The countess's first instinct were that Gareth was lying. That was the only logical conclusion that she could come to. Because his claims were so absurd, how could she believe them easily?She was an Ardent herself, so she knew how hard it was to feel mana as a beginner. She herself took more than a month before she was able to do it.
However, what if he actually did it? That question lingered in her mind. If he was indeed able to feel the flow of mana, that meant that he would soon be able to become an Ardent.
To confirm whether he was telling the truth or not, she decided to test him. She stood up and, with a smile that was not a smile, she spoke."You claim you can feel mana, right? Then I suppose you wouldn't mind a little test," she said while staring at him intently. Her hand shone with a pale blue light, and with a simple wave, an invisible force seemed to flow through the room—one that the two occupants couldn't see, but they could feel.
"Alright, tell me. Which part of this room has the highest concentration of mana now?" she asked. She had just flooded the room with mana, leaving one part with more concentration than the rest.
If Gareth were truly able to feel the mana, he would be able to find the area with the most concentration. If not, it would just prove he was lying, something that she would not be too pleased with.
Hearing her order, Gareth simply nodded before concentrating. He began slowly walking around the room, stopping slightly from time to time, trying to feel the mana in the air.
The room was quite large, so it wasn't something that could be accomplished quite easily. He wandered around the room, even reaching all four corners of the room.
Seeing him pass by the area she had flooded with mana, Countess Virelle felt disappointed in him. She thought he was clearly lying. However, she didn't say anything.
Looking at his face, she decided to give him one last chance to come clean and ask for forgiveness. Perks of being handsome, I guess.
However, Gareth, who was still concentrating, didn't notice her gaze and was still wandering across the room. After a minute, he seemed to have figured it out, and with confident steps, he began walking until he ended up at his answer.
"What are you doing there?" the countess asked, her tone one of confusion.
"Didn't my Lady ask me to find the area with the most concentration of mana?" he asked, as if confused by her question.
"Yes, I did, so why are you standing right behind me?" she asked once again.
"Because this is the area with the most concentration of mana in this room," he replied.
"Hah!" The countess let out a chuckle, laughing at the absurdity of his words. For a moment, she almost forgot about her disappointment at his lying. Almost.
However, just as she was about to reprimand him, she realized something. Gareth was actually right. Because she had flooded the room with her mana, she was surrounded by the most mana.
In simple terms, it was akin to a sea that branched out to become some rivers and streams. At the end of the day, none of them could surpass the sea.
This was basic knowledge that anyone trying to become an Ardent would have learned. However, since Gareth was a slave, there was no way he would have come across this knowledge before.
Perhaps he had come to this realization on his own while reading the cultivation technique, which would mean he was a genius student.
Coming to this realization, the countess didn't know whether to be angry or amused. Gareth was technically correct; however, that wasn't the answer she was looking for. She still wasn't able to find out whether he was truly able to feel mana.
"My Lady?" Gareth's voice sounded behind her, near her ear. Her body froze for a moment, with a shiver passing through her spine. There was something about hearing his voice from behind her that stirred something within her.
Just hearing his deep voice, feeling his breath on her ear, was enough to put her in the mood. Still, she wasn't a little girl. She quickly composed herself, and without even turning around, she spoke.
"While you are technically correct, that wasn't the answer I was looking for," she said, trying to stir the conversation back toward the important matter.
"Was the answer you were looking for that corner?" he asked while pointing toward a corner of the room. Following his finger, her gaze landed on the corner of the room.
Countess Virelle froze momentarily, this time unable to hide the shock from her face. That was because the spot Gareth was pointing to was the exact spot she had directed most of the mana she released to.
What did that mean?
It meant that Gareth wasn't lying when he said he had learned how to feel the mana. It meant that Gareth himself could be considered someone a monstrous genius couldn't even compare to.
The realization was both exciting and intriguing. Just how much of a genius was he? How powerful could he become? For a moment, she had already begun daydreaming about using Gareth to reach new heights in the kingdom.
However, she had to quickly calm herself. After all, Gareth hadn't even become an Ardent yet. It was a bit too much to think so far into the future.
However, she was definitely going to be paying attention to the young man behind her.
Now that Countess Virelle had confirmed that Gareth could indeed feel the mana in the air, her opinion of him skyrocketed. She was curious as to how he could achieve such, and if he was truly a genius or he had just gotten lucky.
Turning around, she stood on her toes, reached her hands around his neck and with a sultry voice, she asked.
"Hmm, it seems you weren't joking. However, that doesn't change the fact that you made me wait for you. What punishment should I give you?"