The following days after his birthday didn’t differ from the previous ones. Stein and Primus notified Nero about their busy schedule and gave him a long list of self-study. Hence, right now, sitting with Ethel and Azreya, who devoured one piece of meat after another, Nero carefully looked at the long list of things they gave him. A glance was enough to see his teachers won’t return in the near time. Even Clara, his maid, disappeared in the second part of the day.

Nero realized that dark clouds already started appearing above the Claus household and preferred to focus on gaining strength than being a burden that can’t take care of his own needs. Besides, Stein’s warning was also another factor that made him train and learn. He knew that his public introduction will arrive soon.

Hence, Nero didn’t even rise his brows in surprise when Clara brought another woman dressed in the maid’s uniform. Unlike Clara, who was an eighteen-year-old girl, this one was a tall middle-aged woman who looked like his mother’s peer. Besides, her short brown hair with slight grayness, ordinary glasses, and strict glance added more maturity to her appearance.

“Greetings, Young Master,” said the woman as she made a half bow, lowering her head while Nero nodded and looked at Clara, who appeared behind her back.

“This is Elora, your new dancing and manners teacher. Besides, she will also move to this manor and take care of your needs in my stead,” said Clara while Nero nodded, realizing that she was also his second maid. Hence, Nero wanted to create good relations with her, just like Clara. So he stood up, approaching her.

“My name is Nero Claus. Welcome, lady Elora. I will be glad to learn from you,” said Nero as he made a half-bow and kissed the woman’s hand.

Such a gesture made a quick gleam of approval flash through her eyes before a slight smile appeared on her lips.

“Hmm... Looks like you already about noble manners, right, Young Master?” asked Elora.

“Yes, my mother and teacher taught me when I was small. Besides, instructor Stein also told me some information on this topic during our lessons,” said Nero.

“What about dancing?” asked Elora as she threw an evaluating glance at his figure while Nero just shook his head at her question.

“I see,” said Elora. “Then we will start with the basics. I will teach you both dancing and manners at the same time. As Milord instructed me, you should be ready for the public appearance at the start of the next year,” said Elora.

“I only have a month to prepare?” asked Nero, widening his eyes in surprise. Of course, he expected that day to arrive, but not so soon. He thought his introduction will happen in the half a year.

“Yes, Young Master. That’s why you should hurry, and Milord ordered me to teach you,” said Elora.

“Young Master, lady Elora is the eldest and the most experienced maid, serving the household. Besides, the fact she raised hundreds of maids, including me, she is the best dancing teacher. Sometimes the whole region competed to get a dancing lesson from the Amber Prima,” said Clara, joining the conversation, making Nero raise his brows and change the way he looked at his new instructor. Just like his other teachers, Elora wasn’t a simple character.

“I am no longer that prima who charmed everyone with my beauty,” said Elora in an embarrassed manner and touched the wrinkles on her face.

Clara wanted to say something about those words, but Nero was the first one.

“But, you haven’t forgotten how to dance, right, lady Elora?” asked Nero with a slight smile on his lips, realizing what exactly his grandfather wanted from him. He didn’t want so that Nero learned manners and ordinary dancing. He wanted him to get those secrets this Prima kept to herself. “So, where do we start, lady Elora?”

...

..

.

Following that conversation, Nero ended up spending several hours learning from lady Elora who not only taught him ball manners but also told him many new things about behavior and rules of such events.

Only when it was already midday, his new instructor let him go, but she measured all his body with special tape before releasing him.

“Next time, I will deliver you your tailcoat, and we will practice Young Master,” said Elora with a smile on her lips.

Hence, finally, when Nero was once again free, he remembered about the long list Primus and Stein gave him. Though good manners and dancing skills were good, strength and talent played a much bigger role in this world. That’s why Nero planned to accomplish the objectives given to him. His first aim was to complete the basic household obstacle course.

Nero had many things to do, and it was already midday. Hence, he ran towards his goal, the training grounds where he could find that obstacle course. In such a manner, when he approached the small treasury and just turned towards the direction of his goal, he bumped into someone and that person pushed him back.

A moment and Nero fell to the ground in the snow. Raising his head, he saw two men and the woman dressed in the rich-looking outfit. The man who pushed him dropped a cigar to the ground and was now crying at him.

“I can’t tolerate that any longer. At first, that shabby manor. Second, the way he delayed our meeting. How long should I wait for him? And, now even servants dare to show their contempt at me,” cried the man as he approached Nero and gave a slap into Nero’s face. “Do you know how much a cigar from the Blazing desert cost?”

Though his slap looked weak, that man inflicted enough strength to send Nero back into the snow when a woman approached him and stopped him by catching his hand.

“Calm down, Andrey. This insect is not worthy of dirtying your hands,” said Sylvana as she caressed his cheek. “Forget about those idiots, now you are no longer a simple adventurer, you are the future baron, and our friend Brunne will help you with revenge.”

“Of course I will, lady Sylvana. Melor household is an official ally of the Andrey Claus. We will help you with all your needs,” said a twenty-year-looking male as he approached the first man and patted him on his shoulders. “Forget about this cigar. It’s not a big deal. Besides, those few hits were enough to teach that boy a lesson.”

It looked like that man, Andrey was another candidate, supported by the Melor household, hostile to the Claus household. His existence was a secret, and even though his slap was painful and Nero never felt so much humiliation before, he clenched his fists and made a bow, realizing how he should act not to arouse suspicion, and create a risk of revealing his identity.

“I am sorry, Milord. It was my fault,” said Nero as he made a bow while Andrey looked at him with narrowed eyes. While a certain gleam passed in Sylvana’s eyes when she saw his handsome face. Only Brunne showed no interest in Nero.

“Fine, I will let you go, servant. But, don’t think I will forget about this incident when I will become a baron. You better disappear before that moment,” said Andrey with a clear threat in his voice before turning at his companions while Nero nodded and slowly retreated to the side while the company continued their way.

“Let’s visit other structures. My talisman’s access should be enough for that. I, as the future baron, should know the overall condition of the barony,” said Andrey, forgetting about Nero and inviting everyone to continue their journey. While Brunne and Andrey moved further, Sylvana paused for a moment, throwing a glance at Nero’s face, licking her lips before following her husband.

But, while the three of them passed, none of them knew about the purple raging flame which appeared inside his blue eyes. Nero who just lowered his head realized who these people were. Though he acted according to his strategy, not to attract attention, new people just appeared on his enemy list. Right now, he was weak, had no way to return the favor, but that won’t stay like that in the future.

‘A candidate connected to the Melor household. Dream on, idiot. The old man will never accept a person, connected to the murderers of his father. Even I know about that.’

As soon as those people disappeared from his view, Nero cleaned his clothes from the snow and left towards the training grounds with an unpleasant burning feeling on his right cheek. The further he moved away from that spot, the stronger his rage became as he clenched his fists.

...

..

.

The Claus family training ground comprised many structures like a shooting range, obstacle courses, a small arena, and different areas with different puppets as training grounds. Right now, Nero’s goal was the obstacle course dedicated to the squires. It was the first and the most simple one called an Evaluation of efforts, divided into three zones. The first, where you had to slice a big boulder in half with a blunt sword. The next is where you have to run several big circles around the ground with heavy equipment, and the last one is where you had to fight with that equipment against dozens of puppets.

Hence, when Nero arrived there, a scene of running and fighting children appeared before him. Though their age differed, they all had one thing in common, they all were stronger than Nero. Just a glance was enough for him to realize that, and make certain deductions about the difficulty of this place.

But, watching differs from trying. That’s why Nero clenched his fist and approached the official responsible for this place.

“Can I get a sword?” asked Nero, throwing a glance at the short blunt sword on the stance while that official quickly evaluated him and his brows rose in surprise.

“Do you know that you have to be at least a fourth rank squire to pass this challenge?” asked the man.

“Yes, I know. But, my instructor gave me a task to try. Hence, I would like to try it,” said Nero while the man gave him a sword.

“Fine, try then. But, be careful,” said the man while Nero nodded and left towards the free boulder.

As soon as he approached it, he realized he underestimated the difficulty because that boulder was very thick and looked durable. Even after several of his thrusts, he failed to leave a scratch on its surface. He attacked, using different tactics, but they all failed. Even his inner energy, which he also used, helped little.

Half an hour later, gasping for air, Nero noticed how a boy slightly elder than him approached the nearby boulder. That boy stopped a meter before his target before adjusting his stance, and moments later, a thin line of inner energy appeared on his sword before he moved and sliced the stone in half.

Following that, he caught Nero’s glance and realized his problem.

“Use your inner energy effectively. Cover your sword with it,” said the boy before moving further.

Thanks to his help and words, a certain scene of Eris who also covered her mace with a similar thing flashed through his eyes as Nero realized how to slice this stone. However, Primus didn’t teach him about this method. It was the second time; he saw such a thing in life, but he understood the general principle behind that.

Hence, he raised his sword, adjusted his stance, and started controlling buds of energy, moving them towards his hands, before a small thin, blue line appeared on his sword. It was his inner energy, and Nero needed to cover his whole sword to complete the goal. So, he continued to send more energy into the sword without noticing that beads of sweat already appeared on his forehead.

When he already covered one/third of his sword, his view started darkening as he fell to the ground, unconscious because of the energy exhaustion.

A short time later, Nero woke up, seeing a familiar face. It was the man who gave him a sword.

“Are you alright?” asked the man with a slight smile on his lips while Nero nodded, slowly rising from the ground. Now he knew why he fell. It was because of fatigue and a too big strain on his source. Nero tried to release too much energy at once when his body wasn’t used to it.

“Keep working. Your body is strong, but the source isn’t. Right now, you won’t pass even through the first puppet in the next zone,” said the official, taking the sword from Nero. “Return when you get stronger.”

In such a manner, Nero lost both his sword and right to train here, and could only watch how elder boys and girls easily cut the boulder in half and moved further. Once again, such a scene reminded him about how weak he was, and he tightly clenched his fists as a burning flame appeared inside his eyes.

…

..

.

When Nero returned to his manor, Clara was already waiting for him with a prepared dinner and a hot bath.

While Nero enjoyed the food and rested after his training, Clara took something from her artifact and gave that to Nero.

“Young Master, instructor Primus asked me to give it to you after your return. This is the thing which will solve your problem. But, he told me that, mastering the semi-technique will be hard and you should be ready for immense sufferings. That boulder won’t let you slice it so easily,” said Clara, repeating the instructor’s words while Nero already skimmed through the scroll before certain light appeared in his eyes.

“Thank you, Clara. I know what to do, now,” said Nero as he quickly put the scroll into his bracelet and returned to food.