"N-no. No, thank you. I want to see the sunset."
Aldes tried to refuse. He frowned. His hand tugged at his own arm, trying to release Illfa's fingers gripping his sleeve.
"Nooo. It will be dangerous if the kingdom's prince goes out without a guard!!" Illfa instead tightened her grip. The girl pulled Aldes's arm harder toward her body.
"I can take care of myself. Don't worry." Aldes leaned his body back, trying to resist Illfa's pull. "Besides, training with you will take more than two hours. By the time I go out, it will be night."
Ugh, this girl is so strong. What level is she? Damn, I can't release her hand, Aldes muttered in his heart.
"Please, Aldesss. Just show it. I want to see it." Illfa continued to insist. Her face looked pleading, but her strength didn't decrease at all.
"In the name of the prince, I refuse," Aldes answered firmly.
"You have no right to refuse," Illfa replied fearlessly.
Aldes clicked his tongue in annoyance. He took a deep breath. Suddenly, he stopped pulling his arm. Aldes instead stepped forward, grabbed the back of Illfa's hand that was holding his arm, lowered his head, and quickly kissed the back of the girl's hand.
Illfa's face turned bright red in an instant. Her mouth fell slightly open. She froze for three full seconds, staring at Aldes who had just kissed her hand.
Realizing what had happened, Illfa released Aldes's arm in a flash. She jumped back two steps.
"Whoa, whoa, whoaaa," Illfa shouted in panic. Both of her hands crossed in front of her chest.
Aldes straightened his body again. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and smiled proudly. "Success."
"What do you mean success?!" Illfa shouted in annoyance. The girl turned her face away.
Aldes turned around. He resumed his steps toward the exit door. "Alright then. See you later."
"Aldes, please. Accompany me."
Aldes's footsteps halted. Illfa's voice sounded softer this time and was no longer forceful. The girl stood with both hands reaching out toward Aldes's back.
Aldes didn't look back. He continued his steps toward the wooden door.
Seeing the prince continue to walk away, Illfa lowered her hands slowly. Her facial expression turned gloomy. She lowered her head, staring at the stone floor.
At the threshold of the exit, Aldes's footsteps halted again. He shut his eyes tightly and let out a long sigh through his nose.
Damn, I am weak to women, Aldes muttered in resignation.
Aldes turned his body to face Illfa again.
"FIFTEEN MINUTES," Aldes shouted loudly. He raised his index finger. "After that, accompany me somewhere."
Illfa's blue eyes immediately sparkled brightly. She raised her head and nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, that's enough."
They then walked to the center of the room to begin the training.
Aldes told Illfa to hit him using her bare hands. He asked the girl to use twenty percent of her strength, then go up to forty percent.
Illfa took a free stance. She launched a straight right punch toward Aldes's cheek.
Aldes didn't dodge. He raised both of his arms to form a tight high guard in front of his face. Illfa's leather glove hit Aldes's forearm with a dull thud. Aldes's body shook slightly to withstand the impact.
"Faster," Aldes ordered.
Illfa pulled her hand back and retaliated with a barrage of much faster punches. She struck from the right, unleashed a straight left punch, then lowered her attacks toward Aldes's stomach and chest.
Aldes tucked his elbows close to cover his ribs. He ducked slightly and rolled his shoulders, letting some of Illfa's punches miss and sweep through the empty air. The rest of Illfa's punches were perfectly blocked by Aldes's sturdy elbows and forearms. Not a single solid punch broke through his defense.
What the hell. Why isn't a single one landing, Illfa thought, starting to get annoyed.
Without realizing it, Illfa increased the percentage of her strength and speed. Her attacks became more aggressive and brutal.
Feeling the drastically increased pressure, Aldes started using head and body movement. He slipped his head to the left to dodge a straight punch, then stepped backward. He channeled mana to his feet to create a faster backward push.
"Oi, oi, relax," Aldes said, warning her.
Illfa jolted. She stopped her punches and jumped back. "Oh, crap."
"Sorry, sorry." Illfa covered her mouth with one hand.
Aldes lowered his guard. He took a deep breath while shaking out his numb-feeling arms. "You. Are you trying to kill me?"
"Sorry." Illfa lowered her head, feeling guilty.
"Alright. Do you want to try it?" Aldes asked again after his breathing stabilized.
"Killing you?" Illfa asked innocently.
Aldes's eyes bulged. "No, idiot. The defense."
Aldes raised both his hands again, demonstrating the defensive stance.
"Ah." Illfa nodded in understanding. "Yes, yes."
Aldes told Illfa to copy his standing posture. He began correcting Illfa's hand and foot positions for an effective boxing defense.
"Your elbows are too open. Tuck them close to your ribs," Aldes said while pressing Illfa's elbows inward. "Lower your head slightly. Protect your chin."
Aldes started launching slow punches toward Illfa's body and face. Illfa tried to block the attacks, but her movements still felt stiff.
Aldes stopped his attacks for a moment. "Like this. When I punch this side, raise your shoulder a bit to protect your jaw, instead of moving your head away."
Aldes demonstrated the correct shoulder movement. Illfa stared at him seriously, then copied the movement.
"Alright. Let's start again."
Aldes took a step back. He punched toward Illfa again, this time with a more regular and fairly fast rhythm.
Illfa focused her gaze. When Aldes's hand aimed at her jaw, Illfa swiftly raised her elbow and tucked her shoulder, parrying the punch with the defensive movement Aldes had just taught her.
"Like that," Aldes said.
Illfa smiled widely. "Try going faster. Faster."
Aldes increased the speed of his punches. His barrage of attacks became tighter, making Illfa struggle a bit to parry and forcing her to step back a few times to maintain distance.
"Good, good," Aldes said while maintaining the rhythm of the training.