*****
Arsene approached her, holding the sword he was wielding loosely in one hand. The distance, which wasn't too far narrowed in a few steps.
"It's unexpected. I thought you were cursed to fall into a deep sleep."
His voice was the same as usual, but his smiling face was full of mischief. Regina rolled her eyes once when she realized he was joking around.
It was true that she woke up late, so she had nothing to argue with.
“The person who cast the curse must have wanted to let me know that it was morning today."
She gave an appropriate answer, he gave a grin. His eyes turned to the wooden sword she held.
"Did you come for morning training? You're diligent."
"I just woke up early. I thought I'd review it for a while."
He nodded his head when she fiddled with the wooden sword she brought.
"Do you want to do it now? I'll take a look."
When she saw him, surprised by the unexpected words, he made eye contact with her as if he was rushing. However, for some reason, she had no choice but to hesitate because she felt like she was taking away his training time.
"Wasn't Arsene training, too?"
"I'm done."
He denied, as if not to burden her. But Regina's gaze still stuck to his long sword and didn't fall off.
Arsene, who felt her gaze, tilted his head as if he were thinking of something.
"Or should we do this? I'll show you how I train for the last time. This is the end of my training. Then you can immediately practice your sword."
He even suggested other ways to help her.
Worried about it, Regina hesitated and accepted the offer. He said he would take care of it that way, but there was no reason to decline further.
Arsene went back to the middle of the training ground and raised the sword he was holding. Even though it was just the movement, she could feel something like an aura from him.
'If I touch it, my life will end.'
She looked at it with admiration, and his sword moved quickly.
The sword shining in the sun flowed smoothly while drawing a strong line. It was a graceful movement, but when it crossed the air, she heard a wave sound.
The pink eyes eagerly followed his movements, but couldn't keep up with the speed and missed it halfway.
Everything was perfect for a short training session, as if even the fluttering of hair was calculated.
After a while, Arsene, who hung the sword again, approached her. Even though he moved so violently, he looked as usual without losing his breath.
While using magic that is not common in the Yurdenian Empire, he was also good at handling swords, so he was also a fraudulent character.
As she watched him walk, she saw a body that she hadn't paid much attention to since she was so preoccupied with his face until now. His body was full of muscles because he practiced like this every day.
Come to think of it, every time she was held in his arms, for example, when she went to his room just a few days ago, the chest she had been touching without realizing it was firm. She vividly remembered that the moderately detailed muscles touched her fingertips.
"–!"
The tips of Regina's ears feels hot. Suddenly realizing what she was thinking, she couldn't bear to look straight at him as he walked and rolled her eyes.
"What are you thinking about with that expression?"
Arsene, who came closer, looked at her face and asked, as if her embarrassment was evident from her expression.
Surprised by his striking beauty, she stepped back and struggled to come up with an excuse for herself.
"You handle swords very well. You were doing that. It was cool."
She looked completely distrustful, avoiding his gaze and unknowingly biting her lips. Arsene, however, smiled lightly as if to believe her.
He said as if he were passing by, putting the sword he was holding into the sheath.
"Let's spar together later."
"....?"
She almost nodded at the words that came out naturally, but when she heard it again, it was a shocking words.
'How do I match with that skill and the beginner who started yesterday?'
Unless he wanted to kill her by pretending it was a mistake or an accident, she couldn't establish a match between him and her. If they were to cross swords, it was clear that it would be training, not sparring.
Arsene, who made eye contact with her, burst into laughter when she looked at him with an expression of absurdity. His expression was full of mischief.
Normally, she would have told him not to make fun of her, but she heard that laughter is contagious. She laughed after him with the refreshing laughter.
Regina walked into the training ground with him. Her wooden sword was rough compared to the one he used, but she took it seriously.
Recalling what Iz had taught her yesterday, she braced herself and swung her sword.
It felt like Arsene's gaze was scrutinizing her from head to toe. His gaze made Regina nervous and made her hands tense up.
Does he know that he's helping her with her escape plan?
'I have no idea. If he knew, he wouldn't help.'
Lost in other thoughts for a moment, she straightened up when she saw him approaching.
"As expected, you're good. You would have done well even if you became a knight."
He praised her for taking the basic posture in a day.
His compliments make even whales dance too. Even if it wasn't what she wanted, it felt good to hear it.
As she calmed her excitement for no reason, he looked at her wooden sword.
"Could you get into stance again?"
She took it seriously as he said. Arsene, who came a little closer, pointed out her problems one by one.
"As Iz told you, when you use a sword, you have to use your entire body, not just your arms. You're still doing well, but you feel a little stiff."
Her body trembled at the shallow touch that started at her shoulders and ran down her back. Then, as if telling her not to be nervous, his entire hand rested on her waist.
Her body, which had been tensed by his body temperature that touched her as if wrapping it, loosened a little.
Arsene gave a few cautions after that.
He placed his hand on top of hers and explained to her view, their face naturally got closer. He looked at her hand holding the sword, but she was distracted and conscious of him.
"–What you have to remember is that you have to aim at the opponent's head, not the sword."
He turned his head and looked at Regina. When she felt the gaze, she rolled her eyes and saw him, his clear purple eyes met at a distance.
The eyes that did not avoid the rising sun shone as clear as glass beads. While staring at the mysterious color, his face suddenly approached.
Reflexively, she closed her eyes, and his soft lips gently landed on her eyelids and fell off.
"We should get ready for breakfast now."
He stood up straight and stepped back from her. Just now it passed casually as if it was simply a sign of intimacy.
"I'm going in now, what are you going to do?"
It certainly seemed brighter than before. Regina lowered her wooden sword and answered him.
"I want to go in, too. Let's go together."
She didn't come out to train hard in the first place, and she thought it would be better to go in now to wash up and go to the dinning room.
The morning sun covered the duke's mansion. The fresh air and chirping birds seemed like a peaceful day.
She went back to her room to match him as he moved, and she felt strange.
The feeling when they drank together or when their eyes met a while ago. It was clear that the feeling of the heart pounding was not a good sign.
Entering the bathroom, Regina suddenly thought of that.
'Wouldn't it be better to catch him off guard by pretending to be in love than by pretending to be obedient?'
Who would have guessed that the girl who fell in love with him would abandon him and run away.
She thought a little more while she washed her body.
It seemed like a good way to do it, so she didn't know why she've been overdoing it until now.
Her heart continued to tremble. She knew very well that it was easiest to deceive when lies and truth were mixed.
From the beginning Arsene was trying to seduce her. All she had to do was act like she had fallen for it.
Then he was likely to think she was completely caught in his grasp. It's the emotional shackles he's been wanting to put on her so much.
She was planning to get out of here when she got the money from Ella by selling the potion and got used to handling the sword. In a word, it meant that the day was coming soon.
She decided to keep him off guard as much as possible for the short period of time left, and to take advantage of that opportunity.
*****
Arsene recalled himself being rather impulsive.
Her eyes, resembling pink spinel, were soft and sweet, like cotton candy that would melt in the sun.
Looking at those eyes staring at him, the thought of wanting to kiss her eyes, nose, mouth and every corner came to his head.
"......"
And he actually kissed her trembling eyelids.
Unlike the kiss that he planned, it was a moment where he was faithful to his instincts. His body was already moving before passing through his head.
Arsene knew that when it came to Regina, he reacted differently than usual. He had never been through it, but he has a sense of what kind of emotion this is similar to.
He had affection for her.
And it was a very unfamiliar feeling to him.
Arsene never thought he could have affection on someone like this, because he felt that he was not a normal person himself.
Since the first time he saw her, he felt that Regina was unique, but he didn't know it would turn out like this in an instant.
As he unconsciously stroked his mouth, he paused and lowered his arm.
It was a really strange feeling.
*****
As the sun went down, Arsene and Regina attended a party at the Duke of Allegrand.
After greeting the Duke and Duchess of Allegrand, the surrounding nobles flocked to them. At the last anniversary party, she was going to talk to them because she saw an opportunity, but because they left the banquet hall too early, there were not one or two people who felt sorry for them.
“The dress suits you so well, Lady Blois.”
"Maybe it's because Lady's Blois hair is black, the hair ornament looks like a star in the night sky."
Unlike Isota's sincere compliment, words with a feeling of flattery surrounded her. Being separated from Arsene and stuck among the ladies, she responded to it all with a smile.
Since today's assignment was to fill the position of Arsene's partner, she didn't have to make any special effort to get to know anyone.
While greeting Isota right next to her with a wink, someone asked her.
"Come to think of it, Lady Blois. When are you planning to have your wedding?"
A few pairs of eyes were fixed on her, as if they were curious about it besides the person who asked her question.
Her engagement was so simple that everyone wanted to attend the wedding anyway. They looked at her with longing eyes as if they were hoping for the prey that was her wedding invitation.
Regina glanced sideways at Arsene, who was a few steps away, and only told the approximate period.
"It's going to be held in about six months. When the time comes, I'll send you a wedding invitation."
Everyone around her smiled proudly as if they had already been invited to the place. Except for one person, Isota.
Regina stared at Isota, who staring into space silently. At first glance, she just seemed to be lost in other thoughts or not very interested, but she could tell it was a sullen state.
It seemed to her that she should take some time and talk to Isota. First of all, she had to adjust their conversation now.
They chatted a little more afterwards. Most of them were about the delicate lace of a certain clothing store. Among them was the host family, the daughter of Allegrand, so there was a bit of pride in the banquet hall.
Maybe it was because she kept sipping the wine, but she felt hot and humid. She felt like she needed to get some fresh air out.
"I'm going to rest for a while."
She asked for understanding from the group she was with. Then, leaving their gazes behind, she walked through the crowd to the balcony.
But when she was about to open the balcony door, someone called her.
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