Ran stood in the center of the training grounds, his boots planted in the dirt, keeping his posture strictly neutral as Layla stepped into the courtyard.
Now that she was closer, he could see the heavy, dark purple circles bruising the skin under her eyes.
She looked like she hadn't slept a single full hour since he had verbally "dismantled" her a week ago.
Her tiny shoulders were tense, her breathing was slightly uneven, and she was practically vibrating with raw emotion.
I might have hurt this kid even more than I thought.
In the lore of the game, Ran actually knew a decent chunk about Layla's backstory.
According to the game's sparse world-building, she had lost her mother at the age of five.
She was the only person in the entire household who had ever cared about her.
The game developers had never explicitly stated why she was so obsessed with magic; they just left little breadcrumbs and vague hints scattered across item descriptions and optional NPC dialogues.
But back then, Ran hadn't given a flying fuck about the psychological deep-dive of an NPC, so he had just skipped the text.
Now that he was living it, though?
He could only guess. Maybe his harsh rant about nobody loving her had scraped against the scab of her mother's death?
Maybe her mother had been a mage, or maybe magic was just the only thing she had left for her? Ran didn't know, and honestly, he didn't care. He just needed her cooperation.
Sensing the fragile atmosphere, Ran dropped his internal commentary, stepped forward, and bowed down humbly.
He kept his voice low and respectful.
"Thank you for listening to my request and coming here today, My Lady."
Layla didn't answer immediately. Her bloodshot eyes swept across the courtyard.
The place was a total mess. Cracked wooden dummies, torn sandbags, and deeply gouged dirt plains stretched across the area, making it look like a minor war zone.
Layla scanned the destruction, her expression a mix of exhaustion and stubborn pride. Ran could tell what she was thinking.
She might be guessing he had spent the last few days practicing some ultra-flashy, high-tier sword technique specifically designed to impress her and force her to love the blade.
When her voice finally broke the silence, it was raspy and raw.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I don't really care about your stupid deal. I only came here today because I wanted to see you lose hope miserably."
She crossed her arms, her small chin tilting upward.
"I don't care what kind of absurd sword technique you prepared to show me, or how powerful you think it is. The sword isn't my thing. It never will be. It is my right to make my own choices, and you can't force me."
Ran tightly closed his mouth to stop himself from letting out a massive, mocking laugh.
Oh, you sweet, naive little princess! 'It's my right to make my choice'? I really wish you would grow up soon to realize that no one in this godforshaken world gives a flying fuck about anyone's rights. Especially not your family.
He monologued internally, looking at her with a look of profound, hidden pity.
But he kept that cynical reality check to himself. If he pushed her too hard again right now, she'd snap like a dry twig.
"I appreciate your honesty, Lady Layla."
Ran said smoothly, picking up a standard training sword.
"Either way, since we are both here, let us at least take our stances for the final time."
Layla let out a sharp, irritated breath and grabbed her own wooden blade. She assumed a loose, entirely unmotivated stance, her eyes staring at him with a flat, defiant glare.
Her expression practically screamed that absolutely nothing he did with a piece of wood was going to change her mind.
She was fully locked and loaded to turn him down, watch him pack his bags, and send him back to his doom.
"Watch closely," Ran muttered.
Just as Layla was preparing to mouth off another insult, the air in the courtyard suddenly warped.
The cold, indifferent atmosphere evaporated, replaced by a sudden, intense wave of suffocating heat.
Layla's eyes widened as she felt the temperature skyrocket in a matter of seconds. Her gaze instinctively tracked the source of the heat, dropping straight to Ran's left hand.
A powerful, violently concentrated charge of mana was swirling around his palm. Over the last few days of embarrassing failures, Ran had finally figured out how to properly convert his mana circuits into raw elemental properties.
The electric hum of his energy was forced into a tight, dense sphere, erupting into a roaring, blindingly hot red fireball.
It wasn't a pathetic ping-pong ball anymore. It was a volatile, swirling mass of pure magical destruction.
Before Layla could even process the visual, Ran whipped his arm forward, launching the sphere straight across the courtyard.
BOOM!
The fireball collided dead-center with a heavy, reinforced ironwood training dummy.
The impact was instantaneous and ferocious.
A massive explosion of bright orange flames and black smoke tore through the wood, sending a violent, pressurized shockwave ripping across the stone tiles.
The sheer force of the blast wave caught Layla completely off guard.
The wind slammed into her chest, her boots skidded against the dirt, and she nearly tumbled backward onto her ass from the sheer shock.
She stood there, frozen, her wooden sword hanging loosely in her hand, her mouth open so wide it looked like her jaw was about to unhinge.
Ran, on the other hand, was internally sweating bullets.
Fucking hell, that was a bit too loud.
His eyes frantically darting toward the high stone walls of the estate.
He was incredibly nervous. He knew for a absolute fact that if Simon or anyone from Auditore caught wind that he was demonstrating magic it to the potential heir, they would literally have his head for lunch.
He made a mental note to thoroughly dispose of any lingering traces of ash and magical residue after this was done.
"That's... that's amazing!"
Ran's frantic internal panic was abruptly cut short by the sudden, ecstatic shout.
He looked back at Layla. The transformation was staggering. The heavy, dark cloud of mental fatigue that had been clinging to her vanished in an instant.
Her bloodshot eyes were wide, glittering with a pure, unadulterated light.
In a split second, she had completely shed the skin of a cynical noble brat and looked exactly like what she actually was; a regular, wildly enthusiastic child.
She dropped her wooden sword without a care, sprinted across the scorched dirt, and literally grabbed Ran by his small shoulders, shaking his body back and forth frantically.
"How did you do that?! You're a Bloodrune right? Your family only uses swords! How do you know magic? Teach me! You have to teach me right now!"
Ran immediately winced, bringing his hand up and firmly placing his index finger right against her lips to shut her up.
"Sush! Keep your voice down."
Ran hissed in a sharp, urgent whisper, his eyes darting back to the walls. He leaned in close, his face dead serious.
"If anyone in your family finds out that I'm showing it to you, it will cause an astronomical amount of trouble for me. Do you understand? Be quiet."
Layla immediately clamped her mouth shut, her chest heaving as she nodded her head frantically, her eyes still glued to his palm as if expecting another flame to burst out.
Ran slowly pulled his finger back and let out a tired sigh. He adjusted his wrinkled collar.
"To answer your question... yes, I prepared this. Over the past few days, I've been draining my mana pools completely dry, practicing the exact same visualization over and over, just so I could execute it properly today."
He looked at her, his tone flat but honest.
"I prepared this specifically to teach you."
Hearing those words, a small, subtle hint of genuine wonder and deep admiration flickered in the corners of Layla's eyes though it was incredibly faint, unnoticed by Ran.
"You... you did all of that practice for me?"
A mixed feelings began to conflict in her little mind. For her entire life, her family had looked at her passion for magic as a useless, embarrassing defect.
Her father scolded her, her siblings despised her, and the servants pitied her.
Yet here was this younger bastard from a different family did this for her, someone she had viciously insulted, who had actually gone out of his way to bleed his mana dry just to give her what she wanted.
She didn't know what to say. Just a small hint of admiration was shining through her eyes.
Ran shrugged carelessly, missing her internal emotional crisis entirely.
"It was pretty difficult you know. But if doing this saves my skin and aligns our interests, then I am more than willing to comply."
He leaned against the weapon rack, crossing his arms.
"Since I have official permission to roam your family's library, I can study about some other basic stuff. I already know the principles behind several other elemental spells, but I need a little bit of time to practice. In the meantime... I can teach you the fundamentals of this fireball spell. If you actually want it, that is."
Layla's face lit up again, her regal arrogance immediately trying to claw its way back to the surface to mask her excitement.
"I instantly agree! In fact... no! I order you to teach me! You are still completely beneath me in status, so you are obligated to serve my wishes!"
Ran couldn't help but sigh. He let out a low chuckle that made her wonder if she said something stupid.
"It is not that simple. If I fail here and get sent back to my house, my father will likely have my neck sliced open either way. I am already standing on the edge of a cliff. I am not obligated to do a anything for you."
He stepped up to her, his smaller frame somehow entirely dominating the space between them.
"If you want me to risk my life hiding magic from your father, I demand formal and proper respect. I don't take orders from a student who can't even hold a stick correctly. I want to see how a proper pupil respects their teacher. If you can't swallow that pride of yours, then our deal is done, and I'm getting on the next carriage out of here."
Layla's face flushed a deep, frustrated crimson. She grit her teeth so hard Ran could hear the enamel grinding.
Her hands balled into tight fists at her sides.
She looked back at the black crater where the ironwood dummy used to be. The raw, beautiful proof of real magic.
Ran was her absolute only source of learning the craft for now.
He was the only person in this entire estate who could open the door to the world she actually wanted to belong to.
Swallowing a tiny bit of her pride didn't really hurt compared to the thought of spending the rest of her life being forced to use a sword.
With a sharp, reluctant inhale, Layla closed her eyes, bent her waist, and bowed slightly toward him.
"Please... I request that you teach me, Ran."
Ran stared at her bent form for a couple of seconds, a wave of profound satisfaction settling into his chest.
Well, look at that. The little wildcat finally got herself tamed a little bit. I am one step closer to my goal.
"Excellent!! But before we start channeling a single drop of energy, I have one absolute, non-negotiable condition."
Layla snapped her torso back up, her face twisted in a frustrated, impatient pout.
"What else could you possibly need from me, you greedy bastard?" she barked, her temper flaring right back up.
Ran held up a single finger.
"It's simple. I will teach you exactly one new magic spell every single month. No more, no less. But in exchange, from this exact moment onward, you have to learn swordsmanship with me properly.
No slacking, no crying, and no complaining. We are going to build your skills slowly, one step at a time."
Layla stared at him, completely stunned by the condition.
"You... you want me to still practice the sword?"
"If your father sees you making progress with the blade, he stays happy, he keeps his nose out of our business, and I get to keep my head."
Ran explained dryly, as if talking to a toddler.
"It keeps our little magic circle completely invisible. Do I make myself clear, Lady Layla?"
A long, heavy silence stretched across the dusty training ring. The morning wind rustled the leaves of the nearby trees, carrying the faint scent of burnt wood.
Layla looked down at her hands, then at the wooden sword lying in the dirt, and finally back to Ran's calm, unreadable face.
She let out a long, defeated sigh, all the rebellious fire draining out of her as she accepted the reality of her contract.
She stood up completely straight, brought her feet together, and executed a technically flawless, highly formal noble bow of agreement.
"Yes. We are clear... Teacher."
Ran smiled, a genuine, sharp gleam lighting up his eyes. Phase one was officially complete. The key to the Auditore domain was officially in his pocket.