Theo stretches his body, beginning the warm-up moves from the video Julian had shown him earlier.
"You must do these movements before doing anything else, Thea. You must!" Both Julian and Arthur had been adamant about it.
His only reply was, "I know. The physiotherapist told me the same thing."
Only then did both brothers look visibly relieved.
Theo doesn't want to ignore the expert's advice. He doesn't want to injure Thea's body further — the whole reason he's training is to make it fitter, not damage it again.
When they returned home, Julian and Arthur were already waiting. As soon as Theo stepped into the house, they whisked him away straight to her gym.
It's located in the basement of the other building — the one Theo calls Montrose Castle. It's equipped with the latest, state-of-the-art machines, complete with what Julian proudly calls the Hologram Battlefield, or HB for short.
Theo is genuinely thrilled with HB. He had expected the brothers to set up a normal gym, maybe with some basic equipment. He'd already been thinking of how to explain that he needed another space to practice his combat-magic skills — then they surprised him with HB.
The sole reason Julian installed HB was to give Thea a chance to "travel" the dungeons with him and Arthur — or with one of them when they couldn't go together. He felt sorry for his sister, who had never known the thrill and adrenaline of dungeon exploration.
With HB, she could experience it without the danger.
Theo finishes his warm-up, then steps onto the treadmill and begins his hellish physical training for the day.
At the dining table, Leila is visibly upset. Arthur and Julian sit in their seats, eyes glued to their plates, not daring to meet their mother's gaze.
Maurice, sitting at the head of the table as usual, lifts his newspaper high enough to hide his amused face. He finds it hilarious that his sons — twenty-seven and twenty-four — are still actively avoiding their mother's eyes like guilty children.
Leila has been shooting sharp glares at her sons all evening, but she tries to curb her anger, not wanting to spoil dinner.
Still, she can't hold it any longer.
She puts down her cutlery with a loud clatter. Both sons duck lower, heads nearly touching their plates. Maurice's newspaper rises a little higher.
"Why couldn't you wait until she'd had her dinner?! Did you really have to drag her away the moment she got home?! Couldn't you let her rest first? Today's been exhausting for her!"
Leila finally explodes.
Silence.
Maurice doesn't even flip the page of his newspaper.
Leila picks up her cutlery again and continues eating, but after a few seconds, she sighs and sets them down once more.
Maurice lowers his newspaper. "What happened? Why was today so tiring for Thea? You met the designer with the Monfort ladies, didn't you?" His voice is calm, steady — he's trying to keep her from spiraling.
Leila pushes her plate away — a clear sign she's finished.
"Yes. But before that, Thea had her session with the psychiatrist," she says, her voice still tight.
"Did something happen during the session?" Maurice asks, sensing something did.
Arthur and Julian stay quiet, eyes glued to their plates, but both are listening.
Leila exhales shakily. "I don't know the details. You know how I'm not allowed inside. I was in the waiting room, as usual."
She lifts her gaze to Maurice — her expression is both sad and afraid. "Then I heard Thea scream. It wasn't an angry scream. It was pain. Gut-wrenching pain. It hit me like a punch to the gut, Maurice." Her voice trembles. "I wanted to burst into the room and demand, 'What are you doing to my daughter?' but I remembered — today was hypnosis day."
Arthur finally looks up, "Mom… you think she relived her accident?"
Leila turns to him. "She might have. I don't know, Arthur. I just don't know. But when she came out, she looked fine — as if nothing had happened."
"You didn't ask Dr. Leighton?" Maurice asks.
Leila shakes her head. "No. Before the session started, Dr. Leighton told me that whatever happens, he'll need time to decide whether or not he'll report it. Even though Thea's still a minor, we can't just demand to see the report, can we?"
"Doing that will only make her trust us less, Mom," Arthur interjects immediately. He remembers all too well what happened the last time Thea stopped trusting her own family.
Silence.
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Theo is sweating like a pig — but he's beyond happy. His first real training feels like liberation.
He's been cooped up, constantly watched, never left alone. This is the first time since waking up in this strange new world that he's truly alone — and feels safe enough to do whatever he wants.
About thirty minutes ago, though, his heart nearly dropped to the floor. An alarm had sounded on both his watch and the HB control panel. When he checked his watch, it flashed: 100% PURITY DETECTED.
When he looked further, he realized the Montroses have a device that can detect magic energy — his magic energy. The "100% purity" part… he didn't quite understand at first. But after some digging, he discovered that 100% purity is supposedly impossible. The highest ever recorded was 48% — and that was for Heartstones.
Connecting the dots, Theo came to understand: the energy harvested from Heartstones must have purity levels. The higher the purity, the stronger the power.
"So, it's like real magic energy," he mutters. "Instead of purity, we just divided it by levels."
After that, he experimented further — and found that when he uses the Aegis Y, the alarm on his watch beeps, but the one on the control panel stays silent. Meaning the Aegis Y can mask the energy.
Then he tried another test. What about his own shield? Could it work the same way?
It could.
Theo was ecstatic. Now, he could finally use his magic freely — without anyone knowing.
For the next ten minutes, he runs multiple tests, pushing limits and noting the "rules." But eventually, he has to stop. It's too much for Thea's current body.
I need to strengthen it. Fast.
He smiles through the rest of his training.
Now he sits on the gym floor, panting. Sweat drips from his chin. His white hair — tied high — clings to his neck, damp and shining. His back is soaked. He resists the urge to gulp down his cold water all at once.
He's exhausted. His body's spent.
His mind, however, drifts to his therapy session that afternoon.
His expression darkens, eyes narrowing.
I need to know what happened. I can't remember… and Dr. Leighton's face didn't look good after the hypnosis.
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Dr. Jessica Leighton is finishing her work for the day. She usually ends by writing a summary of her sessions for each of her patient of the day— but now, she's stuck on Theodora Montrose's report.
She takes off her glasses, sets them on the desk, and leans back in her chair.
Something's going on with that child… I need advice.
After several minutes of quiet thought, she picks up her phone and dials a number.
"Hey, it's me," she says when the call connects. "I need your advice on a patient. It's… a very interesting and disturbing case."