Leonis turned around.
Evangeline was standing at the entrance to the kitchen.
She had put aside her usual formal combat outfit and was wearing comfortable, dark-colored clothes. Her long black hair fell freely over her shoulders, and the collar of her clothes revealed part of her neck and the space between her large breasts.
Compared to her cold and terrifying appearance during training, she now looked more like a beautiful woman who had returned home to rest.
Of course, it seemed that even when resting, Evangeline’s beauty knew no limits.
"I’m making dinner, Master," Leonis replied.
She looked at the table.
"Since when do you know how to cook?"
"Apparently, I have many hidden talents. Would you like to try some?"
The woman looked at the food with some doubt for a few moments, then walked over and picked up a spoon.
She tasted the first bite.
She was silent for a few seconds.
Then she took a second bite, followed by a third.
He watched her with a calm smile.
"Master, if you like it, you can just say so."
Evangeline put down the spoon.
"It’s edible."
Leonis looked at her almost empty plate.
"I’m glad I managed to make something that meets the standards of edible food."
"Are you making fun of me?" Evangeline looked at him.
"Never, Master. I’m just admiring your excellent ability to recognize edible food."
The woman stared at him for a few seconds and then laughed.
"You really have no shame."
Despite her complaint, she filled her plate again.
Leonis decided not to say anything about it for now. It was probably better for his physical health.
After dinner, Evangeline sat down on the long sofa in the lounge.
While collecting the dishes, Leonis noticed that the woman had gently rotated her left shoulder several times.
Apparently, the constant use of Mana and the intense training over the past few days were not completely without cost, even for her. Under normal circumstances, such a thing was nothing, like a drop in the ocean, but restoring her apprentice’s broken Core had left her in a weakened state, and she had still not fully returned to her peak condition.
"Master, does your shoulder hurt again?" he asked.
She looked up.
"A little."
"Then let me give you a short massage."
The woman looked at him for a few seconds, then a playful smile appeared on her lips.
"Little Disciple, are you looking for an excuse to get closer to your Master rather than just giving her a massage?"
Leonis walked behind the sofa.
"If that were my intention, I think there would be easier ways to do it."
Evangeline turned her head slightly.
"Such as?"
"For example, asking you to treat me again." His gaze briefly fell on her breasts. Damn, they were so large that they barely fit even in these comfortable clothes.
Silence lasted for a moment, then Evangeline let out a soft laugh.
"What a shameless disciple I have."
Leonis placed his hands on the woman’s shoulders.
Evangeline moved her black hair aside, revealing her slender neck. Her comfortable clothes had also shifted slightly around her shoulders as she sat, and her fair skin looked beautiful under the soft light of the room.
His fingers moved gently over the tired muscles of her shoulders, and he could feel the warmth of the woman’s body beneath his hands.
"Master, I think you agreed to this faster than last time."
"Maybe that’s because you didn’t do a bad job last time."
"That almost counts as a compliment."
"Don’t get too happy."
Leonis laughed, and after a few minutes, he sent a very small amount of Mana from his fingertips into the tired pathways in the woman’s shoulder.
She took a quiet breath and leaned her head back slightly.
"Your Mana Control has improved."
"I have a good Master."
"At least you finally said something right."
He smiled while keeping the pressure gentle.
"By the way, Master... when is my next treatment session?"
Evangeline remained still for a moment. Then she turned her head slightly and looked at him with a seductive smile.
"If you get first place in the monthly exam, maybe I’ll arrange a special session for you."
Leonis looked at her face for a few seconds.
"That’s an interesting offer."
"That’s all?"
"Did you expect me to grab my sword and train until morning right now?"
Evangeline laughed.
Leonis calmly continued, "I want first place when it’s worth getting, Master. Of course, if the reward is really what you said it would be, then it will probably be even more worthwhile."
She shook her head.
"There really is no hope of fixing you."
He smiled and continued the massage.
"Leonis." After a few moments, the woman spoke in a calmer tone.
"Yes, Master?"
"Just come back alive and safe first. Your rank comes after that."
Leonis’s hands slowed down for a moment. He looked at his Master’s calm face. This time, the woman was not joking.
"I’ll come back," he answered confidently.
She closed her eyes.
"You’d better, little apprentice."
On the fourth day, Leonis finally understood the main problem with performing the First Crown. He was standing in the private training hall of the Evernight mansion, holding his sword in front of him.
Over the past few days, he had checked the flow of Mana hundreds of times.
Every time he tried to increase the power of the First Crown, some of the energy was wasted before he could release it.
But now, with the help of [Immortal Insight Soul] and his newly tempered body, he had noticed his mistake.
The problem was not a lack of power. He had been trying to force all the energy into the blade at once.
However, he could compress the flow step by step instead.
Leonis took a deep breath and raised his sword. Mana left his Core and flowed through his body.
Legs.
Waist.
Shoulder.
Wrist.
And finally, the blade.
A silver light formed along the sword, but unlike before, the Mana did not leak out in all directions. Instead, it became more concentrated and stable.
He gave a faint smile.
"So that was the problem."
He lowered his sword, and a silver slash flew from the blade toward the training dummy.
Boom!
The dummy split in half, and the shockwave sent its pieces several meters backward. But this time, Leonis did not have to sit down on the ground after performing the attack.
He still had Mana left. Not a lot, but much more than before.
[Habsburg Swordsmanship Understanding has increased.]
[Mastery → Minor Perfection]
His eyes remained fixed on the window.
Finally.
Several days of continuous training and thousands of mental repetitions had finally paid off.
But before he could enjoy his success, parts of his old memories became clearer in his mind.
[Second Crown]
[Burial of a Thousand Kings]
This was the second form of Habsburg Swordsmanship. He already knew the basic principles of this technique, but until today, he had been unable to perform its structure correctly.
Unlike the First Crown, which concentrated all its power into a single slash, the Second Crown divided its energy among multiple slashes and made them hit at the same moment.
At the highest level, thousands of slashes could cover the entire battlefield.
But at Leonis’s current level... this was more like a grand way to use up all his Mana.
He decided to start with the simplest version, three slashes and no more.
That evening, Rhea stood in front of a training dummy and looked at Leonis with curiosity.
"You said you wanted to show me a new technique?"
"More or less."
"What do you mean, more or less?"
"It means you’ll see a new technique if I succeed."
Leonis smiled and took a few steps forward. He raised his sword, and Mana gathered along the blade. But this time, instead of releasing one huge slash, he divided the energy into three parts.
The first silver crescent moved toward the dummy from the right.
The second came from the left, and the third formed above it. For a fraction of a second, the three slashes remained around the target.
Then Leonis lowered his sword.
"Second Crown... Burial of a Thousand Kings."
All three slashes struck almost at the same time.
Boom!
The dummy was cut apart from three directions, and pieces of wood and metal flew everywhere. The sound of them hitting the ground echoed across the training area.
He lowered his sword, breathing heavily.
This basic execution had consumed a large part of his Mana, and the strain of the movement had caused a slight pain in his shoulder and wrist.
But he had succeeded. Of course, there was still a very long way to go before he could truly perform the Second Crown.
"You..." Her voice came from behind him.
Leonis turned around. The girl was looking at the pieces of the dummy, and for a few seconds, she had even forgotten her usual frown.
"Was that the Habsburg Family’s Second Crown?"
"An extremely incomplete version of it."
Rhea turned her gaze toward him.
"Leonis, you couldn’t even perform the First Crown properly before."
"Apparently, training works."
"Training?!" Rhea almost shouted. "You’ve only been out of the treatment room for a few days!"
He shrugged.
"Maybe I didn’t train enough before."
She said nothing for a moment. She knew better than anyone that this was not true.
The previous Leonis had trained seriously for years.
Even when his weak Talent prevented him from surpassing others, he had never completely given up trying.
But now... not only had his swordsmanship improved greatly, but his physical strength had also changed noticeably.
During the short fight they had before he showed her the Second Crown, Rhea had noticed that his arm had become stronger when their swords clashed.
Before, she could completely break through Leonis’s defense with just one short push, but today, she had been forced to use more strength.
And even then, he was still fighting as if he were not using his full power.
This was strange to Rhea.
Very strange.
What had really happened to him over the past few days?
Her gaze remained fixed on Leonis’s face.