Aldrian was already outside the mansion with a refreshed mind. Swept by the morning breeze, his hair fluttered, giving him added charm. He closed his eyes in the middle of the training field, a peak Heaven-grade sword already in his grasp. He steadied himself with the sword as he lifted it in front of him.
After a few monts, he slowly opened his eyes and suddenly began a series of sword movents. Each movent was deadly, but behind that deadliness was an elegance for those who watched. Every strike was full of power, though at tis it seed as fragile as a falling petal, barely holding any force. The series of movents created a beautiful sword dance.
With the sunrise rising in the east and illuminating Aldrian, the scene offered a quiet aesthetic pleasure.
That was what the few people watching from afar saw. None of them dared to approach Aldrian or watch him too closely. They didn’t want to disturb him or his beautiful mont.
But there was one person who stood closest, just beside the training field. A woman with snow-white hair and a face as beautiful as an angel.
She had been watching Aldrian from earlier, her eyes never leaving him for even a second. When Baek Jimin heard that Aldrian had returned yesterday, she wanted to see him—but she knew Sylphia also wanted the sa, so she took a step back.
Now, seeing him again in the quiet of the morning, she felt lucky to witness such a beautiful scene.
After a few minutes of continuous movents from his sword dance, Aldrian finally stopped. Like a respected sword cultivator caring for his blade, he sheathed his sword with reverence.
Many of those watching felt as if they had just erged from a trance. All they could do was admire him with silent amazent. Even watching the flow of his sword had given them insight—so even felt the touch of enlightennt.
Aldrian took a deep breath and exhaled, then turned to look at the woman who had been standing not far from him. He smiled at her and began to walk toward her.
"It’s not like you to train like this with a sword in the morning," Baek Jimin said.
"Well, I just felt like it. I got inspiration, so I took advantage of the mont to train with the sword and develop a series of movents and techniques," Aldrian answered as he sat on the bench near the training field, with Baek Jimin quietly following him.
They sat side by side, though Baek Jimin still kept a bit of distance. She seed too shy to sit any closer. Her feelings had been growing for so ti, and now that she was so aware of them, she couldn’t act like just a normal friend around him anymore.
Aldrian didn’t seem to mind. He let her do what made her comfortable.
"Um, about what happened yesterday... are you okay after all that?" Baek Jimin asked.
Her question was vague, but Aldrian understood what she ant. He kept his smile.
"I’m okay. There’s nothing wrong, and in fact, I’ve already prepared for the consequences of yesterday’s events. What happened just hastened everything in my plan, so there’s not much trouble."
Hearing Aldrian’s reassuring tone, she sighed in relief and cald herself.
"If you say so," she replied, then fell silent.
"Jimin, I still haven’t fulfilled one of your requests because of all these problems. But now that everything is almost settled, how about tomorrow? You have ti, right?" Aldrian said suddenly.
Baek Jimin felt a bit confused, but then she rembered the request she had made to him back then: to take a walk together, just the two of them.
She had actually felt satisfied when they visited Weilmar City alone and strolled around, enjoying everything the city had to offer. However, it seed Aldrian still saw that as sothing different from her request, since they had gone to the city for his business and had simply taken advantage of the mont to go for a stroll.
Aldrian still rembered her request, which made her genuinely happy. She couldn’t help but blush at his attentiveness and lowered her head.
"Yes, I have ti tomorrow," she replied.
"Perfect. That settles it, then," Aldrian said with a smile.
After that, they enjoyed the quiet, serene atmosphere for a few more minutes before noticing an incoming figure. She appeared to be doing her morning jog, dressed in training attire that accentuated her body, with sweat rolling down her skin, glistening in the light. Her long blue hair, tied in a ponytail, also shimred slightly under the early morning sun.
Eleine was simply going through one of her daily morning routines—jogging. When she saw Aldrian and Baek Jimin, her face broke into a smile as she approached them.
"Good morning, young master. Good morning, Jimin," she said.
"Morning, Eleine. Finished with your morning exercise?" Aldrian asked.
"Hmm," Eleine nodded, but then she bowed deeply to Aldrian, which left both him and Baek Jimin stunned.
"I’m sorry, young master, I’m ashad that I made you do all of that. For you to directly attack the second prince. I’m sorry for burdening you." she said, her voice filled with self-bla.
Aldrian looked at Eleine, unsurprised that she knew the real reason behind his more direct approach of attacking the capital. His initial plan had been to slowly dwindle the second prince’s forces across the empire, but that had been thrown out the window once the second prince launched the gu outbreak plan.
An outbreak that nearly cost Eleine her life, and that was what led him to decide on a frontal approach without hesitation. Because of that, all the plans in his mind had to be fast-tracked. But he didn’t find it annoying, in fact, it only hastened the process, and he benefited from it.
A heavy silence followed, and Eleine remained motionless. Then Aldrian’s voice broke the stillness.
"Eleine, look at ," he said softly.
Eleine slightly raised her head and looked into Aldrian’s face, where a warm expression was directed at her. His smile and gentle gaze were reassuring, full of affection.
"If sothing were to happen to —sothing that would put in danger—what would you do? What would you do to the one responsible for putting at risk?" he asked.
Eleine’s expression grew serious, her face filled with determination.
"Of course, I would hunt them down. I would make sure they pay for harming you, young master. Even if I can’t do anything else, I will sacrifice myself to inflict the most damage on the perpetrator."
However, as if she knew where the conversation was going, Eleine slightly bowed her body again.
"Young master, I know what you’re trying to say, but that is—"
"That is your duty to guard , to keep safe. And it is also your duty to hunt down anyone who harms ," Aldrian’s words cut through her sentence, leaving Eleine silent as she held her position.
"Do you think I don’t need to do all of that and disrupt my plan? Is it because you feel you’re not worth it, even after what they did to you?" Aldrian’s voice suddenly beca flat, and Eleine felt a wave of tension.
"Do you underestimate and my feelings for those closest to , Eleine?"
Hearing that, Eleine quickly straightened her posture and looked at Aldrian. She felt a surge of panic as she saw his expressionless face, sothing he had never directed at her before.
"No, absolutely not, young master," she said urgently. "I don’t an it like that. I’m truly thankful and honored by your actions. The reason you did all of that is because of , but I still feel bad for affecting your overall plan. What I an is... you don’t have to do all of that because I’m already safe and sound, right? As long as I’m alive, you don’t have to do sothing drastic that could affect you."
Her words were laced with slight panic, as she didn’t want Aldrian to misunderstand her.
She then kowtowed to him.
"I’m sorry if what I said hurt you, young master. I didn’t an it that way, and it was never my intent to belittle you. You can punish for making you think that," she said.
There was silence after that, and she waited nervously. She then felt Aldrian stand up from his seat and approach her.
She braced herself for punishnt, but to her surprise, she felt her body lift as Aldrian used his control over the surrounding energy to raise her.
She couldn’t control her body until she stood up, and when she looked at his face again, she saw that his expression had softened, filled with warmth and affection.
Without hesitation, he quickly embraced her, a tender hug that left her stunned. She looked at him in bewildernt.
"Young master?"
"Eleine, rember this very clearly: you are one of my closest people, and one of the ones I trust the most. You have a special place in my heart, one that will always make you special compared to others. Don’t belittle your position, because the one who was offended is no one but . Don’t diminish your worth in my eyes, because I’m the one who decides that."
"Eleine, don’t ever think that you’re less important just because you’re by my side due to my mother’s orders. I know you’ve been trained that way, but you must realize that your presence in my life, since the day I was born, is not sothing I rely consider a mother’s retainer following orders. No, you’ve already beco my family. You are significant to and always will be."
Aldrian then looked at her face, which was already slightly watery.
"You are already my family, my protector, my teacher, my advisor, my retainer—everything."
"So don’t ever say that you’re not worthy of my full support, or that I don’t have to do this or that because you feel it’s not worth it for you."
"Anyone who harms you will have to face . This is not a promise; it is my principle and my vow to myself."
Eleine’s tears finally fell.
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