I encountered one issue after passing the test and being left alone with the bride candidate.
The problem was that I had no idea what kids this age talk about or how they play.
On Earth, this would be kindergarten age, and kindergarten kids would burst into laughter just by farting, building camaraderie. But nobles—especially fiancés meeting each other—couldn’t possibly engage in such vulgar behavior, right?
While contemplating what to say while looking at Yuri, I decided to let out a hearty laugh first.
“HAHAHAHA-!”
“…Why are you laughing?”
“It feels good to laugh! You should laugh too!”
Though my tone was quite forceful, perhaps wanting to avoid a rift with her newly met fiancé, Yuri forced her lips upward into a smile.
I guess people who live in cold places have underdeveloped facial muscles, because Yuri’s smile was awkward as heck.
I couldn’t stand that dumb-looking smile of hers.
“What, have you never smiled before?”
“…No.”
“What do you mean you’ve never smiled? Hey, move your hands.”
I grabbed Yuri’s cheeks and forcibly pulled them upwards. Her cheeks were so soft, like mochi, filling my hands completely.
With the patience of steel, enduring massaging her cheeks, I commanded her to try smiling with her eyes.
Yuri finally started to form an awkward smile, still terrible but at least resembling a smile. With a smirk, I released her cheeks.
“There, like that.”
“…It hurts.”
“A woman should look pretty when she smiles. When you get home, practice smiling, alright?”
“…Smiling practice?”
“Yeah. Promise me.”
She looked at me in disbelief, but what could she do? If your future husband tells you to practice smiling, you do it.
As we made a pinky promise with our future spouse, the maid who had gone to fetch snacks returned late and saw us with our fingers intertwined, beaming with a full smile.
“Oh my, young master. Already holding hands with the miss…”
“Ah, yeah.”
“It seems the miss has caught your fancy.”
“I get it, now can I have some cookies?”
“Yes, here they are.”
The maid quickly set up the snacks, and I picked up a cookie from the middle and offered it to Yuri.
Yuri hesitated whether to take the cookie I offered, but cautiously accepted it and began nibbling on it like a squirrel.
Just as I had seen earlier in the dining hall, she had quite the appetite.
‘Do they not feed kids in the North…?’
Watching her savor it made me feel like I should give all the cookies to her without touching any myself.
For the sake of seeing my future bride grow strong, this much sacrifice was necessary.
As the maid and I watched contentedly while Yuri munched on the cookies, night fell before we knew it.
* * *
“Are you leaving already?”
“Yes, Viscount. Unfortunately… there’s much work to be done.”
Late evening. The time when only the stars and moonlight illuminated the ground. The Duke said he would head back to the North.
It was puzzling why he even came, but since the Duke was busy and wanted to return, what could we do? He had to go.
“—Your Grace.”
“Ah, did you have a good talk with my daughter?”
“There’s something I need to say.”
“What is it? Could it be… you didn’t like my daughter?”
“Yes, there is something I didn’t like.”
At my words, both the Count and the Duke looked at me as if a bomb had exploded.
Soon after, an indescribable pressure overwhelmed me, but I was a man who spoke his mind. With a trembling heart, I boldly opened my mouth.
“Her smile was awkward. Please make sure she practices smiling well when she returns to the territory.”
“—Ha, hahaha. Alright, I’ll make sure to pay attention to that. Anything else?”
“Ah, please make sure she eats well and takes care until I come to pick her up.”
“Alright, I will. —Count, your son is quite something.”
“…It’s an honor, Your Excellency.”
The Duke gently patted my head and then boarded the carriage. Watching the carriage disappear over the horizon, I turned around only after it was completely out of sight.
The Count watched me and burst into a helpless laugh.
“…You really are something. Even though you’re my son, you’re far from ordinary.”
“—Dad, don’t you have nothing to do right now?”
“For now, yes…”
“Then keep your promise now.”
“What promise?”
“The training. You said you’d teach me personally.”
Looking at me in disbelief, the Count swiftly changed his gaze and began to press down on me with a sharp presence rarely shown.
“Are you prepared?”
“Yes.”
“Many have failed to become knights and knelt in defeat. Do you truly believe you can do it?”
“Of course.”
I had confidence. It wasn’t because this world was inside a game or because I reincarnated as a game character.
I simply enjoyed swinging a sword.
I had the mental strength and knowledge to hone my innate talent.
“Who do you think I am?”
“Kail…”
At the very least, I was ready to grow enough to not shame the original Kail Meyer from the source material.
My father, moved by my words, stared at me for a moment before nodding and opening his mouth.
“Good. Starting tomorrow, I’ll teach you the clan’s secret sword techniques and Aura.”
“Starting today…”
“No. Preparation is needed to learn Aura. Wait until tomorrow.”
Since my most hated phrase was “starting tomorrow,” I tried to start today somehow… but the Count firmly refused.
If preparation was needed, there was nothing I could do. I nodded in understanding and returned to my room.
Expecting to stay up all night thinking about learning Aura, I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed, and it felt like only ten seconds had passed before morning came.
“Hmm… sweet.”
As soon as it was morning, I quickly sought out my father.
* * *
Inside the carriage heading back to the duchy, the Duke looked at his expressionless daughter and asked.
“Did you talk a lot?”
“…Yes.”
“Did you like him?”
“I’m… not sure.”
Yuri recalled Kail’s face as she spoke. A person who laughed for no reason, asked strange questions, and was hard to define clearly…
But he shared his snacks.
Watching his silently contemplative daughter, the Duke remembered what Kail had said: her smile was awkward. Come to think of it, he realized he had never seen his daughter smile.
“Yuri.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Try smiling.”
“—Like this?”
At the Duke’s words, Yuri tried pulling her cheeks up forcefully, just as Kail had taught her.
However, it remained as awkward as ever. After seeing his daughter’s smile, the Duke quietly gazed out the window.
“…We have something to do when we return.”
“Yes. Understood.”
The two returned to the North quietly and swiftly, determined to perfect their smiles by the next meeting.
* * *
Early morning. Upon visiting the Count’s bedroom, I realized the existence of the family’s private training ground exclusively for the main family line.
A secret training ground hidden on all sides. The Count pointed to a magic circle drawn in the center.
“Do you see that?”
“Yes.”
“Go inside.”
Following the Count’s command, I stepped into the center of the magic circle. Sitting at the center and looking at the Count, he chuckled and faced me.
“What did Sir Leon teach you?”
“Hmm… sword swinging?”
“Anything else?”
“Some stuff about the four powers…”
“That’s a magic circle to measure them.”
In this world, there are four kinds of power.
Aura.
Force.
Magic Power.
Divine Power.
These four powers have different characteristics, and the innate talent for each varies.
To assess that talent, a magic circle was necessary.
Though I didn’t particularly like the idea of checking talents before learning, I understood the Count’s reasoning.
‘It’s better to know what your child excels at and teach them accordingly.’
Rather than watching someone struggle with magic despite having no talent for it, it was better to see them excel in a field they were naturally gifted in.
From the learner’s perspective, it was also better to study something they had an aptitude for. Of course, there was no guarantee they would have talent in the field they wanted to pursue.
“Don’t worry. You’re the eldest son of the Meyer Clan. Your talent for Aura is certain.”
This was more about checking for other abilities, the Count comforted me.
Without much thought, I nodded, and the Count immediately activated the magic circle. As he muttered something, the magic circle began to glow.
After feeling the mysterious energy I sensed from the Duke sweep through my body, the Count spoke as if it was obvious.
“You seem to have no talent for Magic Power.”
“What a pity.”
I had hoped to try using magic at least once in this fantasy world, but alas, magic seemed out of reach.
Next, warm and cold sensations began swirling around my body.
Seeing no particular reaction from me, the Count shook his head.
“You have no talent for Force or Divine Power either.”
And lastly—a ferocious energy, like a wild beast, tore through my body.
Sweating profusely as I struggled to control the energy, the Count shouted loudly to focus on his words.
“Follow my breathing from now on! Don’t answer!”
Then, the Count began a peculiar breathing pattern. Inhale, exhale, suddenly switching between the two—it was disorienting.
However, not long after following this breathing method, I felt something stirring inside me.
Concentrating to the point where I no longer heard the Count shouting, I managed to control this energy.
‘Warm, but fierce.’
I understood clearly that this energy within me was Aura, and I had an idea of how to control it.
‘Breathe.’
Breathing was the most important thing for humans. Breathing equaled life; breathing equaled existence.
Controlling breath meant controlling everything.
Following the breathing method the Count taught, I slowly breathed, and the wildly rampaging Aura began to follow my control. The problem was, I had no idea what to do with it next.
Martial arts novels talked about Qi pathways and meridians, channeling Aura throughout the body. But someone like me, who had only a few years of gym experience, couldn’t possibly do such things.
In the end, all I could do was watch as the accumulated Aura flowed through my body following the rhythm of my heart.
“—You’ve succeeded.”
The Count, watching me, looked down at me with an expression of satisfaction mixed with astonishment.
Still maintaining my breathing, I looked up at the Count.
“Normally, it would take weeks just to sense Aura… but to think you have such talent…”
Leaving behind the astonished Count, I stood up naturally as breathing became second nature, picking up a wooden sword hanging on the wall.
Seeing my greedy desire to learn swordsmanship right after awakening Aura, the Count chuckled. But what I intended to do wasn’t just that.
‘So suffocating!’
The Aura filling my body pressed against my insides like an overinflated balloon. Wanting to release it as soon as possible, I instinctively channeled the Aura into the wooden sword.
The Count, about to explain something, froze in shock upon seeing the Aura flowing into the wooden sword.
I looked up at the Count and grinned.
“What do you call this, Dad?”
“…Expert.”
On the first day of learning Aura, I reached the same level as the Count.
