Norton was only six years old. This is an important fact to keep in mind. Although vampires have a nearly infinite lifespan, and a hundred years is not long in their eyes, it's not uncommon for couples to have even larger age differences.

However, Norton was only six. Even from the perspective of humans, who only live about a hundred years, Norton was just a child. Naturally, this put "young" Miss Triss in a different light.

Though she sensed that their current position was a bit inappropriate, she didn’t feel embarrassed or develop any strange emotions. The reason she hadn’t answered Norton’s question was that she was stunned by being caught off guard by Norton and defeated; it took her a moment to accept it.

By now, Triss had mostly recovered from the initial shock, though she still felt somewhat deflated. “With your skills now, even a typical vampire knight can’t compare to you, not to mention human knights. Your only drawback is your age—being too young means you haven't fully grown, and your stamina is lacking. But once you get older, these weaknesses will disappear...”

“Exactly,” Norton replied with a grin, sheathing his short sword into the leather scabbard strapped to his left calf. Then, he cheekily pushed against Triss’s chest to prop himself up. Despite the intrusion, Triss didn’t think much of it and used the momentum to stand as well.

Dusting himself off, Norton said, “So there’s no problem, right? Let’s go study dark magic now.”

Triss, however, shook her head, rejecting Norton’s suggestion with a dangerously playful smile—Norton instantly realized he was in trouble. How was he supposed to explain his skills to Triss?!

“Of course, in terms of martial skills, it seems I have nothing left to teach you. But shouldn’t you tell me exactly where you learned all of this?” Triss asked.

Norton felt increasingly uneasy, tongue-tied and unable to answer. Seeing Triss growing more dissatisfied, Norton knew if he didn’t manage a good explanation, she would surely bring this up to Madam Windsor. It would do him no good if things got escalated.

“If I had known, it would have been better to obediently study the basic martial skills,” Norton lamented internally. After some quick thinking, he came up with an excuse: “Actually, I picked up these skills by watching the vampire knights when they trained in the fighting arena. Also, I can control the high-level undead within the castle and have them teach me.”

“Is that so...” Triss frowned, considering Norton’s explanation. If someone could become such an expert merely by observing, his talent would be terrifying. As for controlling the high-level undead in the castle, Triss could believe that. But could these undead, who couldn’t speak and only howled, truly teach someone properly? She remained skeptical.

“Well, that’s how it is,” Norton sighed, noticing Triss’s doubtful expression. For now, this was the best he could do, though he promised himself to be more careful in the future to avoid such slip-ups.

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Growing up quickly seemed ideal. Once he was older, he could freely flirt with beautiful teachers and venture out as he pleased. Any impressive feats could then be attributed to encounters during his travels.

“Well then. Let’s head to the alchemy lab,” Triss said, finally deciding to let the matter go. Norton sighed in relief and was about to change the subject to distract her when a black cat dashed through the door with a fish in tomato sauce in its mouth. It hopped nonchalantly past them, tail held high.

“Actually, Teacher Triss,” Norton suddenly turned to her, “there is someone who taught me about martial skills. I owe much of my current ability to that teacher’s diligent instruction.”

“Oh? Who could have trained such a talented individual? Introduce me at once.”

“—It’s her!”

“Meow?!”

Norton pointed at the passing black cat. Triss thought for a moment—it made sense. Despite its frivolous appearance, this magical creature, which appeared as a black cat, was indeed a being as powerful as a dragon. It had been residing in the Castle Drakenhof, with plenty of opportunity to do it—no, it was the only one in the castle capable of such a feat.

“So that’s it,” Triss thought, finally understanding. Although this young vampire held high opinions of himself, he wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could contend with a dragon. Creatures of this caliber defied ordinary logic, and Triss had no doubt such a being could train a genius like Norton to this level in a few years.

“Isn’t that right, Teacher Celia?” Norton grinned as he approached the black cat, crouching down to stroke its fur. Triss also crouched down for confirmation, asking, “Is what Norton says true, Miss Celia? Did you teach him martial skills?”

The black cat, referred to as Celia, glanced around, lamenting, “What did I do to deserve this?” In her surprise, she had dropped her fish. Overwhelmed with emotion, she somehow produced a placard and a quill, scribbling words before holding it up to Norton and Triss:

“Cats don’t speak.”

“Hahaha… Teacher, you’re so funny,” Norton said, intensifying his strokes along the cat’s back. “You taught me many techniques and moves. Have you forgotten?”

Celia thought back; indeed, she had seen Norton practicing on his own and had offhandedly given advice. After that, Norton frequently came to her with questions—though most weren’t related to martial skills. Celia hadn’t really paid attention to the specifics.

“Is that really the case, Miss Celia?” Triss pressed further, growing impatient.

Cornered, the black cat had no choice but to scribble on another placard:

“Just a few simple tricks.”

“Is that so...” Triss naturally didn’t believe that Celia’s “simple tricks” would be inferior, so she dismissed her doubts. Rising, she left a final remark, “While receiving your guidance is a good thing for Norton, I am his official tutor. Please consider my position and communicate with me before teaching him.”

With that, Triss took Norton’s hand and led him toward the alchemy lab across the way. As they walked, she said, “We’re changing today’s lesson to necromancy. How about we try to summon and animate a tomb guardian? It’s already considered intermediate magic.” With a “bang,” the door to the alchemy lab closed behind them.

While it wouldn’t matter much usually, Triss would be furious if someone actually took Norton as her student. This deviation from her usual gradual teaching style, moving to more practical and advanced necromancy, was proof of that.

“I’m just making trouble for myself…”

Celia had lived long enough to sense Triss’s intentions. With a grumble, she settled back down to finish her fish. After finishing it, she left the basement and tossed the fish bones to the servants to clean up. She then reconsidered, “Perhaps…it’s indeed time to have a chat with that child.”

Returning to her room, Celia curled up in her velvet-lined bed. After an unknown period, her keen hearing picked up Triss’s exclamation from the underground alchemy lab—Norton had apparently learned how to create a tomb guardian already.