Spring was in full bloom, and the vibrant scent of the flower gardens slowly waking from its winter slumber was carried all the way to the courtyard in front of the manor by the light breeze.

  At the top of the grand stairway stood Madam R?fna, flanked by a handful of guards and Furrow-Brows, her tall, intimidating figure as proud and rigid as the stone she stood on.

  In the courtyard below were all the slaves in training, gathered in neat lines, each group of Wallflowers, Roman sculptures, and Fighters gathered in their own file.

  Katharina had known for a while now that the number of people being indoctrinated was rather large, but it was the first time she had truly seen them all at once. Though it shouldn't, it still came as a bit of a surprise, and seeing them all displayed in measured lines only made her feel how little their humanity was valued.

  Above Madam R?nfa's voice cut through the silence.

  "Summer draws near, and this means it will soon be time for the annual spring cleaning."

  From this simple statement, it was obvious exactly who had been at the manor for a long time and who had not. As anyone who knew what 'spring cleaning' entailed stood with fright on their faces, while the rest thought nothing of it, just another day of scrubbing down the manor.

  Katharina couldn't help but feel bad for all those blissfully ignorant who would be hit with a shock not too long from now, and if not for Lian, she too would have stood there unaware of the horror to come.

  A few nights prior, Lian had suddenly sat Katharina down right before bed, and explained to her exactly what a spring cleaning at the manor entailed.

  First of all was the much-expected cleaning, but as the manor was kept spotless almost year-round, this was no big hurdle in itself. It meant airing out those rooms that had been sealed off during winter, and bringing all the tapestries out to get a good beating.

  The other half of spring cleaning was inventory management, and to Katharina's horror, they too counted as part of the inventory. In many ways, this should not have come as any surprise; she had seen firsthand how quickly they had gotten rid of Runa once her usefulness and potential had run out.

  "As it happens, this also coincides with a special occasion, as has become customary ever since the first prince came of age, his highness will be making his visits to all the nobles in and around the capital.

  Although we have the great privilege of hosting his highness regularly, due to his longstanding friendship with Master Ravnsund, this time will be much different.

  Those of you who perform exceptionally well will be allowed to have the opportunity to be chosen as those who shall serve his highness and his entourage at their visit."

  Katharina only barely kept the urge to roll her eyes at the absurdity of the 'opportunity' under control.

  But though their notion of generosity was ridiculous to her, she saw a different opportunity only she could use, hiding just beyond the facevalue of the words.

  Katharina could feel the gears in her head churning; her far-fetched plan of showing this entitled man that he could not gain access to her memories without paying a price was slowly solidifying into actionable steps.

  She could feel the brand waking, ready to beat down her ambitions, but she quelled its burn with ease now, and soon, soon, she would present the most beautiful flower blooming on that rose branch, and she would have captured his intrigue, and hopefully have gained access to his powers.

  A burning warmth was spreading in Katharina; it was not the brand, it was her own determination.

  Madam R?fna split the masses in two: those who would follow her and Furrow-Brow to be evaluated, and those who would spend the morning getting started on the actual cleaning. In the afternoon, they would swap. This meant Katharina would have to stay sharp and not tire herself out before her time to prove her worth before the instructors came.

  It took no more than five minutes for Katharina's hope to be shattered as one of the guards pointed to her and a few of those who stood around and commanded that they were charged with drawing and hauling all the water for the entire cleaning. It was a seemingly impossible task for such a small group of people, which was likely the point.

  Though the official tests were conducted by Madam R?fna, Katharina was sure that their performance during the cleaning was evaluated as well.

  Now they stood in front of the same stupid pump, which didn't actually pump anything, right beside the stables. No authority figure had followed, and the only orders they took were those dished out by the brand. It felt oddly like being back in the quiet work in the fields, where the silence was the loudest command.

  Katharina looked around the group; there was no one she knew in particular, and though she could easily tell that some of them had a decent amount of aura, she could not tell if anyone was suppressing their flow just like she did.

  Thinking of hauling made the brand burn angrily, while thinking of drawing water soothed the sting, and thus Katharina knew that she would have to figure out how to work this aura-driven pump now or never.

  Katharina made sure to watch intently, noticing the exact flow and feeling of the aura of those drawing water. And just as Lian had each person before Katharina, placed their hands on the metal and poured their aura into the mechanism.

  It looked extremely taxing, each person filling no more than three buckets before having to take a break. Still, their strained faces and gushing aura did not reveal how this pump operated.

  It was looking more and more like her ambitions to be chosen were no more than pipe dreams, but she was not about to give up. Beside Katharina stood a scrawny girl who exuded more aura than any of the boys that had gotten in line first; perhaps getting some help couldn't hurt.

  "How-e do you get the water?" Though it was obvious that the water was drawn with aura, Katharina had learned by now that her ability to mentally model and imagine the outcomes she wanted greatly affected how quickly her aura would drain.

  The girl next to her looked at Katharina as though she had just asked something extremely obvious and a downright stupid question.

  "Can you read?" The girl looked at the runes on the metal pipe.

  "No..?" Katharina looked at the incomprehensible squiggles, but from what she assumed, neither could most of the people here. The girl let out an exasperated sigh.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "You just have to think that you are lifting the water." She said with a pitying look.

  There was no wonder that those before them had tired out completely and sat drenched in sweat, slumped against the stable wall.

  Water was not light. She had felt the heaviness that filled her arms after a long day of hauling buckets back and forth.

  And though she had seen the strain on Lian's face countless times as she drew the water, she had not thought that would also be how they were supposed to use this literal magic instrument.

  But as she stood there judging their inefficiency, suddenly she was next in line, and the others looked to her to do her part.

  Katharina stepped closer to the metal pipe, which posed as a pump, and observed the rune-covered metal. There was no way of knowing how far down the waterlevel ran, as it was completely sealed.

  Katharina placed her hands against the cold metal.

  The first thing she did was stop thinking about the water. Sure, retrieving the water was her ultimate goal, but it did not matter for the mental model she was creating in her mind. It was time to use her memories of her old world for more than painful nostalgia.

  All the others had closed their eyes and imagined working against the weight of the water; instead, Katharina focused on the air holding the water down. She imagined a pitcher pump, because that was the only pump she knew fairly accurately, and just like how she made the warm layer around herself for winter, she envisioned two membranes that had simple valves moving up and down in unison.

  She poured her aura into the image and let it flow down her fingers into the tube, materialising somewhere inside.

  It was pretty strenuous, almost as though she was actually working the lever of a pump, and still no water was flowing.

  She let go of the pipe, but kept the image clear and her aura pouring. Katharina could feel the strain in her shoulders and the heaviness in her arms from imagining the manual work, and was half thanking Furror-Brow for the rigorous training regimen she had been subjected to for the past many months.

  Why wasn't any water coming? Was her aura not strong enough? That couldn't be, now that she had let it out, she could tell how much she surpassed many of those sitting around, or still waiting in line. No, it had to be her application; her image was still not clear enough, like with the battery. She had to really imagine, no, feel that her pump was real.

  In a ridiculous effort to prove that this had to work, Katharina started to imitate the action of pumping. She let her hands grab the cold, invisible, imagined handle of her envisioned pitcher pump. She could feel the stares of judgment from those around as she acted out of line, but no one interjected; they all just grew quiet.

  She could feel it; it was almost real.

  And next to her, the metal pipe started humming and creaking; something was happening inside.

  In three pretend pumps, the water started to flow. It came out with such gushing force that she had nearly knocked over the bucket that was placed to be filled.

  Gasps broke the silence. And in a surprise scuffle, more buckets were brought while others made sure to hold them steady.

  Katharina couldn't help but grit her teeth in a victorious grin. She kept the pumping going, sweat slowly perling. Though it was hard work, her aura was flowing steadily and in a controlled flow, which she, without a doubt, could keep up for much longer than any of the previous water drawers.

  Now the buckets were being filled, and their task was no longer insurmountable, but Katharina's arms were slowing; she could feel how her inner warmth was starting to waver.

  Katharina let go of her figurative handle, and the water slowed to a trickle before stopping completely.

  "Why are you stopping?" The less-than-helpful girl from before snapped at Katharina the moment she saw the flow had stopped.

  Katharina stepped away from the pump, already massaging her sore shoulders. "I-e need to stop, it is your turn."

  "But you are not finished." The girl had moved to block Katharina's retreat. She was about to argue with the insistent girl when someone else chimed in.

  "You can keep going, you are not even tired."

  Even though Katharina had filled more buckets than anyone, and undisputably spent the longest time drawing water, wherever she now turned to find understanding, she was met with eyes fixed on her, some pleading, some angry, all expectant and wanting her to continue.

  Even the brand was joining in now, urging her to waste the little aura she had left for just one more bucket.

  She swallowed her rebuttals and sought an answer for the situation.

  Maybe if she could teach them how a pump worked.

  "You-e have to... not think of lifting the water." Katharina could feel her throat tighten around the words that she didn't yet know. "Think of two..." she was waving her hand above each other, mimicking the moment of the valves, but was stuck on how to convey the idea. "... move like this."

  "Shut it, foreigner! Just draw the damn water!"

  The raw hostility took Katharina aback. How could they treat her like this when she just did all this work? Well, it was obvious they didn't care for her; they just wanted the task completed, and now she was going to bleed for them.

  She looked from the girl to the pipe and to the many empty buckets, and knew a long day was still ahead of her.

  The afternoon sun sat higher now, warmth pressing down on the courtyard stones as the groups were exchanged.

  Katharina joined the line that gathered beneath Madam R?fna's watchful gaze, her body still humming faintly with the aftertaste of the morning's exertion. Blisters had managed to form on Katharina's hands from pumping, not on her palms, as there had been only the imaginary handle, but on the skin of each hand that had rubbed against the other in the repetitive motion.

  She had not exactly passed out from aura exhaustion, but she sure as hell had been close. This exhaustion was all too evident as every step she took made her legs shake, and the otherwise warm breeze felt cool and hostile as it forced her sweat-drenched dress to cling to her skin.

  The afternoon turned out to be a compilation of little tests that each covered a part of their syllabus; standing, bowing, kneeling, while Furrow-Brows scrutinised every inch of their performance.

  Katharina didn't fail outright, but she was not elegant.

  Though her body remembered the motions from the months of training, her movements were sluggish, and every bow demanded conscious correction. Every straightened spine came with a dull pulse of protest from muscles that should not have been involved at all.

  And the squinted eyes of the little man, filled with disappointment, told her that was even worse. Though their mutual hatred was as strong as ever, Furrow-Brows had come to expect a certain standard from Katharina.

  Then came the mirror room; Madam R?fna's domain. Smiling, proper ways to address the master, the friends of the master, and any other person ranking above oneself, which was practically everyone.

  As Katharina stood, watched by her own reflection, she could see her own frustration seeping into the imperfect smile she wore. In her dizziness, the mirror was contorting reality, and Katharina felt herself moving along with the contortion.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Madam R?fna approaching in measured steps. It was time to win her spot. Katharina dug deep into herself, looking for that last spark of aura to fuel the allure R?fna was looking for.

  But before she could even be evaluated, Sabuh stepped forward, blocking any view R?fna could have had of Katharina. Within seconds, Sabuh manifested an aura. Pressure and warmth filled the entire room; it danced like a sweet scent drawing both the eyes and heart of those around, overshadowing Katharina's feeble attempt.

  Sabuh's posture was flawless despite the long day, and her smile was effortless and precisely measured.

  She spoke as though the words were made of honey, each address landing cleanly, each bow neither too deep nor too shallow.

  Madam R?fna's hunger for perfection was sated.

  Sabuh was one step closer to being chosen.

  And Katharina had become invisible.

  This was where she had expected to make her ground. Not through brute effort or endurance, but here, where precision mattered more than stamina. Where control, timing, and awareness were supposed to outweigh exhaustion. Instead, she stood acutely aware of every small delay in her reactions, every smile that came a breath too late, every courtesy that required thought when it should have been instinct.

  And what was even worse was the sense that Sabuh's one-sided rivalry was now becoming a true rivalry, as Katharina sought to occupy the same proximity to the prince that Sabuh held so dear.

  There was no doubt in Katharina's mind that Sabuh had done this deliberately to outmanoeuvre Katharina from the competition completely.

  Katharina felt her cold fingertips curl into her sweaty palms as she retracted the little aura she had left.

  She did not resent Sabuh for it. If anything, the fault sat squarely with herself. She had spent the morning solving a problem that benefited everyone, had poured her strength into making the impossible manageable, and now stood here with too little left to polish herself into something worth choosing.

  This wasn't any personal spite to the others, though they had been harsh and unfair; they had all been doing exactly what Katharina now realized she should have done herself. They took care of themselves before anyone else.

  Katharina lowered her gaze as the evaluation continued, her expression carefully neutral, her breathing measured by sheer will. She finished the afternoon on her feet, uncollapsed, but unremarkable.

  Which felt dangerously close to defeat.

  She relaxed her hands, straightened her back. There was no reason to surrender just yet. It was time to internalize the fact that if she was going to reach her goal, she would have to be the sole ruler of her own strength.

  And I just wanted to say thank you so much!

  There are quite a few things I would have done differently if I started with the knowledge I have now, and I am sure that I will go back and adjust once I finish all the chapters, which is still a bit off in the future.