(The current time)

Avy was already breathing heavily while bathing on her own sweat after running three laps around the training grounds that were approximately seven hundred hundred fifty meters in perimeter. She was glaring at the people who made her do the 'Easy Training' that she was basically staking her life for.

"Are you okay sister?!!! Are you dying?!!!" Light shouted from across the vast grounds where the others were also watching.

"I AM!! NOW SHUT UP!" she shouted back, annoyed.

"I'm cheering you on My Lady!! You can do it!!" Mariel waved her red handkerchief in an attempt to cheer her mistress up.

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL IF I DIE!!"

"Seven more laps to go My Lady!" Clerivan responded.

"GO TO HELL!!"

"I think we should let sister rest for a couple of minutes, Raux. Her body is not accustomed to these kinds of things." Ciel told the head chef who had his arms crossed in front of his chest while watching Avy suffer from the training regimen that he gave.

"The purpose of this training is to help her get accustomed to the sensation of having her energy drained to the extent, Young Master, because using Magic does the same thing. I am surprised that the lady could only last for a couple of minutes physically, if she had continued taking Mana control as her first step, her body would've suffered a lot from exhaustion from the inside." Raux told the young Arkwright.

"What you're saying is, you're goal is to make sister run until she drops, is that it?" Light commented.

"Yes, Your Highness. Fatigue and stress cause nausea most of the time, therefore she must've felt no different from earlier if not for the distraction of moving around. However, mana control could only help a person control his mana, but the amount of mana that she accumulated over the past years of not manifesting would harm the body before the Lady could even get used to using Magic. It is like putting a child in an environment where only adults who had lived in there for years could survive." the former assassin explained making Ciel and Mariel look at him in astonishment, as they were living under the same roof as him and never have they heard the chef talk more than three sentences in a row. Just like how he was always described, Raux is a Man of few words.

~~~

"You did great today, Mi'lady." Mariel proudly told her mistress is she clean up all the dirty dishes on the table on Avy's balcony after she ate to her heart's content. She didn't have the strength to go down to the dining hall after taking a bath to clean her body covered in sweat that went through hell, a.k.a. running more than ten kilometers, basically her running for hours until her knees gave out.

"My whole body is sore. My muscles are numb, my legs are shaking, it really was a great day." Avy remarked sarcastically with a fake smile and lifeless eyes staring into nothingness as if her whole life was ruined and her future was taken away from her.

"But you did your best, Mi'lady. You will be able to control your Magic in no time." her maid said with Clerivan standing on the corner, nodding his head in agreement.

"I wonder if I'd still be alive by then." the Lady breathed out on exaggeration. Remembering how she used to sit in front of her desk all day to read a book or create something and the only thing that kept her body working was her crazy uncle's occasional shenanigans. Her dad used to scold the both of them whenever she passes out due to lack of stamina after her uncle teach her self-defense and other martial arts just because he thought it was fun.

"I wonder how's Dad doing..." she muttered.

"The Lord stated that His grace will be arriving tomorrow night at the earliest, Mi'lady. You need not worry." her Knight answered, not aware of the fact that Avy was really pertaining to her previous father.

"Oh. He must be riding one heck of a fast monster to be able to travel across a country in a short period of time." she replied.

"I've never seen His Grace with his Tamed Beast since he seldom lets it out. But it is possible that he's using it to travel faster."

'Tamed Beast, huh? I'm surprised they don't teleport from one place to another.'

"By the way, My Lady." Mariel interrupted her thoughts. "The things you requested will be delivered tomorrow." she said, finally giving life to Avy.

"That's faster than expected." she stated, more enthusiastic than before. "Bring it inside an empty room closest to mine. I don't wanna make a mess here once I start working." she added.

"Yes, Miss." Mariel answered with a big smile which didn't go unnoticed by her Mistress.

"Why are you smiling like that? It's creepy." she pointed out honestly with disapproving eyes which the Maid responded with a giggle.

"I just noticed that Mi'lady has the same passion as His Grace." she told her.

Avy squinted her eyes in curiosity and spoke. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I've heard about the rumors that the Duke also liked picking on things back then. He was the person who thought of and created the cooling system when he was thirteen using wind and water magic stones. Mi'lady can ask Sir Clerivan if you're skeptical since he has been working here longer than me."

Avy glanced at her Knight standing near her as to guess her from any attacks.

"That is true, Mi'lady. I heard His Grace also wrote books with his creations for the other Alchemists to make. But he didn't give the most of them since an accident happened when an alchemist used it for his own gain, harming and taking advantage of innocent citizens in the process." Clerivan explained.

"Where are those books now?" she asked, a grin slowly forming on her lips.

"I think those books are stored inside the Duke's study? But only people that His Grace approve can enter without permission." Mariel said thoughtfully.

Avy stood up, forgetting about her former statement about her legs shaking from running too much.

"It seems like I won't be sleeping early tonight."

~~~

(Two hours ago)

"Your Grace. Please rest for tonight. We have been traveling for four days straight. We have no problem traveling nonstop since Your Grace let us rest plenty in Bergunn but you were not sleeping enough to meet the envoys." Luviene, the Knight Captain who serves the Duke of the Arkwright Family stated worriedly as their troupe decided to take a short break before continuing to go back to the Capital.

"Do I look weak to you, Luviene?" Duke Alton stared down coldly at his follower. His red eyes glowed dangerously under the night light as he sat on the back of the big Tamed Wolf with black fur, its size being larger than three grown men combined added to the frightening aura that the Duke emitted.

Luviene bowed his head, it was not an ordinary statement to intimidate anyone, it was a sign that he shouldn't meddle anymore. To think that the diligent and persevering Duke left his work and made his House's Head butler handle the work in his stead is just an indication that what he needs to do was way important than his reputation. It is true that the Duke is strong, being the most powerful mage in his prime, but that didn't lessen the knight's worry.

Exhaustion was clearly evident on the Duke's face. Arkwrights are normally paler in comparison, making it harder to know if one is looking sick. But the Duke's complexion was way more tired and his eyes had dark bags under them.

"We are only a couple of hours away from the capital. I will go first. Lead the troupe Luviene." the Duke told him before his tamed wolf left at an incredible speed.

Luviene gazed at the figure of his master disappearing from his sight in concern. It may not be obvious to most people but as a servant who has been with him for quite a long time, he noticed how restless the Duke was the entire time. And it all started before they even got the message of the Arkwright estate being attacked by assassins.

(A couple of days before)

"Are you going straight to rest, Your Grace?" Hayward, the Arkwright Family's head butler asked the Duke as they stepped out of the room where they had a conversation with the King of Bergunn about the upcoming Summit. It was already late at night and all of them were exhausted from the works they had to finish.

"Yes. And Luviene. Tell the knights to rest, I am capable of protecting myself." Duke Alton told the Knight walking behind him.

"I will make sure to pass the message." he answered and the three of them continued to walk when the Duke suddenly stopped on his tracks.

"Is there something wrong, Your Grace?" Hayward looked at his master and was surprised the moment he saw the terror on the Duke's face.

"Avy..." he said

"Your Grace?"

"Contact the estate. Now." he commanded Hayward in urgency before turning to Luviene. "Call the Lord, I need to speak to him as soon as possible." he said and headed to the place where they were staying with a frown visible on his face.

He knew something happened. He's sure of it. If he was wrong, there is no way that the connection he has with Avy would mysteriously disappear all of a sudden.

For years, after 'that' day. He made sure to put a spell that would allow him to know if Avy is not in danger. And not even once that her mana was erased in a blink. It was a high-level spell that even tells him if Avy went out of the capital without him knowing, hence it is impossible for just anyone to undo the spell when even the one on the end of the thread doesn't know that she has established a connection with him. And the only thing left that he could think of was...

...Avy losing her life.

That night, he silently hoped that it was his magic that stopped and not Avy's breathing.

~~~

"There's a spell cast on this door, huh?"

Avy gazed at the big door of the Duke's study with her eyes full of excitement. Her two servants were standing behind her after she decided to take a little trip from her room to that place just to hunt some books that she wanted to see.

"Hey, Revie. Try touching the knob. I wonder if people will explode if they try to enter." she said which the Knight didn't hesitate to do. But before he could even put his hand on the knob, he was pushed back by an invisible barrier, and he felt like he bump on a wall protecting the study.

"What? What? Did it hurt?" she asked

"It's just a barrier designed to block people, Mi'lady." Clerivan answered.

Avy slowly pushed her arm on thin air, expecting to feel any kind of wall that will not allow her to go in. But no matter how far she pushed, that she even reached that door, no barrier pushed her away.

"That means I'm qualified right?" she grinned, looking at her two caretakers.

"You two can go rest. I think I will be staying here for the night." she told them and twisted the knob before pushing open the door when another memory flashed in her head.

"Your Grace!" a man wearing a uniform of a Knight burst through the door of the Duke's study, holding the small body of the Young Lady in his arms.

Her eyes were opened but slowly closing.

She was conscious.

But bloodied.

Avy went back to reality and saw her hand on the knob, it was covered in blood.

"My Lady, are you alright?" she heard Mariel ask.

"A-ah. Yes. Go rest. I'm fine on my own." she answered and looked at her hand once again and saw no stain on it. It seems like the memory is messing with her head a little.

"I'll be staying here, Mi'lady. Please call for me if something happens." Clerivan told her with no intentions of going back to his room to rest.

"Whatever. Suit yourself." Avy told him before entering the study.

~~~

A couple of hours more of traveling and the Duke was able to arrive in front of the Arkwright estate, surprising the knights guarding the gate since they were informed that their master will be returning the next night at most.

"W-welcome back. Your Grace." they greeted but the Duke didn't answer nor did he wait for the gates to open. His Tamed wolf jumped over it and went straight to the mansion in a hurry.

"Y-your Grace. We thought–"

"Where's Avy?" he cut off the statement of the butler who saw him entering through the front door with an enormous beast next to him.

"The lady is inside her room, Sir." a Maid answered, he was about to leave when another voice interrupted.

"M-Mi'lady is in your study, Your Grace. She went there two hours ago." it was Mariel, the maid he assigned to be Avy's personal attendant.

He didn't ask anymore questions and ran quickly to his study. Of course, he was informed about Avy's well-being by his father but he wanted to see it with his own eyes. He wanted to hear her voice with his own ears.

"Your Grace...!" the Knight standing in front of the study looked at him in surprise, but he had no time to even give him a glance. He went straight to the study, opening the door and the first thing he saw was the figure of a woman sitting in front of the big window.

The image of his late wife who always gazes at the garden through that very same spot entered his mind.

"Sabrina..." he said, but his wife's image was immediately replaced when the girl turned in his direction. It was no other than his daughter sitting comfortably, holding a book in her hands.

"Uh... The door wasn't locked so..." Avy said, looking at her father who was panting as he stood on the doorway.

'Wasn't he supposed to arrive tomorrow night?' Avy thought.

Duke Alton walked towards her and took her arm, examining her bandaged wound. He also looked at her neck covered in a bandage before letting her go.

"Ciel said you were hurt badly." he said

"I was. But not enough to kill me."

"It's not enough to kill me. I didn't grow up in a brutal family just to come out fragile."

Sabrina, the Duchess and the Duke's wife stated calmly while standing in front of her treasured plants. Her curly hair swayed by the wind as she fed her mana to the flowers.

"You've wasted a lot of mana fending off those assassins, and you still have left to give your plants?" Alton stated with a straight face, looking at the strange woman that he married.

"These are not just plants. They are an extension of myself." the Duchess answered with a small smile.

"In our family, it's tradition to give black flowers to the girls who get married." she looked at the flowers lovingly, reaching out her hand to one of them.

"Like a funeral." the Duke said, making her chuckle.

"Marriage is basically a funeral if you get married to our family." she stated, "But our ancestors expressed their love by gifting each other black roses."

"I want to give these midnight flowers to Avy when she gets married." she smiled softly, the face of their sweet young daughter flashing in her mind.

"If there is a man that qualifies to be her partner, I don't see why not."

Duchess Sabrina narrowed her eyes at him in a threatening way. "You better not, Alton." she said, her voice way more serious than before. Of course, she knew about it, the plan that they will eliminate every single man that approaches the small lady. By they, she meant the three men of the Arkwright household.

"It was Alistair's idea." the Duke cleared his throat. "It was not a bad idea–"

The Duchess cut him off by hitting him on his arm. "If she doesn't get married, then to whom am I going to give these flowers?"

"I see... That's a relief." the Duke said, returning to his calm and collected self.

"Then I will be going to my room to rest." he told her and walked towards the door, muttering some words to himself.

"If you're gone, then to whom am I going to give those flowers?"

~~~

AND SO THE DADDY– I MEAN THE DUKE INTRUDES!!