Afternoon.

South City Market.

"Lineage?"

"Yes."

Celindra turned and walked toward the wooden house, explaining Shabore's situation along the way.

"He is the nephew of Count Omichear. His father was the previous Count Omichear."

"Over twenty years ago, things were quite turbulent in Silvermoon Castle. Even the Earl died unexpectedly amid palace conspiracies."

"So Sophia, who had just been promoted to a high-level mage, had no choice but to take on the burden of the family."

"If Shabore was the only son of the Earl, there would be nothing more to say. But he has an older brother above him."

"His name is Volpos Omichear. He is a powerful warrior at the peak of the high ranks, and commander of the Silvermoon Second Legion."

"Volpos is shrewd and capable, with a cold and ruthless disposition. But in terms of law, he is first in line to inherit the title of Earl."

"The two brothers differ in age by about ten years. When the old Earl died, Volpos was already a teenager, while Shabore was still an infant in the cradle."

"So Sophia acted as his surrogate mother and raised him with her own hands. It is said that this is precisely why Volpos is extremely jealous of his younger brother."

"So you understand now?"

Rosen slowly nodded, gaining a deeper understanding of Shabore.

Already envied by his elder brother, his status, reputation and even martial prowess were all inferior to his brother's.

If Shabore did not ruin his own reputation but instead performed valiantly and wisely, his days would likely become even more difficult than now.

"So the old man has a heavy heart too."

Celindra sighed.

"The children of great families rarely have truly peaceful days or genuine affection. Brothers turning against each other is commonplace."

"Take my brother for example. As soon as my father died, he couldn't wait to sweep me, the family disgrace, out the door."

"During that time, Anna and I were always fighting and behaving strangely and madly, and were also spurned by the family. So we simply stayed away from Winterfell and came to this rural backwater called Silvermoon."

"Come to think of it, I haven't had any contact with the family for three years now. I guess my brother thinks I'm dead already."

"Hehe~ That's just as well. Although I've lost the family's protection and people look down on me, I'm also free of family responsibilities, carefree and unrestrained. And especially, I've been fortunate enough to meet my most beloved and intelligent apprentice."

At this point, it was Alice's time. She turned her head to look at Rosen, her eyes smiling into two crescent moons.

Rosen smiled, "Master, this is also my good fortune."

The two walked one after the other back to Celindra's cottage.

After entering, Alice went straight upstairs, "The house is a bit messy, and I'm covered in mud and smoke..."

Rosen immediately sprang into action, "Master, please rest. Leave the rest to me."

He immediately started busying himself.

Tidying up the house, boiling water, mopping the floor, lighting the fireplace, preparing dinner.

While doing these chores, he relied basically on the Mage Hand spell, pushing his abilities to their limit.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The core principle of the 'Thousand Hands and Ten Thousand Thoughts' training method.

"Move forward, push the boundaries of your limit at every moment."

About an hour later, at the cost of dropping several porcelain bowls, Celindra's cottage was refreshed.

The bathtub was filled with hot water, towels, toiletries, and a change of clean clothes were all laid out, and aroma was already wafting from the kitchen.

Celindra was very satisfied. Before entering the bathtub, she said, "You don't need to serve me today. Go downstairs and clean yourself up too."

"Yes, Master."

Rosen clattered downstairs.

He was much less fastidious, simply taking a cold shower.

After hurriedly washing up, he went to the kitchen again to quickly prepare the ingredients.

When Celindra had washed herself clean and changed into fresh clothes, Rosen bustled to tidy up the bathroom and soak the laundry.

He was extremely proficient at these chores, completing them within ten minutes.

Finally, everything was tidy.

Master and disciple sat across from each other at the newly purchased dining table, silently enjoying the delicious dinner.

After eating for a while, Celindra asked, "Will you continue selling pinup drawings?"

Rosen didn't hesitate. "Of course, how else will I earn money?"

Although he had made quite a bit of money recently, who would say no to more?

Celindra's slender willow brows quirked slightly. "Didn't you hear what Archmagister Fellen said? Being so shamelessly debased will ruin your future."

Rosen laughed softly. "You are my master. My future is in your hands. What does Archmagister Fellen have to do with it?"

"Thank you for your guidance, Master."

But unlike before, he said this out of respect rather than sincere agreement.

He had already discovered Celindra's weakness.

She was a brilliant spellcrafting genius, but because she devoted most of her time to spellcraft, she was somewhat lacking in worldly wisdom and easily deceived.

Take Fellen for example. Rosen had an inkling that the man was not as benevolent as he seemed.

If he didn't know the other's identity, based solely on the man's actions today, he seemed very much like a selfish, calculating hypocrite.

Of course, he had no evidence. It was just a hunch Rosen had from his past life experience of all kinds of people.

For now it seemed Fellen had little influence over his master, and was mainly able to deceive her because his rhetoric suited her temperament.

His master Anna was by nature a reclusive eccentric who avoided the mundane world to focus on cultivation.

Withdrawing his wandering thoughts, Rosen lowered his head and started drinking the meat broth.

But as he was drinking, he suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if something familiar was approaching him.

'What's going on?' he wondered to himself.

Even stranger was that the feeling grew stronger and stronger, and when it reached a certain intensity, even his soul started to tremble slightly.

No, to be precise, it was the golden speck recorded in his glyph that was vibrating.

A thought flashed through Rosen's mind, 'Aurelia is here!'

Sure enough, the next moment, there was a knock at the door.

Knock knock knock knock~

There was only the sound of knocking, still no self-introduction, but the rhythm was familiar.

Celindra said directly, "Lady Aurelia, the door is unlocked, please come right in."

The door opened with a click~

Aurelia walked in all smiles, sniffing the air, "Is there a share for me?"

As she spoke, Rosen vaguely felt her gaze turn to him for a moment, seemingly puzzled and curious, but no hostility.

Of course, it was also possible he was too low-leveled to notice.

But one thing could be certain--Aurelia had discovered the anomaly in him.

Feeling a little apprehensive, not knowing if this boded fortune or misfortune.

Having expected her to come, he immediately said, "I've prepared food for you, it's being kept warm in the pot. Please wait a moment."

After saying so, he got up to serve it.

Aurelia sat down casually, and said to Celindra with a wave of her hand, "Where's my reward?"

"Here's 50 crona for you."

"Ah hah~ What a generous income!"

Aurelia smiled and pocketed the bulging money pouch, then said, "Just now I heard you two talking about pinup drawings outside the door?"

In the kitchen, Rosen had already adjusted his state of mind.

He came out carrying the dishes and set them down before her one by one, "Yes, we were just talking about earning money through painting. After all, that will be the main source of income in the future."

Aurelia was very interested. She took a slice of bread and chewed it for a while, then suddenly said, "Rosen, your painting skills are so good, how about drawing one for me too?"

Painting was trivial. Rosen nodded directly.

"I can paint one for you for free. The question is how you want to be painted?"

"Hmm~~ I've seen many of your oil paintings. Although very sultry, I have to say, they are also beautifully rendered. You always manage to capture a woman's most beautiful moment very precisely."

Rosen thought to himself: "Naturally, I chose only the finest masterpieces produced through the enormous passion and effort of photography and retouching experts. How could they not look good?"

"Hmm~ Do one similar for me too... Ah ha, Miss Celindra, you don't mind Rosen seeing another woman's body, do you?"

At this time, it was past six o'clock, Anna's time. She shook her head indifferently.

"Everyone has their own freedom, including my apprentice. And it's only a painting."

Meanwhile, Rosen's heart stirred--'Taking private photos for themselves seems to be a common tendency among women, one that even transcendents find hard to resist. This could potentially become a lucrative side business for me.'

But upon further thought, he resolutely discarded the idea from his mind.

"No, in this male-dominated world bound by rigid morals, randomly painting women's private photos is asking for trouble."

On the other side, Aurelia gave a mischievous grin, flashing her azure eyes meaningfully at Rosen, making him even more apprehensive.

Anna didn't notice this little detail. She said plainly, "Rosen, come back after painting tomorrow. I will formally teach you how to write arcane theses."

"Yes, Master."