Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

”I had no choice.” Soren chuckled wryly.

Raine let out a melodic laugh, the sound carrying a warmth that reminded him of countless ordinary days spent in each other’s company.

”Then I can rest easy. Because... The road ahead won’t be easy, Soren.” Her tone turned solemn. ”But as long as you stay true to yourself, you’ll find your way.”

Soren kept his smile, though a subtle resolve settled across his features. ”I just have to be myself, huh?”

”Always,” Raine replied, her expression filled with gentle affection.

She then turned back toward the horizon. Starting from the tip of her tail, her shape started to unravel. Delicate strands of light separated from her outline, drifting softly into the evening breeze and dispersing into the dimming twilight.

Raine looked back over her shoulder one last time, her purple eyes shining brightly against the dimming sky.

”Till we meet again, Soren.”

Soren did not reach out to stop her. He remained seated on the wooden bench, his hand resting where her warmth had been just moments before. He watched the faint golden specks float higher and higher, dissolving into the night air until nothing was left.

His smile slowly faded, leaving his face still and composed. He looked down at his empty palm, then slowly closed his fingers into a tight fist.

”Yeah,” he whispered into the open air. ”Till we meet again.”

───────

The next morning.

Hector noticed Soren waking up and heading to the training hall, so he teleported ahead and waited with his arms crossed until Soren pushed open the doors.

”You’re early,” he remarked, a faint note of approval in his voice.

”I have a lot to catch up on,” Soren replied, rolling his shoulders as he stepped onto the training floor.

Hector studied him for a moment, his eyes catching something different in the young man’s bearing. The usual determination was still there, but the weight behind it had shifted. Something had settled overnight. The old man did not comment on it. He simply nodded and uncrossed his arms.

”Then let us not waste time. Begin.”

They trained for two whole hours before the emperor stopped it.

”What’s the matter, Sir?” Soren asked confusedly. It was just 5:30; there was still enough time to train.

”The training is over.”

”Huh?” Soren repeated, still struggling to steady his breathing. ”But we barely got started.”

Hector turned to face him fully, arms folding across his chest. There was no displeasure in his expression. If anything, a faint trace of approval flickered behind his sharp eyes. ”You have already mastered the fundamentals, Soren. Your combat skills have improved greatly as well. However, continuing down this same path will only slow your progress.”

Soren opened his mouth, then closed it. He had learned to recognize when the Emperor was not finished speaking.

Sure enough, Hector continued. ”From this point forward, I will teach you two new things. The first is a spear technique — one that suits your natural style rather than forcing you into forms that do not fit. The second...” His gaze sharpened. ”Is how to use your affinity more efficiently. You have raw power, but raw power without control is like a flood without a river. It spreads wide and accomplishes nothing.”

Soren listened in silence, absorbing every word. When the Emperor paused, he gave a firm nod. ”I understand, Sir.”

Hector inclined his head. ”Good. Then we will start with your affinity. Since we both share the ice element, it will be easier to demonstrate.”

He raised a hand, and a thin wisp of frost curled around his fingers before solidifying into a perfect, gleaming shard no larger than a needle. It hovered above his palm, spinning slowly in place.

”Now you try.”

Soren nodded and extended his own hand. He called upon his mana, letting the familiar chill gather in his palm. The first attempt scattered before it could even take shape, frost hissing into the air like steam. Gritting his teeth, he tried again, forcing the energy to condense. A shard slowly crystallized above his palm, but it was jagged and uneven, nearly three times the size of Hector’s, its edges flickering as though struggling to hold itself together.

”...” Hector watched the display without comment, then dismissed his own shard with a flick of his wrist. ”Your mana control is decent, likely thanks to your experience with cooking magic meals. But, as you can see, it is far from refined. You are wasting a lot of your mana whenever you’re using your affinity.”

Soren let the unstable shard fall apart and lowered his hand. The emperor was right, and he knew it. But there was a reason he ended up this way.

He had learned to cultivate on his own from the start, which meant everything he knew came from trial and error rather than proper instruction. From there, he poured all his focus into raising his rank and training with his spear, simply because those offered immediate, tangible results. Proper mana control demanded years of study, patience, and guidance he did not have, so refining his affinity, learning spells, walking the path of a mage — all of it had felt like a distant luxury he could not afford back then. In fact, his wind affinity had suffered the same neglect for the same reason.

But things were different now. He had resources he never dreamed of. He had time, no matter how little. And most importantly, he had an Emperor standing in front of him, willing to teach.

”What should I do then, sir?”

”We will start from the basics. But first, let us spar again. You can only use your affinity; no weapons allowed. I want to see how you wield it in actual combat before we begin.”

”...I understand.” Soren shifted his stance, frost already coiling around his fingertips.

”Come,” Hector instructed, resting both hands behind his back. ”Don’t hold back and show me everything you have.”

Soren didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly created a bunch of ice arrows and sent them flying toward the Emperor, their tips glinting sharply as they cut through the air. Without pausing, he dropped to one knee and slammed his palm against the floor.

[Frost Surge!]

A pulse of icy mana exploded outward from the point of impact and shot toward the Emperor in a sweeping wave. The jagged ice rushed forward like a frozen tide, aiming to trap Hector’s feet and limit his movement while the arrows closed in from above.

”...Not bad.”