After the conversation between Lord Losler and Jien another two months passed quietly. In that time Jien had continued training with Mark. His general exercise was going well, and his appetite had increased to sustain the amount of work his body was putting in. Given Jien's rather thin prior frame he was beginning to fill out a bit more. He was still thin but if one were to pay attention when his arms or legs flexed as he attacked or moved while practicing his swordsmanship, they would notice that his muscles had begun to show as they pressed on his shirt. Not only was Jien starting to gain more muscle mass, he was also gaining a much larger endurance than he had had prior. The morning jog was now being timed, forcing Jien to put more effort into his pace. He had also been forced to make multiple laps around the manor at this point, though that total only tallied to two and a half.

Jien's swordsmanship with his rapier had improved by a large margin since the beginning. He had gone from not having even held a rapier in the past to testing his footwork and attacks in practice battles with Mark. He wasn't a master or even on the level of some of the other noble children his age, but he was learning at a rate that surprised both Mark and Lord Losler. Every day he would put his all into the physical training, knowing that though he wanted nothing more than to sit back, read and work on the arcane arts, that he would be forced into the academy and that these skills would ultimately lead him to at least of modicum of success there as long as he didn't slack. Still, despite putting the effort in, anyone that saw him from the outside could tell that doing so was a chore in his mind. He wasn't interested in it and his expression always showed it. The only time his eyes would brighten and every now again a smile appear, was when the day turned to the study of the arcane arts and mana manipulation.

In terms of his training in the arcane arts, Jien improved by leaps and bounds. Even though it had only been three months since he had started his training and Mark was more of a martial expert than a magus, he was firmly improving every day in not only his control of mana but also his knowledge of casting spells. Mark had continued to have Jien work consistently on basic movement of mana through various paths of his body, but Jien had caught onto how to do so after having assistance tracing different routes on a few different occasions. After Jien appeared to at least be moderately proficient in moving mana through what was considered some of the main bodily pathways, Mark moved to the next practice which was using mana to enhance the body. This was always don with direct guidance in the same manner as when Mark first helped with the movement of the mana up Jien's arm and out his fingertip. The difference in this practice was in first directing the mana to singular muscle or muscle group, and secondly trying to teach how to imbue a meaning on that mana. Imbuing a meaning was similar in a way to casting a spell based on feeling but was simplified by a vast degree. Rather than giving a vast feeling that a specific spell could elicit, you simply had to have a specific concept in mind as you drew the mana into the muscle group. Something akin to flexibility, speed or strength could work, but the more exact the concept the more powerful the output of the enchantment could be. If rather than just strength, one was to try and imbue the muscles of the legs with the strength of an oxen and had a specific image in mind they would be able to acquire at least a portion of that strength depending on the amount of mana spent to acquire it. What Mark and Lord Losler weren't aware of was that Jien was also working on his spell casting as well and had been very successful in his attempts to cast the Nightlight spell. He however, despite the success with the first spell, had had no success with the second.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

It was after these three months of consistent training that there was a change. Mark cut the physical training times in half on this particular day, keeping the time training in mana manipulation the same length, as that was the only type of training Jien liked by any measure. Despite keeping the mana manipulation training the same length it was only midafternoon when they finished. Jien looked to Mark with a curious gaze to which his mentor responded that his father wanted to take the rest of the afternoon for a different lesson. Jien could only nod to this and start heading back to the manor. Runa met him at the entrance to the manor and led him back to his room to bathe and prepare to meet with his father. While he was bathing, she went about setting out fresh clothing for him, prior to leaving his room and returning to her duties.

Jien bathed and dressed in his usual semi-formal wear and made his way to the father's study, making sure that he didn't keep his father waiting for him. He only took a half hour from the time he entered the manor to knock on the study door lightly. Shortly after he heard Lord Losler asking him to enter and he did so without hesitation. Lord Losler was currently sitting behind his desk reviewing a series of documents but when Jien entered, he looked up with a smile and gestured to the chair in front of his desk. He didn't start the conversation until Jien was seated, which was their usual routine.

"You have been greatly improving since you started training under Mark. I really am happy to see that improvement." Earl placed the papers he was reading back on the desk and kept his focus firmly on Jien at that point. He observed him carefully, seeing more muscular definition hidden beneath his wardrobe and knowing that he had been making great leaps in the use of mana. "I asked for your training with Mark to end early today because I wanted to discuss some training that you will be doing with me going forward." This statement was made casually but Jien could already see some hints of what kind of training this was going to be, and he was not exactly happy about it.

Seeing Jien's sullen expression Earl could only sigh heavily. "I know that you said you have no interest in ruling these lands, and I respect that decision, but ruling is about much more than managing lands. A ruler is a leader among leaders, someone who can see the larger picture and guide those that are following them. I am not asking you to take over these lands, or learn the administration of the territory, but it will only benefit you to learn to lead others." Lord Losler leaned back in his chair and looked Jien in the eyes. "I will be having you join me in some of my duties. You will take the lead in these duties, and I will advise you and if necessary, will take over when needed. This will not be a significant change to the way things currently are arranged but there will be days where you will spend some of your time with me instead of your other training. We will mostly be dealing with negotiations with other lords, ladies and merchants. However, if ever a time comes that we need to move any of our troops I will be taking you with me to learn what it is to lead before you enter the academy."

"The academy may be a place where some leaders are born but that is a rarity. It is more often that those that have been leaders outside of that environment become leaders within its walls. If you want the freedom to make decisions for yourself rather than following the whims of others, you will need to become someone that others are willing to follow. There are some lone wolves, but they will be few and far between, and even more so they will often be ground into the dirt until they conform and join under a banner. Only those with truly exceptional power can escape this trend." Jien's expression didn't improve even after those words. He knew his father was right to a degree, but he also never cared about being a leader. "Very well." is all he said before standing and starting to make his way out of the room. He knew he that he wouldn't be able to change his father's mind, but that did not mean that he would remain to listen to more of the same speech. Earl could only watch his son leave the room, letting out another sigh when the door closed.