Abnormalities With Lexia

The old steward wanted to advise against taking Lexia along, but it was at this moment that Kevin gave him a serious look.

"Forget everything you've heard in this room— otherwise I'll have at it with your life."

The old man shook.

He thought his heart was on his sleeves in the young lord's eyes and hence, he immediately changed his mind. As for Kevin, his mind was spinning; the king dispatched Marquis Louise and Marquis Armstrong with the intention of having both parties suppress one another.

However, if that young man's words were to be taken at face value, it indicates that both men had hoodwinked the entire kingdom and are planning for something big… very big. Another interesting thought to entertain was the young man's identity as such intel wasn't available on the ready for just about anyone.

If the campaign was a success then both lords will enact an alliance that will undoubtedly shift the scales in the Onyx Kingdom. If Kevin guessed correctly, this war that would erupt in the former territory of a fragmented county will progress until either kingdom completely controlled the county; it might even extend to the three counties at the backdrop and establish a new dukedom.

Kevin's heart jumped at the idea of a duke controlling the war from behind the scenes as other than the king, only a duke would have enough power and influence to secretly pull the two marquises under his wing.

"What have you gotten this little family into, Issac?"

Kevin ruffled up his hair with a sigh.

Looking at Kevin's exasperated appearance, the old steward realized that this wasn't as simple as an alliance by marriage. Although he wasn't as clever as Kevin and couldn't come to the realization that a duke was nurturing the young lord as a weapon of war; the old steward was anxious nonetheless.

Of course, since a mysterious duke from the Onyx Kingdom was planning to secretly nurture Kevin, there must be someone of an equal weight class on the other side either nurturing their own weapon or trying to destroy the weapon in the making.

But if this was the case, wouldn't that mean the influential figure from the other side has connections with one of the two counts under Marquis Armstrong? Kevin shook his head; it could all be a coincidence for all he knew.

If the count placed a puppet baron in the Badger Barony, the rewards from the marquis would fall on his lap. This alone was plenty enough of a motivation to make a move on the little family.

With these thoughts tangling his mind, Kevin waved the old steward off to see to it that he orders the kitchen staff to prepare lunch and transfer it to Lexia's bedroom.

The girl should be awake by now, Kevin thought to himself. This will be a tough journey for a girl barely fourteen, but there shouldn't be any assassination attempts arranged by people on this side of the border.

…

A dense medicinal aroma clouded one's sense of smell in Lexia's bedroom.

The girl sat against the headboard weakly, a blank look in her eyes that reflected a pair of trembling hands. She didn't notice the constant clattering of metallic cutlery to the side as a makeshift table with an appetizing ornament of dishes lined neatly.

The newly hired female servants, despite their confusion, helped set the meal in order before quickly retreating from the room to their personal quarters.

Of course, they would have personal quarters isolated from contact with the outside world; this will be the case from now till the end of the third month.

"You're awake?"

Kevin entered the room and spoke while projecting the spell <Mind Break> in an ingenious manner, subtly shaking Lexia from her trance. He had experienced with the applications of this spell so much that he split the nodes into many variations with differing purposes.

Lexia's body shuddered as some light returned to her dark brown eyes. She was about to cry yet again. She held it in. She bit her lips, eyelids shuttering with the flutter of the eyelashes.

Calm down! She told herself.

The shaking slowly and gradually stopped.

Kevin sat by the edge of her bed after tugging the blanket away. There and underneath, her bandaged wound was exposed to the air as the pair of siblings stared at it silently.

Kevin sighed, caressing the few inches deep wound despite the medical wraps. "I'll be leaving for the decisive war tomorrow at first light; I thought you're ready to set a foothold in the cruel swamps of this world… Sigh, perhaps it's better you stay behind and find a peaceful life in a peaceful house with a peaceful man to keep you company."

"No!" Lexia who was trying her best not to flinch as the hand of her big brother touched her skin suddenly shook. She was scared alright— this was a hand that killed three; forced her to kill one.

She was confused as to why it all happened but she now understood.

She thought this was too soon since her big brother said three months of training and they were obviously one month short. Only now did she understand the urgency; her pale face due to the lack of blood grew even paler as desperation and anger riddled her mind.

An unfamiliar emotion clouded her eyes the moment the mere thought of her big brother leaving her behind surfaced; unclear on how to transmit these feelings but to…

Bite!

An urge suddenly tugged at her instincts as she took hold of Kevin's palm and furiously, without thinking, she brought the wrist to her mouth and bit down.

Splatter!

Her white teeth sank into his skin effortlessly to his shock. To Kevin, this was an act of protest; it might seem excessive and bloody to some but this was a man who had seen much worse.

Lexia's eyes glowed a hint of silver as a voice in her mind told her to suck.

And suck she did.

Kevin locked his eyebrows as he felt the mana transmitted through his body channel uncontrollably to his wrist and flow out with his blood. He was shocked.

His eyes snapped open as he disbelievingly observed the wound beneath the patch of blood heal at an observable speed. There was plenty of mana left in Kevin's third eye, not to mention his mental capacity that exceeded the former. In seconds, his mana reserves dropped by half. Mana was the fuel for mental capacity and without the former, if his mental capacity was exhausted from multiple spells, he would be useless as a mage.

Pah!

Lexia pulled back from Kevin's wrist, a lost expression in her eyes that was slowly growing focused as she gritted her teeth, veins throbbing on her forehead like worms until she could no longer hold it in— she dropped unconscious into Kevin's chest.

"What in the world…"

Kevin observed his wrist— his wound was also quickly healing.

Observing closely with heightened concentration, a little bit of mana flowed from Lexia's body into the wound as though some kind of feedback.

That helped him heal up.

This was beyond abnormal— was this Lexia's innate talent as a mage?

Once innate talent predetermines their grimoire once they've achieved the rank of an official sorcerer after graduating as an apprentice from a Magic Academy.

Kevin was worried that Lexia might go around sucking people dry from their mana in the future— he would make sure to tell her about this later on.

He didn't know that his blood and mana were already indispensable to Lexia nor did he know that what she absorbed from him wasn't limited to simply mana; his temperament and spirit would slowly influence her growth as well.

With his mind set on warning Lexia in the future, Kevin switched his attention to the delicious food on the side and sighed to himself. He planned to use reverse psychology on this girl, but things went from one extreme to the other.

"Whatever… I'll have lunch here and meditate; I can use the spell <Concentration> about two more times which is sufficient to balance out my mental capacity and mana reserves." Kevin gently laid Lexia in the bed, pulling the blanket over her small figure thereafter.

He ate for the next twenty minutes and instructed the servants to take the table and leftovers away before he sat on the floor and began his meditation…

…

A soft groan roused Kevin awake from his slumber. After meditating into the night, he fell asleep leaning on Lexia's bed. A hint of a slight movement and a feminine groan tugged at his senses and had him wake up— Lexia was a bit shifty in her sleep.

"It's time," he muttered, slowly stretching his body before getting on his feet seemingly refreshed. on Lexia's bed. A hint of a slight movement and a feminine groan tugged on his senses, urging him awake.

Lexia was surely a bit shifty in her sleep.

Looking past her bed and through the closed windows, Kevin blinked while stretching.

"It's time," he muttered, quick to his feet.

Casting a glance at Lexia with his brows furrowed, Kevin estimated that she might be experiencing some sort of deep sleep from the shock to her mentality and emotions.

Since Kevin couldn't personally change her clothes— he decided to flag a few maids over to finish the menial tasks while he prepared a horse and travel gear. If he hadn't hired any maidservants, he would truly be at a loss for what to do.