Chapter 69.1: Kingdom of Prona (1)
The sword, engulfed in passion, lost its sharpness.
As Cloud lightly dodged the flying sword attacks, Lorraine gnawed her teeth and glared at him.
“Y, You… do you think you will be safe after you did this to me?”
"What?"
“Don’t pretend like it's nothing! You think I won't tell anyone what you did to me!? Y, You are done! Can you understand what situation you are inside now? Do you understand what you just did?! Of course, getting on your knees and begging will not bag you forgiveness!"
As she continued speaking, Lorraine lost her anger and regained her triumphant spirit. As if she was the one now holding the hilt of control.
“But if you told someone else, you would end up marrying a commoner, right? Are you okay with that?”
"Huh?"
Lorraine's eyebrows curled up as if she didn't understand what he was saying. But soon realizing that the ‘commoner' he was referring to was himself, a scowl appeared on her face.
“What kind of bullshit is that!”
“It’s a dog bark, if you must. So listen carefully. Oh, do you have a fiance?”
“What does that have to do with you?!”
“Answer with yes or no.”
Lorraine licked her lips, then she replied in an annoyed tone.
"No."
“Then the first kiss you had was with me, right?”
"Bastard!"
Lorraine swung her sword in wild abandon as her anger erupted again. Cloud leisurely avoided her swings and continued with his explanation.
“As a member of a royal family without a fiance, if you talk about what happened today, it will only become a scandal.There will be nothing good about it.”
“At least I can kill you!”
Politically and physically!
Lorraine shouted and pushed more power in to her sword.
“I understand your feelings, but will it work out the way you think? I assure you, your parents will only want to marry you with me, wanting to crush the scandal before it ruins their royal honor.”
“It’s not funny…”
Lorraine, who was about to refute, bit her lip.
She wanted to refute, but the reality didn't seem different.
“Brother… he will support me.”
“Lorian?”
"Yes! That's how much my brother loves me! If he find out that I've been harassed, he will come to kill you right now!"
“I don’t think so… Lorian isn’t even coming out of his room right now, is he?”
Lorraine's eyes fluttered slightly.
‘What a surprise!' That surprised Cloud too.
But it wasn't a very difficult guess.
He recently showed off his acquaintance with Frillite, when they were in front of Lorian.
At that time, Lorian was quite desperate.
Afterwards Lorraine called him to the grounds and she asked what he had done to her brother. The guess wasn't hard to make.
“Shall I make a prediction? As soon as your brother hears about it, he will be the one most hurried about your marriage with me.”
"Shut up! My brother won't do anything such!"
“Are you sure? If you are, go ahead and tell him. Thar is, if you want to wear your wedding dress within a month.”
“…!”
Lorraine chewed her lips.
She believed in her brother, but the present was an uncertainty, shaking her confidance.
Cloud laughed mercilessly.
“If you want, I’ll accept as many battles as possible today. Instead, prepare yourself for being kissed again when you lose.”
She inserted her sword back into her sheath and turned her back.
Having said that, she wasn't going to fool around anymore. Because she didn't want to marry a lowly commoner, let alone kiss him again.
She will go back to the room and sleep.
The next day, Cloud again found a challenge letter stuck in the gap between the door.
* * *
Kang!
With a clear metallic sound, Lorraine's sword was thrown in the air.
Lorraine—defeated.
She bowed her head.
‘Why? Why can't I win?'
She couldn't quite understand.
Lorraine recalled the past Cloud.
He was a nerd, an incompetent hero defeated too many times by her brother for her to count. He was a weak commoner with too clear ideals.
He was a lower bloodline's commoner.
But what about now?
No matter how much they fought, a win didn't seem under her grasp.
It didn't match the scene that enfolded when he fought Lorian previously.
What the hell happened that day, after the Imperial Social Banquet? What happened to make him so strong?
‘If it's not that… maybe he had been hiding his skills?'
That also didn't seem right.
Cloud of the past was too weak to be even called a hero.
What was the reason for him to hide his skills to this level?
Just when she found herself circling in a sphere of doubt.
“I don’t understand.”
Cloud murmured.
“You don't like low blood commoners like me, do you? That's why you hated me as a commoner. Why do you keep on challenging me to a duel even though you know you will lose?”
Since the first day, Lorraine sent a challenge letter every day, and Cloud accepted it.
“There’s no way you want to kiss me…”
This was already the 12th time.
At this point, Cloud had no choice but to admit that Laurenne's pride was greater than he had expected.
“Shut up and just do it quickly.”
Lorraine said, frown marring her face.
Cloud looked down at Lorraine on eye level, then leaned down to face her.
His lips met hers, and they kissed.
That's how the kiss started.
It was something that could be called a real kiss, unlike the first lipbutt.
– Chup! Churp! Tsu-eup!
Their tongues mingled together.
To the extent that people who didn't know would have mistaken them for lovers.
They had met for twelve consecutive nights, and the number of times they had fought was far more than that. Of course, every time she lost, Lorraine gave her lips.
The second kiss was still unpleasant. Enough to make her almost swing her sword.
The third was similar.
Fourth too.
Fifth too.
The matches continued, and the kisses too.
Lorraine no longer counted the numbers.
At some point, her discomfort diminished and she couldn't even feel it at all.
Lorraine was having trouble at understanding.
No matter how many kisses she has experienced, the fact that Cloud is of low blood and that he was a commoner didn't change…
She didn't like it.
Cloud gently stroked the back of her head, making Lorraine's body quiver. She regained her bearing and quickly slapped his hand away.
"Don't… don't do it… all I've allowed is… a kiss… only on lips…"
‘Alright, Madam.' Cloud shrugged his shoulders with that expression on his face.
Lorraine narrowed her eyes and looked at Cloud.
‘…I mean, he is kinda handsome and good-looking.'
White and clean skin with no spots, like spotless jade.
Big eyes, a tall nose, and lips beautifully harmonized.
Ruby-red eyes with a strange charm that made people fall in love with them.
‘Wh, Why is he a commoner?’