Chapter 44…………………………………………..
“…What?”
Arsen blinked with a dazed expression.
His face looked as though he’d heard something he absolutely shouldn’t have, so Evelina repeated herself clearly.
“I want to go with you on the beast-subjugation, Arsen.”
“Absolutely not.”
The moment he understood her meaning, Arsen refused flatly.
Not a shred of hesitation.
But Evelina had expected this, so she wasn’t discouraged.
She began trying to persuade him.
“I can pull my own weight. If I train hard, I won’t cause any trouble.”
“No. It’s dangerous.”
“Your teacher said he would help me train. And there’s still time before winter, so I can do it.”
But Arsen remained unmoved.
No matter what she said, all he repeated was that she could not go.
“Evelina, a beast-subjugation isn’t some childish game.”
“…”
“One mistake, even for a moment, and you could die.”
Evelina clenched her fists tightly.
“I’m not weak.”
“Evelina.”
“I’ll show you that I can do this. Even if you oppose it, I’m going with you on the beast-subjugation.”
She shot up from her seat.
Before Arsen could grab her, she stormed out of the office.
He stood there in an awkward half-reaching posture, then let out a long sigh.
“If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve said I had business in the capital.”
Arsen clicked his tongue.
Lying felt unpleasant, but it was still better than letting Evelina come on the subjugation.
He had no intention of agreeing to it, no matter what she said.
But for some reason, he had a bad feeling.
At dinner time, Evelina, who had been poking at her salad, looked to Karina.
“Mother.”
“What is it?”
Evelina hesitated for a moment, then spoke with firm resolve.
“I’m going to go on the beast-subjugation with Arsen.”
“…Are you now?”
The unexpected declaration made Karina pause before responding.
Then, in a calm voice, she added,
“We’ll need to get hunting clothes made. I’ll have to call the madam back.”
“Mother!”
Arsen shot to his feet.
His brows were deeply furrowed.
He clearly did not approve.
Meanwhile, Evelina looked rather baffled—she had expected Karina to oppose her as well, but instead she seemed supportive.
Karina lifted her gaze and looked at Arsen.
“Is there a problem?”
“You know very well that the beast-subjugation is no child’s play. It’s far too dangerous for Evelina.”
Karina glanced at Evelina.
Her expression was resolute, filled with unwavering determination.
Even if Karina said no, Evelina would find some means to go anyway.
So she decided it was better to allow what Evelina wanted.
“My dear.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have a plan for going on the beast-subjugation?”
“Ah, yes!”
Evelina’s face lit up brightly.
She began enthusiastically explaining the plan she’d put together on her own.
In truth, the entire plan boiled down to practicing magic a lot with Leonard—but Evelina was delighted.
“I learned attack magic, defense magic, and even healing magic. Even if someone gets hurt during the subjugation, I can heal them quickly, so I think I’ll be able to pull my weight.”
Karina slowly nodded.
Evelina looked at her with earnest eyes.
Karina smiled gently and spoke warmly.
“I’ve always respected your decisions, my dear. If you want to go, then you should.”
Evelina beamed.
Arsen let out a quiet groan as he sank back into his seat.
Evelina turned to look at him next.
Her sparkling eyes poked at him like needles.
He closed his eyes and thought for a long moment. Finally, he opened them and spoke.
“If, before winter begins, Marquess Veloce says Evelina is skilled enough to attend the subjugation, then I will take her.”
“Yes, Arsen!”
It was practically half an approval.
Arsen could never win against Evelina.
And he probably never would.
“Please train me so I can pull my weight during the beast-subjugation.”
Those were the first words out of Evelina’s mouth when she saw Leonard.
“His Grace agreed surprisingly easily.”
“I wanted to be helpful to Arsen.”
Evelina smiled sweetly.
“Helpful, huh… Then you’ll need to be prepared.”
“…Alright.”
Something about his tone sent a chill down her spine, and Evelina flinched slightly but nodded.
The lesson that followed was on a completely different level from any she’d had before.
“First is physical endurance. Second is physical endurance. We’ll increase training to four times a week and extend each session by an hour. From now on, we’ll begin with three laps around the training grounds.”
The training grounds were extremely large—Arsen had told her to use them freely.
But she didn’t complain.
Leonard was, in the kindest sense, a very capable instructor; in the less kind sense, he worked his students to death.
Evelina began running around the training grounds.
Since she normally didn’t exercise, her breathing quickly turned ragged, but although her pace slowed, she didn’t stop.
She had perseverance—and plenty of grit.
Her lungs burned, and she wanted to quit at any moment, but Evelina silently kept running.
At last, she completed the third lap and gasped heavily for air.
Seeing this, Leonard asked casually:
“Shall I lower the intensity?”
“…No.”
There wasn’t much time left.
After a brief pause, Evelina shook her head firmly and straightened up.
Sweat ran down her forehead and dripped to the ground.
Leonard looked unusually satisfied.
“You’re more impressive than the academy students. I wish my students were even half as diligent as you, Your Grace.”
He pulled a bottle of water out of subspace and handed it to her.
She bowed her head in thanks and drank.
“Then let’s begin the next part of training.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll teach you spells tailored to the weaknesses of the beasts that live in the Winter Forest. Your accuracy needs to improve, and your spells must be far stronger. Quick judgment is also essential.”
Evelina swallowed hard.
Just hearing him talk made her tense.
“And there’s one important thing—you need to know that beasts have a core inside their bodies.”
“A core?”
“Yes. A bead-like core about this size. It’s usually located in the head or near the heart.”
Evelina nodded, storing the information in her mind.
“If you don’t destroy the core, the beast will regenerate. Each time it regenerates, it becomes stronger. You have only one chance—you must destroy the core in that moment.”
“I see…”
“That is why we always hunt in pairs.”
Leonard adjusted his glasses.
“Now, I’ll tell you about the types of beasts that live in the Winter Forest.”
“Alright.”
He spoke smoothly without pause.
It was impressive how he remembered so many.
“Tree Tails are living trees. They grab people with their roots and swallow them with the mouth at their base.”
She had never seen a beast nor studied them, so every name was new to her.
Evelina concentrated hard, trying to visualize each creature Leonard described.
“Stone Spinners are stone-made spiders. The ends of their eight legs are coated with a paralytic poison. The paralysis lasts only three minutes… but that’s more than enough for you to become their meal.”
She learned about many others after that.
Near the end of the lesson, Leonard pulled out a thick book from subspace and handed it to her.
It was larger than her forearm was thick, and big enough to fill her entire embrace.
She adjusted her hold on it with effort.
“Before the next lesson, look up the beasts I mentioned in that book. Learn their weaknesses, and where their cores are located. You’ll be taking a test next time.”
“A test? What kind of test?”
“I’ll tell you then.”
Evelina tilted her head.
It didn’t sound like a simple memorization test.
Either way, since he called it a test, Evelina nodded.
She had no idea what kind of test it would be, so she felt she needed to prepare thoroughly.
“That concludes today’s lesson. Well done.”
“You too, teacher. Goodbye.”
After Leonard left, Evelina trudged toward her room, exhausted.
She’d sweated so much that she wanted nothing more than to soak in a hot bath and relax.
Upon entering the mansion, she ran into Arsen.
He brightened when he saw her and approached with a smile.
“Your lesson is over?”
“Yes.”
She nodded with a small smile.
She looked tired—so much so that Arsen worried she might end up sick.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. You might harm your health.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll pace myself.”
He had come half-expecting her to say she wanted to retract her decision—but there was no sign of that at all.
In the end, Arsen said nothing and let her go to her room.
Once inside, Evelina immediately called for Berry.
“Your Grace, you finished late today?”
“Ah… From now on, lessons will end at this time. Training increased to four days a week, and the sessions are longer.”
“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll draw a warm bath right away—please wait just a moment!”
Berry hurried to the bathroom.
Water began running, and soon Berry returned to Evelina.
“You must have sweated a lot. A warm bath will soothe your fatigue. I’ll give you a massage too.”
“Thank you, Berry.”
The moment she sank into the warm water, her body relaxed completely.
Evelina yawned softly and closed her eyes.
Berry’s hands gently massaging her arms and legs felt so comforting that sleep threatened to pull her under.
But she couldn’t fall asleep in the tub.
Evelina forced her heavy eyelids to stay open.
After washing thoroughly and drying her hair until it was fluffy, Evelina lay down on her bed.
She glanced at the clock—it wasn’t yet time for dinner.
I’ll sleep just a little…
Evelina yawned and buried herself in the blankets.
Within seconds, she fell into a deep sleep.
