When morning came, even with their bodies still sore from yesterday's beating, they moved. Early in the morning, around 3 a.m., when the mansion was still quiet and the servants were asleep, the two of them sneaked out of their room.
Julia led Jullian to her secret base. She had discovered it a while ago while playing around the mansion. Deep underground, there was a forbidden area that most people avoided. It sounded mysterious, but in reality, there was nothing special there. Just an empty space filled with dust and cold air, with stone walls and an unused, rusted sword lying on the ground.
She picked up the sword and showed Jullian how she swung it. It looked clumsy. Julia was still just a child without a teacher to guide her. Her swings were based purely on instinct, copying what she had seen from afar. Her stance was unstable, her grip uneven, and there were many openings that even Jullian could easily point out. In his eyes, this was nothing more than child's play, and honestly, it was.
But this was Julia trying her best. Trying to figure things out on her own. Trying to learn how to swing a sword without anyone teaching her. You cannot expect perfection from a ten-year-old child.
Jullian sighed inwardly. "Ha… I should teach her the basics."
Unlike Julia, he was from Earth and had practiced martial arts for self-defense. As a business tycoon, it was necessary for him to learn how to protect himself. Assassination attempts were always a possibility in his world. At the very least, if it came down to hand-to-hand combat, he would not die pitifully. Guns were a different matter, of course. But still… because of that, he mastered Mixed Martial Arts through years of disciplined training.
"Sister… uhm… I think… I should be the one teaching you." He chose his words carefully, trying not to offend her pride.
His sister blushed like a tomato. "Hmph! Okay, okay! I know it wasn't good! But must you really say that to my face? You damn brat!" She said, hitting Jullian lightly on the head.
"O-Ouch…" He held his head, more surprised than hurt.
Julia laughed. "That's what you get for embarrassing your sister! Just you wait! This sister will be the strongest knight in this world! Far stronger than our father!" She said with determination, her eyes shining with confidence. "Alright, show me, my 'genius' little brother~"
"She sure knows how to hold a grudge..." Jullian murmured under his breath.
"What? You're saying something?"
"N-Nothing…"
Jullian immediately walked to the center of the underground space. The ground was uneven and dusty, and the air smelled faintly of rust from the old sword. He faced Julia properly.
"What I'll teach you isn't how to wield a sword. It's just a basic that you might turn into your foundation." He said seriously, his posture naturally straightening as if he had returned to his old training days.
Julia noticed how serious her brother looked and, for once, did not laugh or tease him. She quietly stood in front of him, waiting for him to continue.
Instead, she watched him carefully.
At first, she thought he would just copy what she did and maybe correct her posture like some arrogant little brother pretending to know better.
But the moment he moved, the air changed.
His stance lowered slightly, feet adjusting with a quiet confidence that didn't match his age. His shoulders relaxed, yet steady. When his fist shot forward, it wasn't wild like hers had been. It was clean. Direct. Controlled. His hips turned naturally, like his body understood how to create power without forcing it.
Julia blinked.
He moved again. A step. A pivot. A shift of weight. Then he demonstrated how to control an arm, how to break balance, how to drop to the ground and rise again smoothly. There was no hesitation. No awkward pause to think about what came next.
It flowed.
Her teasing expression slowly faded.
They were both ten.
They were supposed to be clumsy.
So why did he move like someone who had trained for years?
Her chest tightened slightly as she continued watching. This wasn't luck. This wasn't a random imitation. He wasn't guessing.
He understood.
A strange thought formed in her mind, quiet but heavy.
Maybe… when she called him "genius," she hadn't been joking after all.
She just stood there, watching him with a shocked look on her face. Disbelief and admiration slowly formed in her expression as she observed his posture, the way he positioned his feet, the way he balanced his weight. With Jullian guiding her movements step by step, she began to follow him carefully.
She was a genius. After only a few tries, she successfully imitated Jullian's stance and movements, adjusting her balance and correcting herself almost instantly. She even started asking questions about the purpose of each move, why the feet had to be placed that way, why the hands were positioned like that, and what kind of situation it was meant for.
Julia hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"…What's the point of that?" she asked, watching the way he shifted his feet again. "You didn't even attack anyone."
Jullian exhaled softly. "It's not about attacking."
He stepped back into position.
"What you were doing earlier," he continued carefully, "you were swinging with your arms only. If this were real, you'd lose balance after one strong clash."
She frowned. "So what are you doing then?"
He lowered his stance slightly.
"Base." he said. "Everything starts with the base."
He tapped his own thigh lightly. "Your power doesn't come from your arms. It comes from the ground. From your legs. Your hips. Your balance."
He demonstrated slowly this time. He planted his feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Then he rotated his hips before extending his fist forward in a controlled punch.
"No stiffness. No rushing," he explained. "If your hips move first, your upper body follows. That's how you generate force without overextending."
Julia narrowed her eyes and copied him.
Her feet were too close together.
He gently nudged one of her ankles outward with his own foot. "Wider."
She adjusted.
"Don't lock your knees."
She relaxed them slightly.
"Now turn your hips first. Not your shoulders."
She tried.
Her shoulders moved before her lower body again.
He shook his head. "Feel the ground. Don't think about hitting. Think about standing."
She inhaled and tried once more.
This time, her hips shifted first. Her weight transferred properly. When her fist extended, it felt more stable—even to her.
Her eyes widened.
"…It feels stronger."
"It is." Jullian replied calmly. "If you can't stand properly, you can't strike properly. And if someone grabs you, you'll fall."
He stepped forward and lightly pushed her shoulder.
She barely moved.
Julia blinked.
He hadn't pushed softer.
She just hadn't wobbled.
Her gaze slowly lifted to him.
He wasn't just throwing punches into the air. He was breaking movements down, piece by piece, like someone who understood how the body worked.
They were both ten.
But he corrected her like a seasoned instructor.
Her lips parted slightly as a thought formed again in her mind.
Maybe… her little brother really was a genius.
And for the first time, Julia didn't feel embarrassed being corrected.
She felt like she was being built from the ground up.