XIII: Abhor

The next day in the Palace, Carina was walking along the hallway looking for her brother's chamber. When she bumped into one server, she asked about the place she was looking for right away. The server guided her toward the room.

"I'll knock. Thank you." She said towards the woman, smiling. The woman bowed towards her before turning around to leave. She then tapped the big door thrice with her knuckles. It took a minute before the door suddenly opened, revealing a topless Julian.

He looked like he was just woken up. His hair was ruffled and his eyes were a bit twitched from suddenly opening his eyes.

"Good morning," Carina tells him. The young man didn't say anything. He just turned around, leaving the door open for the woman to get in. "Let's have breakfast," Carina suggested in a cheerful voice, entering the room before closing the door behind her.

"What time is it?" Julian finally spoke, scanning his temporary closet.

His sister looked at her watch while sitting on his bed. "It's eight in the morning." She tells him.

"I'll take a shower." The young man said, going to the bath.

"Okay, I'll wait for you." Carina said, watching him. The man didn't say anything and just entered the bathroom. Carina stood up to fix the things scattered around the room. She also opened the window beside the man's bed. She was busy anticipating the view outside the window when he heard the man inside the bathroom groan.

It seems like he was in pain, or maybe in a difficult situation.

Carina moved towards the bathroom. "JJ, what's wrong?" She asked over the door. She knocked three times when the man didn't answer him. "Julian?" She asked once again.

"Nuna, can you please call Huxley-Hyung?" He shouted.

"Why do you need to call him? Do you need any help?" She shouted back.

"Just call him, please." Julian insisted.

"JJ, I'm here. You don't need to call him. I'm going in." She said, before removing her shoes and then opening the door.

"No!" The young man resisted, but it was too late because the woman was already inside the bathroom.

Carina noticed his difficulty right away. Julian was already sitting in the bathtub without any clothes on, but of course, she couldn't see him fully naked since almost half his body was under the water that was already bubbling with soap. His right arm was resting on the edge of it. It's only now that she noticed that there are some bruises and wounds on both of his arms.

"Can you take a shower with your cast on?" She asked, moving near the man.

"I can use my left hand, but my shoulders are still sore so it's going to be difficult to do it thoroughly." He said, sighing afterward.

"I'll help you wash your hair for it to be easier," Carina said, folding her sleeves. She was wearing a white loose blouse over her white leggings.

Julian looked at her surprised. "What? No, Nuna. Just call Hyungs or call a server." He demanded.

Carina smacked his head. "Stupid! Are you planning to do some freaky shit with one of the King's servers?" She said. "You prefer a server taking care of you, instead of me?" She added, grabbing the shower head beside the bathtub. She gently grabbed his brother's head to lay it on the bathtub's edge.

Julian didn't budge anymore. "That's the point." He mumbled, sighing.

"What did you say?" Carina spat at him as she starts wetting his hair with the water.

"Nothing." His brother whispered in defeat.

Carina started rubbing his scalp with the shampoo.

"Why are you drinking so much lately?" The woman suddenly asked, in a low tone. "You even got yourself hurt. This is the first time it ever happened. You are so careful before even though you are drunk." She said. "Is this the outcome of you hanging around Lilith all the time? Are you also becoming an alcoholic?" She asked.

"No. This is the outcome of me, liking someone like you." The man said straightforwardly, with his closed eyes.

Carina was shocked for a second, before tugging on his hair. "Are you blaming me for your foolishness, Jeon Julian?" She exclaimed, before starting to rinse his hair.

"Aww." The man complained, before opening one eye to look up at her. "Nuna, you're blushing." The young man chuckled.

Carina didn't even notice that her temperature suddenly rose in her cheeks, and her heartbeat gradually start to be faster than the normal beat rate. She stood up in an instant. "Finish your shower." She said, before quickly starting to walk.

A loud yelp and a thud were heard before she could be out of the bath. Carina forgot about the poodle of water she had made washing Julian's hair, so she slipped.

Julian grabbed the towel right away and helped himself to stand up, ignoring the pain in his right arm when he used it to lean on the bathtub. He wrapped his waist with the towel immediately. He carefully got out of the tub as to not create another slippery incident.

Carina was helping herself up when Julian offered his hand to her. "Nuna, are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. But I'm all wet." She said, sighing. She was looking down at her clothes.

Julian suddenly saw the woman's shirt soaking wet. Her undergarments could easily be seen through them. He looked away immediately, moving out of the room. He went through his luggage to pick up one of his black shirts, before going back to the bathroom to hand it to his sister.

Carina got the shirt right away, before grabbing some towel and then moving out of the room. She dropped the shirt on the bed and then she started wiping her hands and neck.

She suddenly made a small sound of shudder when she felt a pair of lips landing on her nape. It's like lightning landed on her neck's skin that made her slightly quiver as it travels all over her body. The man was making small wet kisses all over their skin so she stiffened.

"Nuna.." The man whispered. "Please give me a chance." He said.

Carina didn't say a word or move. She was frozen in her place, not knowing what to do.

After a few seconds, the man let go of his grip on Carina's arms before moving away from her. "I'm sorry." He said, before walking back to the bathroom.

Carina exhaled a deep breath when he heard the bathroom door shut. She quickly removed her top to change into the black shirt the man lent her, before putting on her shoes. She immediately went out of the man's room, her heart still beating rapidly in her chest.

Every day, she thinks of all the reasons why she should forbid things from happening. But every day, he's doing something for her not to think it's impossible.

"There's something we call a horse position." The man stood with his feet two shoulder lengths apart. His knees bent at a forty-five-degree angle. "Your feet should be facing towards the target. Same with your body and face. Also, you need to straighten your back, before placing your fists on your belt." He explained. "This is the basic stance." The two assassins followed through.

"Now with this stance, you can gradually make a straight punch." He continued. "But you need to move your front foot one-and-a-half shoulder widths in front of the rear foot. Your front knee should now be bent slightly less so that the front kneecap aligns with the back of your heel below it." He added.

"Okay, now for the straight punch, it will start from your hip." He demonstrated, one fist slowly pushing forward. "And for this kind of punch, the effect will be made on your two big knuckles." He said, showing his knuckles toward the two women.

Nathalie and Lilith nodded, both following Jaxon's movements and words. They are now beside the rocky ocean near the Kingdom, training in a Korean martial art called Taekwondo.

"Okay, let's go back to the horse position once again. I'll check your postures." He commanded, after standing up straight. The two women nodded and then followed quickly.

Jaxon moved towards Nathalie first. He eyed the distance of her feet and then checked if her back was straight. He nodded toward the woman, to approve of her posture.

The man then moved towards Lilith. He noticed that the woman's feet were a bit closer than how it's required to be.

"Open your legs further, Lilith." He tells the woman.

He also noticed that the woman's hands were placed higher than her belt chamber. So he unconsciously moved towards her back, to fix her fists in the proper place. "That's better." He said, letting go of the woman. The woman seems to be too busy in her trail of thoughts to respond to him. So she just stared in front, standing up straight.

Lilith couldn't believe that it was Jaxon who was teaching them these skills. He remembered how the man was so nervous and jumpy back at the Dionysus super club, but it seemed like she didn't know the man at all, and it frustrates and anger her even more.

"Let's do the straight punch this time." The man moved back in front of Nathalie again. The assassin confidently did what he said. "Okay." Jaxon approved, so easily.

"Alright, Lilith." He moved closer to the other assassin. The woman did as she was told. "Hold that position." He commanded, before touching her chin to gently lift it. "Eyes on the enemy, Lilith." He tells her, before letting go of her chin. He moved in front of them again. Lilith rolled her eyes in annoyance. She was messing up the training on purpose because she dislike the man who was teaching them, and it shows.

"This time I'll teach you the primary block in Taekwondo." He started with the basic stance again before placing his fist on his opposite shoulder. "Your fist should be aligned downward before the pelvis. It should be stopping on or batting the same side leg of the blocking arm." He mentioned, doing the action in the process. "Okay let's have a drill, I'll try and attack you and you have to block me using that technique." He commanded, moving towards Nathalie once again.

The woman went back to the basic stance once more. She focused on the man's every movement and as soon as the man was about to attack, he used the blocking skill flawlessly. Jaxon bowed to him to approve, before walking towards Lilith.

She also did the basic stance and tried to focus on his fist so she was slightly looking down. "Lilith, look at my face. Once again, eyes on the enemy." He told the woman.

Lilith gave yet another roll of eyes, before looking directly at the man. She was giving him a strong glare. After a few seconds, Jaxon attacked her with a knee kick so she attempted to block him with her wrist but the impact was too weak.

"One more time, Lilith." The man said.

And so she did it with her other wrist, but it was still too weak.

"Lilith, one more time," Jaxon commanded again.

Lilith's temper was starting to rise so she did it with extra force this time, before taking his arm over her head, her other hand elbowing him on his neck muscle.

"Satisfied, Prince Jaxon?" She asked, before letting go of his arm. "Oh and please, call me Miss Lilith. We're not close enough for you to call me by my first name." She added, giving him a fake smile before bowing towards him.

Jaxon, who was still surprised about her sudden outburst didn't say anything and just stared at her with a pained expression. The woman was right, after all, she wasn't close to the lady, or he needed to pretend that he wasn't, at least.

Nathalie who was just watching them had an indescribable face the whole time. She's clueless about the sudden rage of Lilith, but her face changes when she heard a voice she hated to hear.

"Young Prince." The man called out, walking towards the three. Lilith and Jaxon glanced in his direction. Nathalie stayed still, not facing him since Sin was coming from her back. The two bowed towards him, except for her. The eldest Prince bowed towards them too, ignoring Nathalie's behavior. "I'm afraid I should interrupt your training for a few hours, Miss Nathalie is needed by her bosses and the King." He said with a small smile, motioning towards Nathalie. He intentionally stopped beside her.

Jaxon just nodded toward Sin, and so the man glanced at Nathalie, waiting for her to start walking. Nathalie rolled her eyes at him after blowing a kiss in Lilith's direction. She started to walk right after, with the eldest Prince following her. Lilith made a sad face seeing her best friend leave, and she felt sadder realizing she was going to be alone with Jaxon, who faked coughing beside her to get her attention once they were left alone.

"Since it's just the two of us I think we should stop the training so Miss Nathalie wouldn't miss any techniques, Miss Lilith." The man tells her.

Lilith crossed her arms over her chest. "So what should we do then, Prince Jaxon?" She asked, with a sulking face.

"Why don't you teach me one of your skills in the meantime?" He tells her, in a calm voice.

Lilith raised one brow at the man's idea. "Do you have knives in this Kingdom?" She asked, in a bored tone.

"We have bamboo swords." He tells her.

Lilith's eyes suddenly lit up, before grinning wildly. "Oh, Kendo." She tells him, slightly looking less sulky.

Adelaide was in the big ballroom of the King's Palace. She was checking if everything they needed for the wedding was ready. The place was now flourished with white drape curtains, aisle runners, altar flooring, and an arch. The tables surrounding the room for the guests are in the color silver, decorated with table runners and centerpieces. The only things needed now were fresh flowers and freshly cooked dishes. Everything will be ready on the day of the wedding, which is two days from now.

When the princess was looking around the room, her eyes landed on a familiar server that was fixing something on the royal table. She remembered that it was the woman she bumped into, running away from the throne room yesterday.

An idea suddenly popped into her mind, so she walked toward her.

"Hey, server." She called out. The young lady looked up at her in an instant, bowing after her acknowledgment.

"You're really pretty. How did you become a server in the King's Palace?" She tells her. The young lady gave her a surprised look, before glancing towards the head court lady not too far from them. The princess followed the direction she glanced to.

"Are you related to the head court lady?" She asked, chuckling a bit. She found it amusing that the woman was so easy to read. The young lady nodded meekly.

"Okay." The princess smiled. "Is Prince Jaxon finished with his noon tea?" She asked.

"Not yet, young princess. Young Prince is still busy training with Miss Nathalie and the queen." She tells her.

The princess nodded, before pulling out something from her in-seam pockets. It was a miniature glass bottle that had a pale blue colored liquid inside it. She handed it to the server. "Ever since the young prince got back, his muscles had been aching lately. I got this herbal medicine from my village. The King's Palace physician approved it already. He said it should be mixed with his drink so he wouldn't taste the bitter flavor of the strong medicine. Could you do the honor of making the tea for my sweet fiancé?" She tells her, in an unusually high pitch. "I've been worried about him these past days." She added, making a fake pout toward the lady.

The young server looked at the suspicious little bottle before taking it from the princess' hand.

"Go," Adelaide commanded towards the lady, back in her normal facial expression, before motioning her hands for the server to start moving.

The young lady was a bit startled, before quickly moving across the back of the ballroom where a small kitchen was situated. The kitchen was only used for daily drinks and snacks for the nobilities so it was quite little and not crowded with busy servants, unlike the main kitchen.

When she arrived at the said place, there were no people around. She immediately pulled out a tea set from the white cupboard. She started brewing the tea that the young Prince likes.

After a few seconds, she poured the liquid into the teapot. She took the small bottle in her pocket that the princess gave her. When she opened it, the strong smell made her nose irritated a bit. She ignored the scent before pouring the whole content inside the pot. She placed the bottle down and then stirred the tea right after. She forgot to disregard the bottle and quickly went on her way to deliver the tea to the young Prince, but before she could go out of the kitchen, she bumped into Nathalie and the eldest Prince.

They were on their way to the secret hideaway of the eldest Prince, to grab some alcohol for the King and the mafia leaders. They could simply just ask the server to do it but Sin wanted to push Nathalie's buttons more, so he dragged her with him.

"Why have I stuck with you again?" The assassin complained, ignoring the servant's existence. Sin, on the other hand, smiled at her as she bowed towards him before moving out of the door. "Prince Sin, do you smell that?" Nathalie suddenly asked him, her nose perking up in the air.

The man did the same. "It smells like bitter almond." The man described the scent.

Nathalie followed the smell, trusting her nose. "Do you make bitter almond tea in the Kingdom?" She asked. "Because if you do, that would be stupid." She added, knowing that bitter almond is toxic to intake. She was questioning the scent as well because if it was just the tea, it would stay in the air for a long, but the bad scent they were smelling was gone the next minute, and then prominent on the next one. It confuses her.

"As far as I know, we don't have any kind of almond tea because the young Prince and the King are both allergic to almonds." The eldest prince said, who was just following her, his nose on the run too.

When Nathalie stopped in the part of the kitchen where the smell was the most prominent, she found a small bottle below where the cupboards were situated. She picked it up right away before placing it over her nose. She made a disgusted sound, moving the thing away from her nostrils immediately. "Prince Sin. It isn't bitter almond nor tea, it's a cyanide smell." Nathalie said, glancing toward the man.

The young Prince looked at the bottle in her hand before looking at Nathalie with wide eyes. "The server!" He exclaimed, before running out of the kitchen, with Nathalie following behind her with the same phase.

Lilith and Jaxon sat on the floor of the sacred place where they trained Kendo.

Kendo is a modern Japanese martial art of swordsmanship, that both of them are familiar with.

They were catching their breaths as they just finished training. They both removed their helmets and padded gloves. Jaxon stood up to get some face towels not too far from where they were sitting. Lilith just stayed sitting down, brushing her hair towards the back as it scattered all over her sweaty face with the intense movements they did earlier.

The man handed her the towel, before sitting in front of her. "I didn't know you do Kendo. I've heard there are only a few rare women who practice it." He tells her.

"Yeah, and I hate men for believing that women cannot do some stuff that men do." The woman retorted, shifting on her seat to the side, to not face the man. "And you didn't happen to know me before, so you wouldn't know the things I've done in my life. Why do you sound like you already met me?" She added.

Jaxon looked at her in dismay. "Why are you being so damn difficult?" The man exclaimed, his patience running out.

"I'm not being difficult, I'm just stating facts." She spat, before standing up to start walking away.

The man also stood up, to grab the woman's hands quickly. "Lilith! I remember you." He finally tells the lady. His bottled emotions had been spilling all over the place today.

The woman looked back at him in surprise, before laughing. "I observed that. And I don't care. I don't know you." She spat, pulling her hand away from him.

But before the woman could move even further, she felt a pair of strong arms embrace her from behind.