CHAPTER 35

Clashing of the steel swords can be heard in the training ground at a certain distance. Elin have been training with Leo as directed by her father. They stopped the lessons when Nero arrived for the next session.

“My Lady”, Nero brought news to the princess. Elin was a bit vexed by how Nero called her. They both agreed to call her by her name only when it was the two of them alone. Nero still called her formally in public to avoid suspicious eyes.

“I have delivered the message to the prince. He will visit the palace today as soon as possible”, Nero took a wooden sword to begin the training.

“Tell me why I should train in using sword? I was trained by pops in hand-to-hand combat. Plus, there’s magic”, Elin drooped her head.

“Ordered by the king”, Nero replied concisely.

“I know that! But why?”, Elin picked up her wooden sword and sighed.

“When your mana is depleted, you can’t use magic”, the man was on defensive stance.

“But I can still fight using bare hands. You know how much exciting it is to feel the enemies’ bones cracking against my knuckles”, Elin was on the offensive side.

“When you’re good at sword fighting, your opponent will try hard to disarm you to win. What they don’t know is that you’re more skilled in combat”, Nero signaled the princess to attack.

“And when that happens, they’ll be caught off guard instead”, Nero parried Elin’s strike.

“Never take your eyes off your opponent. Once you do, your life will be taken instead”, Nero pushed back Elin.

“Always attack as if your life is on the line. Never hesitate a second”, The princess kept attacking Nero but the man didn’t even budge

Elin paused for a moment but Nero attacked her instead. She flew backwards as the princess couldn’t handle the force exerted by him. Nero put down his sword and ran towards her. He frantically searched her whole body for any wounds.

“I’m okay, Nero”, Elin smiled at him.

“We better stop for awhile”, Nero heavily sighed.

“Noooooooo”, Elin grabbed his arms as he was about to get up.

“I told you, I’m okay so I want more. You can go rough on me. I promise you I won’t cry or anything even if it hurts”, Elin desperately pleaded the man.

“Do you have any idea what you’re saying?”, Nero covered half of his face as he was flustered by what Elin said.

“Yes, so you can do whatever you want. I’m not that weak”, Elin didn’t get why Nero was embarrassed by her. She looked at him with a serious face.

“I told you, you can even pin me down to immobilize me. Whatever you desire”, Elin’s face was getting near his but Nero covered her mouth to stop her from saying any further.

Shhhhh

“Please don’t say anything further. If someone hears you right now, they might interpret it as something else”, Nero shushed her. Elin slightly tilted her head in confusion. She soon realized the meaning behind the words she said earlier.

“THAT. IS. NOT. WHAT. I. MEANT!”, Elin exclaimed while lowering her head feeling ashamed of herself.

She lifted her head as soon as she noticed that Nero’s face was getting near hers.

Her cheeks was beginning to tint red and her heart beats faster and faster. She immediately closed her eyes out of reflex. However, she didn’t feel any contact within her mouth a few seconds passed.

“There seems to be a cut in your cheeks. I might have swung my sword too hard”, Nero uttered as he pressed a cloth on her cheeks. She opened her eyes again as she felt a slight sting.

“Your face seems to be red. Are you having a fever? Maybe you’re getting tired”, Nero was about to touch Elin’s forehead but she stood up immediately unable to bear the embarrassement she felt.

“I, No, I uhhhh ---- yess, I need to rest so Goodbye”, Elin dashed towards the castle without looking back at him. She entered her room, shut the door and buried herself under the blanket.

“AHHHHHHH”, Elin screamed while covering her face with a pillow.

‘I always wished that Nero was a man before but now that it became true, I can’t seem to focus’, Elin thought to herself. She possibly can’t say that out loud knowing that Nero is always staying around the corner.

‘It was quite silly of me to have a crush on a small fairy before but right now, I wished he would go back to being a cute flying black fairy. Who can’t resist that hot handsome young man?’, Elin kept punching the pillow while internally screaming.

‘For someone who doesn’t have a lover nor experienced any dating, I have a lot of scenarios on my head. I thought I might be able to experience it first hand’, She kept on swinging her pillow as if she had gone crazy.

‘Being with that stupid son of a prick Ansel before was all just an act. I never experienced getting all giddy like this with a man’s touch’, She contemplated.

‘But Nero has been with me since we were young. I bet he only thinks of me as a friend or someone he needs to protect just because my family assigned him to. Even in the sword training, he takes every precaution to make sure I’m okay. He always worries about me even when it’s just a mild scratch. The more I think about it, the more I seem to wonder what Nero thinks of me. I guess he thinks he’s just my guardian or I’m just a child in his eyes. Nothing more. Nothing less’, Elin let out a heavy sigh.

“Lady Elin, the crown prince is here”, Nero delivered the news after knocking. She perked up as soon as she heard his voice. Elin jumped out of her bed and run towards the door.

“It’s quite surprising that you do this right now. You always appear inside my room out of nowhere”, Elin remarked.

“I cannot possibly do that, My Lady. A man cannot be together alone in a room with an unmarried woman”, Nero cleared his throat.

“Ahh yes. I understand. Where were we again? Ahh yes. Please lead the way Nero”, Elin followed Nero towards the underground room where the King previously had a meeting with the prince.

‘He said woman! So I’m a woman in his eyes? Not a girl nor a child. I’m a woman?! Do I have a chance?’, Elin kept a straight face but she has been screaming on her head with excitement.

P.S

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