After a vigorous fight with Theus, I returned to the room and looked through recipes.

The results after going through all five volumes were the same as before.

I couldn’t choose any recipe. Despite the variety in cooking, there were limits to what I could make. Simple and beautiful dishes usually seemed tasteless, while straightforward recipes were subtly complex.

As I slowly reexamined the recipes, peanuts caught my eye. Although I found them interesting, I wasn’t particularly fond of roasted peanuts or dishes with peanuts.

As for what I could eat…

“Ah!”

Suddenly, I remembered one dish. I had forgotten, but I had no memory of eating jam made from peanuts here.

I had only spread jam made from strawberries or other fruits on bread. How could I forget the taste of that sweetness and saltiness melting on my tongue? I was amazed at myself.

I also had the experience of making peanut jam myself. The memory was vague, but the cooking process was easy, and with simple ingredients, repeating experiments would yield a somewhat familiar taste.

“Alright!”

If I just made peanut jam, I could use it for sandwiches or eat it with fruits or snacks.

The problem was whether Yuric liked peanuts. Moreover, there could be allergies…

In such cases, I needed to act quickly. Wearing the outerwear left on the bed and grabbing gloves, I hurriedly went out of the room.

With a dull sound, Stiana, who was sitting at the entrance, frowned slightly.

“What’s happening? Why is it so loud? Lize.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just going out for a bit.”

“What? You’ve just come in. Why go out again? And what did you talk about with Lord Theus earlier? Huh?”

“It wasn’t anything important.”

“If it’s not important, why did he come to see you without even sending a letter?”

Stiana prattled on. If she was curious, she could have eavesdropped on Theus and my conversation, but she calmly waited in the room, likely due to that noble etiquette of hers.

“That’s true. I’ll be back soon.”

“Wait, Lize…!”

The door closed.

Penton Manor was quiet.

Although the hired workers remained in the manor, they were mostly new maids who recently signed contracts. The one with experience had been attending a boarding school and university, leaving the manor almost empty for a while.

I couldn’t give up now and asked about Yuric’s whereabouts. Fortunately, there was a training ground nearby.

I went to the market to buy a sufficient amount of peanuts and walked toward the location of the carriage. Observing the surroundings, I noticed a path leading into the forest.

“Excuse me… Do I have to take this path to reach the training ground?”

The stable worker, who was working on the carriage, stopped what he was doing and looked at the path I pointed to.

“That’s right. You have to go quite deep into the forest to reach the training ground.”

“Thank you.”
“If you go to the training ground, please convey to lower the noise. I can’t sleep every time because of the training sounds.”

Awkwardly smiling, I turned my steps toward the forest.

‘There’s a place like this in Hosha Village.’

Even though I knew there was a training ground in the village, it was my first time visiting.

Long ago, the owner who possessed this territory was a famous knight. To allow his disciples to train their stamina anytime, he created training grounds, and this place was one of them.

As time passed, both the territory and the size of the training grounds changed, but this place was quite famous. In fact, one person from the Violet Knights obtained a title here through training.

After walking for about ten minutes, as the stable worker had said, the shouts of men echoed. Above, there was a tall building that seemed like a training facility.

Carefully peering beyond the training ground, I heard the sound of gunfire, and just beyond, a long yard was blowing with sand.

Strangely, no one seemed to be visible.

Hesitating outside, I decided and entered the inside of the training ground.

Passing through the yard and crossing the double fence, there was a wide oval-shaped training ground surrounded by several pillars.

In the center, Yuric was competing with someone using a sword. The sharp sound of clashing came close to my face.

“Oh, quite skilled!”

“That’s the way! Master!”

Contrasting with the laughter of the men cheering on the sidelines, it was a different sound.

I stopped my movements and observed Yuric’s actions. Though I had seen Yuric as a gentle and kind person, I had never seen him frown and grip the sword while grinding his teeth.

Yuric, with flushed cheeks, calmed his rough breath and rushed towards his opponent.

Yuric’s body, attacking using long arms and legs, and his fierce expression were unfamiliar.

“……. ”

Was this really Yuric?

The appearance of the boyhood that still lingered on Yuric’s face when he was a child had completely disappeared during training.

Wiping off the annoying sweat, Yuric raised his sleeve to wipe his face. I could see the veins clearly on his forearm and his well-defined abs.

“……!”