章 23: Chapter 22: Promise

Focusing on the Marquess and Jahi again, I was astounded to see Jahi slowly making the Marquess react. Previously, the Marquess would barely move at all, simply shifting parts of her body into Jahi's blows. Now, however, she had to mover her arms and legs, using her forearms and shins to block jabs and kicks.

Jahi wasn't speeding up, nor was she getting stronger, but she was instead weaving different moves together, using her entire body to its fullest.

Watching her slowly combine more movements together, I was entranced, watching what looked like a very beautiful dance.

Dashing forward, Jahi swung her right fist forward, colliding with the Marquess' forearm. Instead of retracting her hand, Jahi wrapped her arm around the Marquess' before using it to pull herself up, launching her feet towards the Marquess' midriff.

Sadly, the height difference proved to be to great, as the Marquess just extended her arm, causing Jahi to kick the air. Shaking her arm slightly, Jahi fell to the ground, quickly scrambling to her feet.

I continued to watch the two demons spar, marveling at the grace and control behind their movements. I brought out a new book, deciding to start preparing spells for next year.

As much as I wanted to jump straight to ice, I had to start with the two elements that created ice; wind and water.

I started with water, deciding to dedicate the first part of my book to the water element.

Starting with the element rune, which was a down facing triangle, the inverse of the fire rune, I started with spells that came to mind first when I thought of water magic; support magic.

I created various spells, ranging from an internal healing spell to an area healing spell. Pursing my lips, I slowly went through each possible variation, narrowing my sequences down to a few. Satisfied with what I had, I turned my attention to creating a spell that would create a layer of mana over my body that would act as either a shield or a repellent.

This stumped me slightly, as I had to create a spell that not only created a stable layer of mana around myself, but would also repel attacks, either physical or magical in nature.

Tapping the pen to my cheek, I sighed, realizing that I would need to create a few different spells before creating a ritual circle to allow them to work together without interference. Deciding to wait until I not only had a better understanding of ritual circles, but also of more advanced sequences, I went about creating offensive spells next.

I slowly lost myself to the sequences, tuning out the world around me as I slowly filled page after page. I don't know how much time passed, but eventually a shadow fell over me, and looking up I saw Jahi looking down at me, her lips pursed slightly. Seeing her furrow her brow as she attempted to read the sequences on the page, I closed the book.

Looking at her, I realized she was practically soaked with sweat. Yet, she wasn't panting, nor was there any noticeable sign that she just exercised for god knows how long. Turning to look at the Marquess, I frowned slightly when I saw her with a small sheen of sweat on her brow, looking like she had simply been out for a walk. Moving towards Jahi, I grabbed a towel before gently wiping the sweat from her body.

Ignoring the slight smirk on her face, I continued wiping her off. Finishing, I was about to pull away when she wrapped me in her arms. Hesitating slightly, I sighed before leaning into her. The slight musk paired with her naturally sweet smell made for an interesting combination, and when she pulled me closer to herself, I buried my face into her neck, enjoying her warmth.

Hearing the chuckles from her parents, I quickly tried to push her away, only to have her squeeze me tighter. Pouting, I reluctantly leaned back into her. However, when I felt her hands slowly lowering, I tried to leave her embrace yet again. Failing to do so, I pursed my lips before pinching the exposed skin of her waist, twisting it slightly. Yelping, she jumped back, glaring at me. Giving her a slight smile, I quickly folded the towel before turning towards the Marquess. Seeing her wide grin, I pouted again before quickly taking the towel that she had been using, folding it and placing it in the 'used' pile near the door.

Chuckling, the Marquess looked towards the indignant Jahi, saying "Go take a bath and rest. You did good."

Jahi gave a 'Hmph!' before stomping over to me, grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the exit. Sighing, I tried to match her pace, struggling slightly to keep up with her longer strides.

Eventually we reached our room. Dragging me towards the bath, Jahi had a smirk on her face. Blushing slightly, I realized she would get me back for that pinch earlier.

However, even though I was aware of the impending 'punishment', I went about my duties, quickly undressing Jahi before undressing myself, placing our clothes off on the side before grabbing a clean set, laying them on the bed.

Walking into the bath, I saw Jahi was already sitting in front of the shower, her chin resting in her hand. Moving to kneel behind her, I started our routine, lathering her hair with soap before gently rinsing it off, doing the same to the rest of her. Trading spots, I felt a little apprehensive about letting her out of my sight, but surprisingly she didn't do anything, simply washing me off before walking over to the bath. Sitting down, she made no move to pull me to her side like she normally did.

Frowning slightly, I took a seat next to her.

Still nothing.

Pursing my lips, I looked at her from the corner of my eye. Jahi was leaning back, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the bath.

Feeling my heart clench slightly, I frowned. Was I always this... dependent on someone else? Simply being slightly ignored set me off this much?

Gritting my teeth, I leaned into Jahi, keeping my eyes on her face. Seeing no shift in her expression, I sighed. While it wasn't ideal, as I had gotten to used to the warmth she provided, by physically and emotionally, I was content with the fact that she wasn't moving away from me.

Time passed by, Jahi dozing while I sat there, staring into the water.

Eventually, Jahi wrapped an arm around me, making me jump slightly. Looking at her, I saw her wide grin and was tempted to pinch her again, but decided not to. Leaning into her, I felt her hold me closer.

"Kat, what was in that book from earlier?"

"Hmm? Oh, the brown one. Water spells. I think I want to make spells for each basic element as... preparation? For when I awaken my core."

Chuckling, Jahi looked down at me. "Oh~ So you're confident you will awake a core huh? Good."

Ruffling my ears, she rested her head on my own, going quiet again.

Rising, she stretched before stepping out of the bath. Following her, I dried both of us off before quickly dressing Jahi in a clean set of clothes. Quickly throwing on my own extra set of clothes, I followed her out of the room. We were heading towards the Marquess' room, as we all still ate together in her main room.

Entering, we could see the Marquess yawning as she finished signing another paper. Sitting on the desk next to her was the Countess, reading over different papers before placing them into separate stacks. Hearing us enter, they looked over.

"Jules should be back in a a few minutes."

Nodding, Jahi went and sat on a couch, sighing.

I walked up to the Marquess, and asked "Could I perhaps... be excused from attending Baron Jilk's classes in the future?"

The Marquess raised her brow, while the Countess frowned slightly.

"Pray tell, why should you not attend his classes?"

Looking at the Countess' frown, I answered "I wish to use the three hours to clean and prepare our rooms. As it is, I barely have time to keep them tidy, let alone clean. Additionally, I have started to study the various books available in the library, and have asked Jahi to quiz me on history."

The Countess turned to look at the Marquess, who just shrugged. Sighing, the Countess said "Well, it's not me you should be asking. After all, the only reason you are attending that class is because Jahi wants you to."

Turning, I could see Jahi frowning at me. Moving to stand in front of her, I looked at her.

Her frown growing, she sighed, glaring at me, before leaning towards my ear. "Fine, but I expect something in return for the time spent apart..."

Feeling her breath on my ear, paired with her words, I shivered slightly, before nodding furiously.

"I promise..."

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So, a few more chapters before another time skip. I have something planned for these chapters though~

I hope you enjoy!

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