"It's warm."

"Really?"

"Yes. Your hands are always warm. It's been like that since the beginning. Ever since I took your hand, all of my pain was gone."

Blake smiled and laughed. Now that Blake was all better, I could say this with a smile.

"I should've done it sooner..."

Blake shook his head.

"Don't say that. It's enough that you're here with me."

He raised our clasped hands to his face and rubbed my hands on his cheeks.

"Ancia, your mana is wavering."

It seems that the fluctuation of my heartbeat affected the flow of mana. I was embarrassed and quickly removed my hand.

"Y-you can already see the flow of the mana. That's great!"

Blake smiled innocently and grabbed my hand again.

"How's my mana?"

I closed my eyes and felt the mana flowing through his body. His mana felt so pure.

When the curse was lifted, a massive amount of mana entered his body. It should've caused his body to be overwhelmed, but he was managing very well.

As expected, my husband is a genius.

But it was not just that. He must've learned how to control it since he was a child.

So Blake had developed his ability to suppress and control his mana.

"Your mana is pure and well controlled. But I think you should learn how to send it out."

"Yes."

He nodded gently. He was like a good student that listened to his teacher well.

"Focus on your mind, and just like what I did just a moment ago, gather the mana on your fingertips and let it flow to me."

"Alright."

"It might not work out at first. Stay calm and take your time."

"Yes."

But as soon as I said that, his mana flowed into my hand.

I was surprised.

"That's great!"

"Did I do a good job?"

"Yes, you did a great job. My husband is a genius!"

He could immediately let out a moderate amount of mana. Only skilled mages could do this.

Regardless of past experience, Blake must be a real genius.

"Hehe."

Blake smiled shyly. He became embarrassed because of a small compliment. He was so cute.

"Remember the wavelength and flow of mana you felt now. Our mana comes from the same source, so we can find each other any time."

His grip on my hand tightened.

"Of course, it will take a lot of training, but I believe my husband will be able to do it soon."

"Yes, I'll try my best."

Blake smiled brightly as I stroked his head.

"I'll always be by your side, so don't be nervous anymore. Apologize to the knights, okay?

Even if Blake did it out of good intentions, he was wrong to get involved in the battle between the knights and injure them.

Blake didn't say anything when I said that again.

"I like nice people."

When I said that, he nodded quickly.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

***

Blake was on his way to meet the knights.

His innocent expression from when he was with Ancia disappeared without a trace, and only a sense of coldness exuded from his expression.

"Your Highness, you're here."

The knights who were training saw Blake and said their greetings.

No one was surprised to see his cold expression. He had always been like that.

Blake looked at Alex who was standing behind him.

"What's wrong with your hands? I would've treated you if you told me."

After finishing the match to pick Ancia's escort, Blake had treated all of the injured knights.

"Oh, I fell down while training a while ago..."

Alex scratched his head in embarrassment, but on the inside, he felt very overwhelmed.

Blake noticed that he was injured, even though it was not that visible.

Blake had suddenly become attentive after he returned after meeting Ancia.

"Come here."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Alex quickly approached him. Blake looked at Alex's condition and put his hand on his swollen wrist.

Alex took his hand off in surprise.

"Oh, no! It's alright."

Not long after the Crown Prince had treated him with the power of light, he was injured again due to his carelessness.

He was thankful that Blake didn't scold him for being clumsy and treated his injury instead.

Blake pulled Alex's hand again.

"Your Highness..."

Alex was very touched by Blake's action.

The other knights also thought so.

When this cold-hearted person suddenly showed some affection towards them, they were all moved.

Blake said calmly, "Shut up and let me treat you. If you keep shaking like this, my wife will misunderstand."

Alex became stiff.

However, the person who dampened the atmosphere did not pay attention to their reactions and focused on treating Alex.

He was scolded by Ancia, but his mood became even worse because of the fact that she was worried about another man.

Of course, he knew that Ancia wasn't particularly interested in the knights, but he still hated it.

"Everyone who's hurt, stand in a line."

Blake shouted coldly, letting go of Alex's arms after treating it.

"N-no. We're fine."

The knights declined, but Blake's gaze became colder.

"Come here right now!"

***

The autumn weather was fickle. Yesterday, it was cold as if winter had come, but today it was warm if it was still summer.

Even so, I was glad to see the warm autumn sun.

I was taking a walk, when suddenly, I saw a group of people.

It was the Imperial Knights.

"Your Highness!!!"

They came running towards me as soon as they saw me.

What happened?

"I can't believe I ran into you in a place like this! What a coincidence! Hahaha!"

"Yes! Such a coincidence!"

A coincidence? It seemed as if they came running to meet me on purpose though.

"Ah, is that so..."

The knights nodded awkwardly.

"I feel so good! His Highness treated my injuries today!"

"I feel so good that I ran all the way here from the training ground!"

"His Highness is very kind. In my opinion, he's the nicest man in the Empire. Hahahaha!

They awkwardly spewed out such scripted comments and laughed. Even their smile looked like they were doing a public service advertisement.

"I see."

I nodded softly. I knew they were telling the truth, but something about it was weird.

Even after I went on my way, I encountered several other knights and they, too, sang praises about Blake before continuing what they were doing.

What was happening?

Blake visited the knights today and treated the injured knights meticulously.

He must have reviewed the conditions of the knights out of regret after hearing what I said.

He looked so reluctant when I asked him to apologize, but I think he had still done it.

When I entered the Imperial Palace with a happy smile, the servant bowed his head.

"Your Highness, I think you'll have to wait a little bit today."

"Does His Majesty have a visitor?"

"It's not like that, Your Highness, he's duelling with the captain."

He was duelling with Ron? The leader of the knights?

Sir Ron was regarded as the strongest knight in the palace because he was a master of the sword. However, people said that even Sir Ron was lacking compared to Tenstheon.

"Lead me to where they are."

"Yes, Your Highness."

As we approached the site of the duel, I could hear the clanging sound of metal striking metal.

I didn't know much about swordsmanship, but tensed up just listening to the sound.

I walked quietly by the side.

Tenstheon and Ron were duelling with their swords.

As far as I knew, Sir Ron was younger than Tenstheon, but he looked like he was the older one among the two.

I've noticed this since I first saw him, but my father looked really young. It was as if he had defied the flow of time.

The duel between the two was much more intense than I expected.

Right now, Tenstheon, Ron, and Blake were the best swordsmen in the Empire.

I often spectated competitions and contests between knights, but I felt this duel was on a different level compared to those.

As time went by, Ron began to fall behind.

The edge of the sword was pointed near Tenstheon's chest, but he dodged it with ease.

However, as a result, one of Tenstheon's buttons fell off.

"Is Your Majesty alright?"

Ron was startled and went to approach Tenstheon.

"I'm alright."

Tenstheon tore off his shirt after he lost the button.

Gasp!

I barely managed to hold back my scream.

Oh my god. Oh my god.

He looked better than he did 10 years ago. No, how could he look even better? I thought he was already perfect back then.

"Let's continue."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The two continued their duel again. It was fiercer than before, but I couldn't concentrate on the fight because I was distracted by Tenstheon.

Suddenly a big hand covered my eyes.

"What are you doing?"

I looked back in surprise.

"Blake..."

"What are you looking at?"

"The b-battle."

Yeah, I was watching the battle! Why did I get so nervous? I was telling the truth.

Blake stared at Tenstheon and Ron duelling and spoke in a low voice.

"Let's go back first. We can't interrupt them can't we?"

"Yes..."