Afterward, inside the room.
Remedios, looking utterly helpless, was recounting the previous night's events to her younger sister. Calca had dragged her into the bedroom and put her through a "rigorous session of drilling."
Kelart listened to this description with a flat gaze, her elegant eyebrows arching slightly. She looked like a robot processing a logical error.
"Drilling?"
"Yes. Her Highness found some sort of technique from somewhere and insisted on coaching me last night. It was incredibly difficult, but it is undeniably practical."
As Remedios spoke, she held out her hand. Kelart looked closely and could see the air around her sister's fingertips beginning to ripple. A faint, shimmering flow of light began to flicker over the skin.
Kelart let out a soft sound of surprise. "This is..."
"It's a technique called Magic Aura," Remedios explained solemnly.
Kelart could tell, however, that her sister wasn't being serious because the topic was momentous, but rather because she was concentrating with every fiber of her being to control the aura. Finally, the flowing light stabilized, forming a glowing membrane that clung tightly to her fingertips. To an untrained observer, it might have looked like nothing more than a stray beam of sunlight hitting her hand.
After a long moment, Remedios let out a sharp exhale as if she could no longer hold the tension, and the radiance vanished instantly.
"Unfortunately, I don't have Her Highness's incredible talent. I've only grasped the basics," Remedios said with a touch of regret.
Though she had been mortified when she was first dragged into the room, she had been a diligent student once the lessons began. A Paladin's most iconic skill, Holy Strike, involved infusing a weapon with divine power to create an explosive burst of damage upon impact. By mastering Magic Aura, she could instead control the natural radiance of a Paladin's divine power, turning it into a constant field of effect that dealt continuous damage to enemies.
It was essentially like hitting an opponent with a constant, slightly weakened Holy Strike every second of a fight.
Of course, she couldn't achieve that level of mastery yet, but with practice, it was within reach. Calca had dubbed this Paladin-specific variation "Holy Aura" last night. Beyond its offensive potential, it possessed a faint restorative property.
The effect? Well... it was enough to completely erase the exhaustion from staying up all night.
Especially when combined with that massage technique, Remedios thought, her cheeks flushing slightly.
In truth, Calca hadn't forcibly detained her last night; the initial drama had been mostly a joke. However, this morning, Calca had insisted Remedios use her newly learned Aura combined with massage techniques to give her a full-body rubdown.
During the process, a certain Queen's lack of inhibition—her vocal reactions and the topics she chose to chat about—had left the pure-hearted knight beet-red. Once the "task" was finished, Remedios had fled the scene to find her sister.
While Remedios was blushing, Kelart was deep in thought.
Magic Aura. Had this been a few weeks ago, she wouldn't have been familiar with the term, though she might have guessed it was a Royal secret technique based on its effects. Much like the chronicles left behind by the first Holy King to preserve knowledge, certain secrets had trickled down over generations.
This was why most nobles in the Holy Kingdom possessed knowledge of magic up to the Second Tier. The Custodio family had served since the kingdom's founding, and their family records mentioned a special technique once possessed by the Holy Kings.
But things had changed recently.
Not long ago, the Holy King had selected sixty elite priests from the military to form a specialized research team for a "unique technique." These sixty came mostly from wealthy commoner or merchant backgrounds; they had studied at the Temple's academies but, due to having only "above-average" talent, eventually joined the military as priest-sergeants. Though trained by the Temple in their youth, their years in the army made them loyal primarily to the Holy King.
In the Holy Kingdom, the military is commanded by Generals personally appointed by the Holy King; the nobility no longer has the right to maintain private armies. This is the only reason the King can mobilize the nation's youth so effectively.
Interestingly, the Holy Kingdom is also one of the few nations where slavery does not exist. Because conscription requires citizens, and slaves are not citizens, they couldn't be drafted. When a noble once tried to hide a three-thousand-man "slave army" to avoid the annual draft, a previous Holy King had simply wiped them out. Slavery was abolished, and the former slaves were made citizens.
It is said that during that era, the Eastern Great Wall was at its most impregnable, as nearly no demi-human could break through to ravage the interior. However, that King soon realized he couldn't afford to maintain such a massive standing army. He put them to work building fortresses, allowed the homeless to become self-sufficient on reclaimed land, and kept only the elites for the Royal Guard. The rest were eventually sent home.
Since then, successive Holy Kings have used the time when the nation's youth are serving on the wall to scout for exceptional talent to bolster the capital's strength.
Yet, pulling sixty priests at once was rare—especially since they were the backbone of the units. Priests served as both combat medics to preserve fighting strength and as warriors to stall enemy counterattacks. Every noble could see the King was planning something big, and rumors of "Magic Aura" had naturally leaked from the palace.
Kelart suspected the current Holy King had leaked the information intentionally, though his motive remained unclear. However, she had heard that, so far, not a single person in that group of sixty had mastered the technique.
My silly sister's talent for combat is as terrifying as ever, Kelart thought, looking at Remedios.
Just then, the door swung open and Calca stepped in.
"Remedios, Kelart! Good morning!"
"Good day, Your Highness," the sisters greeted in unison.
The young Queen smiled. Her sharp magical affinity immediately detected the depletion of Holy Aura around Remedios. A quick glance between the two sisters told her exactly what had happened.
Kelart realized it too and immediately rose to apologize. "Forgive me, Your Highness, I—"
"It's quite alright!" Calca waved her off with a laugh. "I gave Remedios permission. I told her that if she had the chance, she should show the technique to you, though I didn't expect her to be quite this eager."
Calca put her hands on her hips, her expression a mix of mock exasperation and genuine delight.
"It took me what, five minutes to get ready? She's fast. But since you've seen it, the timing is perfect."
Calca's gaze turned sincere as she looked at Kelart. "Tell me, Kelart—do you want to learn it too?"
The young girl blinked, stunned by the offer. "Eh? But... Your Highness, is that allowed?"
A study companion wasn't the same as a Guardian Knight!
"Of course it is! Come on. I'll teach both of you during our break today. But first, we're going to pay my father a visit and 'request' some staff."
Calca cracked her knuckles, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.
Alright, old man. It's been long enough—it's time for me to go pick my team!
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I'm not the Queen Greatsword. (70 Chapters, Ongoing)
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