A sleepless night.
Not long after dawn, Nia dragged her exhausted body and quietly left the room.
In the distance, the sun was rising from the valley.
The morning light swept across the endless plains, while the dark green shadows of fir trees stood tall like giants, looming through the mist that filtered the faint light.
Nia sat on a branch at the door, adjusting her breathing for a moment before standing up and using a simple water spell to wash her face.
Compared to the fatigue in her body, what tired her more was her heart.
The curse’s effect from last night had been even more intense than the night before.
If this continued, her fate… would probably be the same as those clansmen locked away in the confinement room.
She had to find a way.
As Nia was thinking this, a figure suddenly appeared in her line of sight.
In the deep autumn of November, he looked as if he were in the height of summer, sweat streaming like rivers down his temples.
“Where did you go?”
Just as the other person was about to reach the courtyard entrance, Nia jumped down from the tree and landed steadily right in front of him.
The sudden appearance startled him so much that he collapsed onto the ground.
“Hey, how did you jump down from the tree like that? You scared me.”
“I was sitting up there all along, you just didn’t see me. But you—why aren’t you sleeping so early in the morning? Where did you go?”
Nia looked down at the man sprawled on the ground and asked.
“Went to train.”
El lay flat on his back, legs splayed, “I’m not like you guys who can use magic and fight. If I don’t train, I won’t even realize I’m being eaten alive.”
Hearing that, Nia recalled something.
When they were chased by the Two-headed Demon Hound a few days ago, this guy was able to keep up with her pace.
Turns out he had been training all along.
“How far do you run every day?”
“From here to that hill over there.” El propped himself up with his hands and pointed to a small hill not far away.
“When did you start running? I got up early but didn’t see you go out.”
“Before dawn, I guess. If I can’t sleep, I just run.” El said, then flopped back down again. “After all, there’s no electricity or internet here, so if I can’t sleep, I have to vent somehow.”
Ignoring the parts he said that she didn’t understand, Nia actually admired this kind of perseverance in training.
She rarely showed a smile toward him and praised him once.
“If you can stick with it, you might become a decent warrior.”
Hearing this, the man who had been lying on the ground suddenly sat up straight.
“Really?”
“I have no reason to lie about this.”
“Then can you teach me?”
He flexed his muscles a little, looking at Nia expectantly.
“Aren’t you learning magic from the young lady?” Nia advised, “Beginners trying to focus on two things at once end up mastering nothing.”
“My magic is still nowhere to be seen.
Meira said I have to feel the elemental force, but after holding it for so long, the stone is already polished smooth, and still no reaction.
Better to learn melee first.
Then I can become a magic warrior, a melee mage.
Mage-swordsman, spell master, sword saint—how cool would that be?”
Every man has a dream of becoming a chivalrous knight, and El was no exception.
Compared to magic that hasn’t manifested, he’d rather learn a tangible sword technique.
That was what El thought.
“Teaching you isn’t impossible.” Nia drew her sword from her waist and handed it toward El.
El reached out to take it, but just as his hand was about to grasp the hilt, Nia withdrew the sword.
His motion froze mid-air.
When he regained his senses, he found a small wooden stick in his hand instead.
“Hey, hey, hey,” El protested, “Don’t play tricks like that.”
“This is your first lesson. A warrior’s sword, except for oneself, must never be entrusted to anyone else. Treat your weapon like it’s your second life.”
Nia had just made this up on the spot.
But it wasn’t entirely false.
At least for her, it was true.
Mainly because she couldn’t accept anyone else using her sword—not even His Highness.
Nia’s words stunned El for a moment before he spoke again.
“I get it, but isn’t using a stick a little too shabby?”
“Do you have a sword you can use?”
“Uh…” El thought for a moment and replied dejectedly, “No.”
“Then just make do for now.”
“It’s not like that. You need to use your waist power. This part should be like this…”
Nia drew her sword and demonstrated simply for him.
“Like this?”
El copied her movements.
Nia watched for a while, then shook her head.
“No.”
“Then like this?”
El tried a different posture.
“Still no.”
“So how should it be done?”
Seeing he couldn’t grasp the key point, Nia went over to guide him personally.
Caught off guard, El watched as Nia grabbed his hand from behind.
Nia could clearly feel how stiff his body was.
No wonder he hadn’t made any progress.
“Relax.”
“It’s hard to relax with you holding me like this.”
“Why?”
Nia was puzzled.
“I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”
“Then why are you holding me?”
El thought about it.
Grasping Nia’s hand was better than having her pressed against him, so he agreed.
“I’ll hold you then.”
Nia stepped away from behind El to stand in front of him.
“Hold my hand and just move along with me.”
Nia assumed a stance but waited in vain for El to act.
“What are you just standing there for? Not going to learn?”
She looked back at him.
“I am.” El raised his voice as if giving a warning, “Here I come.”
“Come on.”
Just as Nia turned back, El grabbed her hand.
Nia considered herself not short, but El was a full head taller than her.
When he held her hand, it felt like he was holding her in an embrace.
The aura that had troubled her for several nights now wrapped around her from all directions.
In an instant, Nia seemed to sense something and stiffened.
Probably because she hadn’t moved for a while, El behind her reminded her.
“I’m ready. You can start now.”
Nia didn’t reply.
The intense aura seemed to reactivate the curse within her, the overwhelming stimulus making her almost unable to stand, let alone train.
“Nia?”
El’s voice sounded again.
“Okay…”
Nia took a deep breath, forcing herself through the discomfort, and made a sword-swinging motion.
The wooden stick rose halfway but couldn’t go any further.
The two of them stayed frozen in this posture for a moment.
“How long do we have to keep this up?”
Finally, El lowered his head slightly and couldn’t help but ask.
A warm breath brushed past Nia’s ear—the final straw.
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed into El’s arms.
The wooden stick fell from her hand, hitting the ground with a soft “tap.”
Nia’s body temperature surged sharply, her breathing quickened like a cat’s, and her cheeks flushed an unnatural red.
Beads of sweat, like water, slid down between her legs, soaking El’s trouser legs.
This really startled El.