How to Tame My Beastly Husband

How to Tame My Beastly Husband — Chapter 104. Love Makes Him Clumsy (2)

At Claire’s sudden question, Raphael fell silent. It was impudent of her to ask him something so personal, and it wasn’t an easy question to answer. Much less to tell Claire, who was like a sister to Annette, whether or not he loved her.

Claire took advantage of his distraction to redouble her attacks, a technique in Deltium known as the swift sword. It was a technique that sought to bewilder the opponent’s eyes by altering the trajectory and speed of the assaults, so that the opponent would be unable to counter and would open a gap in their defense to be exploited.

In other words, it was a poor time to let his guard down.

Instinctively, Raphael fought back with a frenzy of counterstrikes. It was the first time he was showing off his swordsmanship before Annette, and he couldn’t afford to be defeated so easily now. His bright blue eyes glared at Claire.

“That’s better,” she said cheerfully. “That’s the look.”

Her sword only swung harder. Focused on defense at first, Raphael responded to the attacks with aggression, angling his sword to cut in with a counterattack. Claire was an outstanding swordswoman, but Raphael was an actual genius. And beyond that talent was the sheer power of his physique, which far surpassed Claire’s. If he set his mind to it, there was no way she could defeat him.

Soon, she had shifted to defense, pressed back by his mighty sword. But she had a few other weapons in her arsenal, and at the moment she managed to drive him back a pace with a clever parry, she turned her head to look at her husband. Fortunately, Arjen was already looking in her direction as he sipped his tea, and the moment she caught his eye, Claire winked.

Now, dear!

She only dared to look at him for a second, with Raphael’s deadly sword swinging at her, but that was enough. There was a reason she had chosen Arjen for her husband, and she trusted the deep bond between them. Clever Arjen understood her intentions instantly.

Her eyes went back to the duel with Raphael, narrowed in concentration. His attacks were so powerful, they shivered through her arms and down her spine. He made his defense look so effortless, but the power she felt every time their blades clashed was shattering. It felt as if her hands might break apart with every attack.

Raphael had no doubt of his victory. He just needed to back Claire into a corner a little more, and she would have no choice to surrender. His eyes were focused entirely on her as he drove forward, maneuvering her to the edge of the yard.

Just as he was about to bring his sword down on her, there was a sudden shout behind him.

”Annette, look out!” came Arjen’s urgent voice from the blanket where he was having tea with Annette.

Raphael’s body reacted before his mind. Immediately he turned, his whole body prickling with alarm, and in that split second countless worries flashed through his mind. He was afraid something had happened to her.

Kkk!!

At that moment, Raphael felt pain in his arm, a surprisingly powerful strike that made him drop his sword. Claire smiled as she swung her sword back over her shoulder.

“You shouldn’t look away during combat,” she taunted, waggling her fingers at him.

Raphael stared in dismay at his sword on the training ground before him, as shocked by that as by the reason he had been distracted in the middle of a duel.

“I was right, no?” Claire asked her bewildered opponent. “That’s called love.”

Raphael only stared at her as if she had struck him in the back of the head, rather than his arm. But she had already tossed her own sword aside to run to her husband, her arms out as Arjen rose from his seat to embrace her.The love between them was so easy and obvious, and Raphael watched, still stunned.

“Raphael!” Annette exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

He could have sensed her approach without even looking at her, his own beautiful person. Annette hurried over to him with a worried expression to examine the place where Claire’s sword had struck him.

“My God, it’s gotten so red,” she said anxiously. “It’s going to bruise, doesn’t it hurt?”

Those pink eyes with their golden lashes sparkled like jewels. Just looking into those eyes made all the other noises of the world fade away, except for the pounding of his own heart in his ears. The touch of her hand stroking his arm burned his skin. Even her little ears peeking through her blonde hair seemed beautiful to him.

How could he deny these feelings?

“Huh…”