At that moment, Lance felt a strong urge to try.
The Lesser Meditation Rune was already deeply engraved in his memory. He could reproduce its shape without even needing to think about it.
'As long as I can draw the rune inside my mindscape, all that remains is to stabilize it day after day.'
Excitement stirred in him.
He had not expected entering his mindscape to go so smoothly. The golden points of light there were as obedient as his own limbs, responding completely to his will. Instinctively, he wanted to try arranging them into the rune at once.
In the end, however, he restrained himself.
Lance remained in the mindscape a little longer before withdrawing from that mysterious place.
When he opened his eyes, he sighed with some regret. He had already crossed the most difficult threshold. There was no reason to risk damaging himself simply because he was impatient. Amman had warned him specifically, and the old wizard would not have done so without cause.
"Trying already? Don't worry if you failed the first time. A few more attempts and you'll get it."
A gentle voice sounded beside him.
Lance jumped slightly. At some point, Amman had taken a seat next to him. The old wizard had seen Lance open his eyes and immediately sigh. Assuming his disciple had failed even to enter the mindscape, he had spoken up to comfort him.
Lance's eyes shifted, and he quickly played along.
"Mm. Thank you, Teacher."
Entering the mindscape this quickly put him close to the kind of exceptional talent Amman had described. Lance had no intention of displaying too much brilliance too soon.
Amman continued, "You may try two or three times a day. Any more than that would be excessive. For a beginner, controlling the mind well enough to enter the mindscape is itself mentally exhausting."
Lance nodded. After asking a few more questions, he left Moonlight Tower.
He decided to wait a while before asking Amman how to construct a rune within the mindscape. He was still young. For now, time was something he possessed in abundance.
He could use the interval to strengthen his basic knowledge and improve his physical condition.
By the time Lance returned to the castle, night had fallen. With the viscount away on campaign, dinner had ended early, leaving Lance to hunt for food in the kitchen again.
Once he had eaten his fill, he asked the gatekeeper for a candle and headed back to his room.
...
"Hm? Someone's in my room?"
The door stood slightly ajar, and a warm glow spilled through the gap.
Lance pushed it open. A somewhat nervous girl stood in the corner. She had flax-colored hair and fair skin and looked about sixteen or seventeen years old.
"Who are you?" Lance asked with a frown.
The girl looked at him fearfully. Before she could answer, a heavyset figure emerged from the washroom.
Aunt Xili spoke in her usual rough voice. "Young Master Lance, she's your new maid. The First Madam selected her personally. I've already taught her some of the work involved in serving someone. You can't go without a proper personal maid forever."
"I've also prepared hot water for you. You can bathe whenever you wish. It's summer, yes, but you've been busy all day. A hot bath will still do you good."
Lance nodded and watched as Aunt Xili left the room, still talking as she went.
Bang.
He shut the door firmly behind her.
The fear in the girl's eyes deepened.
Lance asked calmly, "What's your name?"
"Bonnie. My name is Bonnie, Young Master..." A faint flush rose across the girl's fair face. "Would you like me to help you undress?"
Lance shrugged, then abruptly asked, "What did the First Madam tell you?"
Bonnie bit her lip. "The First Madam? Which lady is that? I only just arrived at the castle. I don't really know."
Lance gave no sign of whether he believed her. He casually stripped off his clothes and walked into the washroom by himself.
Bonnie remained frozen where she stood, uncertain what she was supposed to do.
Lance lowered himself into the hot bath and let his body relax. Sword practice that morning had left him aching all over, while studying magic in the afternoon had consumed a great deal of mental energy. It had been an exhausting day.
As for whatever scheme the First Madam had in mind by placing this maid beside him, Lance could not be bothered worrying about it for now. He was no prudish saint. If something was placed willingly within reach, he saw no reason to pretend it did not exist.
'But not tonight.'
Right now, recovering mattered more.
Lance let out a long, comfortable breath.
...
After his bath, Lance found Bonnie still standing awkwardly in the corner.
He looked at her more carefully. She was undeniably pretty. Her eyes were clear blue, and her delicate, timid manner naturally made one feel protective toward her.
"Bonnie, right? I don't need you tonight. Go back to your room and sleep."
Lance waved a hand dismissively.
The girl blinked, then pointed toward a small bed that had appeared in his room that day.
"Young Master Lance, they arranged for me to sleep here."
Lance's brows drew together the moment he saw the crude little bed.
So they aren't even trying to hide the surveillance.
Do they really think I'm that easy to push around?
"Who are 'they'?" he asked coldly.
Bonnie shrank back. "They... they're the masters of the castle."
"The masters of the castle?"
Lance lifted his chin slightly.
"There is only one master of this castle: my father, Viscount Lane. Right now, both Viscount Lane and my elder brother Griffin are away. That means I, Lance, am the master of the castle in their absence. What I say here goes."
His tone hardened.
"And now I'm ordering you to leave. Get out of my room."
Tears gathered in Bonnie's eyes, but under Lance's stern gaze, she could only obey.
After she left, Lance locked the door, read alone for a while, then went to bed.
...
The next morning, as usual, Fox woke him at five-thirty.
"I'm exhausted..."
Lance rubbed his eyes while washing up.
Human laziness was one of the greatest obstacles to success. He understood that perfectly well, so he refused to give himself excuses.
No matter how sleepy he was or how weak his body felt, he would still get up early.
When he opened the door, he found a thin figure curled beside the threshold with her arms wrapped around her knees.
"Bonnie?"
The girl woke with a start like a frightened rabbit. Her eyes were red and swollen. She had clearly cried through the night.
Her clothes were thin. It might have been summer, but the stone corridors of the castle grew cold at night.
"You stayed out here all night?" Lance asked.
Bonnie nodded miserably. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly begged him.
"Young Master, please don't tell anyone. I'm your personal maid. If you refuse to keep me, they'll sell me to that old stableman as his wife. Please..."
Seeing how pitiful she looked, Lance's resolve softened.
He sighed. "All right."
He turned to leave, only to find Bonnie immediately following behind him.
"Did the First Madam tell you to do this too?" Lance asked irritably.
Bonnie answered timidly, "I'm the young master's personal maid. Wherever the young master goes, I should follow."
Lance could not be bothered arguing. He simply treated her as extra baggage and ignored her.
As he had the day before, he went to the training ground and began practicing the kingdom's basic military swordsmanship.
With Fox's assistance, his horizontal and vertical cuts had already become highly standardized. The remaining four basic movements still needed work.
He had never intended to hide his sword practice from the people in the castle, so Bonnie watching nearby with swollen eyes made no difference to him.
Lance spent the entire morning training until sweat soaked through his clothes.
...
He finally stopped around noon.
By then, he could clearly feel the difference proper technique made. Correct posture strengthened the muscles throughout his body, while incorrect posture placed damaging strain on them. Every accurate swing consumed part of his limited strength while gradually improving his physical condition.
It would be a long process.
If he wanted results, persistence was the only answer.
Lance returned the wooden sword to the weapon rack and was about to head back toward the castle when he spotted a small squad of soldiers coming up the road. They were dragging several strange creatures behind them.
'What are those?'
Curious, Lance walked over quickly.
The soldiers greeted him as soon as they saw him.
"Young Master Lance!"
"Young Master Lance!"
One of the squad leaders pointed toward the creatures behind them.
"These murlocs were wandering near the beach and trying to steal our grain. We caught them and brought them back."