—Fares, let me see.
Aida's voice interrupted his thoughts before he could reorganize the sentence once again.
"—Ah... yes, here."
He handed her the sheet somewhat awkwardly. Several words were crossed out, and the graphite lightly stained the tips of his fingers.
Aida observed the paper in silence for a few seconds.
"—Hm... it's better than before. You just forgot the 'wa.'"
As she spoke, she made a small gesture with her hand, marking the exact place of the mistake.
Fares slowly let out a breath and leaned his back against the chair.
Again.
He always forgot something.
The order.
The pronunciation.
The proper way to address someone.
Even so...
For the first time since he had awakened in that place, he felt like he was truly making progress.
Aida gave a faint smile and pointed at the paper with her finger.
"—Repeat after me."
The command was soft. Almost patient.
Fares nodded.
"—Morgen kirei," she read slowly, emphasizing each pronunciation.
Fares repeated the phrase awkwardly, carefully trying not to stumble halfway through the words.
Aida continued:
"—Ich wa Namen Fares vaer."
Then she pointed toward him with a small smile.
"—That is your introduction."
Fares lowered his gaze toward the paper and quietly repeated the sentence, trying to mentally arrange the strange order of the words.
Then Aida raised another finger.
"—And lastly... courtesy. Yor kennenlernen ære."
Aida paused briefly before smiling more kindly than usual.
"—With Mister Thained and Miss Lyrastrid, you must always use that."
Then she looked directly at him.
"—Advice is."
The way she emphasized "always" made Fares look up in surprise.
Even so, he ended up nodding.
"—Alright... let's continue."
The calmness in her voice did not change.
Outside, clouds were beginning to cover the sky, slowly blocking the sunlight.
Inside the cabin, the smell of wood was already starting to feel familiar to him.
Fares had been sitting in front of Aida for a long time while she explained once again how to speak in the past tense, correcting every mistake with a patience he still did not understand where it came from.
Aida laughed softly from time to time, finding some amusement in the boy's silent frustration while she continued teaching him without the slightest hurry.
"—Don't worry. You are doing very well. Only one week and several days have passed, and you have already improved a lot."
Fares looked at her in surprise.
Aida continued with a small smile:
"—Buuut... there is still much left. So you will write your introduction five times."
Fares let out air through his nose.
Without arguing, while he wrote and quietly repeated his introduction to himself, soft footsteps began to echo from the other side of the hallway.
They stopped right in front of the door.
The wood slowly opened, and an elegant, energetic voice filled the room.
"—Hello, hello! How is my friend doing?" the girl exclaimed the moment she entered.
Aida turned her head while Lyra casually approached and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"—Oh, hello, Lyra-vella. I am happy you always come visit us," she replied with her usual calmness.
Fares was left bewildered.
The words had come out too fast.
Too naturally.
He only managed to understand part of them.
He did not immediately lift his gaze from the sheet, but his attention was no longer on it.
Then he felt Lyra's eyes on him.
It was not immediate.
First she observed the paper.
The crooked letters.
The pencil gripped too tightly between his fingers.
The boy felt his heart stop for an instant when Lyra's gaze finally fell on him.
Lyra laughed softly and, with a delicate movement, pressed a finger against his forehead, making him pull away purely by instinct.
The girl made a small pout.
"—Hey..."
The expression only lasted a few seconds before she ended up laughing herself.
Then she looked at him again.
Directly.
"—Helloo, Faares~"
Fares' chest tightened.
He immediately remembered Aida's words.
With Lyra-vella and Thained... always use courtesy.
"—Ære..."
The word came out awkward and delayed.
Lyra watched him for a few more seconds before laughing again.
Aida smiled.
Lyra did too.
But clearly for different reasons.
Aida laughed softly while looking at the boy.
"—Fares, why do you say 'Ære'? I can understand your intention, but for Lyra-vella, 'vella' is the correct form."
She corrected him calmly.
Fares felt heat rise to his face and lowered his head further so they would not see his expression.
Lyra laughed softly after noticing the boy's reaction and stepped away with the same delicacy with which she had approached, still smiling.
Then she took a step back, turned on her heel, and returned beside Aida as if nothing had happened.
"—He is progressing, isn't he?" she asked while looking at the boy again.
Fares quickly returned his eyes to the sheet.
Aida smiled.
"—Yes. He is a good student. He has already improved a lot."
Lyra laughed again.
"—Yes, yes~... putting that aside, he is cute. In my presence, he reacts way too strongly~"
Aida let out a small laugh.
"—That is normal. You are unsettling."
Fares lowered his shoulders slightly, embarrassed, and corrected his handwriting more carefully.
Aida and Lyra looked toward the door at the same time, despite the fact that nothing had sounded.
Lyra murmured:
"—Here we go again."
The door opened without warning.
The red-haired man entered the room without saying a word.
His presence changed the air, as if the space itself had become narrower.
At first, he did not look at Fares.
He observed the room.
The paper.
The pencil.
The boy's posture.
Evaluating.
Fares felt the pressure fall over him.
He did not even want to raise his head.
Lyra smiled mischievously and spoke:
"—Hey~... why are you so quiet? Are you not even going to greet your little sister anymore?"
The man completely ignored the girl's voice and advanced until he stopped in front of the boy.
Then he looked directly at him.
His gaze was not hostile.
It was the gaze of an evaluator.
Aida immediately looked at the man and made a small bow.
"—Hello, Thained-herran. It is a pleasure to see you here."
Thained barely glanced at her before speaking.
"—Take him outside."
Aida immediately stood up without questioning the order.
Then she approached Fares and softly indicated:
"—Follow me... alright?"
Fares swallowed.
He placed his hands on the chair and slowly stood up. His legs still were not completely steady, but even so, he did not hesitate.
Lyra looked him up and down while slightly tilting her head.
"—Let's see... just how strange you really are."
The sentence sounded more directed at herself than at anyone else.
Aida closed her eyes for a moment before taking Fares by the forearm and guiding him outside the cabin.
While they walked down the hallway, she spoke quietly:
"—To show honor, 'vella' is used for women. 'Harren' for men."
Fares looked at her for a few seconds before nodding.
"—I understand."
Meanwhile...
Lyra and Thained remained inside.
Lyra showed a faint smile before asking:
"—Do you think it is worth it? What if your assumption is wrong? What if he is only a foreigner?"
Thained answered without emotion:
"—Then I will decide whether he has value."
There was a brief pause.
"—And if not... I will discard him."
Lyra let out a small amused sigh.
"—If not~... then he stays with me. He is entertaining."
Thained looked at her coldly.
"—Be quiet and leave."
Lyra covered her mouth while laughing.
"—Yes, Herran~" she replied mockingly before walking out after them.
Thained could not help but form a faint smile, which he hid almost immediately.
Outside, Fares observed the landscape.
They seemed to be almost at the top of a mountain.
The place was surrounded by enormous wooden fences rising like walls around the estate.
Aida took advantage of the moment.
She pointed upward and, using clear gestures, began teaching him simple words.
"Sky."
Then "cloud."
And finally "sun."
She repeated each one patiently while Thained slowly approached from behind.
Fares paid attention to everything.
He knew perfectly well what those things were.
But he needed to learn what they were called in that language.
Then it happened.
A dry impact echoed behind him.
Fares turned his head just in time to see Lyra leave the cabin and, with an absurdly high and carefree jump, launch herself several meters upward before landing on the roof.
Then she simply sat at the edge, lightly swinging her legs as if nothing had happened.
Fares' eyes widened in shock.
Lyra let out a small laugh after noticing his expression.
Fares quickly looked around.
Aida remained completely calm, as if that were the most normal thing in the world.
At that moment, Thained stepped outside.
Aida made a small respectful bow and, without saying a single word, climbed onto the roof as well.
"—We have front-row seats. Amazing, right?" Lyra commented mockingly while watching from above.
Aida let out a small laugh.
"—Yes... it is amazing. I only hope it is worth it."
Her voice kept its usual calmness, though this time a faint concern managed to slip through.
Thained walked several steps away from the others.
He created distance.
Then he stopped.
"—We fight."
The man's voice came out cold.
Calculating.
Fares looked at him without understanding.
Then he slowly raised his gaze toward the roof.
Aida caught the boy's look and, with an expression far more serious than before, raised her fist in front of her chest.
Fight.
The meaning finally reached him.
Fares' body tensed all at once.
His eyes widened as adrenaline rushed through his chest.
"W-what am I supposed to do...?"
He swallowed.
"I have never fought before."
Noticing that he had finally understood, Thained began to advance.
He moved with suffocating calmness.
It was not the calmness of someone relaxed.
It was the calmness of someone completely certain of the outcome.
Fares stepped back while his heart pounded violently in his chest.
He did not know what to do.
Then he remembered something.
Fragments of movies.
Classes casually seen.
Children's games.
Stances memorized without ever intending to actually use them.
Karate.
Instinctively, he adjusted his feet, slightly bent his legs, and raised his arms, adopting an awkward but recognizable defensive stance.
Thained stopped for a moment.
Not out of respect.
Out of evaluation.
Then he disappeared.
Fares' eyes barely managed to follow the movement before seeing the man directly in front of him.
He had no time to react.
The blow crashed directly against his forearms.
The impact instantly emptied his lungs.
His arms went numb at once while his feet stumbled backward across the dirt.
The pain did not come first.
First came emptiness.
Then the sensation that something inside his arms had just broken.
Fares raised his head trying to get away, but a hook struck directly against his temple.
His feet left the ground.
The world spun violently as his body was launched several meters away before rolling across the dirt.
A sharp ringing invaded his ears.
His heart thundered too loudly inside his skull.
A metallic taste filled his mouth.
His vision became blurry.
Fragmented.
As if the world itself were cracking apart in front of him.
The girls watched from the roof without saying a single word.
Lyra kept a faint smile while observing every reaction from the boy with almost curious attention.
Aida, in contrast, remained motionless.
The calmness on her face was still there.
But this time, even that calmness seemed to tighten slightly.
Fares could barely think clearly.
Thained finally stopped.
There was no rush in him.
No heavy breathing.
Nothing in his expression had changed.
From above, he simply observed the boy.
Evaluating him even in that state.
"—Get up."
The order came firm and dry.
Fares took several seconds to fully regain awareness of the world.
The ringing in his ears was still there, though now more distant.
Carefully, he pressed one knee against the ground.
Then the other.
His body barely responded.
"Damn it..."
His breathing trembled.
"I cannot win."
The difference between them was absurd.
He had not even understood when the man moved.
Facing him head-on again would only make things worse.
Eventually, he managed to stand.
His legs trembled, but he did not fall.
He took a deep breath, ignoring the sharp pain piercing through his head, and slowly raised both hands in front of his chest.
Surrender.
It was not pride.
It was not fear.
It was logic.
Thained silently observed the boy's surrender.
There was slight surprise in his eyes.
Then disappointment.
His assumption seemed to have failed.
Even so...
He found that reaction interesting.
He did not stop.
He did not respond.
He simply continued advancing.
Fares swallowed.
The man was not walking fast, but every step carried weight.
The sensation was absurd.
As if a predator had already decided its prey had no escape.
There was no rage in him.
No emotion either.
Only certainty.
"He is not going to stop."
Fares instinctively stepped back while trying to raise his arms again.
Pain immediately shot through his forearms.
Dark bruises.
Swollen.
Shaking.
Even so, he raised his guard.
Not to attack.
To protect himself.
"I should not run..."
The image of the beast chasing him flashed through his mind.
The fall.
The cliff.
The desperation.
"I almost died because I ran."
He clenched his teeth.
"Then I will protect what matters... and look for an opportunity."
Fighting head-on would accomplish nothing.
It would only worsen his injuries.
His hands still trembled, but his stance was not chaotic.
He covered his head.
His neck.
His torso.
He was not trying to win.
He was trying to survive.
From the roof, Lyra slightly tilted her head.
Aida lightly pressed her fingers against the wooden roof, remaining silent.
Thained accelerated.
Not to attack immediately.
He wanted to see what the boy would do when the distance disappeared.
In an instant, he appeared in front of him and launched a direct blow against the guard.
The impact sounded sharp.
A wave of pain tore through both of Fares' arms, and for a moment he thought his legs would stop responding.
But adrenaline still kept his body moving.
His eyes widened in shock.
He had no time to react.
Thained continued.
The next strike went straight toward his chin.
Fares tried to step back on pure reflex, but his foot clumsily caught against the dirt, and he fell backward, narrowly dodging the punch by sheer accident.
The air violently escaped his lungs when he hit the ground.
Fear froze his body for an instant.
From the roof, Lyra let out an amused laugh.
"—Ohh~ for the love of TheLord... did the great Iron Pillar just miss a strike? Maybe you are not as good as they say~"
The mockery floated lightly through the air.
Playful...
But sharp.
Thained did not respond.
He did not even look at her.
His eyes remained fixed on Fares, as if Lyra had ceased to exist at that moment.
There was no anger in his expression.
No embarrassment either.
Only cold attention.
Absolute.
Lyra slightly tilted her head while the smile remained on her face, though now her gaze seemed much more attentive.
Aida, from the roof, held her breath.
On the ground, Fares had barely begun moving.
He already understood he could do nothing against him.
His back burned against the cold dirt.
His arms remained numb from the impact, and every attempt to move his hands sent sharp pain shooting up to his shoulders.
Standing normally was not an option.
Not before the next strike came.
But Thained did not advance.
He remained standing there, watching him.
Waiting.
There was no hurry in his posture.
No immediate intention to attack.
And Fares understood.
Not with words.
He understood with his body.
He forced a deep breath while ignoring the ringing in his ears.
He slightly twisted his torso, dug an elbow into the dirt, and dragged one leg backward, moving only a few centimeters away.
Not to flee.
Only to create space.
After that, he slowly raised a trembling hand.
Open.
It was not a plea.
It was a warning.
Thained slightly tilted his head.
The boy no longer knew what to do.
He waited for the blow.
The next one.
The one that would leave him breathless... or unconscious.
But it never came.
Thained stopped.
For one second, Fares thought something else was coming.
Another strike.
Another attack.
But the man simply turned around.
He began walking back toward the cabin with the same calmness with which everything had started, as if that fight had already ended long ago.
Fares remained motionless on the dirt, breathing with difficulty.
Confused.
The ringing still echoed inside his ears while he tried to understand what had just happened.
Lyra jumped down from the roof with a light leap and walked toward him while casually stretching.
"—How disappointing~" she said with a crooked smile. "I at least expected I would make you cry."
She slightly leaned toward Fares, observing him from above.
There was no cruel mockery in her eyes.
Only curiosity.
"—But you are still alive... that already counts for something."
Aida descended much more carefully.
She approached the boy and knelt beside him without immediately touching him, evaluating his condition with the calmness of someone who knew exactly how much damage a person could endure.
Then, from the cabin entrance, Thained's voice reached them without him even turning around.
"—He can stay."
The silence that followed weighed heavier than the entire fight.
It was not an order.
It was a verdict.