[A/N: Some reminder of the family tree]

  About ten minutes had passed ever since 'Leini' and Martha had wound up in one of the training areas inside the massive estate and due to Mathilda's insistence, 'Leini' who was in actuality, Ash, the first daughter of the Old Schor, was standing in the main ring of the training area. Ash, still disguised as her mother, was wielding a simple wooden sword she had taken from one of the practice racks, not wanting to bring out her own personal warhammer as that would make Martha and Mathilda suspicious about her identity, at least in her eyes. Standing across from the former empress was Reginald, the same 30-year-old 5'8 (172.72 cm) tall young man who had yelled at the trio of women earlier when they entered the training area and nearly got hit by an arrow that Ash had caught in her hand. Reginald was wearing the same outfit he had earlier, a simple white tunic and brown pants with leather armor mixed with some metal ptes and his own metal longsword that he held in his right hand pointing downward.

  "Are you sure about this boss? I mean, she doesn't even have a proper weapon ready" The young adventurer said as he turned to his boss and gestured to Ash's wooden weapon

  "How many times have I told you Reginald, don't underestimate your opponent, regardless of what they wield." The arachnia Guild Master said with an amused smirk as she crossed all four of her arms

  "Yeah, it is a fair fight after all, with my stick and your bde, evens the odds a bit" Ash said with a growing smirk as she flourished the wooden sword

  "Alright, let's see you put your money where your mouth is" Reginald shot back with a gre

  "Easy Reginald, that is still my Grandmother you are speaking to" Mathilda added with a slightly more serious tone

  "Right, sorry boss. Like I said, I wish to see you back those words of yours" He apologized before flourishing his sword and entering a low stance with his sword pointed right at Ash

  "As you wish, I hope you enjoy the show" Ash replied as she pced one hand before her back and entered her own stance with her sword raised

  {!}

  After a brief moment, Reginald rushed forward and fired off an overhead strike that Ash was able to block as she allowed herself to be pushed to the side, showing no emotion on her face as the young adventurer came for her again and again with thrusts, sshes and magically charged attacks from his bde, sometimes fmes that coated it and made it hot to the touch or wrapping it in the bitter cold that could freeze those upon a successful hit. But each attack of his was met in kind by the former empress's well-timed counters and blocks that intercepted the bde every single time and pushed it away from striking her or long enough for the elemental attack to take full hold, adding to Reginald's frustration after another attack of his was blocked.

  "Hrr..C'mon then! I haven't seen you throw anything my way, scared?" He asked as he unleashed a triple ssh attack that his opponent blocked with measured counters, the wooden sword intercepting the iron bde all three times

  "Oh? It doesn't look like I'll need to though" Ash replied as she then disarmed Reginald by swiftly angling the sword down and smacking his wrist hard enough to make him drop his weapon and then kicking it off to the side, much to his shock

  "What the-"

  Before the young adventurer could say anything else, the tip of Ash's wooden bde was pressing against his neck and he reflexively held his hands up in surrender as he looked at the woman who had bested him in the sparring match, a sense of embarrassment for all of the trash talking earlier coming back to bite him.

  "You did well, the form was better than most" Ash, still posing as Leini, said with a small smirk as she brought the tip of the sword away and simply spun the sword in her arm around for a bit as she walked off to a corner of the mat, picking up his sword and then walking back over to him and handing it to him handle first.

  "Thank you Ma'am, and apologies for the earlier words" The young adventurer replied with an apologetic smile as he accepted his weapon back in hand

  "That was impressive Grandmother, Reginald is one my best" Mathilda said as she looked at her elder with a proud smile and a nod

  "I can see why" Ash replied with a casual smile

  When the former empress took a look around, she noticed that a lot of the bystanders who were busy in their own duels now looking at her, seemingly to have stopped their own fights to witness the one that was going on between her and the young adventurer who now just noticed the eyes on him. Mathilda, per her usual personality, had noticed it when the fight was going on and cracked an even wider smile as she saw this as a good opportunity for her to meet and spar with the rest of the family members who would soon know that she was the Matriarch of the entire tree that had gathered here today. None of them approached, at least not yet, while 'Leini' moved over to Mathilda who was looking up at her.

  "Well, well, well. It seems you have quite the audience Grandmother. Many of whom were impressed by your skills that you just showed off" The arachnia guild master said with a mischievous smile

  "I mean...I didn't expect to do such a thing....shit" 'Leini' said with a wry smile as she scratched her neck

  "But you did" Martha chimed in with a small smirk of her own at the whole thing

  "True dear true...It seems I have made myself a little bit more...mysterious? Wouldn't you say so Mathilda?" The former empress asked as she looked at the descendant

  "Yes Grandmother, but I do believe that we can't let who you are slip up just yet, but I do see that some of them are busy thinking about whether or not to engage you in a duel to test themselves"

  "Well, from the tone I can hear, you wish for me to fight them don't you" 'Leini' asked with a small smirk as she looked at her descendant

  "Was I being too obvious Grandmother?" The arachnia guild master asked with an amused tone

  "Yes, like most of your retives" The former empress replied with a ft tone

  "But do you wish to Grandmother? I understand if you don't wish to engage them, I can handle them for you if you want" Mathilda stated as she turned to face her

  "I am not against it dear, but I do find it rather amusing that you want me to fight them"

  "They will know you better ter, so why not give them a taste of it now no?"

  As the two of them began to chuckle, Martha stepped forward and looked at Ash who was still posing as Leini, the expression on her face, though unredable to most, allowed her to convey to the former empress via telepathy that it could be a problem down the line if Ash slipped up during the enjoyment of the fighting.

  "Well, darling. Before you have your fun, mind if I have mine? Sparring with you constantly and losing has left a sort of longing for a win in my mouth" Martha stated as she looked over at 'Leini' who caught on

  "Ohh, right, right. I assume that it is fine with you, my dear Mathilda, that my dearly beloved Martha can fight them on my behalf for now right?" The former empress asked as she looked at the arachnia guild master

  "Of course, I also wish to see how strong Miss Martha is herself and what better opportunity is there than right now?"

  "Indeed" The two women answered her

  "Then we are all in agreement then no?" Mathilda asked as she looked at the two of them, who replied with a pair of nods and smiles

  A few minutes ter, this particur training ground now had a rger sparring arena as the individual arenas were merged into one. There were now benches pced on all sides and they were filled with the people who were here already and had watched the fight of Ash earlier who was still posing as Leini even as she stood in a corner of the arena trying to hype up Martha for the fights she was about to go through.

  "I must hand it to you, I think you made the right call being the one to fight these people" 'Leini' said as she stood next to the former general

  "Had I allowed you, then you would have overpyed your hand sooner or ter, plus, she is currently with the servants so we at least can give her something to watch as she is doing her cover work " Martha replied as she gave a slight gesture to Lucy or rather the real Leini helping the rest of the servants in a tent at the far end of this training ground.

  "Mother can really sell her different personas, if I didn't know any better, I wouldn't have know the little new hire was her." Ash jokingly whispered that made both women crack a smile

  As the two of them were busy chatting with one another and getting ready for some fun fights, the real Leini or rather her alter ego at this point, Lucy McGryer, was helping the other servants in a tent stocked with armor and weapons and medical supplies. Helping move them around or arrange them in preparation for these impromptu matches that were about to take pce.

  "Hurry up dies, we don't have all day to get this done" The servant in charge said in an encouraging tone as he helped the other servants move the racks of weapons and armor and align them just right.

  "Lucy! Get those boxes stacked in the corner by the pole, they are filled with medical supplies in case of emergency and we need them ready" He said as he looked at the new-hire he had just met about a few minutes ago

  "Yes sir!" Lucy replied as she picked up one of the medium-sized crates with ease and then began moving it over to where she was directed to pce it

  'Damn, these people are efficient' She thought as she pced the st few boxes down and then moved towards the edge of the tent to see if the fighting started

  "Alright everyone, nicely done. I will stay here and watch over the things while the rest of you can go and watch the fights, but remember. Do not do anything that can result in those people fighting in the area being distracted and causing something else, just stay on standby, watch if anyone needs assistance and then do your job, dismissed" He finished with a small smile as he watched them filter out of the tent and then stood in a perimeter around the rectangur arena, just behind the people sitting in the benches

  Lucy stood near the tent as she saw that the rest of the servants were already in their pces on the perimeter, leaving her standing in front of the tent that was off to the left of the arena.

  "For a new hire, you certainly show that you have had former experience" The servant in charge said as he stood next to her, both of them looking at the arena and the fighters getting ready on the side of it

  "I had some experience before this...and the training for the job also helped" Lucy replied, gncing at the tall elvish man next to her who didn't even look away from the arena

  "Good. I do hope that you can look past many of your coworkers' backbiting, as they say. Many of them have dreamt about being accepted to be a server here, and who can bme them? Good pay, good work environment, good employers, it is a great pce. However, a lot of them cling to the old empire's tradition of elite skill means you are a great person, though the bosses are trying their best to try and cull that line of thinking as of tely" He said as he gnced down a her briefly before looking back at the arena

  "I know, I don't hold it against them anyway" Lucy replied

  "Hahaha, I can see now why the bosses kept you around"

  "Wha-"

  "Anyways, call me if something happens that can't be resolved by you lot. I will be in the tent tending to the items" The head servant said as he turned around and then walked into the tent

  .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

  Martha, now cd in her personal suit of pte armor that she had pulled from her personal item box, stood on her end of the arena and looked across to see who her first opponent was. It was an older man, who was tall, nky and had a long white beard that was tied into a bowtie shape that rested right below his chin. He wore a worn set of brown robes that had leather armor around critical areas that gave off a slight aura of them being magically enhanced in some way, his hands held twin daggers, though the length of said daggers were close to what could be considered short swords if the bde was any longer. The man's name was Gonmu, and he was an older retive from the Arras side of the family. His chestnut colored eyes matched his tanned skin as he stared down the woman who was to be his opponent for this small match.

  "I wanted to fight the other young ss, but I guess you will suffice. I do hope you can keep up, the former assassin in me wants a bit of a challenge" He said with a confident tone of voice as he flourished the daggers in his hands

  "I hope I don't disappoint, though I doubt I will" Martha replied with a smile of her own as she flourished her halberd, her curly silver hair now tied in a bun that rested at the back of her head

  "Hmph, we shall see"

  {!}

  Once the bell rang that signaled the start of the match, Martha found herself on the defensive as she had raised her halberd in time to block one of the daggers, the dagger striking the center of her weapon's shaft. She didn't say anything nor show any expression as she was able to push Gonmu back, leaning back as he tried to nick her with his other dagger that was coming up in an upward ssh that nearly cut her on the chin. The old man had a smug look on his face as he backflipped to safety and began slowly walking to the left as he tried to bait her into attacking him, repeatedly smacking his daggers together to create an annoying cnging sound that made others wince at the high-pitched discomfort it was creating.

  Mathilda was about to tell him to call it off, but she was stopped by 'Leini' who pressed her hand on her shoulder, silently telling her descendant what she wanted.

  "Are you sure about that?" Mathilda asked her as she looked at her Grandmother

  "Yes, I am. Martha has seen a lot of fighting and has told me the many enemies she has faced in the name of her former crown. I want to see how she adapts to this" Ash said with a small smile while keeping her gaze on her mother's beloved.

  "As you wish Grandmother" The arachnia guild master stated with a nod as her gaze turned back to the fight

  Back in the arena, Martha was still on the defensive as she repeatedly blocked and dodged the strikes and sshes coming her way. Her body was boosted thanks to her magic coursing through her veins, her mana pool was not even overclocked to keep up with the old man, who was now doing his damndest to try and nd a hit. Gritting his teeth time and time again as his sshes and feints that he thought would catch her, clearly did not. He cursed under his breath as he fired off a pair of sshes that the woman before him easily parried by shifting the shaft of her halberd to intercept the weapons, it would have broken were it made of wood or something weaker sure, but Martha's halberd had not only been forged with magical materials, the weapon also had a thin protection barrier coating it. She dodged several more strikes and fired her own ssh from her halberd, watching as the former assassin backflipped just out of its reach yet again, giving the former general crucial information that she needed, steadying herself as he once more closed the gap and fired of his strikes. Once Martha stepped back to allow him to overextend on another strike, she finally saw her chance to fight back.

  {!}

  "Wha-"

  Before Gonmu could say anything, Martha stepped forward once and once only, closing the small gap between them in an instant, her halberd wasn't in position, nor was her open hand that was balled up into a fist, no, the only thing before Gonmu's face was the face of an expressionless woman who then nded a headbutt that made him stagger back as immense pain fred through his face.

  "Gods dammit I-"

  As the old man's arms reactively moved to cover his face, Martha used the ft side of her halberd to smash into his right torso, smming right underneath his ribs and making the former assassin double over slightly, leaving him open to Martha's right hook which smmed into his jaw and sent him crashing and filing backward onto the arena ground, dazed and nearly concussed. He was about to get up, but stayed still as he felt the tip of his opponent's halberd pressing against his throat. A sharp exhale came out of his mouth as his breath was caught in his throat while he looked up.

  "Looks like I win this one" Martha smiled as she looked down at him before pulling her halberd back and then offering her hand to help the former assassin up

  "I gotta hand it to you miss, really didn't expect someone to keep up with me, though that could just be my age and ego speaking" Gonmu replied as he took her hand, coughing a bit as he rose to his feet

  "Not the first assassin I had to fight" Martha stated with a small smile as they locked eyes

  "Then I am sorry to have doubted you" The former assassin replied with a nod

  Once the old man stepped off the arena, Martha looked towards the other end once more and saw another fighter step up to the pte, another challenger that was itching for a practice fight. Her eyes drifted off to Mathilda and Ash, who were smiling and nodding at her in congratutions for her victory. But when she turned around, their faces no longer in her view, she saw Leini, standing on her own outside the arena's grounds, she couldn't smile at her nor could she lock eyes with her beloved, making her face the arena floor as she walked back to her side of the stage

  [You did good, my love, as always] Leini's soothing voice stated via telepathy, making the former general smile with a low chuckle, her lover's voice giving her the confidence and drive shee needed to face her next foe

  .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

  About twenty minutes into the impromptu matches against the former general, standing off to the side, Mathilda and 'Leini' had impressed expressions on their faces as they watched, time and again, Martha easily downing her foes who seemed to have the edge every single time.

  "I must say, the way she fights is simir to someone I had heard about during my travels to the Kingdom of Addahare, someone the Royal Army of Addahare calls the 'Silver Specter', as she was one of the fastest rising stars in the army before her sudden resignation months ago. Does that ring any bells for you my dear Grandmother?" Mathilda asked with a slight grin as she looked at her ancestor

  "Are you implying that the woman of my dreams if a former army general who now serves as a professor in my university dear?" Ash asked as she looked at the smiling arachnia

  "And what if I was?"

  "Then you would have already spoiled the surprise for everyone else my child"

  "Oh, I suppose I have ruined that portion for myself then. I didn't tell anyone else about my findings, though, I don't think they would have believed me regardless until you confirmed it yourself"

  Ash chuckled as she nodded at the descendant's words, looking at Mathilda as the small smile on her face grew just a bit as she too began to chuckle,

  "Color me impressed, how did you manage to figure all that out in such little time?" Ash asked as she looked back at the ongoing fight

  "My position as guild master has a coat that allows me to have other duties buttoned up over it" Mathilda replied as her gaze also returned to the fight at hand

  "Heheh, so does mine. But I am genuinely impressed. I may have to rely on you for something if I find them too... time-consumin,g per se"

  "I would be honored Grandmother. I would do my best if ever that were to happen"

  "Good, but for now, let's enjoy the show before us"

  "Indeed"

  A/N: HELLO! I AM BACK! SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG, I HAD A LOT OF IDEAS FOR THIS CHAPTER BUT IT WAS GETTING A LOT LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED SO I DECDIED TO JUST CUT THEM UP INTO THE OTHER CHAPTERS!