"I am hurt,
So don't move and let me heal like this."
Vaan spoke as he placed his hand on Elara's lower back, not allowing her to move aside.
"V-V-Vaan!"
Elara's face turned bright red, she wanted to move away, however, since Vaan was 'hurt', she could not. In the end, she just gave up and continued to look away, trying not to make eye contact.
Vaan enjoyed her reactions, he continued to stare at his fiancé even though he knew that she was feeling embarrassed by his gaze.
This continued for a whole minute before Elara finally gathered enough confidence to speak up,
"D-D-Do we not have to train?"
"Do we really have to?" Vaan questioned with a slight smile on his face.
"You said you made a bet with the Teacher…" Elara was still worried.
200 Elemental Stones was no small amount, even for someone like Vaan. Thinking that Vaan might lose this much because of her, it clearly bothered Elara.
"So will you do what I say from now on?"
Vaan questioned.
"I-I will." Elara nodded.
"Good, then kiss my forehead."
Vaan ordered with a big smile on his face.
Elara's blush deepened,
"H-How is that r-related to my training?"
"You said you would do whatever I tell you to, you weren't lying to your fiancé, were you?"
"…"
Elara turned silent.
Vaan continued to stare at her, then, "I am still waiting, Elara." He reminded.
"Alright, let's do this, I will close my eyes, and you kiss my forehead, would that work?" Vaan spoke as he closed his eyes.
Elara sneakily glanced at Vaan and noticing that he had actually closed his eyes, Elara gathered her courage and,
She kissed Vaan's forehead.
Of course, it was a light kiss, the quickest one Vaan had ever felt or seen, however, that short kiss was so adorable that it brought a big smile on Vaan's face.
His fiancé really was too cute.
'I am falling in love…'
Vaan chuckled wryly.
"S-Should we begin now…?" Seeing Vaan's smile, Elara felt a little different, different feelings filled her heart, feelings she didn't know how to react to, therefore, she decided to direct her focus on something else and get her mind away from this.
Not knowing what was going on inside her mind, Vaan nodded.
No matter how fun it was, he was here to train his fiancé, that dream of seeing a Gangster Elara, it wouldn't come true on its own, he needed to convert his Elara on his own.
"Stand up."
Vaan ordered.
Elara did as she was told.
"Pick your sword and come at me again.
This time, keep your eyes open, mind your momentum, and don't just think about attacking me once, think about a combination of moves."
Vaan ordered.
Elara nodded, then she picked up her sword and rushed toward Vaan again.
This time, Elara was careful, even after Vaan dodged her attack, she didn't slip, rather, she quickly changed her direction and attacked again.
Of course, Vaan continued to masterfully dodge her attacks.
He didn't wish to say it, however, Elara's attacks were disastrously bad, she was slow, she was weak and she had no technique at all. Of course, Vaan expected this, like most mages, Elara hadn't trained her body at all.
Not to mention her timid personality was holding her back.
However, Vaan could sense it.
As he continued to dodge Elara's attacks effortlessly, she was changing, her attacks were getting better and better with each passing second.
Her hesitation, which was holding her back, knowing that Vaan could dodge her attacks easily and that she could go all out without hurting him, Elara's attacks got more and more confident.
Although it was not what Vaan wanted, it was still progress.
The two sparred for 30 minutes, then, Elara finally fell down, tired.
"Haah… Haahh… Haahh…"
She breathed heavily, her body drenched in sweat.
"That was good."
Vaan smiled as he passed a towel to her.
Elara grabbed the towel and as her eyes fell on Vaan, she questioned,
"How are you not tired at all…?"
Right now, even speaking felt like a chore to Elara, and seeing how Vaan, though still covered with sweat, was standing in front of her in perfect condition, she couldn't make sense of the situation.
Hearing her question, Vaan smiled wryly.
Recalling his father's training and how he couldn't move after doing that set of exercises, this little 'spar' felt like a breeze to him.
There wasn't a heaven's shocking change in his body in just one day, however, Vaan could definitely feel some change in his body. With how quickly his body was improving, Vaan was honestly shocked.
"I am quite strong, you know?" Vaan replied with a confident smile on his face.
"…" Elara was amazed.
To think Vaan was this strong…
She knew he was a Magic Genius, but this…
This was quite amazing as well.
"Anyways, that is it for today's training, now go back, eat and rest well, is that clear?"
"I-It's over?"
Elara was taken aback.
They were here to train for the Elemental Clash but they haven't trained their Magic at all! How is she going to prepare for the tournament if she doesn't practice Magic?
And as if he could read her mind, Vaan replied,
"I am not skilled enough to teach you Magic, Elara.
You should be the one teaching me that. I would have accompanied you for Magic Practice right now, however, I need to train with Father.
So have some rest, recover, and I'll join you soon, would that work?"
Elara glanced at Vaan, then, she nodded.
Vaan extended his hand towards Elara, asking her to get up, Elara held his hand, stood up, and excused herself.
Vaan was left alone in the room. Soon, Orion walked in.
"How was your little date?"
"We were training for the tournament."
"Right, me and Astra used to train for a lot of tournaments as well. We even trained for some tournaments that weren't even there."
Orion nodded, totally not believing his son.
"…"
Vaan knew his father had misunderstood, however, since he didn't especially dislike what Orion had understood, he didn't bother correcting him either. Vaan shrugged, Orion glanced at his child and,
"Are you ready?"
Vaan nodded.
"Then what are you waiting for, start with stance one," Orion ordered and Vaan's training started.
This was how Vaan spent his days, training Elara, then training with his Father, then returning to Elara to practice Magic, study some Magic on his own, spending some time with his mother, then ending his day.
His days were peaceful and fruitful.
He was getting stronger as each day passed, especially his body which was in a nightmarish condition, he was improving at a rapid rate, even in his training with Elara, Elara's attacks were getting more and more refined as well.
Everything was going well, and Vaan would have preferred if it would remain the same, however, he knew something was going to happen.
Something that he had arranged after so many days of planning.
He was finally going to win.
*Knock* *Knock*
Suddenly, Vaan heard a knock.
"Young Master Vaan, you have received a letter."
A cruel smile appeared on Vaan's face.
…
Stormweaver Mansion was known for its high security.
Although the guards working in the Stormweaver Family weren't exactly strong, and compared to the actually strong families, the Stormweaver Family's defense wasn't that strong, however, when compared with the families of their level,
The Stormweaver Family definitely stood out.
This was because of their impeccable management system, a System that guarantees guards keep watch all the time, but also guarantees that all the guards get enough rest and are in their best condition all the time.
A perfect ever-changing shift system where each Shift overlaps with the other, not allowing even a slight second of negligence,
Today, however, there was a slight mistake in this normally perfect shift system,
Today, there was a gap between two shifts, and as if knowing that this would happen, a cloaked figure rushed into the Stormweaver's Mansion, avoiding all the eyes, the figure soon entered the mansion.
With how confidently the figure was moving around, it looked like the figure had the entire map of the place in its head. The figure continued to move, the path it took was certainly much less guarded than the other paths,
It was a path that not many in the Stormweaver Family should know about, the figure, however, knew it like the back of its hand.
Soon, the figure arrived in front of Seraphina Stormweaver's room. It looked around, confirming that there was no one around, then, it barged in.
Seraphina, who was sitting inside her room panicked as she felt someone entering her room, she quickly turned around, her eyes falling on the cloaked figure,
"Did you get it?" she questioned.
The cloaked figure nodded as she removed her cloak and revealed her face.
It was Anna, Seraphina's trusted maid.
She had returned with the Dreamweave.
"Now hide it to the place I told you before. Be careful, its existence cannot be revealed no matter what, is that clear?" Seraphina ordered.
Anna nodded.
But then,
*Knock* *Knock*
The two women heard a knock.
"Who is it?" Seraphina questioned with a frown on her face, she wasn't expected to be bothered right now.
"Lady Seraphina, Young Master Vaan had come to visit you."
The servant reported and Seraphina and Anna's eyes widened in absolute horror.
