Ariadne and Edmund traded blows one after another, like they were always on the offensive, each impact more potent than the last. It was called attending to the maids in the mansion. They looked out the windows, impressed by the two of them fighting, but it didn’t feel real because of their movements and the impact of the blows.

  Each blow Ariadne received made her sword swing in the opposite direction, but she moved her body to redirect that swing into Edmund again. The two did the same while moving across the field. Even the soldiers gave up on their training because of the ferocity the two were showing.

  ‘Is this okay, captain? Her Highness looks angry.’ One soldier points at Ariadne.

  ‘I don’t know, but she doesn’t look normal.’ Alon looked concerned.

  Again, Ariadne jumped at Edmund with another blow, launching the young man toward the sky. To Edmund’s surprise, he noticed the duchess's face, and she seemed upset. The fight was not going in her favor, but it was too much.

  She jumped after him and traded blows in mid-air, but the young man took the upper hand and swung his sword to make her plunge into the ground. When his feet again met the ground, Edmund looked at his sword, and the dents were noticeable. Even with the magic on it, it was not enough; this would be a test for the real deal.

  ‘Wow, Edmund is amazing, don’t you think?’ A maid put her hand on the window.

  ‘If he weren’t a slave, I would have taken him months to go.’ Another maid replied.

  ‘What?’ She looked at her in shock.

  ‘He is cute; not even going to put the devices he builds, now this?’ The maid smiles while looking at Edmund through the window.

  ‘Humm, you are not wrong.’ She returned her gaze to Edmund.

  ‘But you better forget; the way the duchess treats him is like he is her possession, like a thing; I doubt the duchess would accept such a relationship.' The maid sighs.

  The two were still looking at one another as the wind blew and the silence settled. Ariadne had felt betrayal in her mind and heart like nothing she had ever felt. It made her mad.

  ‘Your Highness, why do you look so angry? Don’t worry; you still can improve.’ Edmund fixed his sword on the ground and walked toward Ariadne.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  ‘You are trying to kill me, peasant!!! ‘ She shouted?.

  ‘Wow, well, that is the point of the training. I said to you at the beginning, What are you talking about?’ He looked at her, confused.

  ‘No!!! This is not part of the training; I've never felt like this.’ She looked frustrated.

  ‘Calm down; I can’t betray you; I’m a slave; this feeling is necessary for actual combat.’ Edmund smiled at her.

  ‘Argh!’ Ariadne tightened her grip on the sword.

  Without warning, Ariadne tried to swing her sword at Edmund, but before she could position herself, Edmund’s first was right on her face, touching Ariadne’s nose before stopping completely. It made her stop immediately.

  ‘Don’t do this; you will kill me.’ He gave her a serious look.

  Her eyes focused on his, and after hearing his words, she felt reassured and relaxed her stance, making him relax as well. The two were there, just staring at one another for a minute.

  ‘Did she just try to kill me? That was scary.’ Edmund thought to himself.

  ‘It is your fault, peasant, that I felt like this.’ She threw the sword to the side and crossed her arms.

  ‘What? It was training; Your Highness, I may be so bold to say you have a fevered head.’ Edmund chuckled.

  ‘Humph.’ Ariadne turned to the side.

  ‘Anyway, I was surprised at how good you are. It took just some months of training, and you are already this good; it’s amazing.’ Edmund walked to Ariadne’s sword and picked it up.

  ‘It’s me, peasant; why should it be any different?’ She looked at his back.

  ‘Yeah… right.’ He laughs.

  ‘Let’s free the training grounds; you need to show me the refrigerator, right, peasant?’ She started to walk to the warehouse.

  ‘Ho, that is right, your highness.’ Edmund grabbed the other sword and followed Ariadne.

  At the warehouse, he showed the two versions of the refrigerators, one for nobles with gold ornaments and a more luxurious design, and the normal one for commoners, which was the same thing but with no details at all; there were even imperfections on the surface of the device.

  ‘To make it a justification for the price, the commoner one is not perfect; other than that, they are the same.’ Edmund smiled.

  ‘You are a smart peasant; let us go with this. I will talk with the companies so they can export this to the Markaz kingdom in the north and even a better deal for their king in the future.’ She said this while passing her hand on the refrigerator for nobles.

  ‘Well, you know what you are doing, so may I put this in the mansion kitchen? And give the other to some of my students?’ He looked at her.

  ‘Very well, peasant, do just that. I’m going to take a bath. Continue with your day. Tomorrow, we do more training.’ Ariadne got out of the warehouse.

  'Well, today she was different, that is for sure.’ Edmund scratched the back of his head.

  After some time in the kitchen, the door was opened, and Edmund came with the refrigerator. The chef and the maids were surprised by what he was carrying and stopped what they were doing.

  ‘What is this, Edmund? Are you going to explode something in here? I’m going to tell the duchess if you try anything funny.’ The old Shafran lady with a chef hat crossed her arms.

  ‘No, no, no... This is a finished product; the duchess permitted putting it here; it is used to freeze or cool food, like meat, drinks, or fish. It's up to you.’ Edmund smiled at the old chef.

  ‘That is amazing, Edmund; you are so smart.’ A maid came close to him, smiling.

  ‘It’s no big deal, I mean... maybe is kind of...’ He halted.

  ‘Edmund? Are you alright?’ The maid touched his arm and put a hand on his chest.

  'Chef, what do you think about the refrigerator the peasant made?’ Ariadne entered the kitchen from another door.

  Ariadne came into the kitchen right then looked at how the maid touched Edmund, and her cheerful gaze transformed into rage. Her eyes couldn’t betray her feeling, but only her ears could convey it.

  ‘What is happening here?’ She spoke, looking at the maid's hands.