TBATE - Fated To Rule Together

Chapter 20 - Shallow Hatred

(1 Year Later)

(Arthur Leywin POV)

One whole year has passed since me and Amber set out on our adventure with Jasmine. It has been excruciatingly tough for us to train without utilising any mana to bolster our bodies, which made us feel sluggish and lethargic when we practiced. But in a way, that has worked to our benefit. Because of not using mana, it felt like our sense of time had slowed down, which allowed us to get accustomed to our bodies much quicker than we had originally anticipated.

With a rapier, Amber was nearly back to her best; she only needed to solve the little details and technical issues. I still had a ways to go before I was at my peak, though. Even though I was nearly completely used to my physique, I still needed to modify my tactics to fit my smaller frame. I was probably going to take longer than Amber to get 100% compatibility because I had more skills to hone and adapt than she had. I could just practise and get better right now.

Sylvie and Airies, on the other hand, were doing fine on their own. They had come to visit once, and Jasmine had been unlucky enough to see them. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but because of all the beast cores they'd ingested, they were considerably larger than when they departed on their own. They were now the same height and width as me. Jasmine was taken aback when she saw them. But it was nothing compared to her stunned reaction when she realised what they actually were. I never imagined she could produce such an expression in the first place.

Once things had calmed down, we requested Jasmine not to tell anybody since it would attract unwanted attention to us and someone may even target us to take our bonds away. Humans, after all, are greedy; it's in their nature to want what others have. Thankfully, she consented without hesitation and gave us a rare small smile.

*****

(Amber Hesltea POV)

Opening my eyes, the first thing I saw was an empty sleeping bag.

"Huh?" Those were the first words that came out of my mouth. The empty sleeping bag I was looking at belonged to Arthur, but he was nowhere to be seen. He would usually be the last of the three of us to awaken, so his awakening earlier than the rest of us was utterly unexpected.

'Perhaps I'm simply staring at Jasmine's sleeping bag while he's sleeping on the other side of me.' I paused and shifted to my other side. It was Jasmine! 'What the fuck! What happened to him? Where is he?' My mind was racing with thoughts as I tried to come up with a plausible explanation for my husband's departure.

'Has he murdered anyone? Is he gone to bury their body?' No, that's not even a possibility. Arthur is well aware that if he were to murder someone, I would be right there with him, shovel in hand, ready to perform the ultimate crime. However, this invites the question, 'What happened?' What could be worse than murder, so much so to the point that he needs to conceal it from his own wife.

I slid out of my sleeping bag quietly so as not to disturb Jasmine. She normally got up later than I did, so I still had time to locate Arthur before she woke up. If I don't locate him by then, we'll have to seek for him together. Augmenting both my sight and ears with mana, I began my hunt. Immediately, I heard fast tapping vibrations coming from the direction of the woodland and set out to identify the source of the sound, thinking it was Arthur.

As I drew closer to the sounds, it became louder, to the point that I didn't need mana to hear it. After a few minutes of wandering, I came across a lovely forest clearing.

The forest around it was huge, dense, and lush. Its canopy was reigned by rhododendron, spruce, and hemlock, who left just enough light for a range of shrubs to use the sloping and slanting ground below. Curling tree limbs suspended from the occasional tree, and a mishmash of flowers, which were seen occasionally, added some colour to the otherwise amber view. A medley of beastly sounds, most of which were critters, added life to the forest, and were out of sync with the occasional sounds of birds of prey gliding in the air.