Part 9.

By the previous request of Elaine ,The maids hurried to her room in a dash to fulfill the princess wishes .They brought the most expensive dresses by Ramuels order ,The jewelry and all other necessities required for befitting queen preference.

But that wasn't the interesting part , It was the brute unshakable and hollow of emotions king pacing in the dining room from one room corner to another ,Least that's how stories and legends has described him ,Yet the image was quite the opposite witnessed by Nero who lurked at the dining room entrance .

The king seemed nervous ,maybe even anxious to some extent , Nero was unsure of the reason so as always he had to snitch into the matter to find out what the hell happened this time .

"What did you do this time your highness?" Soft spoken words as he sat on the chair folding his steel gloved hands on table .

" I might have pressured her to stricten herself up for queen role , she seemed hurt by my words somehow " He couldn't phrase the matter into more words as it seemed to agonize him in some way ,For the sole reason that he just made her cry ,Him ,And his stupid request ,Not her father ,Or the maids who abused her ,But himself who swore in the middle of the night he held her first time in his hands as she slept on his chest ,To protect her at all costs from the pain no matter what source it would come from .

That Oath right now at the moment followed by a sharp slap on his face , by his own mere hand making Nero bewildered of the scene he just witnessed.

" What the fuck are you even doing?" He asked puzzled seeing his master cheek painted red like a tomato with his handprints clearly visible in darkness as he peered at him sideways with a bombastic eye or so you could call .

" I made a stupid mistake ,For bloody sake Nero I made her cry , Don't you think I deserve some sort of punishment?" Ramuel was sincere with his words and that did robbed Nero even more of any argument he could make so he stood up as if it was a battle he was preparing for a century and whooshed right Infront his master to face him as he pulled his sword out .

" if you really think you deserve a punishment for teaching your young wife a lesson ,then duel me ,and I'll beat your ass into a pulp as a reward for your so called mistake , Until this very day I've never seen you blaming yourself for any actions you ever made ,and suddenly this new female appears and what .You turn all witty soft over each tear she sheds ? That's not the master who forced me into serving years ago after beating me to near death ,You gone soft " Nero knew he would regret saying those words but someone had to or his One and true only master would become as weak as those futile snob royals hiding in their castles across the continent .

Ramuel Growled back clearly annoyed

" Soft ?! Better consider taking everything you just said back Nero" He stepped closer just inch away from his subordinate lowering his face to match the eye level . Already grasping the sword handle at his side ready at any moment.As much as his devil had always helped him ,The devil's nature had always been wicked and rebellious despite their bonds with their masters or anyone else attached , You always had to be aware of their whereabouts no matter how much you trusted them .

" I don't intend to take any of it back unless you'll prove me otherwise your majesty "

He pointed his already ready hand in soft gesture to head outside .

" As you wish " Ramuel scoffed as the maid passing by peeked in to see them both in the area tensed from the discussion.

" uhh...umm...does highness or Knight Nero want some freshly baked bread and wine ?" she clearly couldn't read the atmosphere given her young age but asking never hurted before .

"No " Nero voice was firm and steady as he watched Ramuel step out first into the hallway and head directly toward the gardens ignoring whatever maid had just offered nevertheless.

So he followed up in short moments .

But rather taking the sword out ,Ramuel dropped it on the grass just nearby , Stretching his wide shoulders and muscle shredded arms that was clearly hard not to notice through the fabric of the shirt he wore when he used such positions .

Nero had always forgotten how much his respected king had gone through battlefields even before him to gain that type of physique ,Even for a human who exercised daily and feeded on all nutritions it would be least years of work to achieve it .

" What are you doing now huh " He asked curiosity building up in his poor nut headed brain as he adjusted his sword and and belt on side which still carried some knives in it .

" What else ? preparing to duel you dumbass "

He snapped back .

" Pick the sword up then Ramu ,I can't duel you without one ,It would be unfair if I beated you unarmed ,Imagine what would happen if the maids or rest of your knights would see it "

It was a clear fact that misunderstanding would arise among the castle and maybe even city.

" I don't give a damn of it ,I made up my mind to beat you up with bare hands " Chuckle ,That's all it took and Nero eyes definitely did twitched in amusement of how absurd the one he looked so up for actually was ,After that battle first time they had they never had any spars in years and hardly admitting he kind of missed to see how much his friend actually learned over years of killing non stop .

And that's All it took ,They stepped forward in non human speed ,Nero slashed his sword in all weak spots aiming for joints or limbs never missing the aim ,But even as a human the king matched his speed with laughter blocking each sword swing with his hands and directing it away ,only earning few small scratches over time and not minding it at all .

They paced through entire garden like that ,trampling over the flowers and everything else that was in their path , leaving up the mess behind ,Sweat already started building up on Devil's neck but he didn't stopped either ,If Sword failed he arched his hand each time for his king face or spots he could launch a fist on ,or grab it whichever was more appealing for the victory , But even that never landed with Ramuel fast reflexes as he dodged them all so easily as if he was seeing each move even before it happened .

Like that It went for hours .The sky was already gloomy and the rain started pouring leaving them wet and whatever chaos they made of perfectly designed garden filled with roses and other flowers which now been trampled all over the grass "Give up already " Ramuel spoke at last with a clear joy from finally feeling less burdened over his previous mistake .

"You know devil's can't do that your highness" Nero laughed back ,His image was clearly a mess ,Hair shiveled like a haystack with some flowers leafs and branches in it ,He did had few tumbles across the yard when Ramuel flipped him over or kicked him into the fountain leaving him extra soaked up .

At last Elaine stepped out followed by few maids as she stopped to look at the scene ,the maids hurried away instinctively knowing not to disturb .

At that particular moment Ramuel saw a glimpse of her ,He grabbed Nero head by the back and slammed his face into the ground

" I win ,Now piss off Nero " barely audible mumble it was but Nero only grunted spitting mud out and wiping wet dirt of his face as he looked at the young queen and smirked standing up and disappearing out from the sight with his magic in the air .

"Elaine.." Ramuel stepped forward but still kept some distance from her.

" What was the duel about?" She asked back instead trying to distract him from whatever he wanted to say ,She knew she couldn't bend anymore towards his softened words Or it would hurt her more in time .

" That ...Nero Got Rusty so he asked for practice session ," Ramuel answered through gritted teeth as he could sense the tension from his wife .

"I see ,Should I ask maids to prepare you a bath and fresh clothes ?" She asked already turning away as the sight of this man made her pulse quicken in unexplainable ways even if her decision was clear to keep boundaries around him .

" That's unnecessary...I can do it myself " Few moments of silence as she nodded already making her little escape attempt before he spoke again .

"You look beautiful Elaine ..I'm not sure through what exactly you went at your father's castle ,With all these idiots hurting you in all ways ..But I'm sorry if my request has hurted you someway ,I just ..I don't want my wife to be vulnerable when I'm not around if you're unprotected even for a second " His words was genuine and sincere like a whisper in the cold wind ,That was hard to resist but she looked at him ,Smile brightening up on her face after hearing his opinion .

" Im glad you think of me in that way even if we're not officially married yet " She really thought he would be much harsher with his words previously and that he might replace her with any other female if she didn't fulfill her role . But of this particular moment she felt the relief lift up from her burdened heart ,

He wasn't expecting to much of her ,He just wished her to be alright no matter the surroundings,It didn't matter whether it was for his own image maintaining or her sake ,It was pleasant for her ears to hear it .

" It's only a short while ,Until you get fully recovered ,Then we'll get to empress for her approval ,And You'll be My Queen . Whether you can fulfil of what I asked before or not ,I'll watch over you at all times " Another step closer as he finally faced her lifting his hands to grasp her face gently as if she was the most fragile thing in the world .

Until he realized his hands been dirty from the mud ,He immediately pulled them back seeing the confusion in Elaine golden eyes .

" You don't have to wait so long for my recovery ," And at that moment as he pulled his hands back , wiping them at the sides of his pants ,She wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him tight ,softly giggling in his ear .Half her size he had to bend for her sake , as her height barely reached his chest .

" OIII I'm all dirty ! you'll get your pretty dress all messed up " Ramuel tried to pull back slowly but it felt satisfying and heart warming to feel her so close .He might have to admit to himself ,He fell for her charms without any reason .

" So what ? Your maids brought so many dresses I could dress up for a month ,Besides you did called me beautiful,so we'll see if your mind changes if I get all messy " still stubborn she held on pursing her lips as her mood lightened up

" I don't think it will ,BUT ,if you really say so ..." And with that his arms wrapped around her waist as he lifted her up swaying her in circle along with him couple of times as they both stepped into pouring rain and he placed her down still holding onto her and looking at her pinkinsh cheeks and dark red hairs slightly wet with few strands covering her pale complexion .

"Still beautiful like a goddess" he chuckled trying to fix her hair with his thumb as he brushed it off

" Liar " she laughed it off before standing on her tiptoes and kissing him on the cheek as the king just stood there fazed by her and her actions .

The rain had already stopped and after taking a full view of the garden she hurried back to the castle " I'll ask the butler if he knows a good gardener to fix it all ! " it was the last giggle he heard as he still stood like a statue touching his cheek where her lips just touched a second ago .

Unknown to him or anyone else ,Nero already patched up was standing in hallway with few other maids ,munching on butter cakes while watching the whole moments as he kept laughing and gossiping with them ,until the young Princess kissed the brutal king cheek and The poor devil along with maids choked on what the snacks they enjoyed so much.

the last word that came from Nero mouth was ..

"NANI?!!!"