It seems that Norton's perspective is indeed shared by many vampire mages. However, Triss didn't expect Norton, only six years old this year, to think this way. This left her somewhat troubled: "This child is so determined; once he's made up his mind, nothing can change it. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing..."

Hearing Norton say this, Triss continued to ask, "Even if that's the case, how long can you guarantee having a group of high-level undead with you? Do you find it convenient to have them around?"

"It is indeed somewhat inconvenient. But where in the world is there a perfect situation? If you want to gain something, you must be prepared to pay the price." At that moment, Norton spoke with the depth of a seasoned adult: "Besides, I don’t always need to have them around. When it's safe, I’m alone. And I believe I can tell when and where it's safe or dangerous. I can manage that."

Hearing Norton speak, Triss felt on the verge of breaking down. Despite her centuries of experience, having traveled far and wide, she specialized in elemental magic, with a minor in dark magic and martial skills, but she never learned the art of debate. As previously mentioned, Triss's rhetoric was mediocre. Being able to converse with Norton, this clever young boy, for so long was already quite an achievement.

"But even so—what if an assassin is so strong, stronger than your entire group of high-level undead and vampire knights, and comes to kill you?!", Triss exclaimed, admittedly somewhat irrationally. If such a person came to kill Norton, what could he do? He'd just have to accept it.

As expected, Norton shook his head and continued, "I believe that a top-level assassin who can escape or kill a large group of high-level undead and vampire knights around a vampire commander has no need for half-baked martial skills. Even the warriors specialized in martial arts are powerless, so how could you rely on a mage who only knows a bit of half-baked martial skill? It would be more effective to practice escaping techniques."

"You—"

Norton repeatedly challenged her authority as a teacher. Even with Triss's good temper, this time she got angry. She realized the truth: sometimes, with children, especially smart ones like Norton, reasoning alone doesn't work. Sometimes, you also need a bit of firmness.

No matter what Norton might become in the future, whether a legendary wizard or a remarkable hero, at age six, he was still just a mischievous kid. The best way to deal with such a child is to grab him and give him a spanking, letting him understand who's in charge and how important it is to learn martial skills.

This brings up a point: Triss had previously taught another child, a direct descendant of the Kastane family, Norton's sister Juana. However, she did not teach Juana as seriously as she did Norton, being more lenient with her. If Juana had any complaints, Triss wouldn't force her. Physical punishment like now was non-existent.

There's a reason for Triss's actions. It's not due to bullying the weak or fearing the power of the Kastane family—such negative emotions are almost absent within vampire society. The reason is that Norton is male, the heir of the Kastane family, and the only direct successor. She is obliged to teach Norton with the best attitude and strictest requirements. This is to repay the Countess who had helped her and is a responsibility to the vampire race and Sylvania.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

As for Juana... sorry, if Norton were dead, then as the second in line, this young lady might receive stricter education and more resources. But now that's not the case. However, such lenient education might not be a bad thing, and being strictly demanded like Norton isn't necessarily good.

So Triss made up her mind to teach Norton a lesson, to let him understand the respect for his teacher. However, the blood-soaked experiences Norton had witnessed were no less than Triss's. Watching his teacher approach with ill intent, how could he not guess what she wanted to do? He nonchalantly stepped back, avoiding Triss’s attack path.

This surprised Triss, who was about to lift Norton upside down: "Eh?" But she was also a seasoned warrior. Immediately, she changed tactics, pulling out a short magic wand enchanted with twenty-four ice arrows from her belt. She then aimed at Norton's knees and swept across, controlling the strength precisely to knock him down without truly hurting him.

However, Norton still didn't make any superfluous movements; he simply backed away, dodging Triss's move. This surprised Triss even more. Once might be a coincidence, but twice? With this thought, Triss quickened her pace, each move faster than the last, launching several attacks, all of which Norton dodged. This made Triss feel even more embarrassed and determined not to hold back, fully exerting her strength!

Countless phantoms appeared around Norton, and the magic wand that shimmered like ice almost formed a wall of ice. The speed and force were just right, nearing perfection. If this scene were to be seen by those haughty human knights, they would be ashamed beyond measure.

Under such an attack, Norton, now wary, had no choice but to abandon the dodge-only tactic—it's impossible to dodge all the moves under Triss's stormy attack. Soon, the cunning young Marquis launched an attack against Triss. The move was simple yet powerful and ruthless, exactly the combat skills learned from the military in his previous life.

The two of them fought back and forth for dozens of moves without a clear winner. They were truly fighting now, with no energy left to think about other things. They almost forgot why they started fighting in the first place. Fortunately, both were mindful and only sparred with cold weapons without using magic. Otherwise, if Triss shot the thirty-six ice arrows from her wand, Norton would be riddled like a sieve.

However, after a while, the situation changed. Norton, still young, had not fully grown and his stamina could not match that of the prime-aged Triss. Gradually, he fell into a disadvantage. While hitting others was enjoyable, getting hit was not. Norton began to ponder how to end this fight.

Just then, Triss swung her staff towards Norton's shoulder again, and Norton immediately had an idea. He pretended to be a step too slow and didn't entirely dodge, getting hit lightly.

This small hit was enough for him to act. In past playful fights with his sister, his acting skills were top-notch. No matter how many times Juana fell for it, she'd fall for it again. How could Triss, falling for it the first time, fare any better?

With a cry of "Ouch," Norton fell to the ground, clutching his struck left shoulder, and when he looked up, tears welled in his eyes.

Seeing him like this, Triss snapped back to reality, panicking. She rushed forward, squatting down to check on Norton’s injury—when suddenly, Norton hooked her leg, and an unguarded Triss toppled over him. As she got back up, she felt a coldness at her neck. Looking down, she saw a fine gold dagger laid horizontally across her neck. Then she heard Norton's extremely satisfied voice:

"Teacher Triss, do you think my skills are sufficient to protect myself now?"

...

Then came an awkward silence. Usually, covered by clothes, it wasn't noticeable. But now, pressed close together, Norton realized his teacher was one of those "appearing slimmer when clothed" people. Because of Norton's height, her chest pressed right against him. Having warmed up and sweated a bit, along with the awkward posture, in Norton's view, the considerable weight of her bosom seemed to almost spill out right in front of him.

The world hadn't invented things like chest binders yet; because of the sweat, the tips of Triss's breasts protruded through her clothes, and the nipples seemed to caress Norton's nose every time she inhaled and exhaled, tickling him. Combined with the feminine scent emanating from Triss, Norton couldn't help but want to sneeze...