Chapter 14: You Drop Your Left Shoulder
[AFFECTION INCREASED]
Seraphina Ashenblade: 25 → 30
Status: Conflicted → Falling (But Still Fighting It)
Lucian closed the door, shaking his head.
Three heroines interested in him.
One shaless S-rank ntor.
And a protagonist who was starting to see him as a threat.
This is going to get complicated fast.
But honestly?
He wouldn’t have it any other way.
After a while — Seraphina’s Room
The candle had burned down to a stub.
Seraphina sat on her bed, sword across her knees, staring at the wall.
She should be asleep. She wasn’t.
You won again today, Doren had said after practice, peeling himself off the ground for the fourth ti. Like it ant nothing.
It did an nothing. That was the problem.
She lay back, staring at the ceiling.
Fifty-three victories. Zero defeats. Zero monts where her heart actually hamred and she had to dig deep just to survive.
Just... nothing
She turned onto her side aggressively.
Stop thinking.
As soon as she closed her eyes Lucian Valemont’s face appeared imdiately.
Absolutely not.
She then turned onto her other side."
He was weak. Barely any mana. Couldn’t fight properly. She could beat him with her eyes closed and one hand literally tied behind her back.
He was nobody.
You drop your left shoulder.
She pulled the blanket up over her head.
Nobody had ever said that to her before. Not her professors. Not her father. Not the dozens of opponents she’d crushed over the years.
Just him. Casual. Unbothered. Like pointing out a flaw in the great Seraphina Ashenblade was the most normal thing in the world.
And then he’d just... walked away.
Didn’t challenge her. Didn’t try to impress her. Didn’t treat her like she was made of glass or like she was a trophy to chase.
Just walked away.
It doesn’t an anything, she told herself firmly. He’s observant. That’s it. Full stop. End of discussion.
She was going to sleep now.
Right now.
Any second.
...
He caught
like it was nothing.
She groaned into her pillow.
Stop.
He’s a footnote. A useful footnote. Nothing more.
Go to sleep.
She closed her eyes harder.
Took a breath.
Started drifting.
And right at the edge of sleep, one thought slipped through before she could stop it —
I want him to try harder to beat .
She was out before she could be properly disgusted with herself.
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