We had been remarkably busy during our extended stay. Each day that passed, I had spent almost entirely in the magnificent Gorei castle library, trying to absorb and learn as much knowledge as humanly possible. Even Katherine seemed genuinely eager to learn alongside me—so we methodically went through several books each day, our pile of completed texts steadily growing. The best way to face future challenges, we had decided, was through immense practice, careful precaution, and being as knowledgeable as possible. Young Sagar had been absolutely delighted to help us in our studies, patiently explaining difficult concepts. Unlike a certain knight assigned to guard me—who let out an enormous yawn every five minutes without fail, utterly bored by us self-proclaimed nerds and our books.
Gautham had been an absolute delight to the eyes with his striking features and golden gaze. And he was a genuinely friendly man by nature, easy to talk to. But he clearly wasn't cut out to be a personal guard who had to wait around patiently for someone. He was distinctly more of the adventurous type—one of those souls who would love to explore the entire world simply for the sake of exploration itself. But since it had been his emperor's direct command, he had no choice but to dutifully follow us around and accompany us everywhere we went.
Arvid had been intensely busy dealing with the three soldiers who had been attacked by the poisoned darts thrown by Yasmine. Apparently, their condition was progressively getting worse rather than better, which was deeply concerning. The physicians had successfully recognized and identified the specific poison that had been used on the darts. But frustratingly, the antidote for that particular deadly poison wasn't available anywhere in Gorei or the surrounding region. So they had urgently sent a messenger on horseback to the nearest location where that antidote could potentially be obtained. Which happened to be our supposed next destination—Kima Kingdom. It was approximately a week's ride away with proper rest stops—though without rest, it could theoretically be reached within four days at most if you pushed the horses hard.
So that morning, I had deliberately chosen a massive book about Southern poisons to study. The tome was absolutely huge, a weighty thing with over a thousand different poisons meticulously recorded and catalogued. I carefully turned the yellowed pages toward the particular poison that had been used in Yasmine's lethal poison darts.
Jusla Plant Root Sap
Commonly grown in the harsh climate of the Grand Sand Desert. A small, hardy plant with sharp thorns and few sparse leaves. Although the entire plant is poisonous to some degree, the plant's root sap is far deadlier and more concentrated. Has been used on arrowheads and darts since ancient times by desert tribes. Use extreme caution when preparing, as the plant can be deadly by mere touch on bare skin.
Interestingly, the Jusla leaves can be safely used as a powerful aphrodisiac when properly prepared. Take one leaf, boil it in water for exactly one hour before carefully removing it and adding it to tea. The boiling process removes and neutralizes the deadly poison. Highly effective for its intended purpose.
That was genuinely interesting and somewhat ironic. Who would have thought? A single plant could be used both to end a life violently and to create new life.
I read deeper into the dense text, searching for more information.
*Cure: There wasn't a particularly well-known or reliable cure for centuries of use. But it has been said by some healers that curry leaf juice can potentially dilute the poison and maybe detox the patient if administered quickly enough. Give afflicted patients as much clean water as possible to help flush out the poison from their system. But note that this poison is rather very deadly, and survival rates are low even with treatment.*
Well, that information didn't help much with our current situation. Curry trees didn't naturally grow in Gorei's colder climate—that's precisely why they had been forced to send a messenger to the nearest southern location where curry leaves grew abundantly. I sincerely hoped they could reach their destination and return fast enough. Arvid had been visibly worried and anxious about those three soldiers constantly.
I lifted my head from the book only to meet with Gautham's impressively big yawn spreading across his handsome face. And that involuntary action made me yawn in response. Which then made both Katherine and young Sagar yawn in succession. Yawning was apparently quite contagious.
Then a sudden thousand-gold idea struck Katherine's head, her face lighting up.
"Since we've all been trying with books continuously now, why don't we try to learn some basic martial arts to protect ourselves?" she suggested enthusiastically. "We could use it as a mental break from all this reading—and the book I'm currently reading in Arthia specifically said that physical activities stimulate the brain significantly and improve focus."
Well, what she proposed was undeniably true. We had spent the last two full days completely cooped up in this library without leaving. We could definitely use some physical activity to balance things out.
"Well, that's a genuinely great suggestion," I agreed. "But who would teach us martial arts?" I asked aloud. Katherine's response was to look directly and pointedly at Gautham, who was preparing to let out yet another enormous yawn.
"Since you're so obviously bored guarding us, knight—why don't you teach us instead?" she asked him playfully, challenge in her voice.
His golden eyes widened in surprise at being put on the spot. But he answered firmly and immediately: "No. Absolutely not."
---
Despite his initial vocal protest, we somehow ended up at the back courtyard anyway. We had changed out of our heavy dresses into much less cumbersome pants that we had borrowed directly from Gautham's personal closet. It was our first time ever trying pants instead of skirts—and the garments felt incredibly comfortable and practical for movement. And we had gratefully gotten rid of our suffocating corsets entirely to allow ourselves to breathe freely and deeply. Katherine had skillfully done both our hairs up in neat updos, so the long strands wouldn't bother us during physical activity.
Our reluctant teacher Gautham, clearly resigned to his fate, had instructed us to run laps around the entire courtyard as our very first lesson and warm-up.
We had initially been thinking somewhat smugly that he had underestimated us simply because we were women. But we very soon realized with dismay that wasn't the case at all. Our stamina was absolutely horrible, embarrassingly poor. After finishing just one single lap around the courtyard, we were left gasping desperately for air, sweat already dripping down our faces. We weren't remotely used to this kind of heavy physical labor.
"Run until you can successfully complete ten full laps," Gautham had ordered clearly. He had a knowing, slightly smug smile on his face, clearly expecting us to give up partway through. Which we almost did around lap five, our legs burning. Until Katherine noticed his expression and nudged me sharply to see it also. So our hearts flared with sudden indignation, and unexpected strength born from being angered reached our trembling legs—and we somehow completed all ten laps through sheer stubbornness. He was left genuinely dumbfounded by our determination.
Then the next grueling activity was swinging a heavy wooden practice sword exactly one hundred times in proper form. Which left our hands badly blistered and raw at the end of it, our palms burning. When the brutal training session finally ended, we were left completely out of breath—having spent all the energy we typically needed for an entire week in a single exhausting evening.
Arvid arrived at the courtyard right at the end of our session. He was visibly surprised to see me in such a completely different attire than usual—then he asked with clear doubt in his voice:
"Are those men's clothes you're wearing?" He had a serious, disapproving expression on his face.
"Yes, Gautham kindly lent them to us for training," I replied honestly, still catching my breath. As he processed that information, Arvid's expression shifted to look distinctly displeased. I was left confused by his reaction.
"Take those off immediately. I'll lend you my own clothes instead," he said, his voice carrying a noticeably sulky tone.
Oh. He was jealous of Gautham. I couldn't help but smile at the realization.
"Alright, I'll change," I agreed, amused.
---
We had dinner together that evening after we had both changed clothes and taken long, luxurious warm baths to soothe our aching bodies. We were both left with severely aching muscles that were trying desperately to adjust to being actually used after years of inactivity. Arvid had thoughtfully sent me several sets of his own clothes to wear for future training. And he had specifically asked me to throw away the ones I had borrowed from Gautham entirely.
"I'll be giving Gautham a brand new set to replace them," he had said firmly.
I took my seat next to Arvid at the dinner table. He had personally helped serve me food with attentive care. The meal was an aromatic curry served with fluffy white rice, and some expertly stir-fried vegetables seasoned perfectly. It was absolutely delicious—the complex flavors exploding on my tongue. The southern spices were truly valuable enough that kingdoms had gone to war over controlling the trade routes.
The nourishing food revived our exhausted, tried bodies, and we ate like hungry wolves, having genuinely spent all our available energy out in the training field.
"Take it easy and chew properly," Arvid had said with obvious concern, watching us devour the food.
"So, what was it like experiencing your first training session?" he asked conversationally.
He really shouldn't have asked that question.