Julie twitched feeling his touch, but she quickly calmed down when she remembered that she was not a princess anymore and the rules, she thought were real won't really apply right now.
"I'm glad, I got to help you," She smiled and replied while Akiyo took his sword and looked at Julie with a smile.
"I will repay this debt, someday but for now I'm going to practice again, if you want you can read your book, I won't disturb you," Leaving those words with Julie, Akiyo went back and started his training back after completely removing his shirt.
Since he was from a commoner background, he had no idea that this princess, who was observing him was a pure maiden who haven't even seen her own brother's torso naked like that.
'Ahhhhh! Those abs'
Julie screamed inside her mind.
Even though Akiyo didn't have a physique impressive as Velian, compared to the other teenagers, he had a considerably good build.
As Julie watched from the place she was sitting, she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter as Akiyo practised his swordsmanship in the garden below. His movements were graceful and fluid, each strike landing with precision and power.
Pretending to read her book, she always peeked through the corners of her eyes to look at Akiyo and his movements.
She had always been impressed by Akiyo's dedication to his training, but now there was something different about him. She could see the determination etched on his face, the fire burning in his eyes. Julie knew that he was doing this for a reason, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAs Akiyo finished his routine, he looked up to catch Julie's eye. She smiled and waved, and he returned the gesture with a bow. She watched as he sheathed his sword and made his way over to the place she was sitting.
"Glad to see you enjoying your book," He said, a hint of excitement in his voice.
"I hope my training didn't disturb you."
"Not at all," She replied, closing the book to get a closer look at him.
"You were amazing out there. What's got you so fired up today?"
Akiyo hesitated for a moment before answering.
"I want to show my brother that I won't be useless like before," he finally said, his voice serious.
"In the past, I failed to help him when he needs my help, Only thing I could do was watch Jim fight for my sake, and he had to clean up my mess most of the time,"
Julie's heart sank at the news. She knew how important Akiyo's brother was to him by his sister's words and the thought of not being able to help your family felt really familiar to Julie because she was in the same circumstances.
But she also knew that Akiyo was a skilled swordsman and that he would do whatever it took to improve.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked, her voice soft and gentle.
Akiyo looked up at her, his eyes filled with gratitude.
"Just knowing that you're here, supporting me, is enough and you didn't laugh at me when I said I want to be strong like him," He said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Julie smiled and reached down to take his hand.
"I'll visit you from time to time, so you won't be bored while training,"
As they stood there, hand in hand, Julie felt a surge of emotion washes over her. She didn't even know why she was caring for this boy.
'Am I caring about him because both of us are the same?'
Julie questioned as she saw her own Image in Akiyo.
Akiyo had a reddened face because this was the first time, someone told him something like this but, Aiko who was observing this scene from far away had a triumphant face.
"Oh my! Looks like something happened between them," She never thought her brother would be able to score a beautiful girl like Julie, but if he did she wanted to support him because, at the end of the day, Aiko really cared about Akiyo.
Determined to support Akiyo and Julie's budding romance, Aiko hatched a plan. She would become their biggest cheerleader, singing their praises to anyone who would listen.
She would make sure that everyone knew how perfect they were for each other and how happy they made each other.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAs she watched Akiyo and Julie interact, Aiko couldn't help but smile. They seemed so comfortable with each other, laughing and joking as if they had known each other for years. Aiko knew that she had made the right decision in supporting them, and she was determined to see their relationship blossom.
As weeks passed on, their relationship grew rather close with how both of them really tried to grow up together so they can face their own family.
"This is the first time I see him like this, it's kind of weird, I feel like a stalker," Aiko muttered.
Julie seemed to be growing more and more attached to Akiyo, and Aiko was happy to see them so happy together. And as for Aiko's own boyfriend Velian, he seemed to be completely clueless about this situation until Aiko heard a familiar voice behind her.
"Ohhhh~ now isn't this interesting, I didn't see this development coming," Velian, who was suspicious about Julie decided to follow her only to see her meeting Akiyo and Aiko stalking them.
"Brotherrrrr!" Aiko freaked out and tried to shout, but Velian quickly close her mouth and asked her to stay silent.
"Is this your doing?" Velian questioned as he was interested in this new blossoming relationship in his castle.
Aiko quickly denied it since she knew this wasn't purely because of her interactions.
"Brother, I think they are somewhat similar, so it's obvious that they would fall for each other,"
Velian laughed at her words and looked at Akiyo, who looked happy to share his time with a girl and Julie, who looked relieved that she found someone that could understand her.
"Well, let's wait another few days and when they confess, I will do something about my pretend relationship with her," Velian didn't want to bring dark memories to his brother's life, so he decided to end the farce even if that might cause some problem in the future.
"Forget about them!" Suddenly Velian sent his hand around, Aiko's body and hugged her from behind.
"Did you think about the proposal I told you about?"