CHAPTER 14

The longer the sword fight went on, the more she was at a disadvantage now. Her stamina was running out, and she was getting tired and out of breath. She concentrated as hard as she could and kept it close. Contrary to her, Dian seemed to have gained momentum. He attacked fiercely at an invisible speed. She barely managed to keep up, and when their sword made contact, she felt a sting in her wrist.

“Ah……!”

With a sigh, she let go of the sword, and it flew off into the distance.

“Are you okay?!”

Dian scrambled to her side in alarm.

Ah. This is gonna be hand-to-hand combat now.

She leaped up and pounced on Dian’s body. He looked surprised, letting go of his sword and catching her with his left arm. Then, he threw both arms around her, embracing her waist from behind before falling backward. In an instant, she was sitting on top of Dian’s body.

“Hahaha.”

Dian laughed out loud. He looked both embarrassed and amused.

“It’s dangerous, Rienn. Don’t play around while I’m holding a sword.”

“Play around? I’m attacking! Without a sword, your body becomes your weapon.”

“It’s too… blunt.”

“Too what?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s interesting. Don’t let your guard down until the end.”

“Okay.”

Dian continued to smile as if he found something amusing. She was so out of breath she panted as she sat up, straddling his abs.

“I won, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you won.”

He replied without resistance to her forced attempt at boasting.

Truth be told, it felt good even if she lost. It seemed like confirmation that he was now healthy.

When the symptoms first appeared, Dian felt unwell and slowed down significantly. So for the first time, she really beat him. A victory she wasn’t happy about because it had an ominous feeling of foreboding.

It felt like returning to his original self. Now that she knows that Dian has the blood of a god in his veins, she doesn’t see how she can beat him. She just wanted to become stronger through sparring with him.

“What are you thinking?”

Dian tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.

“I think we should train harder. Let’s rest a bit and then go at it again.”

“How’s your hand?”

“My hand?”

She holds up her right hand, and ah…….

Her hand was fine, but her wrist was swollen.

No wonder it hurts…

“Let me have a look.”

Dian quickly got up, causing her to lean against his thigh while she was sitting on his abs. Feeling embarrassed, she hastily stood up, feeling a surge of embarrassment. Dian also stood up abruptly and stood in front of her. She reflexively hid her hand behind her back when he tried to look at it.

“Rienn.”

She was taken aback by his rare, stern face.

“Oh, no…….”

She brought her hand forward again. Dian leaned over and looked at her right hand. There were many signs of swelling on her wrist.

“I think you sprained your wrist. You held the sword too tightly…”

“…”

“Let’s go to Herta.”

“Huh? That’s not necessary.”

She shook her head, not wanting to go.

“You need to. You need treatment. It’s swollen badly.”

“…”

“Come on, Rienn.”

Dian gently held her uninjured left arm. His face was so stern that she couldn’t refuse, so she reluctantly followed him.

“I’m sure I told you not to overexert yourself.”

“I was just trying to warm up a bit, you can’t rest your sword for too long…….”

Under Herta’s sharp gaze, she found herself making excuses.

“If you want to hold the sword longer, don’t use your wrist for the next week.”

“A week?!”

She held her fingertips and arm with both hands, examining the wrist between them.

“The bones are fine, but the ligaments are stretched.”

“Ha…….”

She heard a small sigh from Dian. He stood behind her in the chair and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Is it serious?”

Dian’s voice was the most serious.

“Not really. I’ll apply some medicine, so just be careful for about a week or so.”

“I’ll be careful…….”

Herta looked skeptical.

“I’ll immobilize it with a splint. Avoid sword practice, of course, and don’t use your right hand for anything in your daily life. Even eating is best done with your left hand.”

Wow…….

She was at a loss for words.

“We’ll do that.”

It was Dian who replied, not her.

“Let me apply the medicine first.”

Herta took out a dark-colored bottle from the nearby shelf. She poured l*quid onto a silver tray and soaked gauze with it. Herta raised Rienn’s wrist onto a small support on the desk, flipped it back and forth, and applied the medicine.

Hmm…

A peculiar sensation spread around her wrist where the magic-infused medicine touched. Not only did it sting on the surface, but it also felt tingling inside the skin, down to the bones and muscles.

It wasn’t the first time she’d used such medicine, as she’d suffered similar injuries in training, but she couldn’t get used to this feeling at all. It stung for a moment, and she flinched. Dian felt it and patted her on the shoulder. Like he was soothing a child…….

After applying the medicine, her wrist felt much better, like it had calmed down. Herta applied the bandages and splint with a careful touch.

“Thank you, Herta.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll replace it every day after lunch when you come in for your medication.”

“Okay.”

Leaving the room and walking down the hall, Dian glanced down at her from the side.

“Are you in pain?”

“No?”

She felt it earlier in the training ground, but he seemed taller now. She’d only seen him up in bed recently, and now he was standing. She looked up at him, his long, lean frame lengthened by the weight loss.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“You got injured because I didn’t control my strength properly.”

“Nonsense!”

He clapped her hands with his left hand.

“Getting injured is natural. And don’t worry about controlling your strength. I told you not to watch over me.”

He didn’t used to be like this when we were younger, but at some point, the gap widened, and Dian started watching over her. She didn’t like it.

“Don’t watch over me. You don’t do that to Yan, even though he always loses to you.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“What about Yan? Is it okay if he gets hurt?”

“…”

For the first time, she felt sorry for Yan.

“Anyway, don’t watch over me. It’s just a temporary injury, and I’ll get stronger.”

“…… Okay.”

She didn’t quite believe it.

They arrived at the second floor without realizing it. Rienn stopped in front of her guest room.

“I need to wash up.”

“Can you wash with just your right hand?”

“Of course. I have my left hand.”

“That must be inconvenient.”

“Not much.”

She shook her head and opened the door.

“I’ll come to your room later.”

“Sure.”

***

Knock, knock.

She woke up at the sound of a soft knock.

“Angela?”

“No, it’s me.”

“Oh.”

She sat up and looked out the window to see it was late afternoon.

It seemed like training after a long time was quite tiring. Washing her face with one hand was more of a hassle than she thought it would be, so she stretched out as soon as she got out of the bathroom.

“Just a moment, I’ll be there soon!”

“Yeah.”

She hurriedly changed her clothes and headed out. Dian was waiting in the corridor.

“Did you sleep?”

“Oh, I dozed off.”

“But you don’t sleep. You usually don’t take naps.”

She shrugged, remembering what she’d said earlier.

“Good for you. How’s your wrist?”

“I think it’s fine.”

There was some pain with small movements, but it didn’t hurt when it was still.

“That’s good. Still, you need to be careful.”

“Yeah.”

She felt a little nervous as she walked into Dian’s bedroom. Dawn and dusk, twice-daily feeding times, came quickly. All she had to do was stay still, but it was hard. She’d trained today and tried to clear her head, but it didn’t really work.

“Rienn, do you mind if you sit in front of the chair?”

“In front of the chair……?”

“Yeah. The bed feels a bit stuffy. And, as you mentioned, the height is not quite right.”

The height was indeed not right. She didn’t quite understand what he was talking about, because Dian, who sat taller than her, had to lean all the way over to suck her br*asts.

“How am I supposed to sit?”

“You just sit normally. I’ll pull the chair back…”

Dian pulled back the armchair, similar to her designated spot, beside the bed. As she sat down eagerly, he came forward and got down on one knee.

“Ah…….”

He meant to sit on the floor with one knee.

“It’s okay.”

The height was just right. If she stood, he would be sitting lower when he sat on the bed, or if she sat on the chair, he would be lower on the floor.

“Then let’s do it this way.”

“Okay.”

She agreed readily and raised her left hand to the button. Dian closed his eyes and turned his body as if it were a natural rule.

“…Don’t use your right hand, Rienn.”

“Do you have another eye?”

How did he know I was using both hands? 

He moved after closing his eyes.

“I could feel it with my instincts. Let’s hurry.”

“Okay…….”

She awkwardly undid the buttons with her left hand. Her br*asts, plump with milk, met the air. She pulled out a towel beforehand and held it to her left br*ast with her left hand.

“Dian.”

“Yeah.”

He leaned closer, facing her. Instinctively, she spread her legs wider, creating space for his torso to fit between him under the loose dress fabric.

“…….”

As his face drew closer, his lips touched. She held her breath and went still. His lips, brushing gently against her chest, found their place. Dian lapped at her n*pple and suckled.

For a moment, it felt like l*quid was seeping out, but then Dian eased his mouth and parted his lips.

“Hmm?”

She looked down in confusion. He opened his eyes, and raised a hand. His large palm covered her forehead generously.

“Why?”

“Your body temperature is rising. Your forehead seems fine, though…”

“Oh, that’s because I just woke up.”

In the warm air, wrapped up in her comforter, she took a nap.

“You must have slept deeply.”

Dian gently smiled and stroked her head. He walked over and nibbled on her right n*pple again. Out of habit, she traced up and down the underside of her ar*ola out of habit. Feeling a throbbing pain in her wrist, she pushed her thumb and index finger towards the center.

Swoosh- the l*quid came out forcefully in several streams. He caught it in time but stopped shortly after.

“Rienn, you shouldn’t use your right hand.”

Although Dian spoke softly, continuously preventing her from using it made her feel frustrated. Holding a towel with one hand and squeezing out the l*quid with the other. She was asked not to use one hand for what she usually did with both.

“But I should use both hands. I need to use my hand to feel refreshed….”

“If that’s the case…”

Dian closed his eyes, lost in thought. As the tingling pain in her wrist subsided, she grimaced and impulsively said,

“You do it then.”

Ah… darn it.

“…Should I?”

“….”

“Let’s do that.”

Dian responded with self-reflection.