Chapter 12

Arabelle wandered around The Academy with Victor.

"We should leave the day after tomorrow," Arabelle said," otherwise we won't reach the Duchy in time... Are you listening?"

Victor smiled," Yes I am," he smoothed her hair," I was just a little distracted by my wife's beauty," he said cheekily.

Arabelle blushed," You- we're in public..."

"No one is here," Victor whispered before dragging her to a corner. Before she could say anything, Victor pressed against the wall for a long kiss. His red eyes pierced her own like he was going to devour her.

Arabelle was mesmerized for a second before she heard footsteps, she quickly pushed him away and glared, huffily walking away," What has this dastardly Academy been teaching you!?"

Her entire face was flushed a pale pink.

"Forgive me," Victor chuckled as he caught up with her," I just wanted to try it once..."

He pouted looking at her.

Arabelle rolled her eyes," Well, you should've picked a better spot!"

Victor laughed," So it would've been alright otherwise?"

"Yes!" Arabelle exclaimed.

Victor looked at her surprised and met her eye.

They both blushed, but then started laughing.

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Claire watched Victor and Arabelle walk away. She felt uncomfortable for some reason.

"They have such a good relationship," Elias said sighing," I'm jealous!"

Arthur who was at the back nodded," It's really enviable."

Claire felt her cheeks burn slightly, she was a little ashamed, she had the audacity to even slightly believe that Danielle's gibberish.

She scolded herself, what was she thinking?

Even then, she couldn't help but look at the backs of the two disappearing figures.

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Arabelle walked back into the inn after a long day out. She had visited the local market and looked at everything they were selling, there wasn't much that caught her eyes, but on the way back she laid her eyes upon some blacksmithing shops.

It made her think back to her memories of the novel. Although she didn't remember much, the duchy always gave her the impression of being quite wealthy, not like it was now.

It made her think of the possibility that there might be some kind of reserve or mine that might be undiscovered. A huge portion of the northern part of the duchy is under constant snowfall, and much is left to be discovered, so maybe she should have an exploration team go out.

As she was thinking of all these possibilities, Victor came up behind her, hugging her waist.

"I have good news, Bella," he said kissing her ears.

Arabelle blushed from the sudden contact," What is it?"

"You have to give me something in exchange..." Victor said teasingly kissing her neck.

In the time that Arabelle hadn't seen him, he'd gotten taller again. She only reached his chest now, it was kind of unfair.

"Exchange?" Arabelle drawled, before turning around" I could just figure it out when I go back to the duchy."

Victor pouted, it was oddly a seductive look, she had noticed it in the garden as well. It made Arabelle a little itchy," But that's no fun Bella... It's been so long, surely you want to."

Arabelle smiled, she knew where he as coming from, they were hot blooded youngsters that had been separated as soon as they tasted a little honey, who wouldn't want to do it? But the days leading up to the ascension ceremony were going to be hectic... and she didn't want to be too tired.

Victor paid close attention to Arabelle's facial expressions grasping what she was worried about," I won't be too unreasonable," he persuaded.

Arabelle thought about it for a second," Hmmmm, alright."

She leaned up and gave Victor a small peck.

Victor smiled and deepened the kiss.

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"So what's the good news?" Arabelle asked tracing the Victors prominent muscles with her fingertips, he really has grown up since the last time she saw him.

"I got news that we found a mine in the territory."

Arabelle shot up," A mine!? What kind of mine???"

"We actually found two," Victor said pulling her back down and combing through her hair," One is a sapphire mine, and it's very full, the cave network extends a long way. It near Valis city in the northwest."

Arabelle nodded," That's great! What's the other one?"

"It's an iron mine," Victor said smiling," to the south."

Arabelle almost burst in happiness," Oh my god! That's so great!!!"

Many ideas started forming in her mind.

The sapphire mine was a gold pot, obviously. But what really excited her was the iron mine. The empire still hadn't made steel and she was already trying to perfect the technique of making steel for a long time. It was actually the first thing she wanted to improve for their knights.

Now not only did they have a steady supply of iron, but it was also in their region!

Arabelle glanced at Victor," I have been doing research about a very durable metal that can be made from iron, not only is it sharper and lighter, it is also easer to maintain and it doesn't rust easily."

Victor scrunched his eyebrows," What do you mean?"

"I'm thinking of calling it steel, it should be a very good addition for our knights' and the weaponry."

Victor nodded slowly," Tell me about it in detail."

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Victor sighed," Why are you so amazing?"

Arabelle rolled her eyes, she wasn't, she just knew these things existed and had to find a way to make them," We'll need to build a forge and hire as many blacksmiths as we can. I think we should make an association so we can keep track of them and assign them ranks according to their abilities."

"Another association?"

"Yes. We'll need talented people to be able to use our steel. It's different from iron, so they'll need to get used to it."

Victor nodded," So you want to give them good environments to live in, a good salary and position so that others don't poach them?"

Arabelle nodded," I don't think we should announce the creation of steel quite yet, we'll first spread the word about the association. I think we can assign positions through an exam, or test."

Victor nodded," I suppose we should hold the exams yearly from now."

Arabelle nodded," We'll have to find some good judges."

Arabelle paused for a while," I've been thinking about hiring some jewelers and making a brand for our sapphire mines under the duchy's name."

Victor nodded," I also had the same idea, we should market them thoroughly in the noble circles."

Arabelle nodded before sighing," There's so much work to do..."

Victor laughed," Yes, we should get some sleep first," he said pecking her forehead.

"We have a long couple of months ahead of us.