บท 17: CHAPTER # 17

"Ow" I said pressing my shoulder.

"What happened baby?" Dad asked, concerned.

"Sister, are you okay?" Shane also added.

"Huh? uh...n-nothing. I'm okay, I just slept on one side the whole night that's why maybe I'm having a backache" I said nervously.

"Oh..." suddenly they went silent.

"BUTLER! CALL THE PHYSICIAN RIGHT NOW!" he suddenly shouted making everyone panic except for Mommy who was eating her breakfast peacefully.

"Yes, hurry!!!" Shane also exclaimed.

"Y-yes Sir" Mr. Butler said and was about to leave but I stopped him.

"Wait!! I'm okay, it's not that serious. What are you both doing? It's nothing really" I said trying to convince them.

It took me half an hour to make them believe that I'm okay. Mr. Butler also got stressed by all the chaos, Daddy and Shane ordering him to call the physician and me stopping him, then again got ordered to leave and again I stopped him, it was quite hectic.

I had to handle those two while the main culprit was just enjoying the show. Last night Mommy and I had our last class since Daddy finally agreed to let me learn swordsmanship but of course he won't teach me, Grandpa Flyn will be incharge of it. So since yesterday night was our last training session together, she went quite hard on me to test my capabilities. She is quite scary when she is serious and right now even her smile is also looking very scary to me. So yeah the reason behind my pain is my own Mother....

"So Sabi you will be officially starting your training?" Dad asked.

"Yup!" I nodded happily to which he sighed. He got up and came towards me, he bent down to my level and said, "Be careful and...just don't get hurt, hm?" he said and caressed my cheek. I smiled at him and nodded.

After we ate breakfast, I changed into my training attire and went to the training grounds where all the knights were training.

"Good morning Grandpa!" I greeted Grandpa Flyn and he greeted me back.

"Good morning to you too, my child, so are you ready?" he asked.

"YES SIR!!" I said doing the saluting gesture, making him chuckle.

"SABII!!!!"

A voice startled us, I recognized it in an instant.

"Anne!" I exclaimed as she came running towards me and jumped on me.

"*giggle* Now I can balance well because of you" I said to her since we didn't fall on the ground anymore. She giggled at my statement.

"So how are you? Missing Knox?" I asked and she just shook her head.

"Why would I miss that dumb head?" she said, making me laugh.

"By the way, Why are you here?" I asked.

"Grandpa told me that you will start learning swordsmanship from today so I came to cheer you up! I also wanted to learn but Daddy declined and said that I will hurt myself" She said pouting.

"*chuckle* Don't worry I will protect you! Always! I will be your Knight okay?" I exclaimed as she blushed and nodded.

"Okay okay kids, now shall we start?" Grandpa Flyn said, chuckling at our cute friendship.

"Yes!...Anne, you go and sit on that bench okay?" I said. She nodded and ran towards the bench making us chuckle at her cuteness.

"Okay Sabrina, there are some rules you should follow. So let me tell you" Grandpa said while I nodded with full enthusiasm.

"First, In the training grounds I'm your Master, not your Grandpa!" he said and I nodded.

"Second, I won't go easy on you even if you are a girl" he continued and suddenly a memory flashed in front of my eyes, when Knox was hanging from the second floor.

"Grandpa!?" I exclaimed and he frowned.

"Uh I-I mean Master" I said and he nodded with satisfaction.

"Do I also have to like...hang from...there?" I asked, hesitantly pointing towards the building. He laughed after hearing my question.

"Hahaha, no my child, that is only for knights who are preparing to join the Royal Knights or Holy Knights" He said, making me sigh in relief.

There are two types of Knighthood in Paizi. One is the Royal Knights who are regular knights assigned to protect the Royal Family and country, while Holy Knights are special knights who master the use of mana. They carry out special missions assigned by the Emperor. They play a vital role in conquering other empires.

Not anyone can be a Holy Knight because to achieve the mana flow inside your body you have to cultivate for a while and cultivation is definitely not easy. Some die due to exhaustion, some give up because of its difficulty.

There are only a few who are naturally born with mana inside them and Knox is one of them. Duke Syle is the current Captain of Holy Knights and having mana inside their body is like a thing passed down through generations. Whereas Duke Carlos is the Captain of Royal Knights but he sometimes accompanies Duke Syle in his missions.

Even though Knox had enough mana inside him to wipe out an entire army, after Duchess Rosaline's death, he started his cultivation to free him from the pain of his mother's death. After two years of joining the Royal Academy his mother passed away and due to his finals, he was not allowed to even attend her funeral which had a big impact on his personality and he lost all his liveliness.

"And lastly, you will not be allowed to eat until you finish your training for the day" Grandpa completed his long list of rules and when he finished the last one my eyes widened.

"What?!" I shouted, making him flinch.

"How can I stay alive then?" I said dramatically.

"...It's just two hours" Grandpa said, making my eyes pop out.

"Two hours?? I thought it would be an hour or so..." I said in a daze.

"So...what's the issue?" he asked, making me look at him with disbelief.

"Two hours Grandpa! It's two hours!" I exclaimed, making him confused but suddenly a voice caught his attention.

"Don't mind her Grandpa, she's a foodie. She is just being dramatic!" Anne said, sitting on her bench munching on her cookies while I was just glaring at her.

"*sigh* Let's get started" Grandpa shook his head and walked away with me following.

My training started and I followed his lead. First he made me run 5 laps around the training ground which took almost my soul away from my body. After that he gave me a heart attack by saying that he will add one lap everyday. He started teaching me the basic techniques but got shocked by the fact that I already knew them. I befriended almost every knight there which made Anne jealous as hell. And after two hours of sacrificing my muscles I returned home with Anne. She insisted on coming with me since she wanted to spend time with me.

After returning, I freshened up and got changed. Currently me, Anne and Mommy are sitting in the garden enjoying our tea time and talking about the events that happened today.

"And he then fell down because a friend of his placed a banana peel behind him, hahaha" I said laughing, making Mommy and Anne laugh too.

"Oh and after that he was running after his friend forgetting the fact that his pants were ripped from behind hahaha" Anne completed half of the story whereas Mommy was laughing her heart out.

"Okay okay stop now or else I'm gonna die because of excess laughing" Mommy said controlling her laugh.

"*giggle* It's okay to laugh your heart out once in a while. It's good for your health" I said.

"Yes yes, my little therapist" Mommy said pinching my cheek.

"Sabi also told me this before so I make Mommy laugh so that she can get healthy again" Anne said innocently making me and Mommy sad.

'It hurts so much seeing her like this, how can this poor soul handle such a big shock?' The Duchess thought, witnessing Anne's innocence.

'Don't worry Anne. I will try my best to find the other half fragment. I will not let you suffer the pain I suffered in my past life. The pain of absence of a mother.....' I thought looking at Anne who was enjoying her mango milkshake.

"Mommy?" I said, gaining Mommy's attention.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Should we go visit Aunt?" I asked, looking down. She smiled and said, "Let's go"

I lifted my head with a jolt.

"Really?" I asked and she nodded.

Mommy doesn't let me visit Aunt Rosaline often because she knows I won't be able to see her condition. It is even hard for her, so what am I?

Anne and I quickly finished our milkshakes so that we could go. After finishing my strawberry milkshake I quickly ate the pastry on my plate making Mommy sigh.

"Sabi, the food is not going anywhere..." she said, making me pause.

"I-I know but we shouldn't waste it right? And it will go bad if we leave it" I said, gulping the last bite.

"She loves food more than anything," Mommy said, shaking her head with a helpless smile.

"Let's go!" I said jumping off my seat followed my Anne.

We went to Anne's house. Since we only have to cross the street we didn't take any escorts with us and right now, we are standing in front of Aunt Rosaline's chamber who is currently receiving treatment. I was nervous to see her. She is also like a mother to me which made it more difficult to face her in this condition.

After a while the physician came out with a maid escorting him. It was Sir Whales who treated me when I first came into senses in this world. He is one of the talented physicians in the Paizi empire.

"Mr. Whales!" I called for him, making him stop in his tracks. I ran towards him and greeted him. he greeted me back and asked me,

"What's the matter, Milady?".

"How is...her condition?" I asked, scared. I was scared of hearing the answer I didn't want to hear. He shook his head in disappointment, making my heart drop.

"Her condition is only worsening. No medicine is working on her. The only way to save her is the one you've been searching for these four years" he said.

He knew about my research since I often asked him about her symptoms and Agnola stuff which is why he told me about her condition without hesitation.

"Oh...thank you" I bowed and left from there, disappointed. Even though I knew this was coming but we always have hope, don't we?...

"Cheer up Sabrina! This is not the end!" I said, refilling my positive energy.

I am currently standing infront of Aunt's chamber. Mom and Anne are already inside and I am preparing my heart to handle everything.

"Sabrina! You met her a week ago when Knox left. She was not in a bad condition then. How much worse could it get in a week? It's okay, you can do it!" I consoled myself.

I built up the courage and entered the room but the scene in front of me broke my heart into a million pieces...