Neeeeigh.

As night fell, the stable keeper released all of the horses into a large pen. This was done deliberately, to put the males and females in the same area to mate.

But this was a foolish act.

Allowing the horses to mingle this way had the potential to cause an accident, even in a small stable. This alone exemplified how underdeveloped the Morris Estate truly was, and how old and foolish their stable keeper was.

After releasing the horses, the stable keeper relieved himself of his post and headed off for the tavern. Once he was gone, the horses were free to do as they pleased.

Neeeeigh.

There were four males and three females in the Morris’ stable. It was standard practice to match the number of males and females to prevent stress on the horses, but the Morris family had lacked the funds for another horse in their already cramped stable.

Due to this, the Lord of the Morris Estate, Hans Morris, had ordered the stable keeper to use Henry’s neglected horse as a teaser horse. [1]

That was why Henry’s horse had been assigned to the dirtiest corner of the stable.

The life of a teaser horse was truly horrific. The quality of food and shelter he received had been poorer than the other horses, and he had been used to assist the other horses in mating.

Mares in the stage of estrus tend to be incredibly sensitive. Therefore, if the mare’s tension was not sufficiently released through the teaser horse, the stallions would often be kicked to death by the mares’ hind legs.

Jade had lived most of his life as a teaser horse, until Henry had granted him a new life. Jade was of a breed not meant to be used as a teaser horse. He had been treated as one, despite his potential, leaving him no choice but to think and live like one.

Neeeeigh!

Kevin’s horse, Grand, began to move. He was the strongest horse in the Morris stable. Hans’s horse, Joseph, and Holter, another horse in the stable, were strong as well, but Grand was easily the strongest among them all.

In a way, he resembled his master, as he liked to show off his strength and was evidently greedy. Just as his master liked to bully Henry, he too enjoyed bullying Henry’s horse, Jade.

Neigh, neeigh.

Grand entered the large pen and circled around the rest of the horses, marking his territory.

Joseph and the other male horses paid him no mind, quickly falling asleep. The rest of the mares waited, as usual, to begin mating.

Neeeeigh.

After parading around a bit longer, Grand strutted over to where Jade was. He pushed Jade with his nose, in an effort to persuade him to play his role as the teaser horse.

But Jade was tired.

Although he was now a war horse, he was tired from the effects of the restructuring process, as well as the long expedition that he had just returned from.

Neigh! Neigh!

Grand continued to push Jade with his nose. He even began to tap Jade with his front legs.

Jade ignored each advance, causing Grand to become more and more frustrated. Eventually, he could not stand it anymore, and bit Jade with all his strength.

Neeeeeeeigh!

Grand’s bite was powerful, causing Jade to cry out in pain. He refused to tolerate this attack, and kicked Grand with his hind legs.

Thud!

A loud, dull sound echoed through the pen as his hooves made contact with Grand’s face.

Grand was embarrassed by this unexpected resistance, and immediately prepared to counterattack.

But…

Neigh?

When he saw Jade approaching him, Grand realized that something had changed.

This was not the Jade he knew, with his small size and sparse coat.

N-neigh?

Instinctively realizing the sudden difference in power between the two, Grand immediately took a step backward. But Jade had already been put into a rage, and he had a score to settle with Grand after a lifetime of harassment.

Neeeeeeeeeigh!

* * *

“V-Vernon! Vernon, where are you?”

In order to fulfill his promise to Henry, Kevin headed to the stable early in the morning, despite still feeling pain all over his body.

However, an unexpected tragedy awaited him in the stable.

“Y-young Master Kevin? W-what’s the matter?”

The old stable keeper, Vernon, was still half-awake as he ran out while wiping drool from his mouth. His head throbbed from drinking the previous night.

“What’s this? Why’s Grand like this? I must be seeing things, right? Right?”

As Kevin continued to fuss, Vernon rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at Grand, who was laying half dead on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

“W-w-w-what’s happened to him? W-what, why?”

Vernon’s reaction was not unreasonable, given that Grand was the strongest horse in the Morris stable. To see such a strong horse in such a weakened state was shocking.

But that did not matter to Kevin.

“If you, the stable keeper, don’t know, then what am I supposed to do?”

“T-t-there’s no way! Young Master Kevin! Please spare my life! I really don’t know what happened! I definitely led him to the pen yesterday, just like any other day…”

“Silence! Just bring another horse to me immediately!”

There was no time to punish Vernon. If Kevin did not depart soon, he would not be able to meet the deadline that Henry had stipulated.

He frowned as he looked around the stable. He spotted a strong-looking horse that he had never seen before, munching away on hay.

“I’ll just take that one.”

“M-master! That horse…”

“Shut up!”

His admission to the Swordsmanship Academy was at stake. He had already finished the necessary preparations for departure, and he was not going to allow a simple horse to get in his way.

He muttered to himself angrily as he walked over to the horse, without realizing that it was Jade.

“Come out!”

Time was running out, and seeing the horse that he cared for near death in front of his eyes had blinded him to all reason.

Kevin frantically tugged at Jade’s reins.

Neeeeeigh!

“Huh? Huh?”

“Young Master Kevin!”

In an instant, Jade lifted himself up onto his hind legs to attack Kevin.

Seeing this, old man Vernon quickly tackled Kevin out of the way, barely saving Kevin from being crushed under her hooves.

“Hey, what the hell is wrong with this horse?!”

“Y-young Master Kevin! Please calm down. That horse belongs to Young Master Henry!”

“W-what? T-that’s my brother’s horse? But I’m certain that his horse was…?”

“Whatever the circumstances may be, I am certain that that is Young Master Henry’s horse. If you are in a hurry, please ride on Holter instead.”

“Fuck!”

It was his own fault for acting so hastily, but Kevin could not help but slam his fist against the stable wall in frustration. Once again, he had been held back by Henry.

The remaining horse, Holter, was a second-class horse used only for miscellaneous events. He was decent, but not nearly in the same class as a horse like Grand. Regardless, Kevin had no choice but to ride Holter off towards the Burnham Estate.

* * *

Hearing the news that Kevin had left the estate early, Henry started the morning feeling refreshed.

‘Then, is there anything left to do now?’

Consumption of the Miracle Blue. Despite the urgency of the situation, he could think of no better solution than the one he had come up with. Thus, even though he was impatient, he decided to patiently wait for Kevin.

After Henry finished his breakfast, he called for Caughall.

“Caughall!”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Guide me to the security hall.”

“Yes, understood.”

After recent events, Caughall had decided it was best to no longer stupidly question the Young Master’s orders. He bowed his head slightly, and guided Henry to the headquarters of the security command.

‘The captain is a sword expert?’

According to the family’s genealogy, there were two sword experts in the Morris family. One of them was his father and Lord, Hans Morris. The other was ‘Bern’, a member of the Lord’s family and the head of the security command in charge of policing the estate.

Henry decided to go to Bern, not Hans, to learn swordsmanship.

Since they both possessed similar skills, he decided to choose someone below him, who would cause less of an emotional burden.

‘He better be good.’

In his previous life, Henry had looked down on knights. Only after being ravaged by poison, and possessing this new body did Henry realize his ignorance. Knights had strong bodies that, when trained properly, could withstand even the deadliest of poisons.

And that the root of that strength was called ‘aura’.

Aura.

Also called the ‘mana of the non-mages’, aura was different from the magic generated by drawing circles on the heart. Aura extracted mana from the physical body itself, and could be released from any part of it.

Learning to use aura was simple. It was said that if a trained warrior pushed himself to his limit, at some point, he would inevitably learn how to utilize aura, like some form of enlightenment.

Henry suddenly remembered how the previous emperor had always tried to convince him to learn swordsmanship, in order to strengthen the weak body he had possessed as a mage.

‘But to hell with him.’

Back then, he had dismissed it as utter nonsense. After drinking that poison, however, he admitted to himself that Golden Jackson had been wise after all. For this, Henry had chosen swordsmanship over the various other martial arts he could have learned. Of course, he did not choose swordsmanship purely for his nostalgia towards Golden Jackson. It was also the easiest martial art to master.

“We have arrived, Young Master.”

“Good work. Come find me again when lunch is ready.”

“Yes, understood.”

Caughall bowed his head slightly before returning to the estate.

‘Now, how about I see for myself how great this Bern is?’

With that, Henry quietly stepped into the security hall.

* * *

The inside of the hall was quieter than Henry had expected. Most had gone on duty to the fortress walls.

As Henry wandered inside the command, he ran into a maid who had come to pick up the laundry. She immediately recognized him.

“What brings you here, Young Master?”

“Please, spare me the formalities. Where is Sir Bern right now?”

“Sir Bern is currently in the training hall, in the back of the command center.”

“Okay.”

Henry headed towards the training hall. Sure enough, Bern was there.

Spotting Henry, Bern spoke first.

“Oh, what brings you here to this shabby place, Young Master?”

“It is nice to see again. I am here to ask a small favor of you.”

As soon as they exchanged greetings, Henry wasted no time getting to the point.

“A favor?”

“Yes. Are you able to teach me swordsmanship?”

“...Pardon?”

Bern could not believe what Henry was asking, and thought he must have misheard.

“Why are you acting all surprised? I would like to start swordsmanship training, starting today.”

“B-but Young Master, you yourself said that there’s no point in swordsmanship…”

“I’ve changed my mind. So, can you teach me or not?”

Henry saw no point in dragging the matter out.

When Bern realized Henry was serious, he responded with a thrilled look on his face.

“To think that the Young Master Henry is finally showing interest in swordsmanship… I am very pleased! Are you finally preparing for the Lord’s succession?”

“Well… not necessarily…”

“Haha, no need to be shy! Ah, I almost forgot! Young Master, there is something I’m curious about, may I ask you a question?”

“Feel free.”

“I heard that you won an overwhelming victory in a duel against Young Master Kevin… is it true?”

“And what if it is?”

“...did you perhaps learn swordsmanship from somewhere else that I don’t know about?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Bern was unconvinced by Henry’s answer. Kevin’s swordsmanship teacher had been Bern himself, and he knew that someone with no training could not have beaten Kevin so decisively.

“Anyway, I’ve decided to focus on my swordsmanship from now on, so if you accept, I will be under your care.”

“I mean, it is no trouble for me, but this…”

Teaching swordsmanship was not something difficult for Bern, it was one of his daily tasks as the head of the security command. However, it was hard for him to accept that the eldest son, who had not shown any talent or interest in swordsmanship before, was able to subdue Kevin so easily.

‘Well, I guess I’ll figure it out step by step.’ Bern thought to himself. In the face of doubt, Bern felt it wise to ascertain the source of Henry’s newfound skill personally.

“Then how about a light sparring session first?”

“Against you?”

“Yes. I was originally going to start with the very basics, but seeing as how you’ve defeated Young Master Kevin, it’s difficult for me to gauge your actual skill level.”

Bern did not hide his curiosity, and Henry readily accepted Bern’s suggestion.

“Sure.”

This was an unexpected but welcome turn of events for Henry, as he was curious about Bern’s skill level as well.