On that peaceful afternoon, in the backyard of the house, Elyra and Eldern—still groggy and bleary-eyed from just waking up—walked slowly while rubbing their eyes. In front of them stood Damnern, upright and firm, as if he had been waiting for them for quite some time.
"Today we'll only be training sword techniques," Damnern said casually. "But before that, both of you, go jog around the yard twice!" he ordered, instructing them to circle the spacious yard, which measured 100 meters in length and 65 meters in width—about the size of a football field.
"No exceptions for you, Elyra," Damnern added, looking at her with one eye slightly closed.
"Like I'd ask for special treatment. Besides, two laps is way too easy," Elyra thought to herself.
15 minutes later…
"Hhh… hhh…" Elyra staggered, her breath coming in ragged gasps as if it were about to burst out of her chest.
"Elyra, are you okay?" Eldern asked after noticing her struggling to breathe, but Elyra couldn't respond. "And that's only half a lap," he added.
"Eldern, keep going!" Damnern shouted as he approached after seeing them stop.
"Sorry, Elyra. If you can't go on, just rest," Eldern said before continuing his jog.
"Are you okay, dear?" Damnern asked, his face full of concern.
"I'm okay!" Elyra replied immediately, pushing away Damnern's hand as he was about to lift her. She continued jogging, with Damnern following closely behind.
"Elyra, please, that's enough!" Damnern pleaded, seeing how she was forcing herself.
Finally, after 20 minutes, Elyra managed to complete one lap.
"Papa is begging you, stop, Elyra," Damnern pleaded again as he saw her continuing.
"Hhh… this much… hhh… is nothing yet…" Elyra muttered to herself.
Suddenly, Damnern broke into a cold sweat, feeling a chill run down his spine. He slowly turned and saw Elina standing there with a regretful yet smiling expression, accompanied by the maid, Rina, who was carrying a jug of cold water.
After 40 minutes, Elyra finally completed two laps of the yard and immediately collapsed onto the ground.
"Hhh… hhh… hhh…" she panted, completely exhausted.
"I used to run through the forest all day just to survive, and now something like this almost kills me…" Elyra thought bitterly.
Eldern, who had also finished the two laps, lay down beside her and said, "That was awesome!"
"Hhh… what… hhh… was awesome?" Elyra asked, annoyed.
"Back then—well, three months ago—Eldern couldn't even finish one lap during his first training with Papa," Eldern said with a smile.
"Well, of course. I used to train way harder than this, Eldern," Elyra thought to herself. Still, her cheeks flushed slightly at his praise.
Elina quickly brought cold water to Elyra.
"Here, dear, drink," Elina said.
"Besides, why is Elyra even training? You're still so young…" Elina continued.
Elyra gulped down the water greedily until it was gone, then said, "Hhh… Eyya wants to protect Mama," her gaze serious.
"It's fine if you want to train, but don't push yourself like that again!" Elina said, worried as Elyra looked completely drenched in sweat.
"If you push yourself like that again, Mama won't allow you to train anymore! Understood?" she added.
"Understood, Mama," Elyra replied softly, still breathing heavily.
"Damnern! Come with me for a moment!" Elina called, and the two of them walked away from Elyra and Eldern. Damnern looked completely helpless under Elina's scolding.
"Hehe," Eldern chuckled. "Mama is scary, right? Even Papa can't handle her," he said.
30 minutes later, Damnern returned with a tired face, carrying a container filled with wooden swords.
"Let's continue our training…" he said wearily.
Eldern picked up a wooden sword easily, but Elyra struggled to even lift hers.
"A wooden sword this heavy?" Elyra wondered to herself.
Damnern saw Elyra struggling, and his expression immediately turned tense. With quick steps, he moved forward and placed his hand on her shoulder, stopping her.
"Elyra… stop for now!" Damnern said firmly, his voice mixed with seriousness and concern. "If you keep forcing yourself like this, you'll get hurt. I won't allow the training to continue like this!"
He took the wooden sword from her and put it back.
"Why?!" Elyra shouted, her voice cracking through the afternoon air.
"It's not your time to train yet, Elyra," Damnern said. "We'll end the training for today."
"Huh? Why?" Eldern asked, confused.
Damnern then walked away, carrying the container of wooden swords.
"Elyra…" Eldern called, but Elyra, still upset, turned and walked away.
End of Chapter 11