Chapter 273 Disappointed Airam

Shana had spent the entire day with Airam, Hermione, and Esther.

Considering how the morning had begun, she was satisfied with how it ended. When Ulrich first left her alone with the sisters, Airam had looked ready to strike at the slightest suspicious movement, and Hermione had openly questioned whether they should listen to anything she said. Shana had expected to struggle through every instruction. Instead, by the time the evening light began to reach across the training yard, all three had accepted her presence and made an effort to follow her guidance.

She would not mistake that for trust. Airam and Hermione still had reason to be wary of her, and a single day could not erase what she had done. Nevertheless, they had listened. They had asked questions, attempted the exercise she gave them, and allowed her to correct them without turning every correction into an argument.

For now, that was more than she had hoped to accomplish.

Their conversation about Anna-Maria had helped them become comfortable with one another. Shana could hardly claim the girls had begun to regard her as a senior sister, as younger witches often regarded the women who taught them in a Coven. But they seemed willing to accept her as their tutor. That distinction mattered, particularly here, where Ulrich had made clear that she was to teach them witchcraft without drawing them into the ways of the Crimson Garden.

Most of the morning had passed in conversation, so the actual lessons had begun in the afternoon. Shana had chosen something simple: learning to recognise the Witch Tree and remain aware of it without trying to use its power. It was the first exercise she remembered being taught herself, and one whose importance she understood better now than she had as a student.

Esther and Hermione had done remarkably well.

Both had seen their Trees during their first attempt. Afterward, Shana had asked them to find that connection again, then hold it while continuing to breathe naturally. Seeing the Tree once did not mean they understood it. They still needed to become familiar with its presence, to distinguish what they genuinely felt from what they expected to find, and to learn how it responded when their attention shifted.

Esther had been delighted each time the golden Tree appeared to her. At first, her excitement repeatedly broke her concentration, but she became more careful as the afternoon went on. Hermione took the exercise seriously once she realised how much there was to discover. She wanted to examine every Branch and Vein she could see, and Shana had needed to remind her several times that recognising the Tree came before attempting to direct it.

Their progress pleased her. Witches could spend weeks becoming familiar with their Trees, and ordinary beginners often needed a week simply to see them clearly. Esther and Hermione had reached that point within minutes.

It was impressive, though Shana could not say she was entirely shocked. They were Anna-Maria’s daughters. She had expected unusual talent from them, even if she had not known exactly how it would reveal itself.

The presence of their mana cores made the task more complicated.

Shana had been told that all three sisters possessed cores as well as Witch Trees, and that those cores had Prismatic shapes. She knew enough to understand how extraordinary that was. She also knew that their instruction in core magic belonged to the Grandmaster Brian Strelley, whose knowledge of it far exceeded her own in traditional magic, obviously.

Her responsibility was different. She had to teach them to recognise their witchcraft without confusing it with the magic they already studied under him. Eventually, they would need to distinguish the two clearly enough that they did not try to make the Tree respond like a core or let their efforts with one interfere with the other.

That lesson could wait. Before she taught them how to separate their attention between two sources of power, they had to know what each felt like on its own. Shana had no intention of making the first day more difficult merely because their potential was greater than that of most young witches.

The only real difficulty had been Airam.

After the disturbance earlier in the afternoon, she had returned to the exercise and tried again. Shana had watched her closely, ready to intervene if the pressure around her began to gather once more. It had not. Airam followed the instructions this time, easing back whenever she felt herself reaching too forcefully for the Tree.

She had become especially careful after seeing Hermione and Esther behind Shana’s protection. Whatever frustration she felt, she did not want her sisters caught in it.

Yet she still could not see her Tree.

The afternoon passed with repeated attempts. Airam listened while Shana guided her through breathing, attention, and the faint sensations she might follow inward. She tried sitting quietly without searching at all, then tried noticing the presence of her witchcraft without asking it to do anything. Each time she opened her eyes, the answer remained the same.

Shana had offered what advice she could. Some witches found the Tree through its movement before they ever saw its shape. Others needed to stop expecting a clear image and become familiar with a less certain feeling first. Airam listened to all of it, but none of it gave her what she wanted.

By the time Shana brought the lesson to an end, the three sisters were tired. Spending hours in concentration had proved more demanding than Esther expected, and Hermione rose from the grass slowly, stretching her stiff legs.

Both still wore small smiles. They had discovered something within themselves and were plainly eager to return to it.

Airam stood apart from them with a dark expression. Her disappointment was easy to see, however little she said about it.

“It is fine, Princess Airam,” Shana told her. “It usually takes time. You do not need to find it all in one afternoon.”

Airam looked at her without answering.

“She’s right,” Hermione added. Her voice was gentler than it had been during the morning. “Don’t force it, Airam. It can be dangerous.”

“I’m sure Eldest Sister will see her Tree soon!” Esther added with a wide smile.

There was no uncertainty in her reassurance. She had always believed Airam could do things that seemed impossible to others, and one difficult afternoon had not changed that belief.

Airam glanced at both of them. She showed little reaction to their encouragement, though Shana could see that she had heard it. Then she turned and walked toward the estate without a word.

Hermione let out a quiet sigh. She looked at Esther, and the two of them followed their elder sister.

Shana remained in the yard for a moment, watching them go.

Airam’s failure troubled her. She wished she had been able to offer advice that would help, rather than repeating that patience was necessary. Even so, when she considered the whole day, she found herself smiling.

That morning, she had approached the task with fear. Ulrich had given her another chance, and she had been determined not to waste it. Teaching the sisters had seemed like something she owed them, a way to begin making amends for trying to take them from their home and force them back into a Coven their mother had left.

She still owed them that effort. But the satisfaction she felt now was more personal than she expected.

She had helped Esther and Hermione learn something. She had watched their hesitation turn into recognition, then excitement, and had been able to guide them through what came next. Even Airam had listened to her, despite disliking the result.

Shana had enjoyed teaching them.

The realisation was welcome, though it brought another one with it.

“I should keep learning too.”

She was young by the standards of the witches who had taught her. No Mother had entrusted her with the formal instruction of students, and she had never imagined herself taking responsibility for girls with the sisters’ abilities. She possessed more knowledge of witchcraft than they did, but that would not remain enough forever.

If she wanted to help them progress, she would have to progress herself.

There were lessons she remembered incompletely, explanations she had accepted without asking enough questions, and areas of study she had never reached before the raid. In the Coven, she could have gone to an older sister and asked for guidance. Here, she had no such person to turn to.

It would be harder to learn on her own. Still, for the first time in a long while, the thought of difficult work did not discourage her.

She could begin with books. Certain materials might help with exercises later, provided she could explain their purpose and obtain permission to use them. She started considering what she needed, trying to separate useful requests from things she merely remembered seeing during her own lessons.

Ulrich would have to approve them.

Shana’s smile faltered at the prospect of standing before him and presenting a list. She could already imagine his questions, and herself forgetting half the explanations she had prepared.

Perhaps she should ask Monika to speak to him first.

Yes. That would be much easier.

With that decision made, Shana gathered herself and followed the sisters toward the estate, still smiling a little as she went.