"What did I just witness?! Princess Nerith lost the duel?!"
"How is this even possible?! How could the Princess lose to soone like him?!"
"I can’t believe this... The Princess actually lost... Just who is this person exactly?"
"I have no idea who that man is... However, one thing is certain. Despite his frail-looking appearance, he is a complete monster!"
The crowd erupted into disbelief, whispering frantically to one another with stunned, dumbfounded expressions.
They could not trust their own eyes—their undefeated Princess had lost to soone they had never even heard of. Furthermore, he looked incredibly unusual, as though he didn’t belong to this land at all.
Princess Nerith ignored the commotion and slowly walked toward Yuan with a faint smile on her face. Though clearly exhausted, she still managed to maintain her composure.
"I never thought I would be defeated by you... and certainly not in such an absurd manner. You didn’t even use half of your strength, did you?" She asked, her sharp gaze fixed on him.
"If I had used even half of my strength, you would likely be dead by now," Yuan replied with a soft sigh, wearing a strange yet calm smile.
"I see..." Nerith fell silent after hearing this, staring at him with an unreadable expression in her eyes.
’Never in my life did I imagine there would be soone capable of defeating without even trying seriously... This world truly is filled with endless mysteries.’ She sighed inwardly, a faint, contemplative smile appearing on her lips as she looked at Yuan in a completely new light.
Her admiration for him had grown imnsely. He possessed a level of strength and presence far beyond anyone she had encountered in her entire life.
In fact, her curiosity toward him deepened. She wanted to know more about him, to speak with him, to understand how a human could wield Qi—sothing even the gods desperately sought yet failed to obtain.
They then walked toward Anna Grace and the others, who were waiting patiently at the edge of the training ground.
"That was an amazing duel, Princess Nerith. You should be proud that you managed to last that long against my darling. After all, no one has ever endured that long against him," Anna Grace said with a gentle smile as she moved closer to Yuan.
"Indeed. Everyone who challenged him in the past ended up dead before they could even properly raise their sword... you’re an exception," Valeria added, nodding with a knowing smile.
"This was without a doubt the most thrilling duel of my life... Before eting you, I never once imagined I would be defeated by soone," Nerith said, an unusual warmth entering her voice. Her eyes lingered on Yuan’s face for a mont before she looked away.
’He is truly extraordinary... Even though he is human, he is powerful—far stronger than anyone I have ever faced. I really want to understand him better.’ Nerith thought inwardly, a soft smile forming—an expression rarely seen on her face.
Anna Grace and the others noticed this subtle change and exchanged silent signals with one another. They were convinced that the Demon Princess had begun to develop feelings for Yuan.
"Dear daughter, doesn’t this remind you of how you t our amazing little husband? She seems to have fallen for him after a duel as well," Vanessa teased with a playful smirk as she whispered into Valeria’s ear.
"Don’t remind about that, Mom. It’s embarrassing!" Valeria replied, her face flushing bright red.
Once they returned to the palace, Empress Varia welcod them with a warm smile, her eyes imdiately scanning Yuan to make sure he was unhard, knowing all too well how fierce Nerith could beco during a fight.
However, to her surprise, Yuan was perfectly fine. Instead, Nerith was the one who looked sowhat out of shape, as Varia could clearly see how exhausted she appeared and notice the few scratches she had sustained.
’What just happened? Why is Nerith the one with bruises? Was she defeated by this young man? Impossible!’ Empress Varia thought, a shocked expression spreading across her face.
"Oh? You guys have finally returned. Rhex and the others were asking where you all went, and I told them everything," Varia said while looking sharply at Nerith.
Then she continued with a small smirk, "And after learning how you dragged our guests to the training ground for a duel, he is quite furious with you, Nerith."
"Hmph! Do I look like soone who cares about what he thinks? Moreover, Yuan agreed to spar with willingly," Nerith responded with a snort before turning to look at Yuan.
"Let’s go, we need to clean ourselves. It’s pointless to stay here and get lectured by this old lady." Nerith suddenly grabbed Yuan’s hand and pulled him along with her.
"..." Varia stared at Nerith with a dumbfounded look, completely shocked by what she had just done.
"It seems the princess has started to take a liking to our darling," Anna Grace spoke with a soft giggle, bringing Varia back to her senses.
"Unbelievable... This girl has been single for a thousand years and has never been close to a person of the opposite gender. How is she holding a man’s hand now?" Varia muttered in disbelief, completely disregarding Anna Grace’s words as she remained too stunned to process anything else.
’This is unbelievable... It’s like watching myself when I first t Yuan... this is so embarrassing! I acted like this too!’ Valeria scread inwardly, feeling utterly mortified.
anwhile, Yuan had no choice but to follow Nerith, as her grip was far too firm and she remained completely focused on walking ahead.
’What is this woman even thinking? Pulling like this just to bathe... Has she already fallen for after the duel?’ Yuan wondered inwardly as he followed her in silence.
She was taller than him, considering she was a demon—not just any demon, but one with a Royal Bloodline. She also possessed an impressive figure, ignoring the nurous battle scars marking her body.
Shortly, they arrived at a huge bathing chamber with a massive bathtub filled with warm water, the entire room hazy with rising steam.
"This is our bath. It’s huge, isn’t it?" Nerith said with a wide smile before she began removing her clothes one by one.
She did not show the slightest hint of shyness or embarrassnt while undressing in front of a man; to her, it felt completely natural, without a trace of sha in her eyes.
Yuan was montarily surprised to see her stand completely bare before him, but he soon followed suit and stepped into the water slowly.
"This feels great, doesn’t it?" she asked, leaning against the edge of the bath while gazing at the ceiling, the warm water enveloping her body.
"Quite relaxing, if you ask ... It’s a nice way to refresh after an exhausting day," Yuan responded with a faint smile.
"Indeed. I do this every day after intense training... Unfortunately, I don’t get to enjoy it when I’m stationed at the border." She let out a soft sigh.
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