180: Chapter 180 Diligent Cecilia! Rowan's Summoning!

Sacred Calendar 1853, early winter.

Golden Flame Castle, training ground.

The morning mist had not yet dispersed.

Cecilia's figure stretched and contracted on the stone slab ground.

Shadow Breathing Technique.

She had been practicing for nearly an hour.

This was the Breathing Technique Rowan personally taught her.

When she was a mercenary before, the Gray Falcon Mercenary Group only had a rudimentary Barbarian Ox Breathing Technique, which focused on strength and explosiveness. She practiced it for a long time, but her progress was always mediocre.

She once thought her knightly talent wasn't very good.

Until she came into contact with the Shadow Breathing Technique, that sense of perfect fit, as if tailor-made for her body, made her feel an unprecedented smoothness and resonance the first time she tried to circulate her energy.

This Breathing Technique focuses on speed, stealth, and explosiveness, not pursuing direct power confrontation, but emphasizing how to move through shadows and deliver a fatal blow before the enemy can react.

This perfectly matched the fighting style she had honed in the mercenary group since childhood.

She liked to observe enemies from the shadows, then strike with a fatal blow.

Thus, she treasured it like a priceless gem.

From then on, every day at dawn, she would appear punctually on the training ground, practicing her footwork, body movements, and breathing rhythm again and again.

This was an opportunity she wouldn't have dared to dream of when she was a mercenary, so she didn't dare to relax in the slightest.

After practicing for a while longer.

She finally stopped, stood in the center of the training ground, closed her eyes, and regulated her breathing.

A moment later, she opened her eyes, exhaling a puff of white mist that slowly dissipated in the morning light.

Today's morning training ended here.

Cecilia picked up the dry towel draped over the railing by the training ground, wiped the sweat from her face, and walked towards the castle's main building.

Her footsteps were light and silent.

This was the first significant change brought about by the Shadow Breathing Technique.

Her body became lighter, and her self-control reached a new level.

She passed through the castle's side door and walked along the corridor to her room, preparing to go back and bathe and change.

Just as she reached the corner of the stairs, a young servant in a neat uniform walked towards her, bowed slightly, and said respectfully:

"Miss Cecilia, The Count has asked you to come to his bedroom."

Cecilia's footsteps paused slightly upon hearing this.

She glanced at the sun, which had fully risen outside the corridor window, estimating it was around eight in the morning.

Calling her at this time...

She vaguely guessed something and felt a pang of panic, but she showed no unusual expression on her face, merely nodded and said lightly, "Understood."

She thought for a moment, then turned and walked towards the stairs leading to the top floor of the castle.

It was strange, but ever since she moved into this castle, she found that her movements were almost unrestricted.

No one limited her range of activity; she could freely enter and exit most areas of the castle.

Including the training ground, the garden, and even some corridors she felt she shouldn't enter casually.

At first, she thought this was a privilege enjoyed by all the selected maidens, but later, through observation, she realized it was not so.

Among the more than a hundred maidens who entered the castle at the same time, the vast majority were uniformly managed by the head maid Elise, with fixed schedules for daily routines, meals, and lessons, and were not allowed to move around freely without permission.

Their range of activity was strictly limited to below the third floor of the main castle, and they were not even allowed near the study in the east wing of the castle.

And besides her, the only one who seemed to have this privilege of free movement was Helena, who often frequented The Count's study.

She didn't know if this was Rowan's deliberate act or merely an oversight.

But in any case, this privilege gave her great convenience.

With this freedom, she had actually thoroughly familiarized herself with the castle's layout, the guard rotation patterns, and even the locations of some important rooms.

Logically, this information should be very valuable to her.

She had originally participated in the Beauty Pageant and entered the castle to gather intelligence as part of a mission.

But for some reason, she had no intention of transmitting any information so far.

She continued to walk up the stairs.

The higher she went, the quieter the corridors became.

Thick carpets absorbed most of the footsteps.

Oil paintings depicting northern landscapes and ancient battles hung on the walls, glowing softly in the light of the sconces.

She arrived at the bedroom door on the top floor, took a deep breath, raised her hand, and prepared to knock.

But just then—

The door suddenly opened from the inside.

A girl walked out from within the door.

She was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a head of soft golden hair somewhat messily draped over her shoulders, and her cheeks were still flushed.

She was wrapped in a white silk bathrobe, clearly hastily put on, and held a crumpled bundle of clothes in her hands, walking out with her head down, seemingly somewhat distracted.

Cecilia looked at the other party.

Her memory was excellent.

She remembered the features and names of every one of the more than hundred girls who entered the castle at the same time.

She quickly recognized the girl.

Catherine.

One of the girls who entered the castle in the same batch.

Also one of the six S-rank girls, just like her.

The other girl indeed possessed a striking appearance that was hard to forget.

Even as a fellow female, Cecilia had to admit that this girl had a delicate and beautiful demeanor that could move most people.

Her features were as delicate as a porcelain doll, her skin fair and translucent, and her pair of lake-blue eyes always carried a timid gaze that made one want to protect her.

Catherine evidently hadn't expected anyone outside the door, and she suddenly looked up, her eyes meeting Cecilia's.

A flicker of panic and embarrassment crossed her face, and she subconsciously clutched the clothes in her arms more tightly.

Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

The two briefly exchanged glances at the doorway.

The atmosphere was subtle and awkward.

Finally, Catherine was the first to look away.

She said nothing, lowered her head, held her clothes, and quickly walked past Cecilia, hurrying away along the corridor, her footsteps soon disappearing around the stair corner.

Cecilia withdrew her gaze, her face devoid of any expression.

She was not surprised by this at all.

Through her observations over these days, she had long discovered one habit of The Count—

He slept with women almost every day, and they were different women.

Cecilia knew Rowan was a Great Knight.

But she had never seen The Count go to the training ground to cultivate his Knight Breathing Technique.

Even so, his terrifying strength was something she had witnessed firsthand, incredibly formidable!

She really didn't know how he acquired such terrifying strength; heaven was simply too unfair!

She thought, then pushed open the slightly ajar door and walked in...