Reborn As Noble

Liana smiled when she saw Gracelle nodding off, her head dipping every few seconds before she caught herself.

”You can sleep if you want.”

Gracelle shook her head softly, her eyes still hazy, blinking slowly to force herself awake. She rubbed her eyes with one hand as she mumbled.

”I want to see Javier-sama’s practice duel with Father-in-law. This is my first time seeing him like this. I’ve never seen him fight before. I’ve only heard stories about how strong he is.”

Felicia glanced up from her book, a soft smile spreading across her lips. She closed the book gently and reached out, guiding Gracelle’s head down onto her lap. Gracelle let out a small, contented sigh as she settled against Felicia’s thighs.

”This is my first time seeing Husband fight too,” Felicia said, her voice warm and thoughtful. ”I wonder how he’ll handle it. He’s always so relaxed, so playful. I’ve never seen him serious in a fight before. Not even a practice one.”

Liana smiled, her eyes narrowing slightly as she glanced toward the field where the five brothers and Garius were standing.

”This is the first time for everyone,” she said calmly. ”It’s the first time they’ve all stood openly in a practice duel together, in front of everyone. It’s not something they usually do.” She paused, her voice dropping into something softer.

”I’ve known Young Master since he was little. I’ve seen his skills. I’ve witnessed his magic. I know what he’s capable of. But even I know he still has hidden skills and powers he’s never shown. Not to anyone.”

She turned her gaze back toward the field, watching Javier take a bite of his burger with a relaxed grin.

”Perhaps today, he’ll finally show us a glimpse. Or perhaps he won’t. With Young Master, you never quite know~”

Meanwhile.

At the open area.

Javier sat on a high chair he had summoned from his dimensional storage, swinging his legs lightly as he munched on his burger with a blissful expression. He wiped a smear of sauce from the corner of his lips with one finger, then sucked the finger clean with a satisfied hum.

The four brothers stared at him in disbelief.

Marcellus dragged his palm down his face, his expression caught between frustration and exhaustion.

”Oi! You’re still eating?”

Cedric let out a long, weary exhale, shaking his head.

”During an important moment like this, you still have the appetite to eat? We’re about to face Father in a practice duel and you’re sitting there like you’re at a picnic.”

Javier took another big bite, chewing slowly before answering.

”What? This delicious burger was prepared by my beautiful elf girl, Liana. Not just beautiful, but her cooking is amazing. Yummy yum yum~”

He took another bite, then choked, thumping his chest with his knuckle a few times before swallowing.

Aelius pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long, weary exhale.

”Little brother... you’re way too relaxed. This is the wrong time to be eating. Father is waiting. You should be warming up, stretching, preparing yourself. Not stuffing your face.”

Heres glanced at Javier, his voice carrying a note of urgency.

”Eat fast. Do you think Father will wait for you to finish your meal? He’s standing there with his arms crossed, watching us. Every second we delay, the more annoyed he gets. And you know what happens when Father gets annoyed.”

Javier took one last bite, chewed, swallowed, and hopped off the chair. He dusted the crumbs off his hands and grinned.

”Relax~ He’s not going to start without us. He wants to see what we can do. It’s not like Father will go all out. I’m sure he’ll be as usual. Not even twenty percent of his power~”

He stretched his arms over his head, cracked his neck, and rolled his shoulders.

”Besides, a full stomach means full power. You should try it sometime.”

”Full power your ass! Ugh! You still want to relax? We’re facing Father here, you idiot... Sigh... why do I have to be with you all...”

Heres glanced at them all, his voice turning serious.

”So... what’s our plan?”

Marcellus was already ready, both hands flaring with magic, his stance low and stable, mana crackling around his fingertips. Cedric planted a huge, special wooden sword into the ground, both hands resting on the hilt, his posture firm and grounded. Aelius held a gold coin between his fingers, nudging his glasses up with his other hand, his expression calm and calculating.

Heres let out a long exhale, his shoulders slumping.

”The usual, huh? Fight all out so we wear out fast and Father ends this practice duel quickly?”

Marcellus, Cedric, Aelius, and Javier all narrowed their eyes toward Heres in disbelief before they shouted in unison.

”No!”

Heres blinked, startled.

”W... wha? Why are you all shouting at me?”

Marcellus shook his head in disbelief.

”Do you think Father will stop when any of us is depleted of mana? He won’t. He’ll just keep going. He’ll push us harder, make us run laps, then make us do it all over again. He doesn’t care if we’re exhausted. He cares about whether we give up.”

Cedric continued, his voice flat.

”Have you not learned the lesson before? At all? If we deliberately hold back or throw the fight, Father will know. And when he knows, he’ll make Alf force us to attend his special training session about mana control.”

Aelius added, adjusting his glasses.

”If we throw the fight, we’ll be punished. We’ll spend hours with Alf, running drills, refining our control, learning to conserve mana while maintaining output. It’s exhausting. It’s tedious. And it’s completely avoidable if we just fight properly.”

Javier gave Heres a side glance, his voice calm and measured.

”I’d rather fight seriously than let Father think we’ve been slacking. Father doesn’t want us to lose. He wants to see how far we’ve come. If he thinks we’re holding back, if he thinks we’re not putting in real effort, he’ll make it his personal mission to fix it. And when Father is satisfied, he ends the duel early. He lets us rest. He lets us enjoy our vacation. But if we slack off, if we hold back, if we waste his time... he’ll make sure we never slack off again.”

Heres stared at them for a long moment before letting out a defeated sigh.

”...Fine. We fight seriously.”

( End Of Chapter )