Chapter 86 : Training (3)

I don’t know how to express my feelings.

Two conflicting emotions are clashing.

The strongest emotion is the one I’ve felt from the moment I came here until now.

It’s joy.

I wasn’t rejected by Ayla. Although I am being doubted, at the same time, trust is slowly growing.

If things continue like this, Ayla probably won’t leave on her own like she did back then, and I might not lose Ayla to someone else.

Of course, there is also the emotion of fear.

Our relationship only continues because Ayla holds onto me.

Therefore, Ayla is also the one who can discard me. Since I am the one clinging unilaterally.

So, it means that I am in a one-sided, disadvantageous relationship.

And because of that, another emotion is felt.

It’s the feeling of frustration.

Since we’ve always had such a relationship from a very young age.

Ayla saved me, I came to love Ayla, and while I always wanted to stay close, I couldn’t bring myself to close the distance.

On the other hand, Ayla was always the one to close the distance. Whether it was in the past or now.

“……!”

The sound of wooden swords clashing is generally less impactful than the sound of metal against metal in a real sparring match.

But that “less” is only true in a relative sense.

I feel a sharp pain in my hand, and my arm trembles.

Ayla was truly swinging the wooden sword as though she was going to cut me down.

In sparring, Ayla is always serious.

“Ugh!?”

And because of that, once she notices an opponent’s weakness, she will relentlessly target it without letting go.

Again and again, attacking the weakness until the opponent loses grip of their sword.

This was the same before. Our master who taught us was such a person.

At that time, I didn’t have such “weaknesses,” but—

Thud!

I lose the sword from my hand.

Thud.

Ayla’s knee touches my stomach.

It’s not strong. Though she genuinely wants to win, it doesn’t seem like she intends to injure me seriously.

Even if my insides were a little damaged, the witch nearby could heal me.

“There’s one thing I’m curious about.”

Ayla lowered her leg.

I tried to stay standing, but the strength left my legs.

I was confident in my endurance.

After all, wasn’t I the one who could stay awake for a week even after becoming this body? Yet, I couldn’t help but fall due to Ayla’s “attack.”

What on earth happened to my body?

“Why did you feel the need to hunt a dragon? Was there a desperate reason why you had to hunt a dragon while your body was burning in the fire and your bones were breaking after falling from the sky?”

Ayla tilted her head.

Sweat-drenched hair moved and stuck to Ayla’s cheek.

Unfortunately, even that appearance seemed so attractive to me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

At least right now, I don’t think it’s a problem to look at Ayla in that way.

If it were a problem, Ayla wouldn’t have shown such a side of herself in the first place.

I still don’t fully understand.

Bathing with a man is, of course, something that can easily lead to misunderstandings.

Bathing with the same sex might be possible, though.

After all, there are public baths.

But would it be allowed to bathe together in such a bathtub? Would washing each other’s bodies be something that others would consider okay?

I don’t know.

“It seems like you don’t plan to answer.”

Hmm, making such a sound, Ayla tilted her head to the other side.

“Well, that’s fine.”

But soon, she smiled alluringly and looked down at me, saying,

“There will be plenty of opportunities to ask.”

The way in which she will ask is, of course, already decided.

It seems like tonight will be long as well.

Ecstasy.

The feeling I have every time Ayla defeats Luna is that.

I don’t know if that’s wrong. If you’re an aristocrat, you’re bound to think of even more sinister things.

At least Ayla didn’t think of herself as someone as sinister as a count or baron.

But even so, I know that I can’t claim that such a thought is “not sinister.”

The reason Ayla keeps touching Luna is not because that emotion is directed only at Luna.

It’s the person who comes to mind when I see her eyes.

It was directed toward that person, who strangely overlapped with Luna every time she was seen.

So, this was something Luna should be apologized to for.

“……Let’s take a break.”

Ayla sighed deeply as she spoke.

Luna remained kneeling on the floor, gasping for breath with her head lowered.

Her sweat-soaked hair clung to her face in disarray.

At some point, a few buttons of her maid outfit had fallen off, causing the front to open slightly, but Luna was too exhausted to notice.

Sweat trickled down, making the valley between visible through the gap glisten.

Some drops even seeped inside.

Though Ayla had never blatantly placed her hand there, she could already imagine the sensation.

No matter how much she thought about it, it was strange.

Even if Luna’s eyes resembled “his,” Luna’s body was female.

Was Ayla desiring him so much that she was excited by a woman’s body?

The thrill she felt every time she laid Luna down was probably connected to that.

There was no way she wouldn’t feel frustrated after losing.

However, Ayla had simply accepted it.

He was a man, much bigger than Ayla.

If he had at least lacked talent with the sword, Ayla might have won, but that wasn’t the case.

It was as if he had been created to be perfect.

He never noticed, but many girls around him longed for him.

They were just waiting for Ayla to leave.

Ayla was a noble’s daughter.

Even if only half of her blood was noble, she was destined to return to that world someday.

To those girls, he was merely Ayla’s plaything.

Ayla had never thought of him that way.

If she had, she wouldn’t have been unable to let him go in the end.

“Ayla?”

A pair of violet eyes looked up at her again.

Yes.

She was frustrated.

But because she understood, she could avoid dwelling on it too much.

It was like being unable to break a boulder with bare hands—just a simple fact.

Had another girl taken him away?

Who could it have been?

Sally, the eldest daughter of the fruit shop?

Jenna, the youngest daughter of the blacksmith?

Or perhaps a merchant’s daughter from a faraway place, who had only briefly passed through town?

For a merchant, having a skilled son-in-law would be ideal.

Maybe that was why, when Ayla tried to find him again, she couldn’t.

Ayla knew he was inexperienced with women.

After all, she was the one who had taken him in and kept him by her side since childhood.

Who was the first woman he had embraced?

Did they have children?

How many?

Was he still happily living with his wife?

Had he buried the memory of his childhood first love—Ayla—deep in his heart?

Thinking about the girl who had defeated him in bed, the one who had stripped him,

Ayla felt a much greater frustration than when she had lost to him.

She knew.

It was Ayla who had made that choice.

She was the one who decided not to resist.

All to save him.

Even now, she believed it had been the right decision.

But.

If Ayla had been that strong—no, even stronger.

If she could have fought and stopped any assassination attempt herself.

Would she have been able to keep him?

Would there have been no reason to let go?

She chose to bury those feelings deep within her heart.

She had no intention of letting anyone else touch this body.

But she still hated remembering.

She gazed quietly into the amethyst-like eyes before her.

Reflected in those eyes was Ayla herself.

Just like when she used to look at his face.

Was that why?

Now, when she no longer had to give everything up.

Ayla didn’t want to let go of the amethysts before her.

This weaker woman,

This woman who, despite being female, strangely reminded her of him—

She wanted to keep her as her own.

This time, without being forced to give her up, without having to hand her over to someone else.

“Tonight.”

Ayla spoke.

“Go back to your room without washing up.

It’s necessary for training.”

“Training……”

“Yes, training.”

Ayla looked directly into Luna’s eyes as she spoke.

“Not this kind of sparring.

The other training you need to undergo.”

Did Luna understand what she meant?

Her eyes shifted to the side, avoiding Ayla’s gaze.

Did she dislike it?

No.

Though Ayla couldn’t fully grasp Luna’s emotions,

At the very least, Luna wasn’t following her orders out of reluctance.

Just like when she first came to Ayla,

She was here by her own will.

Just like when she offered her life.

On impulse, Ayla reached out, placing a hand atop Luna’s head as she sat on the floor.

She ran her fingers through the damp strands of hair, petting her as if she were a small dog.

Luna lowered her head even more.

Thinking about the training they would do tonight,

Something surfaced in Ayla’s mind.