Evan stared at the training yard.
Then he slowly turned his head toward Lyra.
"…You're serious about this, aren't you?"
Lyra crossed her arms and gave him a calm smile.
"Completely."
Evan looked back at the open yard.
The ground stretched far beyond the small house, ending near the hills outside the estate.
Just looking at it made his legs feel tired again.
"You know," he said slowly, "most teachers would let their student rest after collapsing."
Lyra tilted her head slightly.
"And most princes would not collapse after running halfway to the hill."
Evan frowned.
"That hill is deceptively far."
Lyra raised an eyebrow.
"It is not. You simply cannot run very far, my prince."
Evan sighed dramatically.
"I see. So sympathy is not part of your training method."
Lyra's smile widened slightly.
"Correct."
She pointed toward the training yard again.
"Now stand up."
Evan stared at her.
"My legs are currently negotiating with gravity."
"They will recover."
"That sounds optimistic."
Lyra didn't move.
She simply waited.
After a few seconds, Evan sighed again and slowly pushed himself up.
His legs trembled.
Lyra watched quietly.
He took one step.
Then another.
"…I hate cultivation," he muttered.
Lyra chuckled softly.
"You say that now."
...
The first few days of training were brutal.
Evan collapsed almost every day.
Sometimes after running.
Sometimes, after body conditioning drills.
Sometimes it was simply because his muscles refused to move anymore.
Lyra never showed mercy.
"If you can complain," she would say calmly, "then you can keep training."
Evan quickly learned that complaining only resulted in more training.
Still, something slowly began to change.
His body adapted.
The burning pain in his muscles gradually became familiar.
His breathing grew steadier.
The hill that once felt impossibly far slowly became reachable.
Not easily.
But reachable.
...
Weeks turned into months.
Training slowly became routine.
Every morning began before sunrise.
Lyra would drag Evan out of bed before the sky had even begun to brighten.
They would run across the hills outside the estate while the world was still quiet.
At first, Evan barely managed to keep up.
But gradually, step by step, he improved.
By midday, the training shifted to body conditioning.
Punching drills.
Balance training.
Strength exercises.
Lyra was strict, but she never pushed him beyond what his body could endure.
Evenings were calmer.
Sometimes they practiced meditation and Qi circulation.
Other times, they returned to the kitchen.
Despite his royal status, Evan insisted on continuing the cooking lessons he had started.
Lyra had resisted at first.
But eventually she gave in.
Watching the young prince stand on a small stool, carefully chopping vegetables with complete focus, had become strangely normal.
"Your knife work is improving," Lyra said once while watching him cook.
Evan smirked slightly.
"Of course it is."
Then he glanced at her.
"You underestimate your own teaching."
Lyra looked away quickly, blushing.
"Focus on the food."
...
Seasons passed.
Spring became summer.
The green hills outside the estate turned golden beneath the autumn sun.
Winter winds swept across the training yard.
And through it all—
The training never stopped.
The small boy who once collapsed after half a run slowly began to change.
His body grew stronger.
His movements became sharper.
His balance improved.
The trembling legs that once struggled to climb the hill now carried him across it with steady steps.
Even his breathing had changed.
Calmer.
More controlled.
Lyra noticed it first.
One morning, she watched Evan run across the training field without slowing down.
Five years ago, he collapsed before the halfway point.Now the distance felt almost trivial.
Now—
He ran past it.
Without stopping.
Without collapsing.
Lyra crossed her arms.
"…Impressive."
Evan slowed to a stop and looked back at her.
"Was that praise?"
Lyra raised an eyebrow.
"Do you need confirmation?"
Evan grinned slightly.
"I just want to remember the moment."
Lyra scoffed softly.
"You're still too talkative."
...
Years quietly slipped by.
Training continued.
Day after day.
Month after month.
Until eventually—
Five years had passed.
...
The morning sun rose over the estate once again.
The training yard looked exactly the same as it always had.
The same wide field.
The same distant hills.
The same quiet wind moved through the grass.
But one thing had changed.
Standing in the center of the yard was no longer the small five-year-old boy who once struggled to stand.
Now—
A ten-year-old stood there.
Evan Veyndral slowly exhaled.
The Qi around him stirred slightly, responding to his presence.
His posture was straight.
His movements were calm.
The years of training had strengthened his body far beyond what it once was.
His once small frame had grown taller.
His muscles were lean but defined.
Every movement carried quiet confidence.
Lyra stood nearby, watching him with folded arms.
"Your form improved again," she said.
Evan opened his eyes and looked at her.
"You noticed?"
Lyra raised an eyebrow.
"Of course, as your master, I noticed. If I'm training you, I have to notice things like that."
Evan smiled faintly.
"When did you become my master?"
"I am the one training you. If I wished, I could easily call myself your master."
Evan looked at her.
"You are more like a training instructor to me."
Lyra made a small pout.
Five years of training had changed many things.
But one thing had never changed.
Lyra had been watching him from the very beginning… and she never once stopped.
He stretched his arms slightly.
"So," he said casually, "what's today's training?"
Lyra smiled.
The same mischievous smile she had five years ago.
"Running."
Evan sighed.
"Of course."
Then he glanced toward the distant hill.
The same hill that once defeated him.
Now it simply looked like part of the path.
He started walking toward the gate.
Lyra followed behind him.
After a moment, she spoke again.
"You know… five years ago you collapsed before reaching that hill."
Evan smirked.
"I remember."
Lyra pointed forward.
"So let's see how far you can go now."
Evan didn't answer.
Instead—
He started running.
And this time…He ran past the hill without slowing down.