The Seventh Moon

Training With The Second Prince

For some reason, you came to me and you were with me… ~ Give You My Heart, IU

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Risa couldn't concentrate on her first day of training with the Second Prince at all. Every single movement that Alathil made made her heart race even faster. His movements were smooth and graceful, and she found herself unable to look anywhere except directly into his eyes. Whenever he moved closer to her she felt her body temperature increase yet again.

Though this wasn't what she had intended to happen, she couldn't stop herself from acting this way because of Alathil's presence. By the minute, she could feel her emotions she felt because of him getting more intense than ever.

Not only that, she couldn't stop feeling that she wanted to know everything about him. Even though she tried to deny that feeling.

He wasn't as good with the rapier as he was with the sword, though. As for Risa, she could barely stand up after using the weapon twice in a row without needing to rest. But it didn't deter her from continuing until Alathil himself decided to end the training for the day.

"Well, I think that's enough for now. You did really well today. To be honest, that was the first time I've seen a woman hold out that much in sword training," Alathil commented and held out his hand to her.

She took it with a smile and yelped when he pulled her up and held her on the waist. She almost instantly felt the heat rising to her cheeks because of their close proximity again.

"Uh... Azi. I can see that you really like getting too close to me, huh?" she started in an attempt to cut off the embarrassment she felt at the moment.

However, she felt her heart skip a beat when he responded with a sly grin.

"No wonder your heartbeat has accelerated so quickly... It's my fault after all. I should have known better. You are too cute to resist..." he whispered in her ear, causing her to blush even harder.

"Your Highness, please stop putting her in an even more embarrassing situation with what you're doing," Shuren's voice resonated that snapped her out (thankfully).

Alathil let Risa go with a chuckle and cleared his throat soon after. "You're as annoying as ever, Shuren. You know I was just playing around."

"Your Highness, you rarely play around in front of a woman. And if I have to make it clear, this is the first time you've ever played around like that with a woman," Shuren stated that surprised Risa and made her look at the Second Prince almost immediately.

She saw a faint blush spreading over his cheeks as he looked down. He averted his glance to Risa again and she could swear that there was some emotion she couldn't quite name in his bluish gray eyes.

It seemed that Shuren's words had caught him off guard. But it was enough for Risa to feel warmth bubble up in her chest as she saw Alathil act shy all of a sudden. Before she knew it, she let out a burst of laughter. The sound caused Alathil's eyebrows to twitch upward and he turned towards her again, looking rather confused.

"What's so funny, Risa?"

"I'm sorry, it's just... I never thought I would be laughing so hard, especially in a situation like this."

"Don't mind him, Lady Risa. He's always been like that with women, or anyone else in general. Just treat him as you see fit as long as it doesn't involve too much formality and he'll get his act together." Shuren smiled at Risa and shook her head lightly, causing Risa to laugh even more as the second prince glared at his bodyguard.

"Shuren, I know I gave you permission to scold me. But do you really have to do that in front of her?" he complained and crossed his arms in front of his chest.