Half a month passed by so quickly, but Eli felt that it was the busiest two weeks she had in two lifetimes.
What made Eli feel slightly better was the fact that she was able to finish the books lent to her by the High Priest a day early.
She couldn't wait to receive the High Priest's summon after the two week deadline.
Seeing that she still had some free time, she left her study table and took care of Little Han. She was happy that Little Han developed his speech skills a little earlier than expected.
However, she was still worried that it would force Little Han to mature faster than his peers. Eli wanted him to have enough time to enjoy his childhood, which both her and Leon did not really have a chance to do.
Little Han, who had no idea that his Mommy would be much busier in the next days ahead, was cheerfully crawling around the colorful plushie playground with Baobao and Wisey.
Wisey was hovering around Little Han, cheering him to catch up to Baobao fast. "Go Little Master go!! Catch Baobao and you'll have fluffly cuddles!"
Baobao, on the other hand, shrunk himself into the size of a small teddy bear so that he could fit himself in the plushie playground.
He crawled around in a phase that would keep Little Han from getting worked up too much.
"Bao.. Baoooo!" Little Han crawled excitedly, finding Teddy Bao cute, he thought that he was one of his plushies who had turned to life to play with him.
He called out Baobao with a bit of difficulty, but his round chubby face was still smilling without any care in the word.
"Waaaah Little Master!!! Why are you only calling Baobao's name?! Why not call mine? I'm Wisey! Wisey!"
Full of grievance, Wisey fluttered her wings and sat on Baobao's back while facing Little Han who was still chasing after Teddy Bao.
Little Han sensed that the creature in front of him was somehow feeling hurt, he stopped crawling, blinked his big shiny blue eyes, and poked Wisey's big heart shaped head.
"shii.. shii..1 " With his age, he was not able to articulate well, but he still mumbled softly while continuing to poke Wisey's head like he was addicted.
Hearing Little Han's cute way of calling her name, Wisey was actually pleased but she still lifted her head sideways and answered in a prideful manner, "I will forgive you this time… Little Master."
But Eli could see that Wisey's big round eyes flashed a glimmer of happiness over the matter. She decided not to expose Wisey this time. Instead, she joined the little one and her contracted familiars in the plushie playground.
Unlike when Eli had to go to the Farauld Magic Institute to teach, the training in the temple this time would also require Baobao and Wisey's participation.
Thus, for the two furry buddies, this would also be the last day they would freely spend time looking after their Little Master.
As such, Eli just allowed the two to bond with Little Han as much as they wanted, until she observed that Little Han was becoming sleepy from all the playing.
After changing Little Han's clothes into a fluffy white tiger onesie, she let Little Han sleep on Baobao's and Wisey's side.
The picture of a fluffy panda, a chubby barn owl, and a little white tiger sleeping closely with each other like they were not even aware of the dangers in the world, made Eli smile gently.
She walked over the grand piano and played a gentle and relaxing melody to lull the trio deeper in their sleep.
While doing this, she was thinking of ways on how to fast track her training so as to not leave Little Han alone for a long period.
She better learn fast, she better get stronger immediately!
--
Back in the Farauld Estate, a sound of clashing swords invaded the training area of which the members of the family often come up to train.
Two men were sparring against each other, standing under the heat of the sun and on the dusty ground.
The first man was of old age, yet the vigor and strength from his rich battle experience would never make the opponent underestimate him for even a second.
The opponent was a young man in his late twenties, looking appealing and crude with his ruffled hair. He bore similarities to his sparring partner, especially his thick brows that were rather charming and striking.
His handsome face was shining with tiny beads of sweat. But he did not show any signs of exhaustion, rather, a strong sense of determination to win against his opponent.
The pair was none other than General Eugine and his only son, Nathan.
On the side, calmly sipping tea amidst the tense match between the two, was Dame Aquila.
There was a proud smile on her lips, as she could see how her son was already growing closer and closer to herself and her husband in terms of combat skills.
However, what he lacked was experience and exposure on how cruel the world could be.
As the son of the most powerful couple in the Empire, as well as the grandson of one of the Legendary Grandmasters, he grew in an environment where almost everyone around watched him grow and speculated how he would eventually be as prominent as his parents and grandfather.
Just that kind of pressure alone for a child like him was unbearable.
Thinking of this, the Farauld couple decided to raise him away from their own profession.
They thought that rather than being well versed with the sword, their only son could follow the Farauld's scholarly roots under his Aunt Janine's care.
Who would have thought that even after the academic education he had been into, this son of thiers would still choose the way of the sword when he reached eighteen years old?!
Although worried that his training was too late for his age, the Farauld couple still let him do what he wanted.
And so, Nathan grew up this way, skilled with both the sword and pen. Despite training too late, he was viewed as one of the most talented swordsmen of the next generation.
But compared to Leon who had practically grown in the battlefield with General Farauld's guidance, he was still like a babe, not having experienced the reality of the cruel war zone.
As such, General Farauld proposed this sparring match to find a way to somehow ensnare his son to work with Leon moving forward.
He knew that with his student and his son, the Empire would be protected for the next generations to come. Knowing the situation now, building rapport between the two would be beneficial and helpful.
The match went on for a full hour.
The astonishment on General Farauld and Dame Aquila's faces became more obvious the longer Nathan was able to hold his ground against his father.
However, General Farauld knew that it's time to end the match. If in the past hour, he was like an instructor patiently teaching his student, now he became an entirely different person.
He released his bloodlust aura that has been accumulated in his more than forty years in the battlefield.
His countenance becoming much more intimidating and dangerous that even Dame Aquila suffered waves of goosebumps on the spectating area.
What more of Nathan, who was standing right infront of his father?? His valiant honorable father suddenly became like the asura from hell!
His heart shuddered as a cold wave crawled on his spine like pincers.
His mind all saw red. There was horror, despair, hopelessness in the battlefield which was painted in blood. He was caught unawares by his father's move and could not believe what he was seeing right now.
He was suddenly transported into a bloody warzone with a giant undefeatable enemy staring straight towards him as if he was a dead meat.
His legs turned jelly as his body fell on the ground butt first, with his hands unable to grip the sword.
He felt like his body was drained of strength and his lungs suddenly were unable to gather enough air, making him difficult to breathe.
Seeing that his son couldn't take the mental attack anymore, General Farauld retracted his bloodlust and returned his countenance to normal.
Almost immediately Nathan found himself in the bright sparring area again. His lungs were also able to function properly as his mind started to clear up and recognize the environment he was in.
"W-what on earth.." Nathan was confused and terrified at the same time.
He thought that he had already experienced enough being a knight under his maternal grandfather's territory in the desolate North, but the scene he saw during the battle… it was far beyond compare!
"What you have experienced right now was a very common technique used by the rebels who had taken root in the blood valley. It targets the mental state of their opponents causing them to be unable to attack no matter how skilled they were." General Farauld patiently explained to his son.
"How on earth, did you…" As Nathan was still shaking from the experience, he was unable to finish the words he wanted to say but General Farauld had already gotten his question.
"Even after decades warding off those rebels from stepping past our borders, I could only find a way to resist this mental attack. At most, I can only train the rest of the knights on how to resist it on the battlefield. I have no ways to learn this by myself." General Farauld shook his head dejectedly while he was explaining.
"But there was one person who was able to surpass me and eventually discovered the secret behind this technique. He even enhanced this technique further and even made the target's sense of smell and touch be tricked." He continued.
"Who?" Nathan asked in trepidation.
Who would be so talented to do this kind of thing that not even his father was able to do???
"That person was none other than the 'trash' Third Prince of this Empire, Leon Andrae the Seirende, my student." General Farauld mouthed these words slowly and with pride.