Damian took in a long refreshing breath as he felt the cool morning breeze brush past his face. Beside him was Lyra who looked as stunning as ever.
They were presently in the castle balcony in the garden area while staring at the
"Well... Say hello to my mother, Queen Amelia Blackthorne"
"Your mother?!" Lyra exclaimed in surprise.
"Damian?... Oh, is that her?" She inquired with a smile. "She really is a beautiful figure isn't she."
"Oh... Uh... Thank you my lady." Lyra replied with a blush.
"Hey mom..." Damian waved casually. "How's it going?"
Sipping from her tea cup, "Well, I just finished helping around the yard, so... I'm resting now" she explained.
"Ah I see... You know, one of these days, I'll make sure you don't have to do such stressful work again promise."
"Yes yes I be waiting my sweet little boy." Amelia teased causing Lyra to chuckle slightly.
"So what's your name darling?" Amelia asked, beaconing her over.
"It's Lyra" she replied, thinning her lips as if she was holding back on something.
"What a sweet name." Amelia complemented. "Enlighten me..." She added while casting Damian a quick sideye while grinning.
"About that..." Lyra started. "It was like something out of the stories" she blurted out. "He swooped in like really fast and grabbed my hand..." she smiled, feeling a little flustered. "It just felt magical... Like-like he was some kind of hero..."
"Ahem..." Damian cleared his throat while looking the other way to hide his already beet red face. "I wasn't that dashing."
"My my Damian, is that a blush I see?" Amelia teased.
"Of-of course not!" He retorted as he felt steam leaving his face now.
"Anyways..." Amelia continued turning to face Lyra. "Lyra,... I'm not asking you to be a pawn in this kid's little game or to be his protector or anything... All I ask is that you stand by his side, not just as a retainer, but as a friend as well... Can you do that for me?" She asked.
"I promise" Lyra replied with a heartwarming smile.
'Geez, I'm right here you know.' Damian shrugged internally.
'But I have to admit, right now, I feel blessed more than ever' he thought as he watched the two ladies before him chat to their hearts content.
"This is nice."
• • •
"Haaah!!!"
The peace and quiet of the castle's dojo was broken only by the loud battle cry that followed a clash of wooden swords.
Ever since they were permitted to go to school, Damian and Lyra had been training non-stop as preparation for their going to school.
These past few days, they both focused on getting acquainted to their skills properly before the big day finally arrived.
"*Huff*... *Huff*... Hey Lyra..." Damian called out after their little spar bad just ended. ".... You're pretty strong." He complemented while resting on his knees.
"Thank you" she replied, trying to catch her breath as well as she took had collapsed from why although, the thrill of the battle was evident in her expression. "Should we go one last time she asked Damian with a smile.
'So this is an ice empress' skill huh...' Damian remarked. "All right, let's do this." He muttered while glancing to the side where Sir Winston spectated them both.
"Alright, one last round." Winston acknowledged while adjusting his glasses. "Let the battle..."
'Ok... Here we go...'
"Begin!!"
~Whoosh~
And then, as if she was the air itself, Lyra moved with fluid precision as she dashed for Damian, aiming to finish the fight with a heavy blow to his neck.
But unfortunately for her, Damian wasn't going down that easy as he dodged with a crouch. "Too easy" he taunted.
With his hand on the ground, he did a swift spin kick which Lyra managed to intercept with the flat part of the wooden sword, causing her to slide a few meters back before regaining composure.
'I know I promised them I'd train them a bit, but...'
This time around, Damian dashed at Lyra with immense speed and swung his blade in a wide arc at his retainer. But just as their blades grazed each other, Damian shifted his stance, throwing Lyra off balance.
"Was that.... A feint just now?" Winston gasped in surprise as he fixed his glasses on his face. "Remarkable."
"Now it's over!!" Damian roared out as he prepared to bring down his wooden blade on Lyra, sealing his victory.
But just as he was about to win, he felt a chilling aura coming from Lyra.
'Oh... crap'
He had already experienced it enough to know how painful her next attack would be, but it was already too late for Damian to dodge it this time.
"Khione's blade!" She roared out as her wooden sword swirled with chilling frost mana that seemed to even freeze the edges of her wooden blade as well.
"Arrgh!... Huh? Winston?" Arthur muttered softly as the freeze he expected never came, but instead, a smile tugged at his lips as Winston had caught the blade just in time before it reached Damian.
'Thanks old man.' Damian appreciated internally while thanking his gods. 'I survived!!!' he sniffed.
"Damian?" Lyra called out.
"Err- uh.. hey Lyra." He replied nervously.
"Sorry about that."
"Yeah yeah, it's all good... I guess" he replied while murmuring the last part.
From the side, Winston watched the bickering duo with a peculiar glint in his eye.
"These two..." He smiled faintly. "...They're strong."
• • •
The sound of horseshoes striking stone echoed throughout the entire castle grounds. The exquisite looking carriage—more like a chariot bore the ornate insignia of the Royal family.
Inside the carriage sat Damian and Lyra cleanly her dressed in their new school uniform—a blue jacket and white trousers/skir. They were calmly seated in the coach as it left the castle, or at least one of them was.
From the open window, Damian poked his head out of the carriage while waving back at the castle.
"Bye!" He yelled. The only people present to witness his leave was the head butler Winston and his mother who already looked to be in tears.
"Hey mother!... I'll be back alright, so be strong! For my sake." He yelled out before retracting back into the carriage to find Lyra giggling.
"What's up?"
"Oh it's nothing" she replied "I'm just a little nervous."
"Don't about a thing Lyra.. I'm right here with you...." He reassured with a grin. "...Every step of the way. Got it?" He inquired as his golden irises locked in on her Crimson eyes
"Yeah... We can do this. It's a pleasure schooling with you... Young master." Lyra replied as their ride to school continued.
'I'm gonna be king, no matter what old man... Just you wait.'