The following day, Bernard woke up and did chores around the house, as usual. He checked on the maids to ensure they were doing their job, made sure the house was in order, double-checked Darius’ schedule, and did any paperwork required of him. 

‘Yesterday, the Master sent me a message saying he’ll be home soon, so I have to make sure everything is perfect for his return. I also need to finish my report on Mika.’ Bernard thought, his mind slowly drifting toward the fiery red-haired girl.

Unknowingly, a smile crept up on his face thinking about her and her antics. 

‘That girl really surprised me yesterday. I figured she’d be able to beat our Knights, but who would’ve guessed it would’ve been in such an overwhelming fashion? I wonder who trained her to become so skilled.’ He didn’t think for even a second that Mika had never accepted a mentor regarding swordsmanship. 

In his mind, nobody can reach that level of skill without a teacher at her age, and usually, he wouldn’t be wrong. Mika was just a unique case. 

‘I just hope Mika won’t have any issues forming her Mana Circuit when she starts cultivating Mana.’ For some reason, he was confident that she would cultivate both paths rather than one, but his thought process was reasonable. 

Mana Cultivation was the mainstream path to a higher power; nobody would give up a chance to become a mage unless they were either ignorant, stupid, or untalented. There were too many benefits that came along with being a mage. 

However, the major one was that there was significantly less pain when cultivating mana. Body Cultivation was a hellish, tortuous process, unlike its counterpart. 

The second reason is that Mana Cultivation strengthens the body too! Not as much as Body Cultivation, but the body does get stronger.

Lastly, the variety in combat capabilities is much wider for mages than for warriors. The former can fight at short, middle, and long ranges, while the latter can only fight at close to mid ranges, at least in the early stages.

Who wouldn’t want to become a mage with all the benefits that come with it? You get the best of both worlds without the extra pain, all in exchange for a less powerful body. 

Of course, Body Cultivation also has its advantages, but those aren’t noticed until the 2nd or even the 3rd Realm. 

Still, regardless of the differences between the two paths, most people, if they have the opportunity, will cultivate both for the simple reason that it would be a waste not to.

A warrior that can use mana, even if they are only in the 1st Stage of the Black Core Realm, is much more dangerous than a Knight without a Mana Circuit.

‘It’d be a shame if Mika couldn’t take advantage of both cultivation paths with her talent.’ Bernard thought, unable to sense that Mika had already formed her Mana Circuit. 

However, he couldn’t be blamed for that. The device Mika’s parents gave her was state-of-the-art technology combined with enchantments, unique materials, and an advanced level of blacksmithing. 

Mika also did not show off her affinities in public, just like her parents warned her. She didn’t want to catch unnecessary attention, and it’s a good thing she did, or else who knows what Butcher would’ve done to her.

“Sir, Ms. Mika has awoken.” 

Bernard snapped out of his thoughts, hearing the voice of one of the maids. He turned to look at the woman wearing a frilly black and white maid dress and smiled. 

“Tell her I’m busy right now and that the Master will be here soon. Other than that, leave her be. I’m sure she’s still a little tired from yesterday.” Bernard ordered, to which the maid nodded.

“Yes, Sir!”

She bowed and left the room, disappearing from his view within seconds.

Bernard lightly shook his head with a smile before going back to work, finishing his report on all that had happened while Darius was gone.

***

A few hours later, a slim and exotic flying car descended in front of the Emporvas Villa.  It was a matte gray with black tainted windows all around it, giving those inside a 360 view of the outside world, two adjustable wings on both sides, and powerful thrusters in the back. 

One look was all it took to understand that whoever the owners of the car were had money.

As soon as the car landed, three people climbed out of the vehicle. 

One was a large, stocky man who wore a black suit that did nothing to hide his rippling muscles and fierce aura. He had two daggers at his side and a long sword on his back. The man had a neutral expression but looked like he was frowning. 

The following person was a tall, lean, handsome man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Through his blazer, one could see a decent muscle definition, indicating he kept his body in shape but didn’t look particularly powerful. 

However, the shiny watch on his wrist, his well-groomed appearance, and the intelligent gleam in his eyes showed that he wasn’t a simple person. 

The blonde man turned and opened the door next to him, holding out his hand to help whoever was inside out of the car. 

A silky white hand came out of the car and lightly grasped his. The man tugged on it, and soon, a beautiful blonde woman with bright blue eyes and a gentle smile exited the vehicle. She was wearing a stunning red dress that wrapped tightly around her body, showing off her curvy waist and ample chest. 

The woman stepped out of the car and closed her eyes, her smile widening as she breathed in the familiar scent.

“Haaa…” She let out a relaxed sigh before her eyes shot open, and she exclaimed, “We’re finally home!”

The man who was holding her hand also smiled, but it was more apologetic than hers, “I’m sorry that this trip took so long, Honey. I wish we could’ve taken Aurelia to enjoy it with us, but-”

The woman pressed her finger against his lips, preventing him from continuing, “I know. You don’t need to explain yourself. This time, it was a bit too dangerous to bring her along.”

Then she took her hand away and smiled, showing off her pearly white teeth, “Enough of the depressing talk! We’re home now, so let’s go see our daughter!”

The man nodded and returned the smile, then they walked inside the Villa, hand in hand, with the large muscular man following silently behind them.

These two people were naturally Aurelia’s parents, Darius and Kristen Emporvas. The man following behind them was their personal bodyguard and the strongest person in the Emporvas household.

When they entered the building, they were greeted by an army of maids standing on either side of the hallway, with Bernard and Aurelia waiting for them at the front. 

“Mom! Dad! You’re back!” Aurelia cried out and jumped into their arms, giving them a big hug. 

Katherine and Darius embraced her, giving her a few pats on the back. 

“Mhm. It’s good to see you again, Sweetie. Mommy and Daddy are sorry we left you so long. We promise we won’t do so again anytime soon,” Katherine said, her silky voice uplifting the atmosphere. 

On the other hand, after embracing his daughter, Darius went straight to business, “How are you, Little One? Did Bernard take good care of you? You didn’t get into too much trouble, did you?”

Aurelia knew how her father was and didn’t mind his attitude. When she heard his questions, her first instinct was to nod, but when she remembered the last few days, she scowled. 

Darius noticed this, and his expression turned serious. He turned to look at Bernard, whose smile had faltered, and gave him a look that said, “Explain.”.

Coughing, Bernard put on a complicated expression and tried to explain, “Ahem. We had a little incident a few days ago…”

However, before he could recall what had happened over the last few days, Aurelia interrupted him, “Hmph! Daddy, you must get revenge for me! Butler Bernard actually let someone beat me up while you were gone!”

Bernard facepalmed, and Aurelia’s parents both became puzzled. The Bernard they knew would never let Aurelia get hurt. So, instead of jumping to conclusions, they waited for some kind of explanation. 

“It’s a bit of a long story. Why don’t we talk to your office, Master, Mistress?” Bernard sighed and asked. 

“I’d love to hear this story,” Darius said, picking up Aurelia, and walked to his office with his wife and butler in tow.

.

.

.

“You look like you have something important to tell me,” Darius said to Bernard, with his wife and daughter sitting next to him in his office. 

The Butler nodded, “Let me first give you a bit of context. So, it first started when….”

Bernard explained everything that had happened over the last few days. From when they first found out about Mika, to them going to the Black Market, and finally to Aurelia purchasing Mika from Butcher. He did his best to explain the overall situation, saving the information about Mika for later. 

By the time he finished, both Darius and Katherine had frowns on their faces as they stared down at their daughter, who couldn’t look them in the eye. 

“So,” Darius spoke in a calm yet clearly irritated voice, “To sum it up, you’re saying that my daughter visited the Black Market, watched a deathmatch, and bought the enslaved child who participated in said deathmatch? And that person is staying in our home right now?” The more he spoke, the more grave his voice became, causing the butler and Aurelia to flinch.

“Well…” Bernard paused and took a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing, “You aren’t wrong, Master, but the situation is a little more complicated than you might think. Mika is… a unique individual.” 

He didn’t bother expressing his opinion and just handed a tablet over to Darius, which contained his personalized report on Mika, along with a recording of her fighting the Knights.

Darius raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t rebuke his butler and instead began reading the report he had made. After he finished reading that, his expression eased a bit, and he turned on one of the videos of Mika fighting. Katherine was also curious and watched along with her husband.

Around 15 minutes later, Darius turned off the videos with a thoughtful expression. Naturally, he now understood why Bernard said the situation was a bit more complicated than he thought.

Mika was too strong! It is impossible for her not to have a significant background with the level of strength and skill she showed. If he didn’t handle this situation carefully, there might be untold consequences for his actions.

“Alright, I think I’ve seen enough,” he said after a brief pause, “Before making any decisions, I’d like to speak with this Mika girl. Please bring her to me, Bernard.” 

Bernard bowed respectfully, “Yes, Master.” Then he left to go fetch Mika. He thought about bringing up the idea of having Mika as Aurelia’s trainer, but he decided to stay quiet and leave it up to fate. 

Darius wasn’t an idiot and was much better at handling sensitive situations than anyone else in the Emporvas household. If he didn’t say anything about her becoming Aurelia’s trainer, then it meant he didn’t think she was fit for the job.

‘Regardless of the outcome, I’m looking forward to seeing what the future has in store.’ Bernard thought with a smile as he walked down the hallways to get Mika.