Chapter 7: Secret Training
The talks extended from noon till dusk. It was difficult to keep track of time when the sun hid behind skirts of dense clouds and layers of snow.
Kevin stared through the window of his study as Jean and her group of knights left, the woman's back was straight with satisfaction.
Kevin lightly tapped the table surface after turning around, deep in thought. This whole time, Lexia was no more than a spectator in this war of words that went back and forth, between the calm and the agitated, sincerity and sarcasm, truth and falsehood.
Lexia felt like she had learned a lot but also felt like she had gained nothing at all, appearing lost in thoughts more often than not the moment she discarded her nervousness and fear.
Kevin sighed, leaving the study after indicating for Lexia to follow him outside.
…
Lexia's small figure trembled in the cold breeze as she stood bare feet on the snow. Gone were the comfy clothes as she wore a male fitting of leather pants and a long shirt despite its silky texture.
Kevin stood shirtless a few paces away from Lexia, the only piece of clothing on his body was a long, black leather pants.
He crossed his arms and smiled faintly at his little sister.
"Already feeling cold?"
"Y-yes…" she answered, her eyes as red as her exposed skin to the wind.
Kevin looked around, wondering how he should go about training her body given the lack of resources and equipment. After some thought, he snapped his fingers. "We can start by running around the backyard first—these trees will be the obstacles, just make sure not a single falling leaf touches your body as you run around."
"Eh?" Lexia piped up, confused just as she was cold.
She looked at the garden of tall trees and the ground littered with bits and pieces of stones before looking down at her bare feet, her expression growing sour from either hesitation or fear.
"We have no servants or guards save for the kitchen staff and the head steward. Although we can fully trust the latter, that doesn't mean that the status quo won't change. When that happens, our servants will be our shields but also the eyes of those acting against us, and it will be very difficult to keep some secrets hidden.
"Even without those insects to consider, I'm already planning to take you under my command when the war erupts in three months. Although the battlefield isn't safe, it is much safer than home at the moment—it can't be helped," sighed Kevin while stretching, "I have only you to trust wholeheartedly, Lexia."
Lexia was listening while trembling, biting her bottom lip.
Truth be told, she was too young to understand how the home was more dangerous than an open battlefield, but her eyes sparkled when she heard Kevin's last sentence.
She also trusted her big brother very much, she simply didn't know how to express it yet. She was a weak little girl.
She then remembered Jean and the powerful aura of confidence and imposing demeanor that circled that tall and beautiful woman—she wanted to be like that too, one day.
Lexia slowly straightened up her stance to stand in attention, stretching her body as she watched Kevin do, despite her continually shaking figure.
Enduring the hardships the body suffers is a mental trick, akin to putting one's self into an illusion.
An extreme example would be the people seeking pleasure in self-harm—no one with a normal train of thoughts would understand how inflicting pain upon oneself did not only induce suffering but pleasure and mental relief.
It was all in the head—lies transition into illusions and eventually progress into a reality.
Lexia started convincing herself that enduring this cold was her way of displaying sincerity and determination to be worthy of her big brother's trust.
If he could endure this cold for her sake, why couldn't she?
Seeing as Lexia made her resolve, Kevin nodded his head in satisfaction as he turned his back to her, chucking while he shot away into a light jog that wouldn't be beyond her capabilities of catching up.
He planned to gradually increase his pace and feel out her limits before breaking them mentally, repeatedly, eventually mending these limits with a session of meditation.
Just like that, two silhouettes darted through the stretch of a garden akin to a mini forest of falling snowflakes and leaves.
Lexia's muffled exclamations of pain and frustration ceaselessly echoed about from dusk till midnight when the surroundings grew too dark for her to see the falling leaves, let alone evade them.
She lay flat on the ground despite the cold snow as hot sweat trickled down her skin, so sticky as to allow a few leaves to latch onto her petite figure.
Kevin stood to the side, arms akimbo while panting lightly.
After showing Lexia the ropes, he began to rush at full speed for a few minutes until his body could hold on no longer before he stopped periodically to rest.
It wasn't difficult for him to avoid the leaves and thus, his regiment centered around avoiding as many snowflakes as possible.
His body was soaked wet in sweat and melted snow to a point where one couldn't distribute between the two substances, heaving out long breaths as he sat lotus style next to Lexia who was stargazing—even though no stars were visible through the clouds.
"Try to relax and meditate in whichever posture you find comfortable," Kevin reminded lest she fell asleep inadvertently, his eyes quickly closing to focus on his third eye that was yet to successfully fuse.
Lexia gave her big brother a look of confusion. Then, a strong intuitive urge took control of her body all of a sudden, she struggled to crawl onto her knees and scramble her way behind Kevin, resting her forehead on his back.
In his state of meditation, Kevin didn't notice that some of the ripples in the ambiance, namely mana, went through his body and discharged periodically into Lexia as though a mysterious, inexplicable force connected them together.
In no time whatsoever, Lexia entered a trance. It felt like time spent dozing off while struggling to get out of bed every morning. It felt like a second but also felt like hours.
When she next came to her senses, Lexia was huddled up on Kevin's lap in a position that suggested someone warding off the cold using another's body.
It was at this moment that Kevin's eyes snapped open, feeling quite invigorated as the daily meditation allowed the mana to wash away his fatigue.
Kevin blinked as the silver rays of dawn sprinkled his body, noticing the shivering Lexia in his arms. It took him a moment to realize what happened; Lexia must have fallen asleep in his embrace from the cold.
He already convinced himself that she wouldn't dare sleep without his presence until she had finally gotten over the trauma.
"I was careless just then," sighed Kevin as he stood up, picking up the confused Lexia in a princess carry while muttering to himself about changing the schedule to train during the day.
Lexia was still confused as she wasn't feeling cold or fatigued at all, but she couldn't find the words to articulate her current situation. Nonetheless, as this was a rare moment of being spoiled by her big brother after an entire day of a stern and solemn atmosphere, she quickly lost herself in the comfort and tossed these matters to the back of her head.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone