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Months of training passed, and both Dad and I were showing steady improvements. For me, the amount of time I could stay sound of mind was slowly and steadily increasing. I got to the point that if I acted passively while keeping my thoughts clear of any violence, I could keep my Primal Aura on indefinitely until my Primal Aura gave out. It was when I did anything more physical than a stroll in the woods that the voices came back in force to tempt me to go wild. This training also taught me how to use my body while Primal Aura was on so I do not break my body with my own movements.

As for Dad, he too, was making progress, but at significant cost to his body. Every time he took the circulation speed of his mana to the next level, it put tremendous strain on his mana pathways, and even if he did not make any mistakes that needed Professor Sageira’s healing, Professor Sageira sensed the constantly healing micro-tears throughout his mana pathway as they reforged themselves one healed micro-tear at a time. This caused Dad to fluctuate in weight over the months. Whenever he kicks, his mana circulation speeds up a notch, he starts losing a lot of weight as his body eats itself to heal his mana pathways, and when his body eventually gets used to the stress, he starts putting on weight from all the food he is shoving into his mouth every chance he gets. This made Mum worried that Dad would get fat, but after a few months of training, she realized that she had nothing to fear on that front.

During this training period, I used the practice time to sharpen my swordsmanship and spearmanship, and when I discovered that my throwing power far exceeded that of an aura user, I practiced throwing techniques.

Now that I can throw pebbles with the hitting power of a piston-caliber bullet, I regret not learning any official throwing weapons technique. The closest I ever got to an official throwing weapons technique was unscrewing the pommel of my sword and throwing it at my armored friend as a joke. So, with nobody around to teach me throwing techniques, I had to learn it myself.

To that end, I made some simple throwing knives, throwing axes, simple darts, needles, and chakrams, and even weebed out a little when I made myself some shurikens and kunais.

And after months of training with throwing weapons, I had nothing much to show for it. The only good thing I could say for myself was that besides the weapons like the shuriken and chakram that had edges all around them, I could now get the throwing weapons with a single pointy end to stick in the target point or blade first.

The following milestones I am aiming for are improving my accuracy on stationary targets while I am stationary, moving targets while I am stationary, and eventually moving targets while I am moving. It will be a long road ahead before I am able to throw weapons as I see in animes, but what is a man if he cannot dream?

What I did not know was how soon I would be putting my training to real use.

***

On one of the free days, a Royal Herald came riding into town at full speed. When we greeted him at the door, the Royal Herald unfurled a scroll, revealing the royal heraldry. When Dad saw that, he went down on one knee as if the king was in front of him, so I and all the house servants around followed suit.

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The Royal Herald cleared his throat before speaking in a commanding voice, “By the grace of His Majesty, King Aldran Argus IV, Sovereign of these lands, Defender of the Realm, and Keeper of the Crown, I bring forth this royal decree!”

Hearing that this was a decree and not an invitation or anything more pleasant, we tensed up while waiting for what the king’s orders were.

“To Baron Alden of Ironcrest, loyal servant of the crown and defender of the northern border:

Be it known that intelligence has reached the royal court of suspicious movements along the borders of Valorhelm Dominion. As such, His Majesty commands that you, Baron Alden Ironcrest, take immediate command of Fort Eldric and its garrison.”

Oh shit! Here we go again. And now, of all times when Dad was not in the best condition. He had recently upped the speed of his mana circulation, and it had taken a lot out of him, making him look like a recovering cancer patient.

“You are to strengthen its defenses, secure its supplies, and prepare its soldiers for any act of aggression that may follow. His Majesty places his trust in your vigilance and valor. Know that this duty is of the utmost importance, for the safety of our realm depends upon your steadfast resolve. So declares His Majesty, to be enacted without delay!”

Dad put his fist to his heart in a salute and said, “I hear and obey!”

The moment Dad said that, the Royal Herald rolled his scroll and rode off at top speed, no doubt issuing the same decree to other border nobles.

When Dad got to his feet, he turned to his butler and said, “Ready my men. Tell them we will be leaving in two hours. Tell them to split into two even groups. One group is going with me, and the other will stay to guard my wife and take charge of the men at arms.”

Hearing Dad give orders, the house staff went about making preparations for our departure. As the servants scurried around, Dad walked to his room, and Mum and I followed. When we were behind closed doors, Mum embraced Dad in a hug while sobbing, and I stood a few paces away to give them some space.

When I felt the time was right, I asked, “Dad, is there no way around this? Or can you find another noble to fill in for you? You will need at least three weeks to return to normal condition.”

Dad shook his head, “If I really wanted to, I could petition for this duty to be passed on to another due to health reasons, but the reality of the situation is that I cannot do that, especially because we are such a young family. We do not have the political clout to do so, and even if we did, it would not reflect well on our house’s name. So unless I am on my deathbed, I have no reason to object.”

Seeing our sad faces, he continued, “There is no need to be so worried. It is not like I will be doing the fighting. I will be the one giving out orders from the back.”

Mum folded her arms and huffed, “If this is going to be anything like the last time you manned that fort, I highly doubt it. The last time, an assassin walked up to your fort office and attacked you.”

“Dear, I can assure you that security measures have been increased since then, I will be fine.” Dad said as he tried to pacify Mum.

That was when I had an idea, “Yes, Mum, he will be fine,”

“Thank you, son. You see, dear, even Luke agrees with-” Dad said but was interrupted by me.

“That is because I will be coming along to guard you!” I said, displaying my best winning smile.