Since they had agreed to special training, that very night, Lilian requested to return home for a while.
She straightforwardly said, “I need to go home to get some medicines and herbs that will help with my training.”
Eleanora surprisingly did not refuse Lilian.
Lilian had expected there to be some back-and-forth argument.
As she was leaving, she was even called back and asked when she would return.
Eleanora said it wasn’t about worrying over her but just concerned the baronial carriage might get lost.
She gave a very clumsy excuse that sounded like a typical tsundere line.
The maids standing beside Eleanora were clearly holding back their laughter.
Lilian thought it over—this trip was just to fetch those items.
There weren’t many people at home, and the environment was nowhere near as good as the baronial manor, so of course, she’d come back to stay.
Eleanora seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Hmph, as a maid, you’ve actually satisfied me once.”
An unexpected compliment?
Eleanora wouldn’t be thinking Lilian was trying to run away, right…
Her home wasn’t far—the little clinic Lilian ran was located in the Southern District Central of the imperial outskirts.
On her way back, the neighbors were all curious about where Lilian had been lately.
When they heard she was working as a maid in the baronial manor, their expressions relaxed, and they urged her to cherish the job.
After all, in this world, being a maid in a baron’s household was quite a good position.
But Lilian didn’t dare agree.
She clearly remembered the fate of the baronial manor being sacrificed and was determined to run away—the most important thing was to save her own life.
Time passed quickly both ways.
After hurriedly finishing the dinner the maids had left for her, Lilian fell into a deep sleep, preparing for the next day’s training.
The next morning, as she was about to start the maid’s duties, the head maid informed her that Eleanora had relieved her of all work so she could focus entirely on training.
This gave Lilian a headache.
If she didn’t work, how was she supposed to level up her maid profession?
She was seriously considering whether she should deliberately lose on the last day and accept punishment just to make up the experience.
Lilian’s training was entrusted to a young female knight from the City Guard—her name was Shaya.
She was apparently the daughter of a fallen baron’s family but had been placed in the City Guard due to her talents.
Lilian found this puzzling.
Normally, a talent like that would be trained in a more important military division.
What was the point of putting her in the inner city guard, essentially a retirement post?
As expected of a noble’s daughter, though fallen, Shaya’s eyes seemed to brighten when she heard Lilian was from the Korn Baron family.
She became more enthusiastic towards her.
That was understandable.
Though Baron Korn was a border baron, he held high prestige in the army.
For nearly a decade, he had often led troops in battle, repeatedly defeating demon clans and gaining great fame.
Many young soldiers looked up to Baron Korn as their idol.
Shaya shared this with Lilian.
Lilian couldn’t help but recall the intel from the game.
One of the game’s heroines was the Second Princess of the Dawn Empire.
If she took the princess route, after graduation, the protagonist had to handle internal chaos alongside the princess.
She remembered the emperor mysteriously dying suddenly in the final semester, throwing the empire into turmoil.
The Eldest Prince and Third Prince nearly came to blows over the throne.
After the Second Princess returned, she somehow pulled out an elite army and, with the protagonist, quelled the rebellion.
In a certain plot point, it was mentioned that the downfall of the Korn Baron family was orchestrated by the Imperial Family and the nobles.
Lilian now understood why the Korn Baron family was almost completely destroyed, leaving only Eleanora.
Being a tall tree invites wind, as they say.
The Imperial Family and nobles looked down on them; they had to die.
But what did that have to do with her?
She was just a little maid about to leave the baronial manor.
Although she felt sorry for Eleanora in the game, this was reality.
Even if Eleanora was very cute, Lilian wasn’t about to risk her life to help her through tough times.
Putting aside these thoughts, Lilian began training with Shaya.
Shaya said the first step was to increase Lilian’s strength—at least enough to lift a sword and use it properly.
Lilian then asked about physical endurance.
Shaya explained that endurance was built gradually over time and couldn’t be improved quickly.
Only strength could be increased, but that required taking drugs.
The main purpose of this special training was to increase sufficient strength and to feel one’s own body in preparation for engaging with supernatural powers later.
“Feeling your body” sounded rather mystical.
So Shaya added, “It’s basically about firming your resolve and breaking through limits. Actually, for a beginner like Lilian, this is the easiest to do.”
Lilian understood—it was the law of diminishing returns; the further you go, the harder it is to improve and reach your limits.
Fortunately, firming resolve and breaking limits fit the requirements of the Effort System.
Every time she saw experience +1, Lilian’s wavering heart steadied.
So she spent the whole day training with pain and joy mixed.
By evening, the day’s training was finally over.
Shaya’s attitude towards Lilian seemed to have changed as well.
If before it was because of Lilian’s connection to Baron Korn, now it was pure personal admiration.
“You’re the first person I’ve seen to complete the entire training on the first day, Miss Lilian.”
She patted Lilian’s shoulder, and Lilian almost went weak-kneed and sat down.
“To be honest, with such a firm will, you should become an excellent knight, not just a humble maid.”
Good grief, straight to the point—military women really spoke bluntly.
“I have my own situation… so becoming a knight doesn’t seem likely,” Lilian said.
There was no need to beat around the bush and make things unpleasant.
She then asked, “What do you mean by ‘completing the entire training on the first day’? Does everyone else not manage it?”
Shaya nodded and explained the usual situation.
The hardest part of anything is the beginning.
Many people want to become knights, but once they start the special training, most don’t last.
Many quit halfway, and even the determined ones often collapse during the last few training exercises.
Many give up the very next day; others drop out gradually later on.
Very few persist and finish the whole month-long training.
“So someone like you, finishing on day one, is very rare. At least, you’re the only one I’ve seen. Especially since you’re a girl.”
Having the system and visibly seeing her own progress gave Lilian a mental advantage.
As for Shaya’s comment about her being a girl, Lilian couldn’t help but feel tears welling up.
Her brother was once strong enough to punch a man down or carry a horse on his shoulder…
sigh
“So what about you, Shaya? How did you manage to keep going?”
“If I didn’t, my family couldn’t have held on either. So I had to grit my teeth and push through.”
The topic suddenly felt heavy, and Lilian didn’t know what to say.
“Oh, it’s okay. Isn’t your life getting better now?” Shaya squeezed Lilian’s shoulder.
Honestly, this way of handling things reminded Lilian of a buddy from her previous life.
“Come on, want to eat at the Knight Order’s mess? There’s all the meat you want.”
Lilian was surprised.
What sort of logistics had “all the meat you want”?
After the meal, Lilian dragged her exhausted body back to the baronial manor.
By then, Eleanora was already resting.
Lilian didn’t know why, but after a day apart, she found herself missing Eleanora.
Even during training, her mind kept drifting to thoughts of Eleanora.
It felt strange.
She was training to leave the baronial manor, not for Eleanora.
So why was she missing her?
She opened the recovery potion Shaya had given her and drank it in one gulp.
Then she took some of the medicines she had brought from home and drank those as well.
The two medicines complemented each other and could be taken together.
Lilian lay on the bed and thought of Eleanora again.
No, at least she had to braid her hair tomorrow to gain some experience points…
Preferably early…
Zzzzzzz
Too tired, Lilian fell asleep without realizing it.