Chapter 98 - They Choose Their Path, He Creates His Path (3)

As Shirley and Basil both rejected the Viscount title, Cobham Viscountcy was gone in two days. It was handed to a newly rising Viscount named Addison Merton. Thus, Cobham Viscountcy was replaced with Merton Viscountcy.

Some of Nicholas' subordinates decided to change their lord, while some decided to stay, just like what always happened.

The same thing was also happening to Escher Viscountcy, which previously had belonged to the late Justin. As he had no alive successor, his assets became a prize pool. Every Viscounts under Earl Woster competed to win the assets he had left behind.

With Basil's help, Shirley had sold every assets Nicholas had had, which she was sure che couldn't ever manage, leaving her with an enormous amount of money. The only thing she kept with her was the manor, and surely the maids and the butlers.

She couldn't just free them of duty, lest they lose their life. Living outside as a commoner was not really safe after all.

Still, despite keeping the manor with her, Shirley had no intention to live there any longer. Everytime she went there, she was reminded of that day's tragedy. She didn't want to think any of that. Therefore, she merely let the butlers and maids take care of it.

Instead, she stayed at Basil's manor on the outskirts of Woster County.

When everything was already settled, four days had passed. There was only a day left, before Basil's departure to Randalvine. Shirley was anxious currently.

"Huuh... I.. I can't do it."

"Yes, you can."

"I-I don't think so, Brother."

"You will know when you try."

"I can never learn this, Brother!"

Shirley wasn't afraid of Basil leaving her. She knew she could visit him whenever she liked. She was afraid of learning the lesson Basil was teaching her. It was extremely extreme!

She didn't even know one could train their Circles. She DEFINITELY didn't know that doing it wrong could cause one's body to explode. With that kind of warning from Basil, how could she not feel anxious?!

"You don't have to be afraid, Shirley. Only idiot will have their body explode."

"I really want to believe you, Brother. I really do. However, you are a genius, and for you, everyone is an idiot!"

Basil blinked his eyes at Shirley's outburst. He ended up laughing softly, before moving behind Shirley, and put his palm on her back.

"I will infuse my Mana into your body, and you try your best to feel it."

"W-will I explode?"

"You will, if I decided to let you."

"Y-you will not let that happen, right?" At Shirley's question, Basil kept his silence. "Right?" She asked once again, but Basil still kept his silence.

At this point, she is already worrying about her well-being. However, even before she managed to run, Basil had done what he had said. He was infusing his Mana into Shirley's body. She quickly felt something warm coursing through her whole body.

"Ahhhnnn..." Shirley moaned.

Shirley was mortified at her slip. She quickly covered her mouth, and desperately searched a hole to hide herself in. Luckily, Basil was nonchalant. He acted as if he didn't even hear her.

"The warm feeling you got is my Mana. However, don't focus on the feeling. You have to try your best to expel my Mana out of your body."

Shirley was curious. However, she was still red from the embarrassment. Thus, without turning her head, she asked, "H-h-how do I do it."

"Use your own Mana."

Shirley wanted to ask once again. However, she quickly felt another force in her body that was fighting the warm feeling.

"Th-this is..."

"Focus on that feeling instead."

Basil nodded his head in satisfaction. Shirley was indeed talented. Normally, one would take a quite long time to figure it out. However, Shirley could feel her own Mana after a few minutes.

"Grasp the feeling, and rule over it. Slowly push my Mana with it."

Shirley had long gone lost her blush. She followed Basil's every instruction sincerely and seriously. Her hair was matted with sweat, and it sticked to her forehead. Basil took away his hand from Shirley's body, but she didn't even register the fact.

She was too immersed in the feeling of controlling her Mana to realize what was going on. Basil let her be. The feeling of controlling one's Mana without the help of Magic Circles for there first time was always addicting.

Shirley would naturally stop when her body was too burdened to bear the Mana.

Not long after, Shirley collapsed to the ground a few minutes after. Her body was too sluggish to let her move.

"W-what is happening to me?!"

A panicked muffled voice was heard from Shirley. As they were in the backyard of Basil's manor, the ground was covered with green and lush grasses. Therefore, Shirley, whose face was kissing the ground, had her voice muffled.

"That is Mana Exhaustion. Technically, Mana is inexhaustible. However, your body's ability to gather Mana is. Therefore, people simply call it Mana Exhaustion."

"W-what should I do?"

"Lay there, and wait until your body recover itself."

"..."

Basil quirked his mouth faintly upward. It was the difference between him and the other Mages. He had a Mana Heart that could store Mana, while the other Mages only had Magic Circles to amass Mana.

Basil was the only Mage who could literally experience Mana Exhaustion. When his Mana Heart emptied its reservoir, Basil would be left without Mana. However, he wouldn't pass out, because his body wasn't burdened.

Different than the other Mages who gathered Mana by the help of their Magic Circles and stored it inside their body, Basil had his Mana Heart who did it all for him. Therefore, he would never get the burden any other Mages felt.

"Brother... can you help me?"

Shirley couldn't stand it any longer. Although she had promised to be independent to Basil, she really wanted help right now.

Basil moved to pick Shirley up, and carried her like a potato sack. It was unsightly, but she couldn't do anything about that. She could only flail helplessly.

...

Night came, and the siblings were currently having a dinner. Unlike any other wealthy individuals, they didn't have the dinner separately from their maids. They ate the dinner together.

The maids had been shocked by this at first. However, under Irene's reassurance and Basil's show of kindness, they had quickly gotten used to it. Still, it didn't mean they had losr their work ethics.

"Young Master, you should definitely drink this soup. You will feel energized in the morning!"

"Young Master, don't forget to eat the meat too. You are still growing. Protein will strengthen your muscle."

"Thank you, I will take the soup and the meat."

Basil took the suggestion in kind, and took everything offered to him.

As they had been under Irene's guidance for a long time already, all of them turned to another version of Irene. They would pay attention to every single detail regarding Basil, whether it was his diet or clothing, just like Irene had always done.

They became even more like Irene, after Irene's death. Although their Young Master barely showed anything, they could see how different their Young Master behaved after Irene's death.

Therefore, they tried their best to take care of their Young Master like Irene had done. They wanted to repay the kindness their Young Master showed, and the opportunity Irene had given them by choosing them to follow their kind and respectable Young Master.

"Young Mistress, you should eat the vegetables too. You need minerals for your bones."

"Ehh... I am tall enough already."

"Being tall doesn't necessarily mean having a strong bone, Young Mistress."

At the strong suggestion from one of the maids, Shirley finally ate the spinach, albeit reluctantly. Seeing that, the maid smiled in satisfaction, and continued eating.

When the dinner finished, the maids quickly assumed their role once again. Some washed the dishes, while some cleaned the table.

Basil went to the rooftop to forge his body and cultivate his Mana Heart. The deadline was getting closer, and he had no time to stay idle.

A few minutes into his training, Shirley came to the rooftop, and watched him from the back.

She didn't make a sound to not bother him. However, Basil could hear her soft footstep, and feel her presence. He stopped his training, and turned to face Shirley.

"Shirley."

"Did I disturb your training?"

"No, you didn't. Why are you here?"

"Well..." Shirley squirmed in her place. "You will leave tomorrow, and tonight will be the last night we spend together. I just want to cherish the moment."

"Come here." Basil patted the ground beside him. "Let's talk."

"No, no. I don't want to disturb your training." Shirley waved her hands frantically.

"We will talk, while I am training."

"Eh? How?"

"Come here, and you will see."

The curiosity got the best of her. She stood from the ground where she previously sat on, and sat herself beside Basil. She stared curiously at Basil, but the latter merely smiled faintly, and closed his eyes.

Shirley was puzzled, and started to think Basil was pranking her. However, her thought was soon proven wrong, when a shocking thing happened.

[Can you hear me?]

"Wha— what is this?!" She turned to Basil, and asked in surprise, "Brother, are you a Mentalist?!"

[No.]

"Then, how can you use [Telepathy]?"

[It is not "Telepathy".]

"Then, what is it?"

[It is called "Wavelingo".]

Basil was forging his body, cultivating his Mana Heart, and using Wavelingo to communicate with Shirley. Such a task couldn't be carried easily.

However, Basil had an upgraded brain. His brain had far surpassed any human brain. Therefore, he was good at multitasking.

The talk continued, until Shirley eventually fell asleep on his shoulder. It had been hours by then, and Basil took that as the cue to stop his training.

Picking Shirley up, he brought her to his bedroom. He knew that once latched onto his body, Shirley would never let go of him. Furthermore, it was his last night staying here. Therefore, he would let her sleep with him tonight.

The night ended, and morning came.