It was already dark when I opened my eyes. In the morning, I began to increase my magical power with Skrill's assistance, and I fell into a trance, losing track of time. I was able to quickly increase my mana thanks to Skrill, who shared his power with me through the bond we formed.

Today, instead of focusing on increasing sword ki power, I decided to focus on increasing my mage power. I intend to begin practicing magic once I reach A-rank mana.

"Finally. You've been like that all day "skrill said.

"At the very least, I grew."

Carina, who had come with me in the morning, was no longer at the training ground. However, I noticed the presence of someone other than myself and Skrill. Elizabeth, a beautiful knight with brown hair, was sleeping peacefully next to her.

According to Skrill, Carina spent the majority of the day attempting to replicate the move I taught her. She approached me after reaching the threshold but decided not to bother me due to my trance state. Carina went back to the palace because she had nothing else to do.

Elizabeth arrived at the arena a short time later. She must be looking for me because I haven't heard from her all day. She probably found Carina and asked where I was. Skrill claimed that Elizabeth, like Carina, didn't want to disturb my training, but she didn't come out and was waiting for me.

She leaned against a tree and waited for me until she fell asleep. Skrill walked beside me as I got up and walked over to her. I finally see Elizabeth's affection for me through the eyes of the Lord.

[Affection: 72]

It is a number considered high if we compare it with that of an ordinary person, who has never met me. Usually, the affection of people I live with in the imperial academy classroom is 10 or 15. That is, they don't have any feelings of hate or love for me, it's normal.

I took Elizabeth, who was sleeping in my arms, and went to the palace.

....

(Pov Elizabeth)

I felt like I was moving, and as a result, I awoke from my nap. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Luke, carrying me around like a princess from the children's orphanage books I had read. My heart began to race and heat rose in my head.

"You've awoken."

"Yes. Can you put me down?"

"No, let me take you to your room. You slept in the cold because of me, and you appear tired. Was your day packed?"

"Yes, and thank you."

I detested men. Before moving to the imperial capital, I lived in a village with my mother and father as a child. My father was an alcoholic who mistreated my mother every time he came home. I did not hear or see my father's mistreatment when I slept before he returned. However, I noticed the marks on my mother's body.

It's been years of putting up with that kind of environment. I grew to despise my father, as well as men in general. I had to live in that house for several years because I was still a child. When I reached the age to enter the imperial academy, however, I did as my mother advised and fled.

Because of my skill with the sword, I attracted the attention of Margaret, the sole heir to the title of emperor, at the imperial academy. At the imperial academy, she was the only person I became involved with, and I was always cold to the men who approached me. After all, I didn't want to experience what my mother did.

Just remembering what my dad did made my stomach churn and the feeling of vomit flooded my mouth. Every time a man bumped into me, even unintentionally, I felt disgusted and disgusted due to the traumas caused in the past. Faced with this situation, I decided. I was going to be strong so that no man would touch me.

That way, I focused 100% of my time on training. One day, I received a boy from my old village, saying that my mother had died. After the prayers, I returned to the village and when I saw the state of my mother's coffin, I got angry. Obviously, my mother was murdered. The marks on her neck indicated that she had been strangled.

I knew who was to blame for her death. So, fueled by rage, I returned to the old house I used to call home and discovered the man I used to call father drinking as if nothing had happened. He tried to say something to me while drunk, but before he could, my sword had severed his head from his body.

I held a proper wake for my mother after disposing of the man who murdered her. So I returned to the imperial capital to serve as a vassal for Margaret. I learned over time that not all men are the same. There are good-hearted men who want to help others. However, the concept of marriage was never considered.

Many men proposed to me after I became an adult woman. Every time my heart fluttered and a bit of past trauma was relived, my heart raced and I felt sick. Obviously, I've never shown this to anyone. To avoid a situation like this, I stated that I would only marry the person who beat me in a duel. I was already one of the most powerful people in the empire at the time.

I spent years alone like that. Until Luke showed up in front of me. Unlike other men, Luke did not make me feel uneasy. It was the first time I didn't feel awkward in front of a man, and it was the first time the loneliness I felt in the imperial palace was satisfied.

Following the incident in Santa Angelica, I became even more interested in Luke. Margaret began looking for information after Luke informed her of what had occurred. To that end, she requested that the guards bring her some witnesses. Regardless of who the witnesses were, they all reported the same thing.

He saved the village. He fought alone against a swarm of monsters and a basilica. In addition to the fight, Luke helped to resolve the land issue by arranging for a new planting location and assisting in the construction of a wall to increase the residents' security. Luke did all of this without expecting anything in return from the villagers.

I was impressed by Luke's actions, which piqued my interest even further. Following that, we interacted almost every day of the week in training, except when he or I had a task assigned to us by Margaret.

I started to observe Luke even more and ended up noticing some of his qualities like his great focus on training. He looked like me when he was in the imperial academy, always focused on getting stronger. I don't know when it was, but I developed a great affection for Luke.

It was the first time in my life that I developed an interest in someone of the opposite sex. I would like to get to know him a little more. I wonder what kind of feeling this is, I've never felt like this before. Like right now, when I'm being carried by Luke. I don't feel any discomfort or disgust from him, but I feel like my heart is going to explode at any moment. I wonder what is it?

....

(Luke's POV)

I arrived with Elizabeth in the room and put her on the bed. When I released her, I felt my body go limp, and I staggered back. Elizabeth, surprised, got to her feet.

"Luke."

"I'm fine. I think I'm mentally exhausted."

I didn't feel mentally exhausted after two days in a trance. But I couldn't get away this time. When you go into a trance, your entire body continues to work until you wake up, and the brain is the primary organ responsible for the body's functioning. The brain obviously works twenty-four hours a day. However, when you enter a trance, you force your brain to work harder than usual, resulting in mental exhaustion.

I lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep. I awoke the next day feeling more energized than ever. Elizabeth had also just awoken and was dressed in her usual sexy pajamas. She is completely unaware of her actions; could it be that she is not uncomfortable with me? Obviously, I'm looking at her body.

...

(Elizabeth's point of view)

Luke, who had only recently awoken, looked at me with greedy eyes. I am aware that I have an attractive body, which attracts the attention of many men, and I believe that this is why they court me so much. I never liked how their eyes looked at me, but when Luke looks at me, I smile.

I usually wear these pajamas on hot nights, and I did so the first night we arrived as usual. Luke's eyes lit up when he saw me. Luke, like all men, must have been drawn to my body. However, I was not bothered by his stare.

"Did you bring any clothes to the party?" I asked Lucas.

"Obviously not. I didn't even know why we came to the demihuman realm."

"Fine. I'll change clothes and we'll go into town and buy you a proper outfit."

"And Margaret?"

"She's going to have some meetings with King Mufasa. So we don't need to accompany her."

"OK."

I got up and went to the bathroom to change.

...

(Luke's POV)

I left the room while Elizabeth changed her clothes. In the hallway, I came across Carina. The first thing I noticed was some bandages on Carina's hands.

"How is your hand?"

She probably hurt from swinging the spear so hard yesterday.

"It's fine. Unfortunately, I couldn't do what you told me to."

I put my hand on Carina's head and stroked her hair, giving her strength. Carina accepted the pat on the head like a small animal.

"Keep up the training, those who work hard go far."

"Hehehe, ok."

Carina left with thin steps. Suddenly, the bedroom door opened and Elizabeth stepped out.

"Let's go?"

"Yes."

...