways to help Sylvia."
"What do you mean?"
"The person who will connect Sylvia's energy center and mana circuit is Young Master Raon. Couldn't you pass on your knowledge of energy centers and mana circuits to him?"
Roenn smiled as he continued.
"If you add compensation for the destruction of the annex building by the True Martial Palace master and for capturing the light dragon, you can approach without any issue."
"That's a good idea."
"I think it's excellent."
Rimmer and Sheryl gave thumbs up to Roenn, praising his suggestion.
"And you have something to say to Young Master Raon, don't you?"
Rimmer made a gesture as if pouring a drink.
Glenn met the eyes of the three one by one, then nodded as if he had made up his mind.
"…Let's go today."
"Keep going. We're not there yet!"
Raon drew a small circle with his finger.
"Huff…"
Sylvia, dressed in a simple training suit, was drenched in sweat as she ran around the training ground, following Raon's finger.
She was exhausted, her face pale, and she was breathing heavily, but she didn't stop.
"Ugh…"
"Our Vice Division Leader is strict even with his mother."
"Yeah. I didn't expect him to train his family the same way…"
"Won't she collapse?"
The Light Wind division swordsmen swallowed their dry throats as they watched Sylvia stumble and Raon continue training her.
"You guys seem relaxed enough to worry about others."
Burren stood in front of the swordsmen with a cold smile.
"It's not that…"
"We were worried about Lady Sylvia…"
"Worry about your own future. Start practicing the basic swordsmanship a thousand times each right now!"
He instructed them to swing their swords a thousand times for each of the four basic swordsmanship techniques, saying there would be no exceptions.
"Ugh…"
"Hell here and there."
"I should just focus on my work…"
The Light Wind division swordsmen grumbled but followed Burren's order and began practicing their basic swordsmanship.
"…"
Martha lowered her sword and stared at Sylvia running around the training ground.
It was a rare sight, as she usually didn't care who came and went, focusing solely on her training.
"Rakshasa."
Runaan, who had been watching Martha quietly, approached and tapped her on the shoulder.
"What, what is it!"
"Weakling."
"You crazy…"
A thick vein popped out on Martha's forehead.
"How dare you call me a weakling after being lucky enough to awaken!"
"At least I'm lucky."
Runaan shrugged her shoulders indifferently.
"You just wait! I'll definitely catch up with you! Even if I die, I'll kill you first!"
Martha yelled, raising her sword. She gritted her teeth and unleashed her swordsmanship with all her might.
"Hmph."
Runaan easily dodged Martha's attack and snorted.
Raon glanced at Runaan's back and smiled.
'She's being considerate.'
Martha hadn't been able to train properly since Sylvia came to the training ground.
It seemed she was reminded of her own mother and felt melancholic, but Runaan had stepped in at the right moment to wake her up.
Runaan had matured not only in strength but also mentally through the incident with Syria.
"Two more laps."
Raon refocused on Sylvia, holding up two fingers.
"Ugh…"
Sylvia barely nodded and kept moving her feet, even though she was too tired to speak. She had been one of the best talents before leaving the family, and her perseverance was impressive.
'Even so…'
It will take some time.
The artificial energy center made by Encia was of high quality and contained a large amount of Aura. It was an excellent achievement, but it wasn't necessarily good for Sylvia at the moment.
Her energy center was broken, and her mana circuit was severed, so her physical strength and stamina were lower than that of an ordinary person. If they installed the artificial energy center immediately, her body might explode.
They needed to build up her body as much as possible before placing the energy center.
'At least it's fortunate that she has been training steadily.'
Since expressing her desire to have an energy center, Sylvia had been working on her physical training every day. Thanks to her consistent efforts, her physical condition had slightly improved.
"That's enough. Take a short break."
Raon instructed Sylvia to rest when she looked pale, then looked up at the sky.
'There's one more problem. Me.'
He was the one who had to connect Sylvia's energy center and mana circuit, but it wasn't an easy task.
Raon bit his lip as he watched Sylvia holding her knees and breathing heavily.
'I need to study more.'
After helping Sylvia with her physical training and completing his own training, Raon finally returned to his room.
Without a moment to rest, he sat at his desk and opened the book on human anatomy and mana circuits he had borrowed from Federick.
It was a medical book, so there were many difficult parts, but by using the Ring of Fire to enhance his concentration, he was able to understand it slowly.
However, the more he read, the more he realized how challenging the task would be.
'As expected, it's not easy.'
Unlike Rimmer, Sylvia's mana circuit had been hardened for over 20 years.
To revive it now would require delicate Aura manipulation and extensive knowledge of the human body, as precise as threading a needle through a tiny hole.
Although he was confident in both, the fact that it was Sylvia made him constantly anxious.
-Why are you so worried?
Wrath lay on the desk, flicking his fingers.
-I may not know much about the human body, but I can prevent problems.
He licked his lips, saying he would definitely help with anything involving his mother.
'Really?'
Raon chuckled. Normally, Wrath wasn't very reassuring, but calling her 'our mom' made him strangely feel at ease.
Just as he was about to continue reading, a shadow appeared on the window. When he looked up, he saw Glenn's red eyes.
"Head of house?"
Raon stood up, knocking over his chair. Glenn's sudden appearance was unexpected and left him flustered. Glenn beckoned him to come out, then disappeared.
'What's going on? Was there a reason for him to come?'
Suppressing his nervous heart, Raon quickly went outside.
Glenn was waiting by the lake as usual. When Raon approached with quick steps, Glenn turned around.
"I heard Balder caused trouble at the annex building."
He frowned, looking at the annex building, which was still covered by a tent as the construction hadn't started yet.
"It's fine. We received full compensation for it…"
"Even so, it doesn't change the fact that the inspector I chose caused the problem."
"Hmm…"
"Also, I thought the compensation for capturing the light dragon and defeating the Leader of the Holy Sword Alliance's disciple was insufficient. So, I'm going to teach you a skill."
Glenn's eyes gleamed fiercely, leaving no room for refusal.
"Thank you."
Raon bowed his head, not daring to decline.
"I will teach you Periton's Martial Arts. It is a martial art created by a warrior who was called the Medical Sage, capable of understanding every aspect of the human body. If you master it, you will be able to fully understand both your own and your opponent's body."
"Ah…"
Raon lifted his chin, his eyes widening.
'If that's true, it will be a great help in connecting my mother's energy center and mana circuit.'
If Glenn's words were true, learning this martial art could be very useful for Sylvia's treatment.
"Periton was a person from 200 years ago, but no medical book surpasses his research. He was from Webec village, famous for its white wine."
"What?"
Raon blinked, unable to understand why he suddenly mentioned white wine after talking about martial arts. However, Glenn repeated the statement.
"Do you understand? White wine is famous."
"Yes…"
"The name of the white wine is Periton Blanc, named after Periton."
"…"
What is this?