I have two mana points left. The puppy is dealing with one of the wild boars, using his agility to avoid getting bitten or kicked since the boar is immobilized. I think I can try the water splash on the other one without killing it. I move closer since the spell doesn’t have much range.

  I cast the water splash. I lose one mana point. I can’t see how much damage I’ve done to the boar, but I imagine it’s two—one from the splash and another from the sword. I don’t dare attack again in case I end up killing it.

  I step back and cast a light orb above our heads. The shift from moonlight to the sphere’s glow momentarily blinds me. As I hit zero mana again, I feel exhausted. Strangely, when restoring mana with a potion or a lick from the puppy, the second time always feels worse. However, after meditating, it’s as if the previous exhaustion has been completely erased, like I’ve slept through the night and fully recovered. Interesting.

  Once the puppy finishes off both wild boars, I check on him. He doesn’t seem injured, just a few scratches. I’d gladly use my second healing spell of the day on him, but I’d rather save his other lick in case we get attacked and I need the shadow wolf.

  Because I still remember that there are creatures out there searching for the divine beast of darkness. I have to make sure I always have a way to summon him.

  Right now, I feel drained, completely worn out. But I did well. I ask the little pup to show me his status. I’m a little disappointed to see he didn’t level up. He’s still level 3, with 45% progress toward level 4. I assume one wild boar gave him two experience points, and the larger one gave him three.

  I’m not too happy about it, but it’s late. I tell the seed to follow me, and we head back to the village. I have to leave the wild boars behind—there’s no way I’m dragging them back. I don’t know if they’ll still be here when I visit the goblins. Probably not. If I could communicate with them from a distance, that would be great. I’ll check on that later.

  The path is lit by moonlight since the light orb has been left behind.

  Once I return to the academy, I take a shower and change into clean clothes. Judith greets me, looking a bit surprised to see me back so late on a Monday, but she doesn’t ask anything. I leave the room, and the guard is there—but it’s a different one. They must have changed shifts. I head to the dining hall to see if there’s still someone in the kitchen who can give me something, even just some fruit, to curb my hunger.

  I’m lucky. The cook scolds me, telling me she’s not here to cater to students’ whims, but she still hands me a plate of hot food. I appreciate that they treat us more like students than nobles. I wouldn’t have liked a servile “Here you go, my lady.” I apologize, thank her, and eat.

  Then, straight to bed—there’s no time to study for tomorrow’s classes. The last thing I do, already in bed, is check the system to see if having vassals gives me a way to communicate with them. It takes me a while to find it since the interface isn’t very intuitive, but I see that it exists. It’s like a whispered messaging system that works both ways—I can talk to them, and they can talk to me. But it’s only available for leaders, not all vassals.

  With your kingdom at its current level (Initial Level), you can appoint one leader.

  Available ranks: None.

  Unlockable ranks at your current kingdom level: Sergeant.

  Cost: 5 Influence Points.

  I try to see if I can find out the different kingdom levels, but nothing shows up when I tap on kingdom or initial level.

  In any case, if I can only appoint one leader, it’s obviously Ronan. The totem will have to wait.

  As soon as I select my friend, I flinch, and Judith—who’s still studying—turns to look at me, puzzled. I pretend to be asleep.

  The truth is, I just heard Ronan’s voice in my head, loud and clear, saying, “My lady?” That’s why I jumped.

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  A notification pops up, but I ignore it for now.

  I try thinking with the intent for him to hear me.

  “I just found out I can communicate with my officers. You’re one now.”

  “I do not deserve such an honor, but I will strive to serve you and fulfill my role.”

  “Ronan, cut it out. For now, I could only name you a sergeant.” I mentally roll my eyes. He’s not next to me, but I can hear the tone in his voice. I’m sure my dry response reaches him perfectly. “This is just so we don’t have to whisper. Look, if you can, take care of gathering the goblins’ requested materials tomorrow. I’ll give you the money in class.”

  “That will not be necessary, my lady. I have my share of the loot as well.”

  “Which is yours to keep. Like I said, I’ll give you the money in class. If we can, we’ll sneak away on Friday after classes and my air magic training. I’ll come back to the academy, pick you up, and we’ll take it to them.”

  “As you command, my lady. But would it not be more practical if I just accompanied you to your class and waited in the forest?”

  He sounds relieved. I imagine it’s because I refused to take his money.

  “That’s outside the time when Catrina allows us to use her supply room. That’s why I’ll come back and pick you up. We can meet right at the door.”

  “As you command.”

  “Perfect. Goodnight, Ronan. Oh, and one more thing.”

  “Yes?”

  “This channel is for important matters only, okay?”

  “As you wish, my lady. There is one more thing—Vincent inquired if I knew the reason you did not attend dinner.”

  Oh, right… The headmaster must be at ease since the guard knows I’m in my room or out in the forest hunting boars, like I’ve done before. I already told Catrina that sometimes, after private lessons, I go hunting to continue training. But the prince… first, he finds out that I could be a target for assassins because of the sword, and then I skip dinner… Poor guy, he must be worried.

  “What did you tell him?”

  “That you wanted to practice with your new sword and probably got so absorbed that you lost track of time.”

  “And that’s exactly what happened. Thank you, Ronan.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  We say our goodbyes. It’s nice having the necromancer cover for me.

  Next, I check the system notification.

  Ronan Velbrun is now a Sergeant. You can communicate with him mentally. His actions under your command can earn you Influence Points. As a Sergeant, he can lead up to ten of your lower-ranked vassals, who will receive Minor Resistance to Status Effects. Ronan Velbrun gains Minor Resistance to Status Effects while serving as your vassal Sergeant.

  I wasn’t expecting this, but it’s good news. It makes sense—things like fear or confusion should affect them less since they’re under the direct command of an officer, who in turn follows me.

  I get comfortable under the covers and let exhaustion wash over me. It’s time to sleep.

  Marco.

  Marco sat at the desk in his father’s estate office. Beside him were the accounting tasks that came so easily, and right in front lay a blank parchment. The quill in his fingers moved slowly toward the parchment, then lifted again, never quite depositing the ink.

  "Why is this so difficult?" the baron muttered to himself.

  It was just a ball. He only wanted to write a letter to his fiancée to let her know that he would accompany her to the end-of-term ball at the royal academy where she studied.

  And yet, he felt uncertain.

  Ever since Genevieve had told him about that other student, he couldn’t shake the thought that if this young man was such a prodigy in dark magic, perhaps Bianca would be drawn to him and might even want to speak with her parents about arranging a better marriage proposal.

  He had looked into it. That young man’s parents held a barony, just like his, and he too was the firstborn heir. In terms of noble title, both Ronan and himself could offer the L’Crom counts the same. However, Marco had never attended the academy, he wasn’t particularly talented, and this other guy had nothing less than a high affinity for dark magic, capable of controlling skeletons.

  Ah… if only he had that affinity. The extra labor he’d have for planting more fields…

  But there was no point in feeling insecure, no use in fearing that he might receive a reply from his fiancée saying she had already accepted someone else’s invitation to the ball. Technically, being engaged to him, she shouldn’t; but since he had yet to invite her, she could argue that she accepted another’s invitation, thinking he wasn’t going to.

  In truth, Marco had kept his distance from his fiancée as much as possible—just enough that it wouldn’t be considered neglect or an insult.

  He ran his left hand over the back of his neck, massaging it for a moment, then brought the quill back to the parchment. This time, he wrote, his strokes growing more confident.

  Dear Bianca,

  I will come to pick you up for the end-of-term ball at your academy. Apologies for not writing sooner—I have been focused on improving the productivity of the lands that will soon be your barony as well. Please accept this bracelet as a token of my sincere faith in our engagement and my eagerness to see you again.

  Yours,

  Marco.

  As for the bracelet, he had purchased a delicate piece of jewelry—gold with embedded pearls and a heart-shaped pendant.

  He hoped she would like it. He called his valet and handed him the letter and the bracelet to be sent.

  Now, all that remained was to wait and trust that she would not reject him.