"Milady...if you don't do it properly next time, I'll need to punish you, okay?" my personal servant, Grey, said as he brushed his wet hair back and took off his top, revealing his rippling muscles from underneath.

Yes...Right now, I, Cordelia de Boren Cyllia, was in a very dangerous situation.

Very dangerous.

"Hmm...Where are you looking, milady...? Why won't you look at me?" Grey asked with a smirk.

"It's because...I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M SUPPOSED TO LOOK," I yelled and covered my face in hopes of keeping my innocent eyes safe.

How was it possible...for someone to have the body of a god???

"How am I supposed to teach you properly, milady...if you won't even look at me...?" Grey clicked his tongue.

"WELL THEN DRY OFF, MR. TEACHER, AND PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON!!" I screeched as I launched more of my water magic at him by accident.

To summarize what happened before all of this, a few days ago, Grey promised me during our first history lesson together that he would give me tips on how to use copy magic, the magic attribute that I had the most problems using.

So, today is the day we decided to carry out our 'deal.'

Obviously, since no one except for the first hero a few thousand years ago has ever been able to use copy magic, I had completely no faith in Grey in his ability to teach me how to use it.

Nonetheless, I agreed to let him help me under the condition that if he failed, he would need to do me one favor.

By the minuscule chance that he actually is able to teach me copy magic properly...I'll have to give him one favor, but the odds of that are highly unlikely so I wasn't too worried.

But...I may or may not have accidentally shot Grey with a giant water ball after attempting to copy Grey's poison magic.

"I would love to dry off...but you keep making me wet, milady," Grey sighed as he glanced down at me with a dark look in his eyes.

"Haha...That's what she sai-uh...I mean...I'm very sorry, sir..." I chuckled awkwardly.

"Oh...haha...it seems you have enough time to make such jokes, milady...I must not be giving you enough work to do," Grey chuckled a bit.

"...No...please no..." I whimpered as I tried to run away.

But it was too late.

Grey had already caught me with his shadow magic...

...And I had no way to escape.

Haha...

...Someone save me, please...?

.

.

One Hour Later

.

.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE!!!!!!!" I screeched as I stopped doing push-ups.

"This is all quite necessary, milady. Please trust me," Grey said in a totally trustable voice.

"I don't understand the point in any of this though. What does working out have to do with using copy-magic?! Copy-magic is magic in case you've forgotten," I replied back stubbornly.

"Based on the fact that even though you have such a vast mana pool, but are still unable to use such simple copy-magic...I have a feeling that your ability to use copy-magic is completely unrelated to your magical capabilities, milady," Grey sighed.

"You talk as if you know what you're talking about, Grey," I rolled my eyes in response.

"Haha...Well...Who knows, milady?" Grey said with some sort of knowing smile that I couldn't decode.

Grey was acting pretty strange today and I had absolutely no idea why.

"Well...whatever. So, what do you think that the reason behind why I can't use copy-magic is?" I asked him.

"The only thing you lack that the first hero had was...physical strength," Grey said.

"That doesn't make any sense though. I may not be the strongest person in the world, but I could easily become a military commander at my current skill," I said with confusion.

"Copy-magic is a magic that allows you to replicate any magic you please. You'd need quite a bit of stamina and power for your body to withstand the additional magic that your body isn't accustomed to, milady," Grey said logically.

"...Ah...that actually makes sense. That probably explains why I pass out when I try to practice my copy-magic for too long..." I said awkwardly.

"Yes, milady. Your body is strong, but it is not strong enough for you to carry out copy-magic. I don't wish to boast, but the first hero was very...muscular," Grey said with a chuckle.

"...Why would you be boasting about that...? Everyone knows that the first hero was incredibly hot and ripped...but the first hero is completely unrelated to you," I said, confused about his previous statement.

Grey froze a bit, scratched his head a little, and chuckled slightly.

"...Is that what people are saying about the first hero nowadays...?" Grey asked with a funny look on his face.

Was he...embarrassed...?

But why...???

"It's not something new that people are talking about...if that's what you're asking. His looks and considerate attitude are legendary even today. Didn't you read about this before...?" I asked Grey.

"...Forgive me, milady...But I'm not the type to read books about...the past," Grey replied with a dark look in his eyes.

"Haha...You're acting mighty suspicious today, Grey, but I'll let you off the hook since you're trying to do me a favor," I giggled as I immediately changed the subject.

"Of course, milady. I'm very grateful for your mercy," Grey smiled.

I shuddered.

Whenever Grey smiles...I get a bad feeling about the future.

"So...since I'm not going to get mad at you...in return, let's take a nice break, okay?" I asked as sweetly as I could.

"That's not how this works, milady," Grey laughed as he pinned me to the ground and tied fifty-pound weights on each of my legs. (A/N: for my international readers, this is about 22.7 kg per leg)

"W-Wait!" I squeaked as I tried to escape from his strong pin on me.

"Milady, I believe it is time for you to run some laps for me, okay? If you don't finish five miles within ten minutes...expect a punishment," Grey said as he bumped his forehead onto mine with an evil smirk.

I could feel blood slightly drip from my nose.

Ah...I'm in trouble.

.

.

A Few Hours of Tortuous Training Later

.

.

"I...have...never...gone through...so...much...training before..." I managed to wheeze out as I collapsed onto my knees in front of Grey.

With every word I spoke, I felt as if though all the air was being sucked out of my lungs and I nearly felt like suffocating to death.

"Oh, milady, this isn't nearly enough training. I'm going to make you keep working until you can't even stand," Grey chuckled.

"Then when will I be able to start using my creation magic??? Even if I work out enough today, I'll still need a week to recover from sore muscles," I said.

"That won't be necessary, milady. After all, I just brought along a very...useful person along to ensure that you won't...accidentally lose consciousness," Grey laughed innocently(?)

"Huh? Who?" I asked, confused by what he was saying.

There was no one else here except for me and Grey.

"Mmph!!! Mmph!!! HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!" I could hear a woman scream nearby.

Grey didn't say anything as he completely ignored the noise.

"...Grey...? Um...This may sound stupid of me...but that person who was just screaming right now...They couldn't possibly be the person you were um...talking about, right?" I asked as I gulped in nervousness.

Grey didn't even try to deny it and just stayed silent.

Oh...my...god...

Grey kidnapped a lady...

That's illegal, right?

Even if Grey is a male lead, there's no way that he wouldn't get in trouble for doing something like this.

"HELP ME, PLEASE! I'VE BEEN STUCK HERE FOR HOURS!!!" the girl screamed.

"Please remain quiet," Grey said darkly as he stomped on the shadow of a nearby tree.

Immeditely, the girl's screaming stopped.

"Grey...don't tell me...that you trapped the girl...inside of that shadow...using your magic?" I asked him slowly.

"Well...I wouldn't say that I've trapped her...I'm just merely confining her in a shadow so that she won't trouble me by running away," Grey chuckled.

"THAT'S THE SAME THING!!" I screeched.

"I'm sorry, milady, but it's not the right time to bring her out yet, so I believe it should be fine to leave her there for a little longer," Grey replied politely as if he were doing nothing wrong.

"NO! LET HER OUT!!! THIS ISN'T A REQUEST, IT'S AN ORDER!!" I yelled even louder at Grey.

"Ah...What a shame," Grey sighed with disappointment as he used his magic to release the girl from his...shadow realm.

I could see the figure of a girl my age rise from a nearby shadow until I could see her face clearly.

"LILLY?!?!?!" I exclaimed loudly by accident.

"Cordelia?!?! CORDELIA!! SAVE ME FROM YOUR SERVANT," Lilly screamed as she ran and hid behind me.

"Grey??? What's the meaning behind all of this?" I asked him with a little bit of panic.

What did he do to her?!

Why does she look so pale?!

Did something happen?

Actually...if I think about it...if Lilly begins to fear Grey, that would insure that she wouldn't backstab me as a double spy!

I mean...no one...no one...goes against Grey after they experience...the deepest darkest parts of hell.

"Well, since your friend was gifted with light-magic, milady, I decided that once your muscles are utterly destroyed by the training, I would politely ask your friend to heal you right back up again so you could continue again," Grey said with a smirk.

"You were planning on making me work to a state of near-death and then heal me over and over again until I became strong enough?" I asked him.

"Yes, I believe that would be the best choice of action," Grey laughed.

"Y-You know I'm a human being right...?" I stuttered as a wave of fear fell over me.

Dear gods...if I didn't find out about Grey's plan earlier...I would have lost a bit of my sanity...and maybe a bit of my humanity may have disappeared too.

"Haha...Please don't jest, milady. I wouldn't have taken such drastic measures if I didn't believe you could take it," Grey said as he gave me a scary look.

"Hahaha...of course, Grey," I chuckled awkwardly in return.

"WHY ARE YOU FORGIVING YOUR SERVANT!! HE LOCKED ME UP IN THER-" Lilly screamed behind me before she suddenly went quiet.

"Huh? Why did you stop screaming?" I asked Lilly.

"N-Nevermind..." Lilly stuttered.

"That's what I thought," Grey chuckled.

"Did you do something to her, Grey???" I asked him.

"Other than confining her in my shadow prison-I mean...my shadow playhouse room, I have done nothing else to her I think, milady. Perhaps she is just traumatized?" Grey asked me.

"Haha...Nooo...Really? She's traumatized? No way...I totally didn't realize that," I replied sarcastically.

"Y-Your s-s-s-s-servant...must b-b-be..t-the...d-d-d-d-d-devil," Lilly squeaked behind me.

"Oh, thank you for your compliment and praise, Lilly," Grey said as he gave a shining smile.

"Agh! Why does he have to be so hot too?!?! It's not fair..." Lilly cried behind me.

"Anyway, Grey, you failed your end of the deal. You promised to help me with my copy-magic, but I haven't gotten any closer to being able to use it than before. You owe me a favor now," I said with a groan as I rubbed my head.

"I beg that you won't be so impatient, milady. I assure you that by tomorrow, you will be able to use copy magic as if it were more natural than breathing," Grey promised.

"There's no way that'd happen," I said seriously.

"You haven't even given me a chance yet, milady," Grey smiled.

"..................If you fail, I'm getting two favors instead of one. You did something awful to Lilly," I sighed.

"Of course, milady. I'll accept any punishment you'll give me," Grey chuckled as he kissed my hand.

Ugh...

This better be worth it...

.

.

The Next Day

.

.

"Your training methods...are...horrific..." I murmured as I felt my knees wobble.

I could barely stand at this point and I was ready to collapse and fall into a coma.

Yesterday, Grey spent the entire day forcing me to work until my muscles spasmed in utter agony and healed me over and over again with Lilly's light magic so I would be forced to work again until the cycle repeated.

"I'm surprised you survived, milady," Grey laughed.

"You expected me to die?!?!?!?!" I screamed out loud by accident.

"Of course not, milady. I knew that there was a 80% chance that you'd be perfectly fine," Grey replied.

"...Haha...What would have happened to me if I were just a tad unluckier and um...managed to be a part of the 20% that I wouldn't be fine...?" I asked him.

"Oh...It's not something you need to know or worry about, milady," Grey replied as he completely dodged the question.

Great.

Now I know that I nearly died yesterday.

Yay.

"So, what should I do to use copy-magic now that I'm strong enough, according to you?" I asked Grey with a sigh as I changed the conversation.

"The first step is to forget everything you've ever learned about magic," Grey said as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

"What?! How does someone even do that??" I asked him incredulously.

"When a person uses regular magics, they accumulate the mana within themselves to release a spell under the magic attributes they can use. In the case of copy-magic, it's the complete opposite," Grey explained.

"Copy-magic is my attribute though. I should be able to use my mana, think about someone else's attribute, and just use it," I said logically.

"You've already tried that method and it didn't work, milady. What you should be trying is to steal a bit of someone else's mana and formulate a copy of it, using your own mana, in order to use it as your own," Grey replied.

"Stealing mana? That doesn't make sense...that shouldn't even be possible to begin with," I said.

"But without a doubt, it is possible. You can steal mana as long as you can feel and sense the flow of mana, which you are already able to do. Just tap into the flow of someone else's mana and let a bit of it flow into you," Grey said.

"If that's the case, couldn't everybody use copy magic? Why is there a specific attribute for copy-magic?" I asked.

"It's impossible for just anybody to be able to copy someone else's mana. You'll need copy-magic in order to copy mana. As for the other steps, anyone will be able to do them-they just won't achieve the same results, milady," Grey answered.

"I-I see..." I murmured as everything came together.

How did Grey know about all of this anyway?

No one has been able to figure these things out and, yet, he was explaining all of these things as if he had experienced them first-hand.

"Grey...is there something you're hiding from me...?" I asked him as I stared at him straight in the eye.

Grey didn't say anything.

"You know I don't like ordering you to do anything, Grey...But I want you to be honest with me this time...Are you hiding anything from me...?" I asked him a bit slower.

"...No...milady, there is nothing that I am hiding from you that you need to know," Grey faked a smile back at me.

"No matter what it is, Grey, I won't judge you. It's impossible for you to know this much about copy-magic...It's almost as if you're the first hero himself," I said sarcastically as I pressed on for an answer.

Within the next few moments, Grey's body became stiff and I saw an expression on him that I hadn't ever seen before.

The color in his face slowly went away and his eyes became blank as if he were thinking about an unreachable past.

"Grey...?" I asked out loud as the feeling of worry suddenly flowed into me.

"Haha...Wow...Milady, you really got me there," Grey chuckled in a tone that I had never heard before.

It sounded broken.

His eyes were unfocused as if he were thinking back to something terrible.

"...Grey...How old...are you really?" I asked slowly.

I had...a small...hunch of what Grey was hinting at...but I didn't want to believe it.

"......Would it upset you...if I told you...that I don't know, milady?" Grey replied as he gave me the most painful grin I have ever seen on his face.

I could feel some gears turn in my head.

Grey was definitely not acting himself right now.

His sudden switch in personality was not natural in the slightest and it happened way to fast to be considered normal.

"Don't tell me...you aren't...really...the first-hero, right?" I asked Grey with a small laugh of disbelief.

Grey looked at me and didn't say anything as he scratched his head awkwardly and gave a huge sigh.

"...You...should see the look on your face, milady," Grey said after a while.

"What...?" I asked him.

"I assure you that I'm not the first hero. My name is Grey Alcott and I was sent at a young age to work for your family as your personal servant," Grey said as he looked at me in the eyes to reassure me.

"...What about when you said you didn't remember your age...?" I asked him as a feeling of sadness welled up in me.

"I never memorized the day of my birthday nor did I ever celebrate it, so I don't know my age. I simply assume that I'm the same age as you, milady," Grey answered slowly.

"Then how do you know so much about copy magic??" I asked a bit louder.

I didn't know why I was so upset.

This wasn't anything to be upset about...

...It was just...the look on Grey's face earlier...really shook me up.

"I simply did some research on copy-magic, since you couldn't use it. I'm a much more capable and logical man than you think, milady," Grey replied.

"T-Then...then...why...then," I stuttered as I tried to come up with another question to interrogate him with.

"I've answered all of your questions properly, milady...so...please stop crying, okay?" Grey asked softly as he wiped away a small tear on my face.

...Huh?

I backed away and started rubbing my eyes like crazy.

I didn't even realize I was crying!

...How embarrassing...

"That's strange. I thought you were the type to enjoy my tears," I said to him as I fanned my face to reduce the puffiness of my eyes.

"I thought I was the type to do so too..." Grey murmured as he gave me a scary smile.

I shuddered again.

Whoops.

I shouldn't have reminded him.

"...I won't forgive you if you cry like that again in front of me, milady. It was quite...disturbing for my...heart," Grey said with a soft look on his face.

I rubbed my eyes again.

Was I seeing things?!

Grey?!

Why did he look so soft right now?!?!?!

Maybe I was hallucinating...

"A-Alright. Anyway...after all that terrible training of yours...Let me finally try using my copy magic," I said awkwardly as I looked away from him.

"Of course, milady. Please go ahead," Grey nodded as he stood in front of me.

I closed my eyes.

Step number one...was to sense his flow of mana.

In front of me, even though my eyes were closed, I could see a cluster of dark-purple lines in the form of some sort of spider web.

...It was Grey's mana.

There was something about his mana that was so dark and cloudy that I didn't quite understand.

I reached out to it and pressed my hand onto what I believe was Grey's chest.

Step number two was to...tap into his mana and let a small bit of it flow into me.

I breathed in a way that would allow my flow of mana circulate in the same way that Grey's did.

As soon as I did so, I could see a small line of Grey's dark-purple mana flow into my bright-blue mana.

His mana didn't mix with my mana in any way...they just...coexisted together in my body.

Step number three was to create a copy of his mana that I would be able to use.

I placed my hand back onto my own chest and activated my copy-magic.

I could feel something mixing and turning in my body and I could see Grey's mana split into two.

Grey's original mana in my body suddenly disappeared as if it were never there, but the copy of his mana that I made still remained in my body and it mixed together with my own mana.

I popped open my eyes again.

"Agh...I have a headache..." I said with a groan as I felt my entire body become sore.

"I expected this to happen, milady...It seems as if though you are barely strong enough to use your copy magic," Grey sighed.

"Does this mean I can use your magic now?" I asked Grey.

"Yes, of course, milady. Please go ahead and try using my shadow magic," Grey replied as he gestured for me to continue.

How does someone go about using magic that they've never used before...?

I breathed out and pictured a small hand rising out from my shadow, exactly the way Grey always used it.

With that, I surged my mana through my feet and into my shadow as I watched a small hand reach out to me as if it were trying to drag me down to the pits of the underworld.

"I did it..." I breathed out in wonder as I high-fived the shadow-hand.

"Of course you did, milady," Grey chuckled somewhere nearby.

"I really did it...haha...this means I can use any magic in the world if I copy it..." I muttered again with a chuckle.

"Yes, it does, milady," I could hear Grey say.

Something in my brain was buzzing and my body felt kind of funny but I ignored it.

There was something pumping in my heart.

This feeling.

I wonder what it was...

It was so amazing and beautiful.

I could feel this emotion of mine flow through my veins, corrupting my mind and heart in the process.

"Hahaha...Just imagine it. I can get all the magic attributes in no time. It would be so easy...Hahaha...Just imagine the power I'd have," I laughed out loud.

I think Grey said something behind me, but I couldn't hear him anymore.

I couldn't hear anything anymore.

All I could hear was something in my screaming at me...ordering me to become more powerful.

"I want...power..." I said with a giggle.

Ah...What was this feeling?

It was so weird.

Grey was yelling at me about something but I didn't care.

"I have so much mana...! And...now...I'll have all the elements...I can rule the world! The world will be min-" I was about to yell before I was knocked to the ground by Grey.

"Ah...I knew this would happen," Grey sighed as he locked me face-down on the ground with an iron-grip.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" I yelled at him.

I didn't need him anymore.

I had everything I ever wanted.

Power.

"Milady...Perhaps I should have warned you that copy-magic actually messes your mind and personality up...Hmm...What should I do now?" Grey murmured on top of me.

"Get off of me!! NOW!! I'll kill you!" I screeched at him.

"Shh...Milady, it seems as if this magic is messing you up much more than I thought it would...Can you hear the sound of my voice?" Grey asked me as he placed his lips near my ears.

"GET OFF! GO AWAY! I DON'T NEED YOU ANYMORE!" I screeched.

"...Haha...If I didn't know any better, those words might have actually hurt me," Grey sighed.

"I'LL KILL YOU WITH MY ICE MAGIC!" I screeched as I started to pour my mana into a spell.

"I really didn't want to do this, milady, but I hope you'll forgive me. I'm just going to put you asleep for a little bit, okay?" Grey asked me as he spoke straight into my ear from behind.

And that was the last thing I remembered before I felt something hard hit me on the back of my head and I passed out.

-----------------------------------------

A/N: Ehehe~ Cordelia went a little...wackadoo...while using copy magic! And Grey's little secret seems to be getting ever so closer to being figured out~

I decided to bring back one of the old original male leads this chapter, since I think its been a while since Cordelia has had her moments with them. I hope you guys enjoyed it~

Anyway, copy-magic will actually play a good-sized role in this story's plot, so I decided to dedicate this chapter to Cordelia attempting to learn how to use and control it!

Thanks, again, to my readers/voters/commenters! Your comments last chapter were especially sweet and kind, so thank you so much for all of your support, everyone!

Stay safe~

Okay byeee!

Word Count: 3981