Morning mist still lingered above the Asheville training grounds when I stepped onto the field.
The grass was damp beneath my boots. A thin veil of silver fog drifted across the ground, wrapping around wooden training dummies and steel weapon racks like ghosts refusing to leave the battlefield.
The clang of swords echoed rhythmically.
Steel striking steel.
Breaths cutting through cold air.
Orders shouted by captains.
It was familiar.
Yet today felt… different.
Because beside me—
He was here.
Kel.
His presence changed the atmosphere of the entire field.
He stood quietly with his arms behind his back, his dark coat fluttering slightly in the faint wind. The early sunlight caught the silver lining of his collar, reflecting faintly against his sharp jawline.
But it was not his appearance that commanded the space.
It was his stillness.
His eyes moved slowly across the field, observing everything.
Not just the knights' strikes.
Their breathing.
Their posture.
Their hesitation.
The subtle tremble in a wrist when a blade met resistance.
Watching him felt like watching a predator standing silently in tall grass.
Waiting.
Measuring.
Calculating.
I finally asked the question that had been lingering in my mind.
"Why are we here?"
He did not look at me immediately.
His eyes remained on the knights sparring before us.
"To find two trustworthy swords for you."
The answer surprised me.
"For me?" I asked softly.
He nodded.
"Yes."
A breeze brushed across the field, lifting a loose strand of my hair across my cheek.
"Why?"
This time he turned his head slightly.
"I am leaving for the South in a month."
For a moment—
The sound of swords colliding seemed distant.
"You are leaving…?"
I felt something tighten faintly inside my chest.
"Don't I come with you?"
"No."
The answer was immediate.
Not harsh.
But final.
I frowned.
"Why? I am your sword."
His green eyes met mine.
Cold.
Clear.
"You are the Matriarch of Asheville. Your domain is here."
He gestured faintly toward the estate behind us.
"You cannot abandon it so soon."
I lowered my eyes.
He was right.
And yet—
I did not like hearing it.
After a moment I asked quietly,
"Is that why you sent Landon to the South when we left Vanhart territory?"
Kel nodded.
"Yes."
"So he could prepare the stage for you?"
"Yes."
His voice remained calm.
"I do not step into a battlefield without preparing the ground."
I looked at him again.
Even now—
He was planning several steps ahead.
While I was still adjusting to ruling a house.
He had already prepared the next stage.
I felt both admiration and frustration.
Then he stepped onto the field.
"Line up."
His voice was not loud.
Yet the knights obeyed instantly.
Rows formed.
Helmets removed.
Faces revealed.
Fifty knights stood before us.
Men and women both.
Kel walked slowly along the line.
His footsteps were quiet against the dirt.
Yet every knight seemed to feel them.
Shoulders straightened.
Breaths slowed.
Eyes followed him cautiously.
He tested them.
Not just with combat drills.
But with questions.
At first simple.
"Why serve House Asheville?"
"For honor."
"For loyalty."
"For coin."
Their answers varied.
Kel listened.
But his eyes were not on their mouths.
They were on their faces.
Their pupils.
Their breathing.
Then his questions changed.
"If Lady Reina collapsed from exhaustion before you, what would you do?"
The knights hesitated.
"Protect her."
"Call for a healer."
"Stand guard."
Kel nodded faintly.
Then he asked something that made several knights shift uncomfortably.
"If she wept before you?"
The silence stretched.
My cheeks warmed slightly.
"If she doubted herself?"
"If she removed armor after battle while you were present?"
Now their reactions were clearer.
Eyes flickered.
Breaths changed.
I realized what he was doing.
He was not testing their loyalty.
He was testing their instincts.
By the time he finished—
Only thirty knights remained.
Then—
He eliminated all the men.
Just like that.
The field felt strangely empty.
"Why eliminate the male knights?" I asked.
Kel answered without hesitation.
"Because I cannot allow any man to see you when you are vulnerable."
I blinked.
"Why?"
His voice remained calm.
"Even loyal men are still men."
His gaze was steady.
"A vulnerable woman can awaken desire even in disciplined minds."
The words felt blunt.
Clinical.
Yet they carried no disrespect.
Only caution.
"And I cannot allow even the possibility of someone taking advantage of you in your weakest state."
I studied his face.
"How do you know what a man sees when a woman is vulnerable?"
His expression did not change.
"Because I am a man."
The answer struck me unexpectedly.
My chest tightened.
Because suddenly—
I remembered.
The night I cried in his arms.
The moment I collapsed after reading the assassination letter.
The night I hid my face against his chest because I was ashamed of my tears.
He had seen me at my most broken.
Yet his hands had only steadied me.
Never once crossing the invisible line.
A strange warmth spread through my chest.
I smiled faintly.
Not because his words were harsh.
But because I understood them.
His protectiveness was… absolute.
Possessive.
Yet not impure.
He did not trust men near me.
Not even loyal ones.
Because he knew exactly what men were capable of.
And he refused to gamble with me.
That realization made my smile deepen slightly.
Then he turned to the remaining knights.
"Pair yourselves."
Ten women stepped forward.
They formed five pairs.
Kel tested them again.
But this time—
He tested their synchronization.
Blindfolded combat.
One guiding while the other struck.
Silent coordination.
Breathing rhythm.
Several pairs moved well.
But one pair—
Was different.
Their movements flowed together.
No signal.
No hesitation.
One shifted left exactly when the other attacked right.
Their blades moved like reflections.
Kel stopped them.
"One soul. Two bodies."
I nodded unconsciously.
They were perfect.
He dismissed the others.
The two women knelt before us.
"Names."
"Arin Vale."
"Lysera Thorn."
Kel looked at me.
"Form a master-servant contract."
I blinked.
"That is binding."
"Yes."
"Is it necessary?"
His voice was quiet.
"I do not accept empty oaths."
His eyes held no hesitation.
"I want binding so betrayal becomes impossible."
I understood.
Kel did not believe in trust alone.
He believed in secured loyalty.
So I cut my palm.
Blood touched the ground.
Arin and Lysera mirrored me.
We clasped hands.
"I accept your oath," I said.
"Your loyalty binds to mine."
"Betrayal will sever your life."
The sigil flared softly.
Then faded.
The contract formed.
My twin swords had been chosen.
As the two women rose behind me, I glanced at Kel again.
"You trust no man with me."
"No."
"Not even loyal ones?"
"Especially loyal ones."
I exhaled slowly.
"You see me as fragile."
He shook his head.
"No."
His voice softened slightly.
"I see you as irreplaceable."
My breath caught.
Just for a moment.
Then he turned away, walking toward the estate.
I followed him slowly.
Behind me—
Arin and Lysera walked in perfect synchronization.
My twin swords.
Yet my thoughts remained fixed on the man ahead of me.
Kel.
The man who trusted no one with my vulnerability.
Not even himself.
And strangely—
That knowledge made me feel safer than any army ever could.
Because I understood something clearly now.
Kel was not simply protecting me.
He was guarding the parts of me I could not always protect myself.
And perhaps—
That was why I trusted him more than anyone else in this world.