"So, when shall we begin the training?" Morgan asked.
Marie, her spirit still shining in her eyes, replied. "Now!"
"Hmm, in that case, is there a place we can use that's private and enclosed?"
Marie touched her chin. "Yes, we can go to the place where the knights usually train. There's an enclosed area we can use."
"Is that so? Sounds like a good place. Let's go there."
And so, Marie and Morgan went to the knights' training grounds. Morgan walked behind Marie, protecting her back like a proper servant. Along the way, Morgan couldn't stop thinking about the right way to train Marie. Marie, who was essentially a utility witch, possessed physical strength not much different from an ordinary person. Turning her into a fighter would require no small effort.
While he was busy with his thoughts, suddenly, a man in priest's garments passed by Marie. He was a bald man with round eyes and a friendly smile. Two knights stood to his left and right, making him appear like an important figure.
"Ah, what a coincidence, Miss Marie. I see you look very spirited today. Lord Abraham has told me everything. I offer my condolences for the death of your knight; he was a good man." Behind his friendly voice, his eyes subtly observed Marie. "I am grateful you survived that terrible incident."
"Thank you for your condolences, Priest Yuda."
Yuda replied, "Yes, as I have matters to attend to, I shall take my leave now. Miss Marie, may God protect you."
Then they walked past Marie. The sound of their footsteps slowly faded away.
"He was lying," Morgan said with a slight tone of disgust in his voice. "He didn't like that you survived."
"I know that," Marie replied flatly. "As a Saint raised by Lord Abraham, of course I have many enemies. Those who are displeased with my existence will try to get rid of me."
"Why do they want to get rid of you?" A small smile played on the corner of his lips, like a predator finding its prey.
"You see, Lord Abraham is too old to have children. So he adopted children whom he believed could inherit his throne one day. So he started looking for children he thought could become his heirs, and those adopted children are called Saints."
"Because of my commoner background, many nobles disagree and try to eliminate me."
Morgan pondered for a moment. "So they want to eliminate you from this political war just because you're Abraham's adopted child? Are they stupid? From what I've seen, you possess power effective against demons, yet they want to get rid of you? Do they want another apocalypse to happen in this world?"
"Yeah, I agree. They're just fat pigs who only know how to give orders. Anyway, let's end this heavy conversation. Our training ground is right ahead."
Morgan looked up, seeing a colossal door standing firmly before them. The door seemed to be made of gray stone, without a single unnecessary decoration on its surface. It looked like whatever lay behind this door was meant solely for training, nothing else.
Two guards stood indifferently guarding the gate. Marie confidently approached one of the guards.
"Good afternoon, guard. I would like to use this training room for myself and my servant."
"Understood!" the guard said firmly.
The guard glanced at his partner and nodded. They then began to pull the door handle forward. The colossal door shifted slowly, every scrape of stone producing a heavy rumble that made the floor seem to vibrate. Yet the two guards showed no sign of facing any challenge. As if this was a normal occurrence for them.
Behind the door was a room entirely surrounded by bricks that appeared to be made of the same material as the door. A great battle seemed to have taken place there. Evidenced by sword slash marks on the floor that looked like small canyons. There were also several holes from arrows.
At a glance, there must have been a fight between an archer and a swordsman here.
"Miss Marie, this training ground was just used by Miss Rose and Mr. Sa'ad a few days ago. So, this place hasn't been fully repaired yet. Is that alright?"
Morgan unconsciously raised an eyebrow.
Marie cast her gaze at Morgan.
"Yeah, it's fine. We just need an enclosed space." Morgan shrugged indifferently.
"That's what he says."
With that, the guards left the room. Closing the colossal door again without much effort, with a vibration that once again shook the world. Then, a giant slash mark was visible on the back of the door, carved with frightening precision and depth.
"It seems that Rose is crazy, huh?"
"Big Sis Rose's position as one of the 4 Pillars of Eden isn't just for show, you know."
Now Marie had changed out of her lady's dress into clothes suitable for training.
"Whatever it is, I don't care. Let's start the training."
"Let's begin."
Marie's heart beat fast. A small flame long extinguished within her now blazed again—this was the beginning of change, the beginning of a new her.