Anton was waiting at the training grounds just like he said. He was leaning on a nearby wall underneath the shades of the building, twirling his bangs. When he spotted me, he widened his eyes, as if surprised. “Oh, you actually showed up! Color me impressed.”

Oh well, the list, while it looked like a death sentence, I should still be able to finish some of them. The point was to try my best, just not to the point of death.

Eliza watched from afar as I walked to smirking Anton. My eyes were completely locked onto his to show him I was serious about this.

“What’s that look? You need a toilet break already?”

“I’m not!” I blurted.

He intended to tease me all the way through the training, clearly.

I got a foreboding sense of deja vu. It took me a while to realize what was the cause. Even here, I couldn’t escape Fray’s brand of training. And the way it made me feel at home was creeping me out!

“Hey, hey, you ready or what?” Anton’s mocking voice snapped me back to reality.

“Y-Yes!”

“Good!” Anton walked out of the shade with a hand on his hip. “Give me fifty.”

“Fifty what?”

He crossed his arms and held his chin up, as if the answer was obvious. “First thing on the list, duh! Push-ups! Don’t tell me you don’t know how to read.”

“Wait, no warm-ups?”

Anton stood there for a moment, staring at me. Somehow, the awkward silence was enhanced even further due to my superhearing.

“Shit, I forgot about that,” Anton mumbled quietly to himself. Then, he raised his voice again. “The push-ups are the warm-ups, don’t you get it?”

He’s trying to play it off!!

Any shred of respect I had for him crumbled right there. I was worried that Father might’ve accidentally assigned the wrong butler for the task. But before I could focus back on Carine to ask him myself, Anton stepped forward.

“Hey, where’s my fifty?! Hop to it!”

With no other options, I dropped to the harsh tiled stone ground and began my push-ups. Fifty shouldn’t be an issue, but I was sure Anton would have me do another set. The ground itself wasn’t exactly helping my case. The edges of the rocks digged deep into my flesh and the heat was seeping into my hand as well. I didn’t know if I should be grateful he didn’t jump to a hundred push-ups directly or not.

While ignoring the slight pain, I quickly focused back on Carine’s side of things.

…

The journey was taking longer than expected and I was starting to regret not bringing a book. Not that it would satisfy my attention for a long time anyway. The road ahead was uneven, littered with rocks, and the coachmen, probably fearing another jolt—and Mother’s inevitable wrath—had slowed the pace to a crawl.

Inside the carriage, the atmosphere was quiet yet relaxing. Father had his eyes closed, his head resting against the cushioned back of his seat as if he were meditating. Mother sat by the window, gazing out at the passing trees with an air of distant calm, though her fingers occasionally drummed on the armrest. Leila sat beside me, stealing glances my way every now and then, but other than that, her eyes were almost always straightforward.

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I hesitated for a moment, then cleared my throat softly to catch Father’s attention. “Father?”

His eyes opened, his brows lifting slightly as he turned to look at me. “Yes, dear? What is it?”

“About Feyt…”

The second the words left my mouth, I felt the shift in the air. Mother, who had been admiring the scenery moments ago, slowly turned her head toward me. Her gaze was as heavy as ever.

I didn’t know why exactly, but it seemed like the topic of Feyt immediately pulled her attention. It definitely was because Feyt was a commoner, wasn’t it??

My lips twitched into what I hoped was a casual smile. “I… I was just wondering about his training.”

“Feyt?” Mother echoed, her voice as crisp as the edge of a blade. “What about his training?”

“I just wanted to ask if the butler assigned to him is… competent?”

“You mean Anton?” Father said. He raised his head and stroked his beard. “I don’t know much about him, but your Mother said he’s perfect for the job.”

I knew it!!!

Mother’s gaze narrowed slightly, with a little smirk plastered on her face. “And why, pray tell, are you so concerned with his training? Don’t tell me you’re worried for him?”

“O-Of course I do! He’s a fellow student, after all.”

Mother tilted her head. “And since when were you so worried for fellow students?”

I was caught off guard. She was right. Outside of a few exceptions, I barely interact with other students as Carine, and during sparring, I never held back. I even held that tradition true with Raymond!

“It’s because… he saved me once, yeah, that’s it!”

I immediately jumped to the only reasonable excuse I could think of. I couldn’t just up and tell them that Feyt was me. As I said many times before, I ain’t being called crazy.

Mother’s smirk faded and her gaze narrowed even further. After boring into me with her eyes for an awkwardly long moment, she turned her head away and returned to gazing at the scenery, but her hands were still tense at the armrest.

It was either she hated the rumors as much as I do, or she just really, really hated commoners. Most probably both.

Father meanwhile seemed amused. He better not spread any rumors

Well, at least my question was answered: Anton was sent by Mother to torture Feyt. Glad to have that settled…

Wait, what does that even solve? I’m still being tortured!!

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image [https://i.imgur.com/RdC5Gde.png]