As the Starlight party came down one by one, Rex helped serve breakfast. Elliot was the first, as he always is. Diana was next, and she was already dressed for training.
Helena came next and looked lovely, even at this early hour. Evelyn, as usual, showed up with Elliot, and then finally Lily came running down the stairs.
Lily's usual excitement, though, seemed to be less this morning. She looked at Rex for a second, then quickly looked away, her cheeks turning pink.
Rex smirks and knows right away that Lily was really watching them having sex yesterday. "That's interesting..."
Rex thought while rubbing both palms with a freaky expression. "She really is my next target... I don't mind a virgin, but at least it's the best thing I could do to break the hero's little sister!"
Rex looked at her more closely as everyone else sat down at the table. She kept looking at him out of the corner of her eye, but when he looked at her, she looked away.
She looked tense, like she was guilty about something... Yeah, of course it's the last night peeking.
[ANALYSIS CONFIRMED]
[LILY VON STARLIGHT WITNESSED INTIMATE ACTIVITY]
[CURRENT EMOTIONAL STATE: CONFUSED, AROUSED, GUILTY]
[DESIRE LEVEL: 12/100 → 28/100]
[STATUS: VULNERABLE TO MANIPULATION]
28 of desire level... Just by seeing what Rex and Mara had done made her want it even more than before. The innocent were corrupted, and the forbidden knowledge sparked curiosity and desire.
Rex reflected on her emotional state as he observed her. "Aroused, eh...? I knew that every girl is drawn to good sex."
Rex put that information away. Lily was now a lot easier to hit than before because what she had seen had made her defenses weaker.
He would have to be careful about how he went about it, but the chance was there.
...
People talked like they always do during breakfast. Elliot went over the day's training schedule, which was mostly about group tactics and defense techniques.
Diana said that she would be teaching advanced archery in the afternoon. Helena was going to work with the few villagers who were good at magic.
Elliot asked, "What about you, Rex?"
"Are you ready for another day of training?"
"Of course," Rex said. "I was hoping to do something different today, if that's okay."
"Oh? What were you thinking?"
Rex had been planning this ever since he got his new power. "Lady Helena said something about energy flow and manipulation yesterday that I've been thinking about."
"I was curious if I could watch the magic training session, and of course... not to take part, but to better understand the ideas."
Helena seemed shocked. "That's a strange request."
"Most combat students don't care about magical theory."
"Most combat students don't want to see the entire picture," Rex stated.
"If magic and combat are based on the same ideas, watching you teach magic might help me understand combat better."
It made sense, and it would give him a reason to practice his telekinesis without anyone knowing he was just watching magical lessons.
Lily suddenly said, "I think that's great," and then she turned red when everyone looked at her.
"Uh...! I—I mean, learning across fields is useful...! I—Isn't that right, Mother?"
Helena looked at Rex with interest. "It's a smart way to go about it."
"You may observe very well, but don't stop the lesson."
Rex told her, "I wouldn't dream of it."
The training session in the morning went as usual. Rex did well in the combat drills, but not in a way that made people suspicious.
He thought about using his telekinesis to make his movements a little better, but he decided that was too dangerous for now.
"Be patient," he thought in his mind. He had to show off his skills little by little to avoid any suspicion, or his plan would fail.
After the fight, most of the students took a break, but Rex followed Helena and her small group of magic students to a quieter place. Lily was one of them, and she still didn't look Rex in the eye.
Helena started with basic theory, just like she had done with Rex the day before. The five students, three older villagers, and two younger ones besides Lily all listened, but some of them understood more than others.
"Energy is everywhere," Helena said, waving her arms around. "Magic is the art of seeing that energy and bending it to your will."
"Watch... and learn."
When she held out her hand, a small flame appeared and danced above it. "Fire magic looks like making something new, but it's really changing something."
"I'm taking energy from the environment and turning it into light and heat."
The students were amazed. Rex was interested in a different way, and then he used his telekinetic sense to feel how she was moving the energies.
It was fascinating to see magic through the eyes of his new power.
Helena went on, "Now, the most important things are focus and visualization."
"You need to see the energy, know what it is, and control it with your will."
She had the students try some simple light spells, which was the same thing Lily had been having trouble with. Rex watched from the sidelines and saw that each student did it in their own way.
Then he made the choice to try something new.
Rex used his telekinesis to reach out and gently change the air currents around one student who was having trouble. There wasn't anything obvious, just a small change that made the energy flow more naturally.
The student's spell, which had been flickering weakly, suddenly became a steady glow.
The student shouted, "Oh my gosh...! I did it!"
Helena seemed happy. "My, my, that's great! Take a good look... at what focus can do."
Rex smiled to himself. The student had no idea that someone had helped them.
He did this throughout the lesson, using small telekinetic pushes to help students who were having trouble. They couldn't find anything, just small changes that made their spells work better.
The end result was that everyone got a lot better, which made Helena very proud of her teaching.
"This is great progress," she said at the end of the lesson. "You've all made more progress in this session than in the last three days put together!"
The students left feeling confident and full of energy. Lily stayed behind, as did Rex.
Rex told Helena, "That was totally amazing!"
"The way you talk about manipulating energy makes so much sense that my dumb brain can understand it right away."
Helena said, "I'm glad you found it amazing."
She looked really happy and more lively than Rex had ever seen her. "It's not often that you meet someone who values the theoretical parts."
Rex said, "I think it's just as important to know why something works as it is to know how to do it." Then, he said, "Though I have to admit, I'm jealous," taking a calculated risk.
"Being able to make fire out of nothing and change reality with your will... that... must be hella amazing!"
Helena agreed that it has its positive points. "Even though it comes with a lot of work."
"Power without wisdom is dangerous, and... it's good that you have both."
She looked at him with an appraising look. "Rex, you're quite the flatterer."
"Only when it's deserved," Helena said with a wink.
[HELENA VON STARLIGHT: DESIRE LEVEL 8/100 → 15/100]
[STATUS: INCREASINGLY INTRIGUED]
[OBSERVATION: SUBJECT ENJOYS INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION]
[OBSERVATION: SUBJECT APPRECIATES BEING VALUED FOR MIND OVER STATUS]
After all of that, Rex only got fifteen percent from her, and he knew that the progress was slow but steady. Helena was acting just like he thought she would, drawn to someone who appreciated her knowledge and experience more than her title or looks.
"Rex?" Lily called out with her quiet and unsure voice.
He turned around and saw her standing a few feet away, nervously wringing her hands. Helena had gone to get her teaching supplies, leaving them alone for a short time.
"Yo, Lily! You did a fantastic job today, like always!"
"Your light spell was much more stable." Rex does his usual things by giving appreciation.
She got red in the face hearing that. "T-Thanks..."
"Um, can I have a word with you? By yourself?"
Rex then saw the chance, and she's probably going to talk about what she saw last night because of her pure curiosity.
"Of course," Rex said softly. "Let's go for a walk so that our body can feel at ease after all that training."
They left the training ground and followed a path into the woods that weren't very thick. Lily was quiet for a long time, and it was clear that she was having trouble figuring out how to start.
Finally, she whispered, "I saw something last night," her voice barely audible above a whisper.
Rex didn't show any emotion. "Oh?"
"I couldn't sleep because I heard noises coming from my next room..."
"I thought someone might be in trouble, so I went to check."
She couldn't look him in the eye. "I saw you... and Mara... next to my room."
"Okay," Rex said in a calm voice.
Lily said, "She's married," but there was more confusion in her voice than judgment. "But she was with you, and she looked so happy."
"T-That's not right, is it...?"
"It has to be wrong."
"Who says it's wrong?" Rex asked softly.
"Everyone says so! Vows of marriage, loyalty, and commitment."
"Those things are important."
Rex agreed, saying, "They are important, but what about happiness?"
"What fulfillment? What if someone is stuck in a situation where they're following all the rules but feeling worse and worse?"