Chapter 553: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Two Genius of Two Duke Houses V

Nine years ago, in the private training quarters of the Duke House of Burnwick...

Ravenor Burnwick sat quietly on a scarlet throw pillow decorated with gold patterns.

His legs were crossed beneath him, and his back remained straight as he meditated on what he had just learned from his Uncle.

The room itself was large enough to be used as a proper training ground, but it had also been arranged as a quiet place where the members of the Burnwick Family could rest between their studies and training.

The walls carried the colors of the House.

Scarlet.

Gold.

The same colors could be seen on the furniture and decorations around the room, giving the entire place the feeling of a noble household while still retaining the hard atmosphere of a training ground.

Ravenor’s eyes remained closed.

His breathing was steady.

He was trying to organize the information his Uncle had just taught him.

His Uncle was the older brother of Ravenor’s father and was also one of the many Flame Alchemists of Burnwick who had personally trained Ravenor.

The man sat nearby with his usual calm expression.

A maid stood beside him.

She wore the official maid outfit of the Burnwick Family, which followed the family’s black, scarlet-red, and white color theme.

The maid carefully handed him a cup of tea.

Raleigh Burnwick accepted it.

He lifted the cup and took a small sip.

The quiet atmosphere of the training quarters lasted for only a few seconds.

The door suddenly opened.

"Good morning... Boss and—"

A young man who looked to be in his twenties entered with an excited expression.

But his words stopped halfway.

His eyes landed on Ravenor.

The young Master of Burnwick was still sitting there with his eyes closed, his body completely focused on meditation.

The young man’s excitement immediately disappeared.

His shoulders lowered slightly.

"...Young Master."

He scratched the side of his head and glanced awkwardly toward Ravenor’s Uncle.

"Did I enter at the wrong time?"

"No."

Raleigh calmly placed his tea cup down.

"You came at the right time, Rex."

Raleigh stood.

Rex blinked.

He had only looked away for a moment.

Yet when he looked back, Raleigh was already standing directly in front of him.

Rex’s scarlet eyes widened.

He hadn’t even noticed his Boss moving.

His body stiffened.

A bead of sweat slowly appeared near his forehead.

"Shit."

He muttered under his breath.

Raleigh simply looked at him.

Rex immediately straightened his posture.

A few seconds later, Raleigh returned to his place and sat back down on the scarlet throw pillow.

"So, why did you even come here?"

Another maid approached.

Raleigh collected another cup of tea from her, taking it as though nothing unusual had happened.

Meanwhile, the maid who had given him the first cup of tea had already moved toward Rex.

Rex’s expression changed as the maid placed a tea cup on top of his head.

Rex stood on one leg.

His arms stretched straight out to both sides.

His other leg extended forward.

Several tea cups were placed across his arms and legs.

One remained balanced on his head.

Every cup was filled with hot tea.

Rex’s entire body became rigid.

He couldn’t move.

He couldn’t lower his arms.

He couldn’t put his raised leg down.

He couldn’t even tilt his head too much.

One wrong movement would send the hot tea spilling over him.

This was his punishment for disturbing Ravenor’s training.

And judging by the way Rex immediately settled into the posture, this clearly wasn’t the first time he had been punished like this.

Still, he wasn’t going to let that stop him from speaking.

"Boss Raleigh, I just heard some crazy information about that Genius of Ashenlocke."

Rex spoke while carefully maintaining his balance.

His voice was slightly strained, but he still looked excited about the information he had brought.

Raleigh took another sip of tea.

"And what is my problem with a small girl of Ash?"

His scarlet eyes narrowed.

It was obvious that Raleigh was already becoming irritated.

This was what had caused Rex to rush into the training quarters with such energy?

A rumor about a little girl from the Ashenlocke Family?

Rex frowned.

"You were the one who told me to dig up information about all the children who have been predicted to become the main pillars of this unknown Golden Age of Alchemists."

He spoke quickly.

He had already learned that taking too long to explain himself around Raleigh was dangerous.

"That was what the Duke spoke about after he came back from the meeting of all the Powers of Britannia in the Royal Palace."

Raleigh stared at him.

"I remember saying that."

His tone remained calm.

"But I meant for the Drakes child and especially the Bergwyn child."

Raleigh took another sip.

"The Ashenlockes haven’t even produced any quality talent for ages now."

His eyes shifted slightly toward Rex.

"The Current Duke and his brother, Val Ashenlocke, are exceptions, though."

He paused.

"Only slightly."

Rex remained perfectly still.

The tea on his head trembled.

He couldn’t wipe the sweat from his forehead because both of his hands were stretched outward.

Raleigh continued.

"With what I have seen from the current form of Gun Alchemy that the Ashenlockes possess, they wouldn’t be able to grow beyond the Alchemist rank that Valentine Ashenlocke reached."

His expression became more displeased.

"I wouldn’t even be shocked if another Gun Alchemist family took their Duke position from them."

Rex’s face tightened.

"Just listen, Boss..."

He was frowning more now.

He was clearly annoyed that Raleigh wasn’t willing to hear him out.

Raleigh stopped drinking.

"Speak."

His expression settled.

The irritation in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a serious look.

Rex took a careful breath.

"You know about the order His Majesty the King made about that child?"

Raleigh’s eyes shifted.

"Well, I figured out the reason."

Rex smiled proudly.

That smile lasted only a moment before he remembered the tea balanced across his body.

"That order did surprise a lot of us."

Raleigh lowered his gaze thoughtfully.

He remembered it clearly.

The order from the King had surprised the Elders of the Burnwick Family.

It had surprised the other members of the High Board.

And it had even surprised his younger brother, Duke Aldous Burnwick.

The order had concerned only Vera Ashenlocke.

Stating that Vera Ashenlocke must either marry into the Royal Family, with the strongest meaning of the order being that Vera would become the next Queen of Britannia.

An Ashenlocke.

That was what made the order so strange.

Raleigh’s eyes sharpened.

"You now have my attention."

He placed the tea cup down.

This time, he didn’t even bother taking another sip.

Rex’s smile became wider.

"Don’t react too much..."

He glanced around before lowering his voice.

"But from the little rumors that came from the maids of the places who happened to hear a few conversations between the King and some of the ministers and Elders of Alchemy..."

Rex paused.

He allowed the words to settle.

Raleigh waited.

The training quarters became quiet again.

Even the maids remained still.

Then Rex spoke.

"Vera Ashenlocke can see the future... I guess."

His final words carried uncertainty, while his expression was serious, but there was still an unsure look in his eyes.

He had brought the information proudly.

Yet even he wasn’t completely convinced by it.

Silence filled the training quarters.

Raleigh narrowed his scarlet eyes.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

Rex answered.

His expression remained half serious and half unsure.

The two looked at each other.

Rex stood there on one leg with several cups of hot tea balanced across his body.

Raleigh sat in front of him.

Neither spoke for a few seconds.

Then...

"Increase the load on this idiot."

Raleigh gave the order with a completely annoyed expression.

Rex’s face went pale.

"Noooooo!!!! But that’s what I heard, Boss!!!"

The maids immediately bowed.

Then they moved toward him.

More tea cups were brought over.

Rex’s eyes widened.

"You can’t do this to me too!!! Nooooooo!!"

His body shook.

The tea inside the cups trembled dangerously.

One of the maids quickly reached forward to keep the cup on his head from falling.

Raleigh sighed.

"And stuff his mouth."

Rex froze.

His face became one of pure disbelief.

The maids obeyed.

Rex’s muffled complaints filled the training quarters.

Ravenor, who had been trying his best to continue meditating, opened his eyes slightly.

The noise had completely ruined his concentration.

He had tried to ignore the conversation.

He had tried to return his attention to his training.

But the subject of Vera had caught his attention.

"What about if he’s right about her being able to see the future?"

Ravenor asked.

Raleigh turned toward him.

"There is no way for an Alchemist to see the future."

He waved his hand dismissively.

"Not to even talk about a child who hasn’t fully become an Alchemist of her Gun Alchemy Path."

Ravenor remained seated.

His expression was calm.

Raleigh continued.

"Even if an Alchemist can see through the future, then that Alchemist’s Path would have to have something connected to a Philosophy that aligns with seeing the future."

Ravenor considered his Uncle’s words.

"What if she was just born naturally with it?"

He offered his own thoughts, his voice remaining calm.

"Like your natural ability to copy other Alchemist combat skills and Martial Arts..."

Raleigh looked toward Ravenor.

A calm smile appeared on his face.

"Well, that would be interesting."

His expression became thoughtful for a moment.

"But seeing the future is too much to be a natural ability."

He shook his head.

"Or else that child of Ash has something else that helps her in seeing the future, maybe something that makes it seem like she can see the future."

Raleigh dismissed the idea with a small movement of his hand.

"Then I can’t just agree with something so absurd as that."

Ravenor nodded.

"I see."

He understood what his Uncle meant.

To him, the idea was difficult to accept as well.

An Alchemist having an ability that allowed them to see the future wasn’t something that could simply be accepted because of a rumor.

Especially not when that person was a young girl who only followed the Alchemy path of Gun.

Ravenor closed his eyes again.

He returned his attention to meditation.

The conversation slowly became nothing more than background noise.

At that time, the idea of Vera Ashenlocke seeing the future had sounded absurd.

Something too strange to take seriously.

Something that could easily be dismissed as another rumor created by people who enjoyed making stories about geniuses.

Ravenor had accepted his Uncle’s answer.

He had no reason not to.

But now...

***

Back to the present.

Ravenor couldn’t help but think differently now with what he was witnessing happening to him.

His eyes remained fixed on Vera.

The scene before him had somehow brought back the conversation from nine years ago.

The thought that he had once dismissed as absurd was no longer so easy to ignore.

His expression remained serious as the realization slowly settled in his mind.

"How?"

The word of disbelief escaped his mouth.