"Believe that there's light at the end of the tunnel. Believe that you might be that light for someone else."
- Kobi Yamada

✧

"Fuu~.."

A visible sheen of sweat was layered on Cordelia's pale skin as she landed dextrously, the resounding crash shaking the ground behind her. Blood was strewn across her blade which hadn't been sheathed once in her entire hunt out of fear for dirtying the inside of the scabbard. Yet, there wasn't a single droplet of crimson on her black training outfit; it was a sleeveless, form-fitting vest with an irregularly high and wide collar, as well as a similarly tight pair of trousers.

For the sake of utility, Cordelia had strapped a belt with small satchels on it and also wrapped her left forearm with a long, heavy chain. In reality, this chain was an Armament designed like a grappling hook. By injecting mana into it, a user could direct the chain's direction, velocity and even length. It seemed simple but this had saved Cordelia's life many a time.

Turning around, she faced the limp Violet Pecker, a Tier 3 Magical Beast. Two years ago, she wouldn't have been able to do anything against this predator. But today, she had ended its life in one fell swoop. There was no struggle. No resistance. Just death. Slicing through its neck was as easy; it was like a hot knife through butter. To add to that, there were no nicks or blemishes on Mikazuki after she had wiped the blade clean of blood. Only her stoic face was reflected on the katana's peerless edge.

Hardly any magic was used this time. By only using breathing techniques and her naturally strengthened body did she massacre this forest's denizens. Passively absorbing ambient mana all day for extended periods of time could work wonders for a person's body, especially Cordelia's which was frail and weaker than average. Despite that, she lacked the stamina to sufficiently fuel her increasingly stronger body. She was caught in between a rock and a hard place.

Continuously amassing body strength would only further her stamina deficit but on the other hand, there was no feasible way to cure her inherent weakness. She had tried many, many things. Stamina training was too slow, potions and medicinal pills had no effect and doctors could only shake their head in confusion. Every time, her brother was unfazed though. As if he had expected this result. And then one night, when the final doctor left the manor, he told her the truth.

✧

She collapsed heavily, puffs of air being violently expulsed from her mouth. As she was trying to regain her breath, Cordelia heard a few steps from behind her. They were the familiar 'clack ~ clack' that could only be replicated with her brother's pace and distinct shoes. Not bothering to look behind, she moved to lie down on her back, the snowy blades of grass caressing her naked skin. 

Walker bent down with a mug of steaming hot chocolate in his hands. The vapour clearly visible due to the low temperature that a winter night brought. And yet, the tiny, 9-year-old girl had resolutely run almost a dozen laps around the huge training complex behind the manor. Donning nothing but a vest and shorts, she braved the biting cold and warmed herself up with strenuous exercise.

For all of her toils, it was truly unfortunate that there were no fruits to be harvested. There were negligible visible changes observed each time she went out to torture herself with this masochistic daily practice. It was the same amount of laps each session. Maybe for only a few more metres could she endure before tripping over her feet in her dizziness and nausea. 

She wanted to cry. To scream and yell at the sky for cursing her with such a body. How could she ever reach her goals like this? A year had passed in the same fashion and she had made hardly any progress at all. Not even being able to wield a sword was preposterous. There was only one true reason why she could continue to push on without complaint.

From the corner of her eyes, she sighted that oh-so-salivating hot chocolate. She could smell its warm scent from here. Desiring to moisturise her parched throat and insides, Cordelia sat up with great effort and with practised movements, sipped from the cup that was offered to her mouth. Her brother smiled slightly, watching her sickeningly pale skin turn a darker shade of red from the scalding heat. But that didn't conceal the faint trace of joy and satisfaction that crossed her cute face; that was all Walker needed to push the mug towards her lips again. An older brother's desire to pamper and please their younger sister wasn't something that could be faked. Servants who watched from behind glass panes also felt greatly moved.

"Come, Cordelia. You'll be cold out here."

Her lips formed a thin line before following his instructions, not showing any hint of wavering against the frigid temperature. Snowflakes fell on her body, only to melt from her heightened body heat. She trailed her older brother into the manor and into her room where he carefully sat her down in front of her desk, before drying her hair. She would take a bath later but it would be unpleasant to be sweaty the entire time.

Cordelia stared at the mirror and into Walker's concentrated face; he was the one figure who she could always... always lean on. Her reliable, strong and cool older brother. And while recent events had caused the young girl to reevaluate her views on life, this was the one constant that never changed.

Last night, the Divine Doctor, also known as only 'Kang', had examined Cordelia. Why would such an important figure come down to a barren ducal house to diagnose the sole daughter? It was because he was a former acquaintance of the late Duke, Alexander Auster. They once held a relationship like that of brothers. In fact, many of Alexander's friends had the same status. However, he had been abandoned. Left. Spat on. Their strong bonds of comradeship forged through countless battles had all but been severed. 

It was only by a stroke of luck that Kang was passing through here. Walker immediately called him, having seen the man when he visited their manor once. The great Divine Doctor was overwhelmed with guilt. So much guilt that he conducted an examination on Cordelia free of charge. 

Only Kang, out of the dozens of doctors and physicians hired, was able to successfully diagnose Cordelia. However, the details were only disclosed to Walker on his instruction. To vent her irritation at her brother, she trained relentlessly until she dropped...

Noticing the wistful light in his sister's piercing eyes, Walker frowned. 

'I'm too indecisive. I can't hide the truth from her like this...'

Some could say that being truthful is better than lying to amend the situation. Others believed that saying it outright was insensitive and could be destructively disadvantageous depending on the circumstances. Walker was pragmatic and believed in the former. It was like it was in their genes to be a curt and logical person. In spite of that, he was aware of the possible consequences of letting loose the words stuck in his throat right now. But he took a leap of faith.

"The Divine Doctor has diagnosed the cause of your weak body, Cordelia."

Her brooding face visible brightened, already envisioning her explosive growth in the near future. She didn't say anything, but if her swinging legs were anything to go off of, she was very much intrigued and excited.

"There are 2 types of blood in your body from different races. One of them is obviously human blood. And the second type is... "

✧

'An imbalance within my body... it's halting my body's growth, hence my short stature and low stamina.'

Kang's personal medicine and treatment allowed her body to buff up considerably, allowing her to exercise strength far beyond the average man. On the other hand, her stamina had developed at a snail's pace. Until she could find a solution for that, there was nothing she could do but power forward with sheer will and determination. Each year, she could spot the diminishing returns from her training sessions. The few extra metres she gained after every session turned into one metre, and then into a few dozen centimetres. Marking the spot she stopped at each time showed all of this.

'This can't go on for much longer.'

Trapped between her responsibilities as a Duke and her desire to become stronger to avenge her parents, Cordelia's priorities were out of control. Holding in pent-up stress was no good so going out here on a rampage killed two birds with one stone. 

Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop.

The distinct swishing of water sounded out in the artificially-made hot spring. It was a technical and logistical nightmare for the engineers, who had been commanded by Walker to construct this within the manor. Avoiding all of the pipes, making sure not to collapse the entire building by accident and just figuring out how to make a hot spring in the first place... Feeling sorry for them, Cordelia made sure to put the hot spring to use whenever possible, giving maids and servants access if it wasn't in private use. 

Pearls of water congealed on the tips of her hanging hair, before falling into the steaming water. The warmth penetrated deep into her bones and relaxed her taut muscles, making her eyelids flutter with fatigue. Jumping into the hot spring right after a good workout was indeed, extremely satisfying.

But she wasn't superhuman; Cordelia was vulnerable to mortal things, such as overheating. Feeling faintly dizzy, she stepped out of the hot spring and wiped herself down before donning loose robes. It was inappropriate for her subjects to witness her in such a slothful state so she swiftly dashed through the halls after having scanned them for any presences, all the way to her bed chambers. She took the secret entrance to avoid her guards before being met with a great shock.

Walker, who was leisurely sipping some coffee, froze as he stared at his younger sister; she was crawling through an enchanted wall in her room on all fours so only her head, neck and a section of her shoulders were poking through it... he almost choked on his beverage at the comical sight. 

'My little sister can't be this cute...'

If he was to be frank, Cordelia looked like a deer in headlights or a guilty cat caught stealing. 

Ignoring the burning on her cheeks, she carried on as if nothing had happened and dusted off her robes, soon turning back to the guest in her room. The demanding, cold look on her face was a glaring contrast to her embarrassment just earlier; Walker almost choked again once he saw it.

"What is it, Elder Brother?"

Over the years, her soft persimmon-attitude sharpened instead of mellowing out. Instead of forgetting what happened that day, dreams and nightmares regularly branded the already permanent memory into her mind. Cordelia couldn't forget. It was impossible. This gradual change of personality also affected her interactions with her older brother. Instead of 'Big Brother', it became 'Elder Brother'. Instead of actively seeking out conversations and activities with him, she poured all of her time and effort into training and work. Gone was that bumbling, naive little girl who was hand-held to safety by her big brother. All that remained was a silent yet unbreakable sibling relationship between them that needed neither words nor vanity.

She still called him 'big brother' in her mind though.

He didn't answer her query, merely smiling silently as he elegantly sampled his coffee. It was black, filling his tongue with a rather addicting taste of bitterness. His younger sister frowned in distaste at the drink, then realising that he was going to play one of his little mind games again. Deciding that she would make use of her time productively, she pulled out a large stack of paper from under the desk at the back of her room and began to studiously work.

Almost an hour passed and Cordelia was close to finishing her quota... until it was disrupted by a coffee cup being placed directly on top of her document. Creasing her forehead, she questions Walker with her eyes. 

'Not to mention that disgusting coffee. The aroma is nice at first but it tricks you into tasting that vile liquid.'

Preferring black coffee over any other type, he naturally didn't bring any condiments like sugar or milk. Maybe it was to playfully spite his sister or maybe he genuinely forgot. Either way, Cordelia still accepted his grace and reluctantly drank it.

'As always, it is disgustingly bitter. Milk coffee with sugar is better after all.'

Nothing had changed. She cringed and pushed the cup away, ignoring her brother for work. Though, unfortunately for Cordelia, he seemed dead-set on catching her attention this time.

"6 months. That's how much longer you have. Do you think you can do it, Cordelia?"

Closing her eyes, she contemplated silently for a moment. Opening them once again, there was no hesitation in her eyes. 

"I can. Believe me, Elder Brother."

Settling all of her affairs in the dukedom was her foremost priority as she would be leaving the Empire to attend the Entrance Exam for the Praestantia Academy. Unless she breezed through all of her courses, she would stay there for 6 years. Only Walker would be left to maintain their lands and while he was no pushover, two is always better than one. From the machinations of the Imperial Court to the suspicious movements of foreign countries, her brother would have his mettle tested.

'I must skip years so I can aid Big Brother as soon as I can.'

In that time, the household's military must be reorganised and regeared for independence, stock up supplies, write up new contingencies and plans, and so much more. Having started this a few months ago, Cordelia had only completed a mere fraction of the monstrous volume of work. 

'A shift in command must be authorised, Kuro's absence means that she needs to choose a successor to take over the manor's day-to-day chores, a new batch of Kastallian-style spears has arrived from Kanar City, so I need to d-'

"Sleep."

Walker was young, only 15, yet his hands were so large, rugged and warm. She subconsciously leaned into his palm as he gently patted her head. At his word, Cordelia felt all of the day's exhaustion and fatigue catch up to her. Like a magic spell, she promptly fell asleep.

He sighed as Kuro silently stepped inside, bowed at the waist in deference to her other master. Next to her was his personal butler, Shiro, who bowed in an identical fashion. Their pose, stature and bearing were uncannily similar. One could only notice their link as siblings when they stood together due to the similarities in the way they held themselves. Clashing colours of hair, black and white, cleared any chance of recognising that at a glance.

"Kuro, you must take care of Cordelia better. Don't betray Father's trust. Do you understand?"

Balling her fist in her maid outfit, she spat out her words from gritted teeth in frustration.

"Understood, Your Grace."

She didn't reject his advice. She wasn't angry at his reproach. She was only furious at herself for failing to serve her mistress satisfactorily... no, she should go beyond that and provide her services to the best of her ability. Doing it 'properly' was no good.

"Brew me another cup of coffee, Shiro. You're both dismissed after that."

They nodded and left, leaving him with a sleeping Cordelia.

"Next week, we need to go back to the Imperial Capital for her social debut... I forgot to tell her. Haah..."

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2642 words
Written 19/10/20 (DD/MM/YY)