She's back

The marquis didn't move an inch, his expression neutral.

Kyle stepped again, adjusting his angle. He tried a downward diagonal slash, 

Clack!

Parried again. This time, with a slight push that made him stumble back.

Still, Kyle gritted his teeth and came again. Slash. Swipe. Thrust.

For a few moments, the air filled with the rhythmic clash of wood against steel.

Each of Kyle's movements was far from refined, but they weren't random.

They were deliberate. Intentional. Each swing followed the instruction manuals and memory scrolls he had absorbed from his predecessor.

His feet moved hesitantly but with purpose. His arms swung with weight and caution, avoiding wild strikes.

He wasn't fast.

He wasn't powerful.

But he was trying.

The marquis narrowed his eyes slightly. He's really been practicing, doing his best.

He could see it clearly; the stances weren't just mimicked. Kyle had thought about them. He was learning, not just swinging for show.

But Cassian said nothing.

Instead, he moved faster.

He stepped in sharply, blade tapping Kyle's wooden sword aside, then flicking it down.

Whack!

A sting exploded across Kyle's ribs as the flat of the blade struck.

He staggered back with a grunt.

"Your footwork is stiff, you rely too much on those manuals, you have a mind, use it," the marquis said flatly, stepping in again.

Thwack!

"Your strikes are too wide."

Thwack!

"Too shallow."

Kyle grimaced, sweat flying off as he struggled to reposition himself, only to get caught again.

"Reel in your swings," his father barked, pushing forward like a tidal wave.

Crack!

"The sword is not just a weapon, it's part of your body! Your arms. Your waist. Your entire frame! Don't swing with your arms alone!"

Kyle barely dodged the next blow, his legs slipping on the floor.

His lungs burned.

His muscles screamed.

He was being torn apart.

But he kept going.

Every instinct told him to stop. His mind was foggy, his vision blurred.

But still, he swung.

Still, he defended.

Still, he pressed forward.

A final blow struck his shoulder, knocking the wooden sword from his hand. Kyle collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath, his body trembling with exhaustion.

His father stood over him, sword lowered now, eyes unreadable.

A long silence passed.

Kyle braced for a lecture, a dismissal, a reprimand.

Instead…

Aldren offered a hand, with a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

"…Good fight. You are progressing well." He said lightly.

"Haa...haaa....yeah." Kyle took it, getting up on his wobbly feet. Cassian gave Kyle a light nod.

He began walking away.

"Keep at it. Repetition is a sword's true beginning." He spoke one last time.

The doors creaked open again as he exited, leaving Kyle collapsing on the cold training floor, utterly broken, bruised, and grinning.

Being dismantled like that. That had been brutal.

Humiliating.

And yet…

That was the first time his father had ever truly acknowledged his sword.

Kyle laughed weakly, dragging himself to the wall.

He put his wooden sword away and spent a few more minutes waiting inside.

...

Kyle's room the next morning

He had just woken up, stretching his limbs in an open space.

Just then—

Knock knock.

"Pardon the interruption, young lord," came a sweet, crisp voice from behind the door. "It's Nuna."

Kyle froze mid-pose, coughed, and straightened up with princely grace.

"Yes, come in," he said, his voice slipping into his practiced, composed tone.

The door opened, and in stepped Nuna, the same soft-spoken, blue-haired girl whom he had come to care for.

She was dressed in a more formal version of her uniform today, the white apron crisp, the bow around her waist neatly tied.

She offered a graceful curtsy, then raised her eyes to meet his.

"Kyle," She whispered.

"Nuna..." Kyle had a beaming smile on his face. "I missed you." No more words needed to be said.

He stepped closer and put an arm around her waist, pulling her close.

He brought his face close to hers, brushing his lips against hers softly at first, savoring the sweet taste of her, and he nibbled at her upper lip.

But as the heat of her mouth began to overwhelm him, he couldn't resist any longer. With a low growl, he captured her lips in a deep, hungry kiss, his tongue delving into the warm cavern to tangle with hers.

His hands found her ass, reaching out to cup the alluring swell of her ass cheeks in each of his hands. His fingers sank into the supple mounds as he ground his hips against her own.

"Mmmmm!...mmmmm"

"Mmmmmm"

"Ahhhhh!"

Nuna moaned eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pressed her body flush against his own.

Their kisses grew ravenous, their tongues dueling hungrily in a hungry dance.

Slurp

Slurp

Slurp

The room filled with the wet sounds of their slobbery kisses as the intensity of their passion reached new heights.

They could barely breathe now, too lost in each other to spare a thought for air.

Kyle continuously kneaded her flesh gently through the thin fabric of her dress and panties, the firm pressure sending shivers coursing through her body.

The soft feeling of her elastic flesh brought his raging dragon to its peak, poking directly into Nuna's belly through his nightwear.

Her own hands slid up his neck, fingers tangling in his hair as she sank deeper into the passionate embrace.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they broke apart, chests heaving as they gasped for air.

A thin line of saliva connected their lips. She smiled up at him, her eyes hazy with lust as she reached out to trace the lines of his face.

Their eyes locked, and they burned with an intense hunger as they gazed at each other, chests heaving in unison.

Their faces were both red, from the lack of air, the heat radiating from their bodies, and the arousal caused by the shared kiss.

"I'm sorry I took so long, my task was more difficult than I thought it would be." She spoke with a hint of regret in her voice.

"It's fine, you must have been busy, but it's good to finally see you." Kyle held her face close, ready to devour her again in another deep kiss.

That was when Kyle noticed the faint scar on her neck. He frowned, tracing it with the tip of his finger. "What happened?"

Nuna panicked, realising what he meant. "Uhm, it was a dangerous mission, I told you, it was more difficult than I thought it would be."

Kyle's frown deepened.

That's right, I know she has some other duties to take care of, but I have never asked what she goes to do when she leaves, have I?

The thought that his Nuna was out there, doing something that put her in the direct line of danger, did not sit right with him, but that was normal in this world.

And he had to come to terms with it.

I just have to get stronger. And she won't have to get through all this.

Nuna spoke again, "More importantly, your fiancée, Mistress Jasmine… she's arrived, Kyle. She's waiting in the garden and asked to see you."