Chapter 71
Very quickly, Michelle and the Archduke received news that the whole Sloan family was captured and imprisoned. The date of their execution was set for the first day of the next month, October, which was in two weeks. By then, fall would be in full swing, with all trees painted red or yellow and the ground covered by a brown carpet of fallen leaves.
Michelle loved just the thought of October, since she would no longer feel hot because of her ice element spirit energy, but most people didn’t quite like it. Though October was colorful and beautiful, the temperature was just so low that one additional layer of clothes wasn’t enough, but two additional layers were too much.
After knowing the date of the Sloan family’s execution, Michelle went to ask the Archduke to teach her how to use or train with soul energy, so she wouldn’t overuse it and sleep for a month like the last time she used it.
The Archduke was happy to help her, and after she changed her clothes into something she could train in, he took her to the training grounds, but not those used by the knights but separate ones to which only the members of the Grace family had access. Standing in the middle of the training grounds, Michelle watched the Archduke as he formed a sword with a soft glimmer around it in his hand.
"Father, did you create that using your soul energy?" Michelle’s eyes widened in shock when the realization dawned on her.
"Yes and no!" the Archduke let go of the sword, and it fell to the ground, losing the glimmer. "Pick it up!" he said as he stepped back, giving Michelle space to try.
She walked over to the sword, not thinking much of it, and bent down to hold it. She tried to pull it up, but her eyes widened in shock. "Eh-?" Though she only used a part of her strength, the sword didn’t move an inch. She used more strength but nothing happened. Finally, she used her full strength, but the sword slipped out of her hand and she disgracefully fell backwards, landing on her butt with a grunt.
She stood up with a frown, patting the dust of her butt as she squatted down next to the sword and poked on it from the side. As she had expected, nothing happened. "Father, are you making fun of me?" she glanced at the Archduke. "I can’t pick that up."
The Archduke moved his fingers a bit and the glimmer returned to the sword. "Try again now!"