Chapter 121. The Gladiator Kara's First Love
Amidst the chaos of restoring his territory, Count Lucian von Eckhart oversaw a large-scale military drill to tighten discipline among his troops.
Dressed in full armor for the first time in a while, Lucian mounted his warhorse, Angus, and rode across the training grounds. The moment he appeared, thunderous cheers erupted, shaking the earth.
"For the Kingdom! For Akart Castle!"
His captain of the guard and the female knight Kara flanked him as he raised his sword high, delivering a rousing speech to his soldiers. Lucian's presence was not just dignified—it was overwhelming. The soldiers roared with pride, knowing they served under the continent's strongest swordsman and belonged to the "Steel Knights," the finest knight order in the kingdom.
Once the speech ended and the troops dispersed for training, Kara gazed at the icy-blue holy sword sheathed at Lucian's waist, its edge gleaming ominously.
"That sword... it amazes me every time I see it. It's like something out of legend."
"Of course. This blade will never rust or break, no matter how much it cuts."
Lucian smirked and proudly tapped the hilt.
"How does one even come to possess such a sword?"
Kara's voice carried a hint of envy. Her rapier, though swift and light, was fragile—prone to snapping under heavy impact, forcing her to always carry spares.
"Hah, this holy sword was given to me by a water spirit— Wait, hold on!"
The color drained from Lucian's face in an instant.
His relaxed smile froze, and his pupils trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
'Ah... of all the things to forget... Damn it, Lucian von Eckhart!'
The chilling voice of Undine, the water spirit he had met deep in the lake, echoed in his mind.
["Visit me here four times a year. If you miss even once, I will drown you."]
Between the southern campaign in Kurkan, suppressing the rebellion, and his recent marriage, he had been so swamped that he had completely forgotten the terrifying promise.
"This is bad. I need to get to the lake near the royal capital immediately."
Coincidentally, a summons had just arrived from the capital regarding rewards for ending the civil war.
"Kara! We're moving up the schedule. We depart for the royal capital at dawn tomorrow—prepare everything!"
"Huh? Tomorrow morning? Understood, my lord!"
Late that afternoon, after the drills concluded, Kara scrambled to make hasty preparations for their sudden departure.
Before setting off, she needed to consult with the captain of the guard about troop arrangements. But no matter where she searched—the training grounds, the barracks—his towering figure was nowhere to be found.
"Where did he go...?"
As she passed by the old, disused stables on the outskirts of the castle—a place now rarely frequented—her sharp warrior's ears caught a strange sound.
"Hah... Ahh..."
"Just a little more... Nancy..."
Kara's steps halted abruptly.
It wasn't the sound of an animal. It was the stifled, sticky moans of a man and woman tangled in passion.
'At this hour? In such a secluded place...?'
Silencing her presence, Kara crept closer, peering through the gaps in the weathered wooden planks. What she saw made her breath catch.
In the corner of the stable, atop a pile of soft hay—
The captain of the guard and the maid Nancy were entwined.
Nancy's maid uniform was half-slipped off her shoulders, her white undergarments already discarded on the ground. The captain, having shed his upper armor, loomed over her with his massive frame.
"Nancy... your breasts... they're so beautiful."
His rough, calloused hands cupped her pale, ample curves—gently at first, then squeezing with desperate hunger. His face buried between them, his lips captured her stiffened nipple, sucking fiercely.
"Ahh... Captain... Yes. Touch me harder... Hahh!"
Nancy wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs locking around his waist.
The contrast between his sun-bronzed, muscular body and her snow-white, voluptuous form was striking.
Unable to hold back any longer, he aligned his thick, rigid length with her slick entrance and thrust in with a deep, heavy motion.
Squelch—!
"Aahhh—!"
The hay pile sank under their weight as Nancy's cries filled the stable.
Unlike Lucian's one-sided, sadistic couplings, this was different. The captain's movements were rough, almost beastly—yet laced with a desperate tenderness, a reverence for the woman beneath him.
Creak, creak, thud! Thud!
"Captain... Ahh... Yes... Ah!"
"Hah... Nancy, I love you. My Nancy..."
Sweat dripped from his brow as he showered her forehead, nose, and lips with kisses, his hips driving relentlessly. Their bodies slapped together, love juices splattering as Nancy's eyes glazed over in pleasure.
The sight was suffocating.
Kara stood frozen behind the wooden planks, staring blankly.
Normally, she would have flushed and hurried away—or, recalling Lucian's many trysts, felt her own arousal dampening her thighs.
But this time, it was different.
Instead of excitement, a cold, stabbing pain pierced her chest.
"...Ah."
Her fingers clenched the fabric over her heart.
A heavy, hollow disappointment—like a blunt strike to the gut.
'Why... do I feel like this?'
Her mind spun in confusion.
Just days ago, she had coolly drawn a line with the captain—telling him she had no romantic interest, that they should remain nothing more than comrades-in-arms.
Yet now, watching him whisper love to Nancy while holding her close, why did her eyes burn?
Only then did Kara realize the truth.
She was in love with the captain.
As a former arena slave, she had only ever seen two men as more than just opponents—Lucian and the captain.
But Lucian was an untouchable master, his occasional pleasures (usually fellatio) mere acts of dominance.
The captain was different.
Her direct superior, the man who trained with her daily on the field, who had her back in battle, who warmed her frozen body in blizzards—a steadfast, dependable presence. Without realizing it, she had slowly given him pieces of her heart.
'So that's why... Nancy was always so wary of me.'
Now she understood Nancy's sharp glances and overreactions. The maid's instincts had sensed Kara's hidden feelings—or at least the possibility of them—long before Kara herself had.
"Ah! Ahh! Captain! I'm—! ...Aahhh!"
"Ugh... Nancy!"
Their climax tore through the stable, their cries mingling in ecstasy.
Kara couldn't stay any longer.
There was no place for her here—in this perfect, love-filled world of theirs.
Silently, she turned away.
Her usually light, agile steps dragged heavily, as if weighed down by sandbags.
Her first love had bloomed—only to wither the moment she recognized it.
At dawn the next day, Lucian set off without even bidding farewell to most of the household, leaving only brief words with Sophia and Maria, the head maid.
His wife Rachel had already received a heated goodbye the night before—one delivered with his body.
With Kara and a handful of elite soldiers, he rode hard for the capital. The captain remained behind to oversee the territory's reconstruction.
Lucian's urgency was palpable—he needed to reach the lake as soon as possible.
The problem was his nightly mana surges.
Without a maid to accompany them for swift travel, the only one who could endure his burning heat during camp was Kara.
"Guh... Kara... Sorry. I'll have to trouble you again."
"I-It's fine, my lord."
Inside a tent deep in the woods, Kara devoted her rough hands and soft lips to soothing Lucian's raging arousal. For nights, she swallowed his thick, salty release, dutifully serving him—caught between loyalty and the strange pleasure of her role. As if trying to erase the sting of her lost love, she took him deeper, harder.
Days later, on the outskirts of the royal capital...
Lucian rushed to the lake before even entering the city. His small party had traveled at breakneck speed.
Ordering his soldiers and Kara to wait, he approached the lakeshore alone.
"Undine! I've come! I kept my promise!"
But only a gentle breeze rippled across the still water.
Lucian stretched his mana into the depths—yet the cold, transparent presence of the water spirit was nowhere to be found.
"Did she move elsewhere...?"
She had threatened to drown him if he broke his promise.
Her absence should have been a relief—yet an uneasy premonition settled heavily in his chest.
Expression grim, he turned and headed for the royal palace.