It all began when Yegorka called on Juno so out of place on a girls only day. Then he started telling all sorts of boring stories. He boasted how he beat young Stone fighters one by one with a single punch of his left hand. And when it came to traditional sparring, he kind of accidentally touched her bottom.

Juno’s angry squeals and curses had sobered the boy at once. He regretted what he had done at once, but it was too late. The maids literally threw him by the collar out of the mansion turning a deaf ear to his excuses or apologies. But he wasn’t good for nothing! Only the superior maids under Juno’s order had the right to treat him like this. He was the most promising genius in the Stone family, after all. He was supposed to become the strongest among the incompetent young generation by the age of 18. The eldest in the family pinned high hopes on him. Juno could not forgive him that misdeed for a long time. She avoiding sparring with him. Since then, Yegorka was afraid to misbehave with the wayward girl. And today she gave in, at last. However, he noticed that Juno had been increasingly catching up with him in development. Her rate of growth frightened the boy. He was wary he’d become unworthy of her in the future. In just three months, she had risen to the 5th sage of the basic phase! It took him two years when he was a child! She was definitely more talented... Sooner or later, she’d advance and never look back, which meant he had to act before it was too late, act decisively and be firm! She was so unapproachable, though. Moreover, she treated him like a friend. All his efforts to set up any romance had no effect. All he could do was watch the happiness of his life catch up with him and leave him far behind with nothing but sweet memories, shadows from the past. However, he did not lose hope. He kept trying to reach Juno’s heart. She unique and only in the whole world, at least for him.

Juno changed the subject:

«Yegorka, how are you doing… after the loss?»

The boy was unable to hold back his emotions. He turned away and gasped for air:

«I'm fine... I'm sure that my father died doing his duty. The slaves must have been bugging him so much… All that excessive stress must have given him a stroke... And…»

Yegorka’s voice faltered. He wished Juno would hug him from behind, comfort him. But... No... She kept silent. She gave him neither sympathetic sigh nor a friendly pat on the shoulder! {Say something, I am begging you…}

«I see…» - Juno nodded. - «My friend lost his student. Martin was a good formarcist and a good father, obviously.» - Her voice was very soft in the end. She nearly whispered.

Meanwhile, Kyon, who was standing at the gate, nearly slapped his forehead. It was he who had killed Martin! What was the chance of meeting the offspring of that greedy bastard so soon? This world had no end of surprises in store for him.

The boy swallowed his pride, turned around, fumbled in his deep pocket and took out a colorful box:

«Here, your favorite raspberry cakes. What about a snack before the fight?»

Juno took one with a bored expression on her face, bit off a piece and put it back. She liked Yegorka only for his high potential among the younger generation, the reason why the adults respected him and his peers envied him. A genius like him might be worthy of being her friend and a sparring partner.Besides, he never drooled in her presence, which was no small thing.

She didn’t mind being friends with him, but everything else about him drove her up the wall! From gifts and poems to averting his eyes if she looked at him for more than a second. In fact, it was pure disrespect for so important person like her! She could make him address her with all formalities if it didn’t seem weird. They had agreed to communicate in private in a casual way. Only in private, because around other people, Yegorka had to show respect to her higher rank.

Yegorka could feel in his guts the approaching awkward silence and hurried to change the subject.

«By the way, I will tell you a secret at the party that your grandfather had promised everyone. I’ve kept it since childhood. What is more, I have a surprise for you - a gift. It will definitely help you with development.» - The boy grinned from ear to ear.

Juno raised her thin eyebrows.

«Do you really want to give me something for my development?! Yegorka, you’re so sweet!» - She praised him with a smile.

The boy’s heart just melted. His legs bent treacherously giving his feelings away. The cutie’s smile made his soul sing. His heart trembled happily. It happened so rarely that she smiled at him. More often than not he had to see her evil or malicious grin.

Juno tossed her head scornfully and turned away.

«We’d better have a sparring. This time lower your stage to mine, don’t make two stages higher. It’s only fair this way.»

Yegorka shook his head:

«Juno, if you fight on equal terms, you’ll never get stronger.» - The boy sighed and his development plummeted to the 7th stage of the base phase. Anyone who is at least at the second phase could do that trick.

It might have seemed from the outside that he did that to instruct Juno. In fact, he feared lest the talented girl should thrash him once they were equal. It would such a disgrace. He would be crushed, with hardly any chance to make her his. With his development higher than hers, it would be like a giveaway. She wouldn’t suspect anything at all if she succeeded in knocking him to the floor.

Juno rolled her eyes. She stood opposite the boy and the fight began.

Kyon was peeping through a small hole in the gate. He was completely convinced in Yegorka’s feelings. He reminded Kyon of Jean. Everyone kowtowed to the demoness in the angel’s skin as if they were enchanted. Everyone but not Kyon. Anyway, it would be stupid to fancy someone who could finish you off at a whim.

Fighting with the girl was definitely the best pastime for Yegorka. It was written on his face. He seemed to be dancing a love dance with her.

Juno snorted, surprised. {Hm… My movements are getting better. Trainings with Jean must be paying off. I do find him a bit weird but what counts is that I get stronger with him.}

If only Kyon knew that she had given all his credit to Jean…

Yegorka noticed that Juno’s response to his attacks was getting much more confident than before. He pursed his lips in disappointment. She was really talented. The gap in two stages was hardly an advantage any more.

They had been fighting for some time when Juno’s tight bottom got so conveniently close to Yegorka’s hand. He could not resist the temptation and grabbed it reflexively...

«What! Are you fucking stupid?!» - Juno turned on the boy like a wild cat, fixing an angry stare on him.

Yegorka looked stunned. He did know what he had done but he felt like a stupid poodle that soiled himself. He pulled off the mischievous limb and stared at it in disbelief as if he could not recognize it. He babbled:

«Juno, I’m, I’m sorry! I have no idea how…»

«Shut up, asshole!» - The girl ruthlessly pressed the formation.

Within five minutes, Dinah and Anna ran in. One gesture of their lady, and they grabbed Yegorka by the collar and kicked him out of the mansion like a mongrel dog to the accompaniment of his screams:

«Juno, forgive me! It was a mistake! My hand twitched by itself and…»

Juno snorted dismissively and turned away without looking back at the petty dirty-ass pervert. If he didn’t have the greatest development potential, if he wasn’t her friend, she would have ordered to cut off his balls and then his head, exactly in that order. She really hated horny boys

Juno went quickly towards the mansion. Her mood was completely spoiled. She didn’t want to practice anymore. She had an urgent need to take a shower to wash off the touch of that wanker. {All guys are the same… They want only one thing.}

Kyon let out a sigh of relief. That arrogant asshole had just unwittingly helped the killer of his own father. The sun had long gone over the horizon. Most likely, no one would remember him till morning. No one at all... His stomach rumbled demandingly, his mouth was dry. He experienced a wide range of indescribable sensations. At least the pain of injuries was eliminated from them by Synergy that had blocked his receptors. It was quite obvious that no one in that mansion cared a shit about him. There was no bed and no food for him... He had no chance to survive.

{Take me back to the mine, please… I had a bed and food there. And here…} Kyon clenched his fists. He was so frustrated with the reality. But he was not giving up. It was time to act. It was time to get up on his feet.

An hour later, Kyon secretly left the training ground. All the servants had already gone to their quarters. The park was supposedly empty but no less dangerous. If Dinah would get her hands on him...

Kyon entered the hot spring area. He made sure there was no one in there, drank some water and headed for the entrance to the mansion trying to walk quieter than a soft breeze.

The main entrance was between the park and the mansion. There was neither a lock nor a door. It was a walk-through. Apparently, the winters were warm there. If seasons made any sense, at all.

Kyon listened carefully. Silence. He went further. Sometime later, he heard almost intangible footsteps. It took him some effort to discern the maids’ walk. Kyon laid low.

The girls entered the bathroom and locked the door with a bar latch. He heard the water running. Apparently, the sisters preferred to take a bath together. A straight story for a porn movie.

Kyon’s eyes sparkled dangerously. He rushed to the hot spring where he recently drank water and carefully put a handful of amber stones (the money of the advanced phase) on the ground. Then he dashed to his wait-and-see post in the mansion.

His heart pounded so fast that it could break through his chest and jump out. He was about to go through with his plan. Will it work?

The countdown has begun: three, two, one... Next to the hot spring there resounded a loud *bang*