Chapter 17 – The Secret of the Legendary Phoenix

  After spending another entire m training with Sifu, I was pletely in pieces. I had to limp back up those stairs, feeling like I hadn't in a long time. The old man stayed behind ing the pd let me go take a bath and have lunch.

  Our routine tinued like this for a week, with every m starting as if Sifu was trying to kill me and me having to defend myself. He was always surprised by me, but no matter how well I dodged at the st sed, it was still useless if I was too weak to properly defend myself with the body of a five-year-old.

  "My son, I'm going to talk to Sifu about going easy on you. I don't want my baby getting all bruised up like this," my mom said, washing and ing some of my bleeding wounds.

  "It's okay, mom. This is for the best for us, I also want to protect you," I told her.

  She sighed. "You don't have to do any of this, you're just a child. You should be eating mud and..."

  "Stealing dy..." I pleted her sentence.

  "If you know, then why aren't you doing it?" she said, ping my nose.

  Mom stood up. "I'll let you finish your bath now that I've gotten the excess blood off. You py iub for as long as you want," she said as she left.

  "Where are you going, mom? You always disappear to work, and I don't even know what you do."

  She scratched her head a bit. "I o help your aunt... and I've also returo my old position here as a gardener."

  "Gardener?" I asked, fused.

  "Yes, but the pnts your aunt asked me to grow won't just be swallowing small rats... it's better if you don't know what they swallow. I'm creating pnts that will be pear the fences and serve as guards as well."

  Gods! More of those crazy pnts?

  "I see..." I said.

  "Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. I o take care of them until they grow and bee strong enough. Initially, we'll pce them around the inner fence of this vilge, and then we'll put them in the forests he fortress wall."

  Mom came back, kissed my head, and the.

  "Who would dare ihis pce? They have a vilge full of trained people, and in the mansion live assassin maids and even a panther..." I murmured to myself.

  ‘Squaaak!’ The little red hawk said to me as if somehow I o include him in that.

  The phoenix chick usually stays close to wherever I go, but during these moments, he turns his bae, and I don't know why.

  "Want to take a bath too, buddy?" I asked him. "This tub is filled with hot water, it's really nice."

  ‘Squaaak,’ he said with his back still turo me.

  I went over and picked him up.

  ‘Squaaak!’ He fpped his wings desperately.

  I know he's strohan he's letting on, but he's probably holding back so he doesn't hurt me.

  "Are you afraid of water?" I asked, pg him on the floor, and he shook his head 'no.'

  "Hmm... you haven't had a bath since I found you, you must be all dirty."

  As soon as I said that, he burst into fmes all over his body and then stopped.

  "I guess you just burn off the dirt..."

  I look back at the tub.

  This guy isn’t afraid of water… so why does he refuse to bathe with me?

  "You're a smart animal… you must have your reasons, but I o cheething to be sure if it could be this." I go over to him and pick him up.

  ‘Squaaak!’ He starts struggling as I turn him over.

  "I'm just going to peek underh, I o firm something."

  ‘SQUAAAK!’ The phoenix chick gets agitated, peg at my hand and flying away, nding on the floor.

  He looks at me and hides under his wings.

  I stare, realizing what was happening.

  "YOU! Are you a girl?" I say, fused.

  The little phoenix nods.

  "I'm sorry!"

  What a mess I made.

  "I didn't do it on purpose, I swear. That wasn't my iion..." I try to expin to the little red hawk, but she moves away a bit.

  "HAHAHA, it seems you've reached the age of chasing girls," says the goddess Athena, ughing from the tub.

  "Shut up!" I snap at her.

  I quickly look away, embarrassed.

  That damn woman is naked ih! What a disgrace!

  "Want to join me?" she asks seductively and sarcastically.

  Ign her, I focus ba the little phoenix.

  "I won't do that again, I uand you're a girl... I'm sorry," I say to the phoenix and turn back to the tub.

  Thankfully, that crazy woman disappeared.

  After the little i, I leave the phoenix in her er, still turned away from me, a into the tub. It was such a relief after a m of training, rexing my body.

  This is the life...

  "Young master, I’ve left your clothes on the bed," a female voice says, opening the door.

  I’m startled and sink into the water.

  "Thank you, Martha," I say to the maid while c myself.

  She leaves, ughing and closing the door.

  "I should have locked it…"

  The little phoenix gives me a judging look as if to say, 'Now you know what I went through.'

  "Sorry, okay? I didn’t know you were a girl…"

  Martha is a very beautiful woman and oversees the other maids; she's like their leader. My aunt used to be trained for Martha's position, but after marrying my uncle, she artha to fill the role.

  I still have a lot to learn and uand.

  My lessons haven't started yet; for now, my aunt and the acies are busy with the chaos caused by the Wolves and dealing with the rest of the noble cil as they discuss my existence.

  I dive bato the water.

  "At least I enjoy the tub."

  Katherine Evenhart:

  After leaving my baby to take his bath, I exited the room with a heavy heart.

  I hardly bear to look at his little face.

  I had sighe betrothal dot alongside Margaery. Even though she is the head of the family, my sent was still needed. In the end, we sig together. She also felt sad and guilty about what she did.

  I couldn’t bear to see my niegaged to a 37-year-old maher... by the time she’s an adult, he’d be almost 50...

  A part of me was bming and judging myself, but this was the only way to proteathan. We couldn't risk losing their future to people who would see them as possessions. Our current weakness was f us to to noble s. No one would dare questiorange decisions of the Evenhart family marrying 'oners' if we were at our peak. Without those two and the other former leaders of the Legacies, we were weak. It had only been almost six years since we lost everything... and the blow was devastating.

  It wasn't just Margaery and I who lost someone important; it was all of us.

  The eerritory felt the weight of losing its soldiers and especially the mages.

  Our strength lies in agriculture, and without the mages, we 't meet the demand we had before. Our duchy had an abundance of resources. Water mages could tend to hectares of nd alone and gee water tate aire region transformed for pnting. We lost our main force that geed wealth for this pce. Even fire mages were useful, as they, in jun with earth mages, fortified the soil and could keep it warm, enabling produ even in winter.

  Now everything is being done manually, and we rely mainly on the bor of smaller families and their mages. Our few remaining mages 't hahe eerritory, and even fishing has been affected. With water mages, a simple spell could push schools of fish into s... now it's back to being done by hand.

  Nathan, I'm doing this for you. Even though I've stolen your future, we will ehings return to how they were before this crisis.

  I still don’t know how I’ll tell you that you’re engaged… I’m sorry for not being a good mother.