The next morning, I was awakened earlier than expected by a knock at my door.
When I opened it, Lydia stood outside with a breakfast tray resting carefully in her hands.
For a brief mont, neither of us spoke.
The mory of last night still lingered too heavily between us.
Her expression remained composed, but it was the kind of composure that looked fragile when observed too closely. The bruises at her throat had not fully faded. They were visible above her collar, impossible to miss, and the mont my eyes settled on them, I noticed the faint stiffness in her posture.
"Your breakfast," she said quietly.
I stepped aside and let her in.
She moved with her usual grace, setting the tray down on the table near the window, though there was a subtle restraint in every movent, as if she were too aware of my gaze on her body.
The room fell silent again.
I watched her for a mont before speaking.
"You didn’t sleep much."
Lydia’s fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the tray.
"That is not sothing the young master should concern himself with."
Her voice was steady, but not steady enough.
I gave a low chuckle and stepped closer, enough for her breathing to shift.
"And yet you’re still here."
She lowered her gaze, not answering.
Just as I was about to say sothing else, another knock ca from the door.
Lydia seed to recover instantly, taking a small step back as though the interruption had pulled her out of dangerous waters.
"Co in," I said.
The door opened and a maid entered, bowing respectfully.
"Young master, Lady Rosaline has summoned you to the training grounds."
I glanced at Lydia, then back at the maid.
"Rosaline summoned ?"
"Yes, young master."
I nodded lightly. "Understood."
The maid withdrew without another word.
For a mont, Lydia remained still, then she turned toward the door.
"You should not keep her waiting," she said.
There was nothing unusual in her tone, but I still caught it. The faint restraint. The slight tightness. The quiet awareness she tried and failed to hide.
I smiled.
"Are you jealous?"
She froze for the briefest mont, then continued walking.
"You think too highly of yourself."
I only chuckled as she left the room.
After eating, I made my way toward the training grounds.
The walk was brief. Along the way, I passed several guards who greeted respectfully, while maids and servants moved through the estate with practiced urgency, each busy with their own duties.
Since I hadn’t run into my mother anywhere in the estate, I found myself feeling a trace of disappointnt.
Still, the thought of seeing Rosaline was enough to sharpen my mood.
By the ti I arrived at the training grounds, my pace had already quickened.
My gaze swept across the surroundings, and I frowned slightly.
The number of cursed warriors and monsters stationed there had noticeably decreased.
It seed many of them had been sent out, likely on a mission.
I didn’t dwell on it for long and instead headed toward the towering structure near the center of the grounds.
Before I could knock, a calm voice drifted from within.
"Co in."
Recognizing Rosaline’s voice, I twisted the doorknob and stepped inside.
The room looked much as I rembered it. Scrolls were arranged neatly along the shelves, while various weapons rested in precise order against the walls. Everything was clean, organized, and efficient.
Just like her.
Rosaline sat behind a broad table with a scroll open before her. At the sound of my footsteps, she slowly lifted her gaze from the parchnt and looked up at .
My eyes instinctively settled on her attire.
She was dressed in a slightly loose blue gown that carried an effortless elegance. It was modest by all reasonable standards, yet it still traced her figure enough to make certain details impossible to ignore.
Unfortunately for her, I was a man with functioning eyes.
She caught staring almost imdiately.
With a small sigh, she folded her arms beneath her chest and leaned back in her seat.
"I can’t help but feel that every ti you see , your thoughts beco indecent."
I looked up to et her eyes.
"That’s because you are indecently beautiful."
For the first ti, Rosaline seed genuinely caught off guard.
It only lasted a mont before she regained herself.
"That’s a convenient answer."
"It’s the truthful one."
A faint look passed through her eyes, though she quickly concealed it and gestured toward the chair across from her.
I remained standing.
"I received word that you sent for ," I said. "Did you miss already?"
My gaze dropped briefly to her lips before returning to her eyes.
A faint blush touched her face, though she kept her expression controlled.
The mory of the kiss we had shared clearly surfaced in her mind. I could tell from the subtle shift in her breathing alone.
Rosaline quickly reached for a parchnt on the table, using the motion to compose herself before speaking.
"I received word from your father that you reached rank three."
I nodded.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and I felt her senses brush over as she confird my strength for herself.
Then a flicker of surprise crossed her face.
I had advanced again.
Even without asking, she understood it.
Her silence lasted only a second before discipline smoothed her expression over once more.
"According to the clan’s rules," she said, "anyone who reaches rank three is required to carry out a mission in service of the clan."
"A mission?" I asked, raising a brow.
Rosaline gave a faint nod.
"Missions are graded from F-rank to A-rank. The higher the difficulty, the greater the reward."
I narrowed my eyes slightly, pretending to deliberate.
Then I asked, "And what sort of mission would earn a second kiss from you?"
This ti, Rosaline truly went still.
Her fingers paused over the parchnt.
Her eyes lifted slowly to my face, searching it as if she expected to find a trace of hesitation or embarrassnt there.
She found neither.
At first, she looked as though she intended to dismiss the question outright.
Then sothing changed.
A quiet, dangerous amusent appeared at the corner of her lips.
"You would take any mission," she asked, "for another kiss?"
I held her gaze without wavering.
"For you, any mission would still feel like too little."
That answer affected her more than she wanted it to.
She shifted slightly in her seat, and though she hid it well, I still caught the faint heat rising beneath her composure.
Most n were intimidated by Rosaline.
The few who weren’t rarely remained foolish for long.
Yet for so reason, she had not crushed this ga between us. She had not cut it down at the root. If anything, she kept allowing it to continue.
That alone made things interesting.
Rosaline stared at in silence, as though trying to understand why she found more difficult to dismiss than she should have.
After all, she was older than by many years.
And yet, in that mont, the distance between us did not feel nearly as wide as it should have.
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