"We will not disappoint you, Lady Astaria,
We will definitely defeat Lord Nux."
Astaria smiled and nodded.
The three men then walked out of the room.
As they left, Astaria's smile turned into a wry one and then she sighed,
'Defeating him huh…
It's not possible…
At least not until you become an Emperor Stage Cultivator.'
Of course, she would never say that out loud since this would simply break the Shadow Unit's morale.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
Suddenly, Astaria heard another knock.
"Enter."
She ordered.
A man with black hair, golden eyes, and a handsome face walked in with a playful smile on his face,
"Lady Astaria, I am here.
Did you miss me?"
Astaria glanced at the man with a deadpan look on her face,
"Why would I miss you?"
"Because you fell in love with me and couldn't get me out of your mind?"
Nux didn't leave the chance.
"As shameless as usual I see.
And no, I did not fall in love and my mind works perfectly fine, so I don't even think about you at all."
Astaria, however, was already used to him and didn't react at all.
"As cold as usual I see."
Nux nodded to himself.
"No worries, I just need to defeat you, once that happens, you would naturally give your heart to me."
He shrugged.
"…"
Astaria turned silent.
Seeing that, Nux frowned, he then glanced at Astaria and smiled playfully,
"You aren't going back on your words, are you?"
"…"
Astaria didn't reply.
"No way… are you actually scared that you would lose to me and are going back on your words?
I don't know if I should be delighted or disappointed."
"Didn't you…
Win the bet already?"
Suddenly, Astaria questioned in a low voice.
"Huh?"
Nux frowned, he glanced at Astaria and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw an expression he never thought he would see.
Astaria's face was red.
She was trying to avoid eye contact, however, not wanting to appear weak, she would look back at him, only to avoid looking into his eyes again.
Seeing someone like Astaria, the woman who radiated dominance and superiority, acting like that, Nux felt a strange twitch in his lower region.
Unconsciously, a playful smile appeared on his face as he walked toward Astaria and questioned,
"Heeeehh? What are you talking about, Lady Astaria?"
"Y-You won the bet…
You defeated me in our last battle…"
Astaria spoke.
Hearing those words, Nux frowned,
"But I didn't defeat you though?"
"Y-You held back in the end,
If you had attacked properly, the attack would have targeted my heart and I would have died…"
Astaria spoke.
Nux narrowed his eyes as he questioned.
"Are you looking down on me?"
Hearing that question, Astaria's flustered expression turned into a frown as well,
"W-What are you talking about?"
"I did aim at your heart, although at the center, but I still aimed at the part of it.
If my attack was successful, you would have passed out.
Then I would have placed my sword at your neck and that would have been my victory, you, however, somehow stopped my attack midway before it could reach your heart.
So even if I had attacked at the center of your attack like you said, you would have countered it."
Nux explained.
"…"
Astaria turned silent.
Nux was correct, even if he had aimed at her heart, she would have survived.
"I did not win that match."
Nux stated.
However, Astaria disagreed with his statement.
For her, an Emperor Stage Cultivator, to puke blood when fighting a King Stage Cultivator, it was a defeat in her eyes.
And as if knowing what she was thinking, Nux brought his face close to Astaria's, and with a solemn expression on his face, he replied,
"Do not look down on me, Lady Astaria.
I will only accept my victory when I actually defeat you.
I don't want a victory that is given to me because of how pitifully weak I am.
Lady Astaria, I will defeat you.
I will defeat you fair and square, and I,
I will make you mine."
Hearing those words, Astaria's expression changed.
She had never seen this expression on Nux's face.
An expression brimming with… pride… and confidence…
Nux on the other hand, backed away and stood in front of her.
There were many things going on in his mind.
He had the chance…
He had the chance to make Astaria his… however, for some reason, the inner him didn't allow it…
It was strange, however, when he thought how Astaria was giving him the victory, he couldn't help but feel… angry?
He was not a particularly prideful person and was pretty shameless in his ways…
Even he couldn't understand why he didn't just jump onto Astaria right there… but for some reason, he didn't hate himself for what he did…
Rather, he was rather… proud of what he did…
"Heh, I gave you chance, boy."
Suddenly, a smile appeared on Astaria's face.
The flustered expression she showed before completely disappeared and was replaced by her usual confident self that radiated an air of dominance and superiority.
"And as I said before, I do not beg for what I want, I will take it myself."
A similar smile appeared on Nux's face as well.
His Aura started to change…
It… was looking more and more like Astaria's aura…
This time, he didn't look like a man wooing the woman he loved, rather,
He looked like a warrior who was challenging another warrior.
"Alright then boy. I have decided.
I will train you."
Suddenly, Astaria declared.
"Huh?"
"All the operations of you going to the Woods Dynasty and defeating Solid Earth Kingdom's soldiers will be postponed until I am satisfied with the results of your training and keep in mind, it is not a request.
It is a command."
Nux didn't know what to say.
A crazy smile appeared on Astaria's face as she declared,
"Be prepared boy,
I will show you what hell looks like."
Nux, of course, couldn't allow her to get one over him, therefore, his smile widened as well, and he replied,
"Heh, that is a good indirect way of saying,
'I love you, so I will train you until we are a couple'.
I expected no less from you, Lady Astaria~"
