Adrian raised the wooden sword in his hands, then brought it down in one swift, precise motion. Once again, he raised the wooden sword and brought it down in a clean downward swing. He continued repeating that same action over and over, with his entire body covered in sweat.
"Huff… huff…"
Tired after continuing the swings for so long, he let go of the wooden sword as he lay down on the grass-covered ground, observing the setting sun. The conversation he had with Sir Joran came to his mind.
***
"This, you're going to learn this Infusion Art. It's called Greythorn's Legacy. This is an Infusion Art that focuses on mastery of basic sword moves instead of incorporating sophisticated movements."
Sir Joran let out a sigh, clearly exhausted.
"I feel terrible, but this is the only existing Space element infusion art, so you have no other choice, Young Master."
Adrian didn't care by this point; he nodded, showing his willingness. Sir Joran's expression turned relieved.
"The Infusion Art has eight levels, but since you're only a Phase One, you can't learn any more than the first level of this Art. After reaching Phase Three, this Art will allow you to cut through space with its elemental infusion."
"Cut through space…?" Adrian spoke unconsciously. His face remained expressionless, but his voice seemed to contain slight awe. "That sounds too powerful."
After all, cutting through space meant that you could cut anything that existed within it. Adrian wondered whether all Infusion Arts were really that powerful.
The confident smile on Sir Joran's face turned awkward.
"Well…" He hesitated. "Young Master Adrian, it's not as strong as it sounds. Sure, it can cut through space, but it has a hard time cutting through mana. So in actual battles, this Infusion Art is just average…"
***
Lying motionless on the ground, Adrian muttered in a low voice while gazing into the orange sky.
"Can cut through space… But can't easily cut through mana…? What sort of nonsense is that?"
But he couldn't do anything about it. He had no choice but to accept his circumstances; it had been that way since he reincarnated in this body.
'So I'm weak, huh?'
Well, it didn't really matter. He wasn't some hero who needed to defeat some great evil; he didn't need to be strong, so he had no reason to crave power. After all, what would be the point in becoming strong?
Adrian's third theory about his reincarnation briefly came to his mind, but he simply shook his head.
'A little bit more strength wouldn't mean much if that theory is really true.'
It had been a week since he started training, and every day, he had been swinging his sword in order to master the first level of this Infusion Art. Though Adrian wasn't quite sure of his progress.
Still, he did learn a few things from swinging constantly for an entire week. A swing wasn't as simple as slashing with all your might. A lot of techniques were involved as well.
The blade must remain straight during a swing. If its edge tilts even slightly, then the friction caused by the wind will reduce the force of the slash.
Adrian had been trying to master this since he came to this realization.
'Is that really what I'm supposed to master? Or is it something else?'
As his thoughts wandered, a large shadow was suddenly cast over Adrian's tiny body. He looked up to find a servant standing nearby.
Adrian tried getting up, but the exhaustion he was feeling weighed him down, as if a large boulder was pressing down on him from above. In the end, he remained lying as he spoke in a commanding tone.
"What is it? Speak."
The servant lowered his head slightly as he replied.
"The lady of the house has ordered me to bring you to her."
Adrian tilted his head.
'What does she want now?'
After thinking for a bit, he slowly stood up after a slight struggle. Dismissing the servant, Adrian went toward his mother's chamber. He reached the door, and the elegant-looking maid opened it, gesturing him to enter.
Right now, Adrian was simply too tired to feel awe at the magnificence of the room. He looked around to spot his mother. She wasn't sitting at the small round table by the window.
The sun had almost set by now, and the room was illuminated by the lamp placed on the large table in the corner of the room. Two large settees were on opposite sides of the table, their cushions made of ornate red fabric. On the other side were large cushioned chairs, also facing each other.
His mother was sitting on one settee, looking at him. But something about her was different compared to their previous meeting.
Her face was expressionless, much like Adrian's. The soft smile she had in their previous meeting wasn't present on her face.
As their eyes met, his mother spoke.
"Sit down."
He sat down following her command. Once again, he felt the invisible pressure that seemed to press down on his shoulders, making breathing slightly harder.
After a few moments, her mother spoke.
"Be ready. You are getting engaged."
Her tone carried a commanding authority, which seemed to say that there would be no arguments.
Adrian raised his head and met his mother's eyes, staring at her silently. His mother too stared back. The atmosphere in the room turned quiet as both stared at each other, illuminated by the lamp's golden light.
After a long silence, Adrian asked.
"...Why?"
He knew that engagements and marriages were like alliances between noble families in this world. He had learned that most noble children were engaged by the age of ten or fifteen, even though most didn't marry their partners after they reached adulthood.
'But I'm only five. It's still too early for me to get engaged, even by noble standards.'
Adrian had been thinking of plans to avoid these political engagements in the future. But if the engagement were to happen now, then he simply wouldn't be able to do anything. He was a toddler right now.
'But I certainly don't want anything to do with an engagement. It will be another headache to deal with.'
The problem wasn't the engagement itself; the problem was that he was being used as a political tool. Setting aside the restrictions and interference it would bring, the engagement itself wasn't that bad.
'But if they are using me once, then they will be sure to do it more in the future.'
And he couldn't do anything to resist as he was right now. Still, he needed to think of something.
His mother observed him silently, then replied.
"You don't need to know. All you need to understand is that within a month, you will be getting engaged."
He paused for a bit, trying to read her expression. But it remained a mask of perfect calm, not letting him read much.
"...At least tell me this, who am I getting engaged to?"
"It's Count Florivelle's daughter," his mother spoke flatly. "Her name is Evangeline Florivelle."
'Count Florivelle? Sounds like a regional noble. Why would Ravenshade want an alliance with them?'
Adrian couldn't see how this engagement would benefit Ravenshade. If anything, the one benefiting seemed to be the Florivelle family.
'I'm missing something. I need more information.'
He hesitated slightly, then asked.
"If the goal is to form an engagement with the daughter of Count Florivelle, then why not have her engaged to Elias. There isn't much difference between our ages."
'So if I can be engaged, then he can as well. Why me? Why not him?'
That was his best bet to avoid engagement. Adrian knew that he had a higher reputation than Elias within the noble society. This meant that he had a higher value if Ravenshade wanted to secure a large alliance in the future. Sacrificing Adrian's value to a mere regional noble would simply be a foolish decision on Ravenshade's side.
But his mother's flat reply broke all his hopes.
"No, it has to be you. That is final."
Adrian unconsciously clenched his fist. Frustration began to surge. That was his best argument. And not only did that argument fail, but he wasn't able to gain any new information to work with either.
Now, he couldn't think of anything.
Tension rose in the room as both remained silent.
His mother looked into his eyes silently, as if to discern something. But then she let out a sigh.
Her expression slowly softened. She still didn't have the soft smile on her face, but the rigid atmosphere around her was now gone.
"Adi, why are you acting like this? It's strange." She leaned in slightly. "Do you think it's sudden? Is that why? No, it's not sudden. Do you remember our previous discussion? I had wanted to talk about another topic back then. This was it."
'No… It was something about rumors in noble society… Wait, rumors? Is that what I'm missing?'
He finally understood what he was missing. But one look at his mother's expression told him that she wasn't going to tell him any more than this. Sitting still, his frustration only grew—to the point where he couldn't stay silent anymore.
"Five years," he said, his frustration spilling out. "I am not asking to cancel it, just delay the engagement for five years. I am sure that is possible through legal promises; you could delay the engagement while ensuring it still happens."
His mother let out another sigh as she heard him. Leaning back with a tired expression, she replied in an exhausted tone.
"Adi, I really don't understand. Why are you like this? You have always been obedient and understanding. Well, you are still a child, so I can't really blame you."
Then she sat straight, meeting Adrian's eyes.
"You are correct, I can indeed delay it for five years if I wanted to. But there is no merit in doing that, is there?"
Adrian sat silently, without reacting. His mother observed him with a calculating gaze.
"Sure, I'll delay it for five years."
He should've felt relieved after hearing that, but he didn't. Because he could see the expression on her face.
"But Adi, that is going to cost you."