“Alex! What happened to you?”

Alex stood outside the door, bruised and battered, with a sheepish look. Vanessa pulled him in, even forgetting that Amelia was following behind as usual.

“Nothing Sis, we had just started practical lessons this year. I had a duel with someone. He was just a little strong.”

“Hmph…only the strongest guy in our year.” Amelia pouted as she mumbled, barely loud enough for Vanessa to hear.

Alex shot a glare at Amelia which she returned oh so gracefully.

Vanessa looked at their interaction with a puzzled expression.

The two had gotten along rather well ever since she saw them become friends. Amelia had followed Alex back home at least once a fortnight to hang around in their little home.

Vanessa really liked her and even wanted her to become her sister in law. Or at least until Alex told her about her background. Knowing that the nice little girl was from a Duke house, she had given up that thought almost instantly. Kyle had just laughed when he had heard it. He would not care for petty things such as social positions.

“Sis, where’s Kyle?” Alex attempted to change the topic. Vanessa just rolled her eyes, seemingly reading her little brother’s thoughts.

“He’s out getting some firewood. It’s been cold lately. He won’t let me do any physical labour as you know.”

“Hehe, Sis, I’ll be an uncle soon. Have you thought of a name?”

“Yep! It’s Kaylee!”

“Uhh, Sis, what if it’s a boy?”

“It’s Kaylee!”

“Ha…hahaha. Right…Kaylee. Good name Sis.” Alex had to give up the subject with a cramped smile. Amelia giggled at the two siblings.

“OK, I’ll start dinner. You too just relax here. I don’t know how you can study and meditate for six days in a row. I’d have long gone insane.”

“It’s actually quite fun Sister Vanessa! We get to learn new things all the time. Meditating is boring but we have practical lessons this year!” Amelia would often tell Vanessa what subjects they’d study at the academy with great relish. Vanessa thought it was a pity that this girl was born in a Duke house. She was far too down to earth to be a noble.

“Oh yeah, Alex! Did you tell Sister Vanessa about our excursion to the frontlines in the second half of the year?”

“Uhh, I forgot, hehe…”

“Alex?” Alex flinched at Vanessa’s questioning tone, who was about to enter the kitchen.

Just then, the front door was opened and Kyle came in the house, carrying a small bundle of logs.

Kyle noticed the somewhat stiff expression on Alex’s face and the aura of anger exuding from Vanessa.

“What’s going on here?” Kyle was sure Alex had done something to annoy his sister. There were noticeable bruises on the boy’s body. Maybe something happened at the academy, he thought.

Vanessa calmed down, retracting her suppressive aura subconsciously.

‘I’ve got to teach her how to control her emotions later. Her soul is far stronger than it was and could harm a mortal without knowing.’

Kyle sighed and walked towards the kitchen. “Whatever it is, say it after dinner.”

“Yes, brother in law!” Alex was excited to be excused from his scary sister. Amelia was also trembling a bit under the effects of the aura.

Vanessa joined Kyle in the kitchen as the husband and wife cooked dinner together.

Amelia sat next to Alex and whispered.

“Doesn’t your sister seem odd lately? I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds! Can’t be an illusion.”

“You’re right. I don’t really know what happened but ever since after the marriage, she’s been getting oddly strong. I once saw her pull a log apart in half because it was too big.”

“She’s not using mana, right?”

“I don’t think so. Sis has just the same amount of mana as an average person. Perhaps I should ask Kyle about it one time.”

The two’s whispers were heard by Kyle. He looked over at Vanessa who was humming a song while cutting vegetables.

“Wife.”

“Yes, dear.”

“It seems that I need to train you to control your strength again.”

Vanessa looked at him with a puzzled gaze. “Why? We did it before too. I haven’t broken anything lately.”

Kyle told her what he heard from the two kids in the living room. Vanessa had her mouth agape at the thought of possibly harming someone without even touching. She would not be able to forgive herself if she brought harm to her little brother.

“O-OK, dear. We’ll have a lot more time together in a week so start it then.” Vanessa remembered what Kyle had proposed earlier, bringing a smile to her face.

She was going to give birth in two months, she really wanted Kyle to spend every day with her.

“Ah, that’s right. Let’ come up with a plan to get rich in plain sight tonight.”

***

Dinner passed quickly.

“Alex.”

Alex bolted upright on his seat, looking straight ahead, earning a smirk from Amelia and a small smile from Vanessa, which she quickly supressed.

“What do you have to tell us?”

“Haha, Sis, it’s like this. This year’s group of students are to be going to the alliance frontlines for four weeks, in the second half of the year. It’s to observe and learn from the veterans there, and witness what actual demons are like. We won’t be fighting! Just observing.”

Vanessa went into silence from the information. She was worried that her little brother was going to a dangerous battlefield. But she also knew that since the noble children are going, it wasn’t as if they’d be in danger.

“It’s perfectly safe, Sister Vanessa. This trip is kind of like an initiation for us students. A lot of us are going into military service after graduating so it’s to prepare us for the future.”

“That’s right, Sis. It happens every year for third year students. There’s no danger! I can’t skip it without dropping out of the academy anyways.”

Vanessa looked at Kyle, asking for his thoughts. Kyle just shrugged. “It seems to be alright. They won’t let the King’s children go there without sufficient protection.”

Vanessa grumbled a bit but she didn’t say anything in the end.

Alex and Amelia left together after a while.

Kyle and Vanessa cleaned up and took a bath together.

The husband and wife lied on their bed, Kyle just relaxing and Vanessa reading a book using candle light.

“Wife, we’ll start looking for a bigger house and some servants after my trip next week.”

“That’s fine dear. Have you decided what to sell?”

“Yeah, I’ll get some magic herbs and a larger chunk of blue iron. Plus, we can sell the current house. That should get us enough to afford a bigger place. As for a job, I don’t know yet. I’ll find something local so I can come back home every day.”

“Husband, Alex seems to be interested in Amelia. It seems like he was injured because of her. What should I tell him? I don’t want him to get hurt for some puppy love.”

“Hmm…something like this is good for the kid. If he can’t overcome something like this, he won’t be able to get that girl. Don’t worry my wife, nothing extreme will happen.”

Vanessa, knowing the rough extent of Kyle’s prowess, could only believe in him. It was also true that experiencing difficulties was not a bad thing for Alex.