“Huu,” sucking a sharp breath before exhaling, Lutiel repeated himself every single step through the corridors. ‘It’s good my muscles are still working properly, but I won’t be able to train tonight,’ he thought, clenching his jaw whilst looking ahead through the hallway.

  Walking gingerly through the ground floor, he was on the complete opposite end compared to his room, reaching with the eyes for the doors scattered throughout the shadowy expanse.

  He looked at the farthest right door especially, the one almost meeting the wall. Albeit slowly, his figure eventually staggered towards the space, his darkly image contained by the murky embrace along the lampless floor.

  Regardless, sticking closer to the wall, he swiftly turned to face the doors before taking his bruised fingers and knuckles towards the wood.

  Three succinct knocks rang underneath his right hand, followed by the man waiting with his forehead resting against the wood. Still, finally getting a response, he moved back at the startled voice.

  “Lutiel? What happened to you?” Raeyine inquired quickly, despite the doors still blocking her vision. Swiftly opening her room, the maid came out to welcome his eyes. She stood inside her uniform as usual, glancing at him meticulously before her glasses slid slightly along her nose bridge.

  Despite the nightly abode, he could still hear a faint gasp after finally gazing into the wounded face. Folvana may have cleaned him up earlier, however, the blood still flowed out during their further training, even if not as significantly.

  “Could you please give me something to treat them?” He asked abruptly, quickly creasing the eyebrows as she forcefully pulled him inside, grabbing by the untainted parts of the right forearm. Yet, that still couldn’t prevent him from groaning at the sudden moves.

  Closing the doors right after he stepped inside, Lutiel squinted his eyes as the crystal above lit up without any notice from the lady. Looking at the man silently for a while, he could only share her approach, though staggering somewhat through the space.

  “What happened to you?” She asked with furrowed eyebrows while the man eased himself by plopping down on the made bed.

  “I was just sparring with Folvana,” he said faintly, though the eyebrows of the lady only soured further. The skin around her nose scrunched up as she immediately parted her lips.

  “Sparring? What does this have anything to do with sparring? You have twelve deep cuts across your face. I will have to tell this to Zyponia,” she muttered near the end, flinching as Lutiel grabbed her suddenly.

  “Don’t, please. Although she’s a bit harsh, she’s a great tutor,” he said, but the eyes of Raeyine lingered nonetheless, colored with astonishment.

  “You’re weak from the amount of blood you lost, yet you insist this is good?”

  “Yes,” he replied swiftly before growing silent and staring deep into the girl. Staying in the middle of the quiet space, they exchanged their glances for a while.

  Under his adamant face, the girl could only massage her forehead before sighing.

  “Alright, if that’s what you want. Get up and strip down to your underwear. We need to get those injuries healed quickly,” gesturing with the voice, Lutiel speedily grabbed himself on the bed’s rail before groaning meekly as he moved up.

  “I’m sorry,” he uttered after finally standing up, promptly grasped by the girl and unbuttoned.

  “For what?”

  “For these and the next injuries. She said we will be training like this each day,” the man said, making the girl halt her fingers. Glancing down slightly, Raeyine locked her eyes with him.

  “Every day? And who’s going to pay for all of this? You still have earlier wounds I healed to pay for,” she said all of sudden, freezing him up around the face. “What, did you think all of this was for free?”

  “Ehh-” He muttered out his breath, only to be drowned out by a quick chuckle.

  “I’m joking, don’t think that. I’m more worried whether you will be able to function properly if you keep losing so much blood every day.” Her voice swiftly trickled his ears, followed by the rustle of attire as she started unbuttoning his jacket once again.

  “I see,” he muttered, keeping a look around her busy face. “Don’t hesitate to call for me if you need any help with the house chores.”

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  Turning to him, a meek smile blossomed out around her face. “I will keep that in mind, thank you,” she said before briskly moving behind him, pulling onto the jacket before dropping it to the floor after it came loose. “I guess we will need to send them back to Luviene,” the girl uttered as she kept her sight on the torn fabrics.

  “I will try to not get hit around the clothes,” he added silently, but the girl only smiled at him after moving back and caressing his vest. Unbuttoning it as well, the piece shared the jacket’s fate.

  “I don’t want to be rude, but it may take a while before you get on Folvana’s level.” Still smiling, her voice easily reached his ears. However, the man didn’t fester any indignation. Instead, he nodded his head in confirmation.

  “I know,” with a terse reply, he kept himself shut. ‘She might be even stronger than Raphael, after all,’ he thought discreetly, restraining it all to himself.

  Meanwhile, the girl already got to his reddened shirt. Wherever she threw a glance, there seemed to be a crimson stain in the vicinity. So, she quickly took it off, only to take in a deep breath as his bare torso finally came to view.

  Blending with his eyes, tens of deep bruises scoured across his flesh. One on each shoulder, a few along the arms. Though, the majority dwelled within his stomach and the chest.

  At the same time, she traced along an almost blackened one around the right side of the ribs, easily making him squirm at the vaguest touch. “She shattered your lower ribs,” the girl said, keeping intensive attention on the flesh. Despite his groans however, her fingers pushed through the dark purple skin.

  “ARGH!” A scream followed immediately as Lutiel felt her dig through his side, immediately glaring down. Yet, seeing as her fingers gathered around a seemingly normal area, despite being kept in the same place, his eyebrows furrowed deeply. “What did you do?” He asked all of a sudden, feeling the lack of pain around the area.

  “Healed it, of course. What else?” She said, smirking together with the confusion she was displaying.

  “Ah, no, I just felt a prickling pain,” he uttered, only to stumble through the space as Raeyine’s hand once again touched a new bruise.

  “How about now? Did you feel something?” She asked with a questioning gaze, but the man only leaned down to see below his navel.

  “No, not really,” he said, making her stagger for a while.

  “I see. The earlier one must have hurt especially,” she said, right before moving her fingers towards the belt. Making his pants fall down, she swiftly gestured to the bed. “Lie down. It will be easier for me.”

  Nodding at the words, Lutiel slowly sat down before falling to his back. Sinking in the bedding a bit, he looked to the side before seeing her bring the chair from the desk over to him. Sitting down briskly, Raeyine smoothed out her uniform before leaning closer to his body.

  First of all, she garnered her attention around his legs. Bringing her hand over to the calves, she put a palm over one of the cuts before remaining there for a few breaths. Done, she immediately left for another one below the knee.

  Doing similarly for the other calf with her second hand, she continued healing the groaning man. Targeting the thighs in no time, she only moved her hands over there. Regaining her breathing for a second, the girl dried her glistening face with the uniform.

  Resuming swiftly, she healed the wounds away while leaving the traces of blood for himself to rub off.

  Steadily and despite the few breaks she took in the meantime, the palm that lingered around his forehead finally broke loose. Her hands immediately flowed back to herself, all while the girl’s breath faltered about.

  “Alright, we’re done,” she said, omitting her hastened breathing. At the same time, Lutiel slowly made his way to sit on the bed, no longer as pained as before. Barely not touching their knees, he looked up at the girl for a while.

  “Is everything okay?” Asking while staring at her unfocused eyes, they immediately twitched back at him, making the girl shake her head lightly.

  “I’m fine,” she replied, glancing into his dubious sight.

  Nonetheless, no matter how long he stared, Lutiel wouldn’t gain anything, so he began to stand up. The girl following him, she grabbed herself by the chair’s top rail, swiftly standing against the wooden panels.

  Yet, just as her feet landed and her hand left the chair, her figure swayed. Starting to fall, she headed for the man however, easily catching the maid.

  “You don’t seem to be fine,” he said, but the girl didn’t reply back, simply hesitating through her breaths.

  “Can you put me on my bed for now?”

  “Sure,” he said, only to scoop her up in his arms before easily placing her on top of the bed. Glancing at the man with a raised eyebrow, she let go of the matter.

  “Like I said, I’m fine. The healing just takes away some of my energy. And when there is too much to heal, I end up somewhat lethargic. But don’t mind me, I will be back to my prime after a quick rest,” she said, making the man listen intently.

  “Are you saying you will be like this daily if I keep getting healed by you?” He asked, making her turn to him.

  “Don’t worry about that. Just think of it as one of my tasks. I will be happy if Zyponia is happy, which means you getting stronger quickly,” she said with a slight smile on her face, but Lutiel could only crease his eyebrows at the words.

  Still, he didn’t ponder much about it. “Alright. I will try my best, then,” he said, briskly turning around to head for the door. “Goodnight,” adding right before closing the doors, Lutiel left the room.

  Right after he closed them, the doors clicked shut while night poured within, the girl closing her eyes before her knees raised themselves and spread out slightly. The uniform falling loose down to her waist, her hands moved swiftly, briskly followed by faint noises coming from below.

  “Haa,” she whispered silently, grabbing her chest with the free arm whilst the plashing sounds intensified brightly.

  …