The next day, inside a moving carriage, a woman with long blue hair and fair skin sat with her legs crossed and her arms folded. Resting beside her was her Rapier.
Fiora Alastair, the only daughter of Count Alastair.
After defeating Edsel in front of the entire academy, she believed she would not have to see him again anytime soon. Yet now she was on her way to his estate because her father had ordered her to hear him out.
Across from her sat her personal maid, Elena, who adjusted her glasses while studying her mistress's expression.
"You seem troubled, My Lady. Has something been bothering you lately?"
"It is nothing, Elena," Fiora replied softly, though she avoided eye contact and looked out the window instead.
Through the thin carriage walls, she could faintly hear the soldiers escorting them whispering among themselves.
"To think our lady has to return there after humiliating that fool."
"If I were him, I would have left the empire out of shame and changed my name."
"Our lady is too kind. She is even willing to listen to him after everything."
Elena could hear the soldiers clearly. She knew exactly what they were saying, and she could not deny that there was truth in their words.
How could the pride of the Alastair family be tied to someone as pathetic as Edsel Domitius? In her eyes, he had never been worthy of Fiora.
She glanced at her lady, who was quietly staring out the carriage window, watching the trees blur past.
"My Lady."
"Mmm?"
"Why don't you break the engagement?"
Fiora hesitated.
"It is not that simple, Elena. I cannot just walk into their estate and cancel a political marriage."
Elena adjusted her glasses slightly. "My Lady, forgive my boldness, but are you certain you wish to spend the rest of your life with that boy?"
Silence filled the carriage.
Elena could see the faint disgust flicker across Fiora's face at the mere thought.
"My Lady, I have served you since you were born. Do not let yourself be chained by politics. You are a powerful sword mage. You can stand at the top on your own."
Fiora lowered her gaze, thinking carefully.
"I will keep that in mind, Elena." She offered her maid a small, grateful smile "Thank you for always standing beside me."
Elena smiled back. "It is my honor, My Lady."
Not long after, the coachman's voice sounded from outside.
"Lady Fiora, we have arrived at the Domitius estate."
"I see."
She stepped down from the carriage and looked up at the estate. It was larger than her own family's residence, built to display power and dominance but It did not intimidate her.
"Today, I will finally speak about ending this marriage," she muttered quietly.
She understood how beneficial this union could be for political growth and influence. But as Elena had said, spending a lifetime beside someone she despised would be worse than any political loss.
She would not allow herself to be trapped.
*******
Meanwhile, at the training hall, Edsel was sitting down without his shirt and touching his chest.
"Right now, I only have one circle," he muttered to himself.
Circles were what pushed mages beyond their limits and granted them greater power. The more circles you created around your core near your heart, the stronger you became. Right now, he was still at the first circle, which was a curse for someone like him.
Normal people would think that Edsel did not have any talent, but the truth was that he possessed only dark mana. It was like someone with blood type O could not accept another type of blood. If they received blood from type A, B, or AB, their immune system would attack the donor cells and cause a serious reaction. The same principle applied to the death mana inside of him, except that right now he did not have any of it.
He looked around and saw his personal maid waiting for him with a towel around the corner.
"Mia, come here."
"Huh? Yes, young master," Mia said while walking towards him. She stood there and stared at him nervously.
Edsel was staring at her body. He was not imagining things, but he was actually seeing this purple energy emanating from her.
"Mia, tell me the truth. Are you feeling sick?"
"Umm, well, I do feel sick. It is just a normal illness, but do not worry, my lord. I am sure it will go away."
Edsel now understood what he was seeing. It was death mana, and since she was sick, the energy was manifesting around her. Normally, peasants from the medieval times did not have enough money for treatment, which meant that Mia would not last long. He did not know if this theory would work, but it would not hurt to try.
"Come here."
She looked confused and scared, but then she walked towards him while closing her eyes tightly and waiting for what would happen next.
She felt a soft hand touching her forehead, and then suddenly, something changed.
"Authority Gluttony: Absorption," he chanted by muttering the words. Suddenly, Mia felt something heavy leaving her body. The fatigue and stress that had been weighing her down before was now leaving her body.
Edsel was seeing it clearly now. This was indeed death mana. He quickly withdrew his hand and hid it from view.
"My lord," Mia said while kneeling down. "I feel refreshed. I do not know what you did, but I am grateful."
[ Ding. ]
[ Death Mana Accumulation: 10%. ]
"Only ten percent should do."
He quickly sat down and started his mana circulation.
Last night, he had studied books on mana theory. Combined with his knowledge from the game, he understood the basics.
There were also other theories about mana having a lot of vitality and positive qualities, but he only possessed negative properties. That was why Edsel could not grow any stronger in the past. However, during the final fight when he was the final boss in the game, Edsel had been far stronger than anyone could imagine thanks to the power of the demon king.
He would do something that he had never done before. He would start cleaning.
First, he would circulate his mana and add the ten percent that he had accumulated. He would drive out the positive mana from his body and replace it with dark mana.
The circulation method consisted of four steps. Firstly, you would inhale and draw mana from the environment. Then, you would guide the mana through your chest, then your limbs, and then your spine. After that, you would return the mana to your heart core. Lastly, you would repeat this process in a spiral pattern.
But as a mage who possessed death mana, he would do the opposite by expelling the positive mana from his body.
The death mana automatically circulated through Edsel's body in a new pattern. Even the once blue circle around his core was now turning purple. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, but he bore it while exhaling and inhaling quickly.
"Young master!" Mia shouted while shielding her eyes. The shreds and amount of energy flowing from his body was pushing her back. She did not understand anything at all.
As she was about to run and call for someone, the energy stopped. She turned around and saw that Edsel was completely soaked in sweat.
He opened his eyes and looked at his arms. The impurities from the remaining positive mana had been cleared away and had turned into these dark substances on his skin. He smiled while looking at the result.
"Success ! I don't know how I did it, but this was a success. I can now control mana properly without feeling any pain."
A manservant suddenly walked into the Hall.
"Young Master, Lady Fiora has arrived at the estate."