“Stop treating me like a child.”

“I wasn’t…” Reivan gulped at the pressure behind her gaze, which was sharp just like the blade she so often swung at him. “That wasn't my intention.”

It was immediately clear to him that something he’d said wasn’t received very well.

“Perhaps it wasn’t, but that’s how I understood it.” Helen shot back with a bit of a scowl. She climbed out of bed and stood right in front of him with her arms crossed. “You must be underestimating me too much just because I win our sparring matches so much.”

“What? I don’t underestimate you at all—”

“Listen to me.”

Reivan stopped talking. Or rather, he was forced to stop talking when Helen grabbed his head. Her soft palms squished his cheeks, making his lips resemble a pufferfish's.

“I am not a child, Reivan.”

“I know that.” Reivan managed to say, despite the state of his mouth.

“No. You don’t. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be thinking that my happiness is your sole responsibility.”

‘What?’

“Reivan.” Leaving him in stunned silence, Helen continued with an impassive face, but an intense gaze boring straight into Reivan’s soul. “Perhaps you’re not used to seeing me as such, but I am an adult. My happiness is my responsibility. And I must seek it out myself. Through my own decisions.”

‘That’s…’

Reivan’s eyes shook as her words struck him in the back of the head like a hammer.

“With that in mind…” Helen’s gaze softened at that moment and she smiled. “I believe, with all my heart, that I’ll find happiness if I’m with you. And with any hope, you’ll find happiness while you’re with me too. I will certainly try my best to help you.”

As he sat there, too stunned for words, Helen released his face, allowing him to regain control of his expression. His cheeks still felt tingly from her touch, but it wasn’t the physical sensation that left him breathless.

It was the depth of her words, the strength she exhibited, and the unexpected maturity she revealed.

‘When… did she grow up so much?’

Maybe her physical development had blinded him to her mental growth. Or perhaps his memories of her as a child, a young lady, and a budding adult were too vivid. Perhaps in a way, her image within his mind remained the same — a cute little girl pulled along by the young Hector, seemingly uninterested in everything around her but still happy about getting a friend.

But that was not who she was anymore.

Reivan looked up and searched for Helen’s enchanting dark eyes, finding a resolve that was burning with intensity. It was as if she would accept no further excuses. But strangely, he could only chuckle at himself, as if a weight had been released.

‘Communication really is key. If I’d just bottled up my troubles and never spoken about them like all those anime protagonists…’

“Do you understand now?” Helen placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head. “Or do I have to beat some sense into you?”

“Please don’t.” Reivan stood up and took a step forward. He hesitated for a moment as his hands just hovered beside him, but her previous words reminded him that there was no longer a reason to hold back. "I guess I can only say that you've convinced me... Or rather, you've opened my eyes?"

"Really?"

"Yeah." With another careful step forward, Reivan took Helen into his arms as if assuring her that he wouldn’t let her go anymore. “I’m sorry for being arrogant. For thinking that I was fully responsible for making you happy and stuff.”

“Mhm.” Helen wrapped her arms around him and stroked his back while burying her face into his chest. “I’m glad you understand now.”

“I guess I was just having useless thoughts and overthinking things, huh?”

“They weren’t useless. It means you really care about me, so It’s fine.” Helen looked up and smiled, and at that moment, she looked more beautiful than she ever did. And Reivan’s image of her as just a friend shattered forever. “I love you anyway.”

“I-I see…” Reivan gulped, feeling his heartbeat quicker as he looked away. “A-Anyway, we should get some dinner.”

“Hey. Not so fast.”

“What?”

“You didn’t say it back to me.” Helen frowned, looking unnecessarily adorable. “You’re supposed to say it back.”

“Oh.” Reivan finally understood what she meant. He chuckled sheepishly “Do I have to say it right now…?”

“If you want to keep all your limbs intact, then yes.”

“This was supposed to be a heart-warming moment but it suddenly got violent all of a sudden.”

Helen pursed her lips and then rubbed her forehead on his chest. “Say it.”

Reivan rubbed her back and then sighed in reluctant acceptance. “I… I like you, Helen… I want to be with you… And I’m eager to see how we grow from here on out…”

“That’s not what I was looking for.” Helen sighed and then looked up, an exasperated smile on her face. “But I guess it’ll have to do for now.”

“Thank you for your mercy.”

“I told you, didn’t I?” Helen let him go and winked. “I’m playing the long game. We’ve got a long life ahead of us.”

Reivan nodded while laughing, not at what she said but out of happiness. Her words made him realize that out of all the women he would probably marry in the next few years, only Helen would stick around for all eternity. Elsa and all the young women he would take in as concubines would one day grow old and die, yet, Helen would likely remain.

'The long game, huh?'

He reached for her hand and held it in his for a moment before fully enveloping it, interlocking their fingers. “All right. Challenge accepted.”

“Mhm.” Helen smiled, a little too sweetly than he ever thought she was capable of, and looked blissfully at their joined hands. “Does this mean we’re a real couple now? Not just an engaged one?”

“Well, yes… But please remember that I still have Elsa. And I’m obligated to take in a few — no, quite a few concubines for procreating purposes.”

“I know. I don’t mind at all as long as you finally accept me.”

Her words brought a tinge of pain to Reivan’s heart, reminding him that he’d caused her a lot of heartaches simply because he was too careful with accepting her feelings. “Yeah… Yeah, I’ll make it up to you from now on.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

Helen let go of his hand and threw his arms around him, tilting her head up and closing her eyes.

Reivan was no dullard, so he answered her actions by wrapping his hands around her slender waist and pulling her close.

And in a dimly lit bedroom, they kissed as lovers for the first time.

 

---

 

It was a while until they fully parted.

By no means was it their first time kissing. They had shared light pecks from time to time — mostly initiated by Helen, but sometimes, Reivan retaliated by surprising her.

This time though, Reivan was a little too into it, to be honest.

Even though his worries were so easily allayed by Helen’s assurance and determination, those same worries had been weighing heavily on his heart for a long time. He had even lost sleep over them.

That’s why it simply couldn’t be helped if he assaulted her a little harder. He felt enamored by her lips and the relief, releasing all his pent-up desire and frustration through the kiss. Her lips literally tasted so sweet for some reason, which didn’t help. Surely, she used something on them to get them like that.

Reivan pulled away and sighed, eyeing the string of saliva between their mouths as their heads parted. When he noticed how red Helen’s face was or how her eyes seemed to be in a daze, which was a totally new expression he never knew she was capable of making, he couldn’t resist the urge to go in for another one. He ignored her surprise and closed his eyes, focusing on his tongue's quest to explore her mouth.

Helen tried to escape numerous times but Reivan’s strength prevented that. She may have surpassed him in speed, but once caught in a vice-like hug, she had few options of resisting. Seemingly growing to abandon resistance, her body went limp as Reivan had his fill of her lips and everything beyond. Even when his hands explored her body, eventually resting on her butt, she could only twitch in surprise and let him do what he wanted.

Reivan was in a trance as he practically ate her face and enjoyed the sensation of finally having his hands on the ass he’d been eyeing for the past few months. Feeling slightly more courageous, his hands slipped into her trousers and underwear so he could feel the soft flesh directly. Remembering a few seductive scenes of her sweaty neck right after a sparring match, he found the perfect reason to give her lips a temporary respite.

“S-stop…” Helen managed to gasp out after his attention turned downwards.

“Ah.” Reivan froze in place, his tongue on the fragrant collar of her neck. He released her immediately. “Sorry… I got a bit… heated.”

‘Gods, what is wrong with me…? It's her first time, for crying out loud! Hopefully, I didn't scare her off... I should really find a good relaxant.’

Unfortunately, as someone got stronger, ordinary medicine also stopped working for them. Any medicine that still worked on Ascendants and above was legendary for a reason. That was also why the Beast King Ichor that his mother brought from the eastern continent was so valuable — and yet, a young Vianna had single-handedly wiped out her clan's entire stock.

"It’s okay..." Helen’s breathing was a bit ragged and her knees looked a bit wobbly, but she managed to amble over to the bed and sit down on its edge. "…I liked it.”

“I see…” Reivan didn’t really have a response to that, and now that he’d snapped out of it, he felt a bit awkward just standing there. So he cleared his throat while fixing his clothes — even though they weren’t that messy. “Dinner. I came to get you for dinner. We can also have it delivered to our suites, but since this is the first day of our voyage, we should probably have it with the others.”

“What?” Helen looked up with surprised horror on her face. “But aren’t we supposed to make love to each other now?”

“...Hah?” Reivan was left speechless for a moment before he managed to snap out of it and reply. “I mean… I’m not particularly opposed, of course, but I didn’t intend for things to go that far at this particular moment.’

"B-But..."

‘Did kissing her so hard give her weird ideas?’

He also had to wonder why his response left her so uneasy for some reason.

“But we’re a couple now. Right?” Helen stood up and pinched the front of his clothes, her face filled with anxiety. “Couples are supposed to do that, aren’t they?”

“I mean… You’re not wrong, per se.” Reivan frowned, noticing something strange about the situation. Something told him that there was some kind of misunderstanding at play, and he wasn't about to fall for it. “Okay, let’s stop for a moment. Deep breaths."

Helen let go of him and inhaled deeply before exhaling.

"Alright. Let's try to set things straight..." Reivan reached forward and stroked her cheeks, noting how soft they felt to the touch before speaking. “Can you explain why you think we should be having sex right now…?”

“Because we’re a couple now.”

“Okay. And… you think being a couple means we automatically have to do that?”

"Yes?"

"I see... And you think they have to do that the moment they become a couple?"

Helen tilted her head. “Am I wrong?”

‘There we go. That was quick, I found the misunderstanding already. Communication is OP, as expected.’

Having a lie detector built into him also helped prevent any lies, so it truly seemed as if discussion would be one of his greatest armaments in life. Of course, the world he lived in was where violence opened doors and solved a lot of problems, so Reivan would still have to be strong enough to force opponents into dialogue if he ever felt the need to get along with them.

“Helen…” Reivan chuckled before leading her back to the edge of the bed, where they sat side by side while holding hands. “There’s a process to these things. We don't have to do it now. Besides, Aizen’s customs dictate that we must first be wed. And besides, just because we’ve accepted each other now, that doesn’t obligate us to do that.”

“We don’t?”

“Yes, we don’t. Married couples do that because they love each other and they want to do that — and probably want to have a kid, too. Not simply because they become a couple. Let's step back and calm down for now. We can just let nature take its course.”

Reivan smiled as he rubbed her back. Her surprising maturity shocked him earlier, but he couldn’t just forget the fact that Helen was only eighteen years old in a world that didn’t have so much information accessible through a hand-sized device. She — a young woman who spent most of her time training for combat — could only learn these kinds of things by observing others or being instructed by an older lady.

She must have had only bad examples around her.

‘I can’t believe Stella or someone else never thought to teach her these things… Especially when she already teaches Helen so many useless facts.’

After his sister-in-law gave birth to her third child, perhaps Reivan would have a talk with her about what she should really be teaching others.

Helen looked down, seemingly contemplating his words in silence. After a moment of thought, she looked up and tilted her head. “But don’t you do that a lot with her? And I think you had sex with all those women in that seedy place that you run. Don’t deny it.”

Reivan’s hand stopped stroking back as he felt his smile stiffen. “Uh. That was…”

“Stella and His Majesty also did it before they got married.”

“What? Wait, did she tell you that?”

“Yes.”

‘Stellaaaaa…!’

Reivan loved his sister-in-law dearly, but sometimes, she could be the bane of his existence. It seemed they really needed to have a talk about all sorts of things.

Helen wasn’t done yet, it seemed. “Your parents too.”

“...My parents!?” Reivan unconsciously stood up. “Did my mother tell you something!?”

“Yes.”

‘Mother…!’

Why?

Why must he only have weird older women in his family?

Weren’t they being too open about these things? Was breaking Aizen’s decorum a fact they can boast about to the younger generation?

‘Look at what you two have done! Helen turned out weird because of you!’

Reivan conveniently ignored how he was partly at fault for Helen’s misunderstanding. “They are very bad examples, so don’t trust them too much.”

“But they’re doing really well for themselves, no?” Helen raised a brow. “Both of them are married to kings. They also seem very happy and fulfilled.”

“...I can't deny that.” Reivan couldn’t deny that the two women had done very well for themselves. “But look. We’ll be married even if we don’t do it right this instant, right?”

“That’s true…”

“Let’s not rush things and let things happen as they come.” Reivan tried to sound like the mature one as he gave the crown of her head a little pat.

He was just about to stand up and lead her away to get some dinner, but the words she muttered, seemingly to herself, caused him to freeze.

“But I want to do it though…”

“Uhm…” Reivan’s nostrils flared at the thought of what could happen, but he tried to keep himself under control as the mentally older half of the relationship.

Helen looked down and sighed. “As expected, you don’t want to do it with me because I’m flat and ugly.”

“What? No, you’re not,” he immediately replied.

“Liar. You’re not attracted to me at all, are you?”

“That’s not true at all!”

"Liar."

"I'm telling the truth though! Please believe me..."

“Prove it, then”

Reivan frowned before clearing his throat. “How am I even supposed to prove that? Are you going to make me write a poem or something?”

Helen shook her head before standing up and moving in front of him. “What part of me do you like the most?”

“Uhm… Your personality?”

 

 

'Oh, shut up. Stupid ability...'

Helen didn't seem to like that answer either. “I meant physically.”

“Shit…” Reivan muttered under his breath. “Your face…?”

“Other than my face.”

“You’re really fucking picky,” he spat, somewhat frustrated. After a moment, he sighed in resignation. “Then... your butt…”

Helen’s brows furrowed. “My butt?”

“Yes…”

“What about it do you like?”

“I mean, what’s not to like?”

“Be more descriptive. Hurry up.”

“Wow, am I royalty or are you?” Reivan chuckled in exasperated resignation. He scratched the back of his head as he answered, feeling like a massive pervert. “Like… The shape? I like the shape, I guess? And it's perky too... There. Can we please stop this embarrassing interrogation now? This entire conversation makes me want to jump off the ship...”

“The shape…” Helen seemed to ruminate on his answer for a moment before doing something totally unthinkable.

With nonchalance, as if she was doing something perfectly normal, Helen pulled her trousers down halfway and spun around to show him the treasure underneath.

“What do you think?”

Reivan’s ice resistance must have stopped working, for his brain seemed to have frozen as he stared at Helen’s meaty flesh. “What do I think…?”

“Yes. Does this turn you on?”

“...Maybe.”

“I see.” Helen nodded in understanding. Seemingly having decided on something, she kicked off her trousers and started taking off her top.

Reivan finally snapped out of it as he shouted. “What’re you doing!?”

“You said couples only do it because they want to. And I want to do it.”

Helen turned around to face him, wearing only a pair of panties.

“So? Look at me. Am I good?”

Reivan gulped as he beheld Helen’s toned body.

Helen’s skin was pearly white and without a single blemish, but hidden underneath that vast expanse of white was the result of the grueling conditioning required of a knight. Surprisingly, her limbs didn’t look as muscular as her torso, but Reivan had no doubt they hid tremendous power underneath.

Before he saw her practically naked like this, he had never known that he was actually attracted to slightly muscular women. But now that he knew, he couldn’t help but reach out for her. His hands met her supple hips, pulling her close and running his hands over her defined abdominal muscles.

‘Not as hard as I thought they’d be…’ he unwittingly thought.

Helen tapped him on the forehead. “I only said to look though.”

“Ah.” Reivan’s hands stopped on their way upward. “My bad.”

She giggled and ran her fingers through his somewhat sweaty hair. Her gaze stopped on him for what felt like forever until she grabbed his wrist and brought his hands up to her breasts. “Here. And sorry. They’re small…”

Reivan instinctively squeezed, still a bit dazed at the current situation. The fact that her soft flesh almost spilled out of his hands spoke otherwise. Helen was not lacking in anything but height, no matter what she thought. “Uh, I think you’re comparing yourself to the wrong people… Mother and Stella are probably at the top percentile when it comes to this particular area.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“So… you like mine?”

Reivan felt his cheeks burn at the blunt question, but trying to beat around the bush because he felt embarrassed would probably hurt her for no reason. “I like them. They’re… uhm... They're great...”

'Fuck. Saying this shit's so embarrassing...'

Helen stepped forward and straddled him, sitting on his lap and placing her arms around his neck. Her smile alone brightened up the dimlit room. “Pervert.”

“You're the one who kept asking... But I can't deny your accusation.”

Reivan chuckled as he hugged her closer and buried his face into her chest, taking a long whiff of her intoxicating fragrance. As if pulled by gravity, his hands fell and rested on her meaty buns, squeezing until his fingers sunk in halfway.

Helen’s legs wrapped tightly around his body and her crotch was practically glued to his stomach.

He did not miss the dampness, but his attention was drawn to the softness at his sides. His hands momentarily left to explore more of her body, deciding on her thighs as their next destination.

‘I can’t take it anymore…’

Reivan gulped at the surprising softness of her smooth thighs. Helen used her legs a lot so he was under the impression that despite how soft they looked, her thighs would feel like iron.

He was wrong.

Her thighs were, perhaps, softer and smoother than any other part of her body. And Reivan found himself intoxicated with the thought of sticking something long and hard between them.

Suddenly, Helen pulled his head out from between her breasts and looked into his eyes with great intensity, seemingly engraving his face into her mind.

“I love you.”

“I think I lov—”

But not even giving him a chance to reply, she swooped in and took his lips, melting all semblance of resistance remaining in him.

 

---

 

Still mentally tired from the night of passion he’d just spent with Helen, Reivan opened his eyes at first light.

There were no windows in the royal sky ark, but some rooms had a window-like area enchanted with one-sided transparency to emulate windows and let natural light into the ship’s interior. This was a fact that often confused first-time passengers since they were under the impression that the ship was completely encased in steel.

And so, even without an alarm or anyone coming to wake them up, the young couple woke up out of pure habit, born of the militaristic discipline they'd become used to. Getting out of bed early to train their bodies was an everyday occurrence, after all.

‘What we did last night can count as physical training, so maybe I’ll slack off a little…’

Reivan lazily lay in bed with the naked Helen in his arms. She was already awake and looking straight at him, so he didn’t hold back his instincts and gave her butt a good squeeze.

‘I’ll never get tired of this sensation.’

It was like squeezing boobs, but they were slightly lower and didn’t smell as nice.

“Hey,” Helen called out in a somewhat hoarse voice.

“Yeah?”

“Am I going to have a baby now?”

Reivan couldn’t help but chuckle. “No. That's not how it works. I pulled out, remember?”

“Then we should go again.” Helen sat up and then straddled him, her eyes filled with determination. “I wanna try moving this time.”

“Wait, wait, wait!”

“Not waiting.”

“We have to get married first! Even my brother and Stella waited until marriage before having kids!”

Helen frowned at the mention of her elder sister. “Fine…”

Watching her get off him and hop off the bed to get dressed, Reivan observed her from behind. She didn’t seem to be having trouble moving even though Reivan did it as much as he wanted — which made sense because unlike Elsa or any of the other women Reivan ever bedded, Helen’s physique was developed to the extent that she wouldn’t flinch even if a house were dropped on her.

Getting plowed repeatedly nonstop for hours must not have been physically exerting for her at all.

Finished donning some totally unsexy baggy pants and a loose shirt that completely hid how stunning her figure was, she turned to him with a raised brow.

“Van. Are you just gonna stay there all morning? The sun's almost up.”

“You’re such a brute. Can’t you let me bask in the afterglow?” Reivan sighed in exasperation but his disciplined body was urging him to remember that now was the time for training. “I’m up, I’m up…”

“I’m hungry.”

“Even after you ate me up last night?”

Helen tilted her head, confused. “What do you mean?”

Reivan shook his head with a smile. “Sorry. Forgot you don’t understand most dirty jokes yet. Never mind. Let’s finish up and then get some grub… We skipped a meal last night, after all.”

After Reivan got dressed, both of them squatted on the floor, their backs to each other. Reivan then embarked on his early morning training routine, the energies within his body surging to action.

He didn’t have leeway to talk or pay attention to anything else, so he tuned out his surroundings and the beautiful lady meditating behind him. As usual, qi and mana combined into essence as armament energy formed a case to contain it within him. Reivan labored to keep the energy inside but after what felt like a long time, he could only slowly release all of it.

“Hooo…” Reivan exhaled after he finished, sweat covering his entire body. He stood up and threw a glance at the other person in the room and found that her face was serene, like a calm lake on a cloudy day.

But even if it appeared like she was simply sitting on the floor with her eyes closed, Reivan’s eyes said otherwise. Within her body, was a stagnant sea of essence. It was as if the body of energy belonged where it was, so it did not resist or try to escape its vessel.

‘Stillwater…’

It was a state that only those who were ready to knock on the doors of Ascendance could reach.

One of Helen’s eyes opened and met Reivan’s gaze. She exhaled a deep breath as her energies returned to how they normally were for a mortal, but Reivan didn’t miss how her qi and mana seemingly didn’t want to separate — as if being combined had become their normal state.

“Are you done, Van?”

Reivan nodded. “You’re amazing, by the way.”

Helen tilted her head. “Am I?”

“Yes.”

“I see…” Helen stared at him blankly for a moment before shrugging. “If you say so. But if you didn’t have so many duties as a member of the royal family, you’d probably be faster than me.”

Reivan smiled awkwardly. “I’m thankful for your faith in me, but I don’t really agree…”

Helen shook her head. “No. I’m sure of it.”

“Fine, fine… Whatever you say.” Reivan held out a hand, offering to help her up. “Boxing? Or is it leg day for you?”

“Let's do boxing.” Helen grabbed hold of his hand and pulled herself up. "But maybe we shouldn't hit each other's face today."

"Why? Did you finally grow some mercy?"

"No. That's not it."

"Then why?"

Helen grinned before jabbing him in the face far faster than he could perceive, his head flew back as he saw stars for a moment.

"I don't wanna get blood on the carpet."

 

---

 

If they had been at the palace, where there were countless eyes and ears, even if Reivan and Helen’s night of passion wouldn’t have become some kind of household rumor known to every housewife in the kingdom, it still would have been revealed and talked about in some way.

Luckily, they were in a sky ark with very few people inside.

Reivan had teleported in front of Helen’s room so even the ship’s patrol personnel wouldn’t know unless they peeked inside the room one by one — which they weren’t allowed to do, especially to one of the ship’s suites.

The fact that both Reivan and Helen weren’t at the mess hall for dinner could easily be explained away by saying that they chose to eat elsewhere or in their rooms.

Hence, what the two did should’ve been known to nobody except Valter.

“You’re unbelievable, Yani.”

Jiji seemed to know something though.

“What’re you talking about?” Reivan played dumb as he started working on his breakfast. “Anyway, it’s the second day of the trip, huh~? Isn’t this great? Sky arks are awesome~”

“Brushing this off is useless.” Jiji rolled her eyes and pointed at Helen, who was steadily putting away a small mountain of fried sausages. “Your smell is all over her. And her smell is all over you. It’s obvious. Disgusting. I can’t believe you.”

“Like I said, what are you talking about?”

“Still playing dumb, huh…?”

Reivan shrugged, figuring that everything would work itself out as long as he never agreed to anything.

“Van.” Helen speared a three-inch-long sausage with her fork and held it out to him.

Even though he also had the exact same sausages on his plate, Reivan still opened his mouth and bit into what she offered. “Yum.”

“And you two are even flirting so blatantly…!” Jiji ground her teeth together before standing up and stomping off, leaving her unfinished breakfast behind.

Reivan scratched his head awkwardly as Helen wiped his mouth with a napkin. He turned to her when he felt her hold his hand under the table. “What?”

Helen shook her head and smiled. “Nothing. I just wanted to hold your hand.”

“Yeesh. I’m swooning here.” Reivan chuckled and squeezed her hand before letting go. Holding hands was sweet and all, but he couldn’t eat properly with only one hand.

His stamina never depleted because of his near-constant use of his ability to reproduce the Beast King’s Ichor, but the only medicine for his overwhelming hunger was food.

Still, Reivan couldn’t help but smile while chewing his when Helen prodded him with her foot instead.