"Spar...?"
"Yeah. I thought it would be a good way for me to build my strength back up again. Unless...you don't want to?" I asked, slightly disappointed.
"N-No...It's just...Why are you asking me?" Wolfe asked, a bit uncomfortable at the situation.
"Why wouldn't I ask you? You're the only person I know with too much free time on their hands. And, besides, you're one of the strongest swordsmen in the world," I replied seriously.
"Me?"
"You...didn't know?" I asked, surprised at his reaction.
As far as I was concerned, the original otome game listed Wolfe as 'the strongest swordsman.'
Did Wolfe not know that he was literally a genius, overpowered, and unmatched swordsman that could rival even this world's first hero if he was still alive?
"No one has ever praised my sword fighting," he replied simply.
I didn't know much about Wolfe's background or how he grew up, but I thought it was absolutely ridiculous that someone with his ability had no idea how talented he was.
"You are the strongest swordsman in the world. Well...Actually, you're the second strongest swordsman after Ace, probably," I said honestly.
"...Understandable. That dude is a living, breathing monster."
"Ace is not a monster...!" I replied with a frown on my face.
"He is. It's just that...for some reason, you have no idea what he's really like."
I sighed at his comments and created two good-sized wooden sparring swords with my creation magic.
With a small toss, I threw him one.
"You can keep insulting Ace. But just know that...if you keep that up, I'm going to bash a sword into your head," I joked (kind of) to Wolfe.
"You're a crazy one yourself," Wolfe muttered as he gripped his long, thin fingers around the handle of the sword.
His hands had so many callouses that it made me wonder how much pain he had to go through to get them all.
And for some reason, the sight of Wolfe simply holding a sword felt so right—as if his very existence was made to be matched with a sword.
It was almost a shame that the sword in his hand was made from wood, not steel.
"Me? Crazy? Do you want to fight me and find out?" I laughed as I loosely used my sword as a cane to lean against.
"To be honest, no. But I don't think I have a choice..." he sighed as he looked at me.
I laughed because he was absolutely right.
Even if he refused, I would have attacked him with my sword anyway.
Maybe he is right.
I am a crazy person.
"Just make sure you don't suddenly fall asleep in the middle of the spar, okay? It would be a shame if you become too sleepy," I chuckled.
"..."
Wolfe didn't respond right away and there was a moment of awkward silence before he said anything.
"I won't...fall asleep like that anymore..." he murmured.
"Hmm? Did something happen?" I asked.
"I'm all better now. So I won't fall asleep like that anymore," Wolfe repeated as he awkwardly looked away from me.
Hmm...
I wonder why Wolfe feels like a completely different person.
He's changed.
"Good," I replied simply with a smile.
I didn't quite understand what Wolfe was hinting at, but all I knew was that Wolfe's change was a good thing.
"If that's the case then we should be able to have a lovely match," I said as I walked 10 meters away from him and slammed the blade of my sword into the ground before turning to face him.
"Are you sure...you want to spar with me...of all people...?" Wolfe asked quietly.
"What's wrong with sparring with you?"
"I might hurt you so..."
"I'm not so weak that I'd start crying over a small injury. I'll kill you before that happens."
"...That's...reassuring...I guess."
"Hey, stop being so worried. How will we spar properly if you go easy on me?" I asked with a frown.
"Well...I-"
"If you go easy on me, I might actually kill you in the process," I said.
"...Let's just...start...shall we..." he mumbled after some time.
"Yes, we shall," I replied with a cheeky grin.
There was no referee, but that was fine.
A light breeze blew across the training field, picking up clouds of dust along with it.
Wow...
The moment when the male lead, Wolfe, prepared to spar with me, the world began to move as if we were in an anime.
The wind began to blow across his face, letting his fluffy strawberry hair sway.
Wild animals, such as bunnies, stopped for a moment to stare at us.
Even the sun seemed brighter than normal!
What was this sorcery...???
It was as if nature itself was trying to complement Wolfe's impeccable features.
"Wolfe, you are an extremely handsome man," I sighed.
"...What-"
"Begin!" I yelled as loudly as I could before charging at Wolfe right away.
The last time I sparred with Wolfe, I made the mistake of wasting time and letting him read my movements.
The spar ended in an easy loss for me last time.
This time though, I made sure to move erratically and quickly, making no effort to spare any concentration and speed.
But for some reason, Wolfe was standing as still as a statue with an unfocused expression on his face.
He was...blushing...?
What could that mean?
He stood quite still, frozen like a statue, and had an unreadable expression on his face.
Our eyes met for a short moment, and when they did, Wolfe immediately turned away from me quickly before turning even redder, dropping to his knees, and curling up into a ball on the ground, covering his face in his arms.
Was he planning something...?
"What are you doing, Wolfe?" I asked suspiciously.
I have never seen this method of sword fighting in my life.
It was quite strange and mysterious.
"..." Wolfe didn't say anything in response and just laid there.
Was it a trap...?
I need to be careful.
Slowly, I edged closer to him from behind in a place where he couldn't see me and used the length of my sword to bonk him on the head.
Wolfe did not move.
...
I bonked his head again and waited a bit longer.
He still did not move.
"Oh, come on! You're not even trying!!" I said as I pushed Wolfe, who was still curled up in a ball, and rolled him around.
Eventually, he rolled to a stop and he laid on the ground, facing the sky.
"Hey. Are you listening to me?!" I said angrily.
"..."
"What are you doing?"
"...Sleeping."
"But your eyes are open."
"I'm tired."
"You said you wouldn't fall asleep randomly anymore."
"I change my mind."
"What do you mean?!?!" I yelled as I bonked him on the head with my wooden sword again.
This was utterly ridiculous.
I sighed and collapsed on the ground next to him.
"You made me waste all that energy for nothing," I growled by his side.
"..."
"Do you have anything to say?"
"Sorry."
I groaned in disbelief.
"But it was your fault," he said.
"What? How?" I asked as I turned my body to face him.
He paused before he rolled over to face me as well.
"You...I don't think I'll ever be able to win against you," he said simply.
A small breeze came by again, letting Wolfe's hair flow against the wind.
It was strangely funny, so I started laughing.
"Hahaha~ What's that supposed to mean? You're weird," I laughed in the moment.
Wolfe watched me laugh with a small cock of his head as if he were confused at my reaction.
He reached his hand out to my face slowly and placed his hand on my cheek.
"You shouldn't laugh like that you know...It's dangerous."
"Why...?"
"...It's because I like yo-"
But Wolfe never got to finish his words.
"What...are you two doing out here alone...?" a voice suddenly intercepted Wolfe before he could finish.
I turned my head to see Florence leaning against a nearby tree.
"Florence...?" I asked.
He walked over to the two of us slowly.
"You two look like you're having a lot of fun," Florence said with a dark smile that didn't reach his eyes as he stared down at the two of us from above.
His gaze scanned over at the two of us and came to a screeching stop when he saw Wolfe's palm on my cheek.
It didn't make it better that we were both laying on the ground facing each other like this out in a quiet corner of the palace.
"What were you two doing out here...?" Florence asked, his expression growing darker by the second.
The air felt a little chilly and for a moment and I was at a loss at what to say.
I regained my composure quickly though and I immediately responded.
"We were sparring," I answered as I sat up from the ground away from Wolfe.
"Sparring...?" he asked with a small incredulous scoff as he stared at Wolfe with utter disgust.
"I'm serious-"
"Oh, so I guess you two were just 'sparring' right now together. Is that another word for adultery?" Florence asked with a horribly dark look on his face.
At this, all my words went stuck in my throat and the only thing I could do was gape at Florence's words in shock.
"So you aren't going to deny it?" Florence growled.
He turned his eyes to Wolfe.
And I could feel it.
Bloodlust.
Deep, unfiltered bloodlust.
"Don't you remember what I told you?" Florence asked as he lifted Wolfe up by his ear.
There was a moment of silence as Florence let his words sink into Wolfe's ears.
All of a sudden, Wolfe grew a bit pale.
"Good. It looks like you didn't forget, you f-cking vampire," Florence said as he kicked Wolfe away and turned over to me.
"Florence. I don't know what you are thinking, but I'm serious when I say we were here only to spar. I wanted to build up my strength again, you see, but we got a little sidetracked and-"
"A little sidetracked?" he smirked, his eyes gleaming with red.
He stepped over to me, and all of a sudden, I had a strange premonition.
I need to run.
But I hesitated for too long and Florence picked me up from the ground and held me in his arms.
He tightly gripped my waist with so much strength that I was sure that more than just a few bruises would appear there tomorrow morning.
I was about to do the natural thing and shake Florence off of me, but he interrupted.
"You can get out of my arms if you want, Lia. But if you do, Wolfe's going to suffer for it," Florence said to me with an empty, scary gaze on his face.
I immediately stopped fighting back at that.
For some reason, I had a feeling that he would really do it.
That he would really kill Wolfe.
.
.
.
I felt stiff in his arms.
It was scary.
He was carrying me off somewhere that I didn't know.
"Florence. I-"
"Shut up."
I stared at him wordlessly before I bit my tongue.
"...I'm scared," I whispered.
"What?" he growled.
"I'm really...scared."
My hands were shaking.
I wonder what would happen if I ran away right now.
Earlier.
Florence said something to Wolfe.
He threatened Wolfe.
What if there's already a plan in place?
What if the moment I try running, a sniper shoots Wolfe in the head before I have a chance to save him?
What if Florence implanted something in Wolfe's body?
Is that why Wolfe looked so pale earlier when Florence was threatening him?
I didn't know enough to take any risks.
"Deal with it," Florence said mercilessly.
We bumped into a few maids and servants along the way and I begged them desperately with my eyes for help, but they all turned their gazes away the moment they saw their enraged crown prince.
Darn it...
I looked down at my legs, which were dangling from the side of Florence's arms.
And suddenly, a small black mark flashed in front of my eyes as the hem of my dress lifted for a moment.
It was proof of my contract with Ace, my dragon's mark.
I paused.
Florence was intently focused on carrying me off somewhere.
So while he wasn't looking, I slightly grazed the tip of my finger across the mark and prayed for Ace to come quietly without Florence noticing.
Please...
You don't have to save me or anything, Ace.
Just watch me from afar...to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Please.
.
.
.
After a while, we reached a door at the end of a grand hallway and Florence kicked it open without too much thought and threw me on the bed inside.
"Where are we?" I asked as I looked around.
I had never seen such a big room in my entire life.
It was carefully designed and certain places of the room were adorned with gold.
"It's my room," Florence said as he took off his blazer and tossed it on the ground before turning to me.
I backed away as far as I could away from him.
I shot him a sharp glare.
This was ridiculous.
"What. Aren't you scared of me?" Florence asked as he moved up to me and leaned his arm against the soft sheets beside me and moved his face dangerously close to mine.
"Wolfe and I weren't doing anything behind your back. We never have. I haven't even talked to him until today because I was stuck in bed all week!" I said seriously as I pushed Florence away from me.
His body was so hot from anger and bloodlust that it almost felt like my hand was burning against the touch.
"Oh, I trust you, Lia. You would never betray me like that. You're too stupidly dense for that," he replied with a blank look on his face.
"...Well if that's what you think, then why in the world are you doing this right now-"
"But I can't trust that any one of those b-stards won't touch you while I'm not looking. I should have f-cking cut his hand off the moment I had the chance," Florence growled as he grabbed my shoulder and slammed it against the backside of his bed.
I winced at the small spike of pain flowing from my shoulder.
"In a way, it's your fault too, Lia. You're too f-cking dense," he cursed as he stared at me with red eyes.
I stared at him back painfully with the best frown I could muster.
These days...why do I feel like Florence keeps growing more distant?
What happened to the Florence I grew up with as a child...?
Why has he...changed...
"Stop it, Florence. I don't understand why you've been like this lately. Did you think I wouldn't find out? About all those things you've been telling people behind my back?" I asked seriously.
"What?"
"You told Wolfe that I would hate him a week or so ago, right? You even told everyone in high society to call me 'princess'!! Are you crazy?!"
"You're going to be my bride."
"But that doesn't mean I'm a princess! You can't just tell people to call me that! Our engagement could be annulled one day, you know," I replied.
The moment those words left my mouth, I knew I could never take them back.
The temperature of the room dropped drastically.
And Florence stared at me with wide-eyes in silence.
He looked at me as if I had just ripped out any last remaining bits of sanity he had in him.
He gripped my shoulder so tightly that I was worried it would break.
"Annulled? You want to back out of our engagement?"
"Huh? No...well, I was thinking that if you fall in love with someone one day, it would be a burden if I was already a 'princess.' You should just be more careful of what you tell people..."
Florence paused at me words and looked away from me, his expression completely twisted.
"Hah. Hahaha."
"Florence, this is a serious conversation. Stop laughing."
But Florence didn't stop laughing and he covered his face with one of his hands as he continued to laugh like a madman.
He brushed his hair back with his hand and looked at me with a gleam in his eyes.
Then, he took his other hand and lifted my chin up with it.
Before I could even react, he crashed his lips against mine.
For three seconds...no...for an eternity, he kissed me passionately.
When he finally let go of my lips, he licked off any remaining saliva with his tongue.
He wasn't smiling or laughing anymore.
"Lia, if you say that again, I'll kill you."
-------------------------------------------------
A/N: Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Whew. This was a fun chapter to write...haha.
Everybody! Sing along with me! Florence is a yandere~ Florence is a yandere~ He is a spooky, freaky yandere~ Wooooo!
Hahahaha~ Anyway, that's all for this chapter! I don't really have much to say this week other than (for some students like me) my final exams are coming up in a few weeks~ Updates will be slightly shorter as I focus on studying, but I'll be back to long chapters once I'm free from exams!
Also, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. has become the president-elect of America~ Woohoo! It was a crazy election, but I'm glad it's over now...until next time. Hah. Haha. I just got to love America sometimes...hahaha. I'm totally not being sarcastic.
Thanks, again, to my readers/voters/commenters! You guys are amazing~
Stay safe, everyone!
Okie byeee!
Word Count: 2739