Three Lions

After leaving the luxurious tavern and mounting her black mare, the cloaked woman heads towards the northern region of Lakeview City. Half a mile later, she finds herself in an area vastly different from the bustling and elegant city center, surrounded by an area barely better than the slums, with hardly any nobles around. The deeper the lady delves into the dark alleys, the stranger and more suspicious the people she encounters become.

She arrives at the location indicated on the expensive map she bought, only to find a repulsive tavern, a den of thugs, swindlers and prostitutes. Disgusted by everything around her, she dismounts her mare and enters, feeling overwhelmed by the stink of cheap beer and filthy human excretions.

Upon entering there, all eyes are drawn to her and the heavy weapon on her shoulder. The cramped space is filled with dozens of people, many men drinking beer and others using illicit hallucinogenic substances. There are also many poorly dressed women in the place, rubbing against the foul-smelling men and engaging in various sordid activities. Seeing this scene, the cloaked lady feels even more disgusted.

"Get out!" she commands in a dominant tone, tossing a gold coin on the counter to cover the costs of those present.

Her voice carries heavy pressure, spreading a frightening aura around her, making everyone flee the tavern in terror. However, one person remains: a tall, muscular man slumped over a table, completely drunk.

The woman's gaze falls on him, and she can't help but shake her head as she approaches. "I have been searching for you for two full years... only to find you thrown to the pigs like cheap trash..."

Her words echo in the now empty pigsty, filled with frustration and disappointment. But the man remains motionless, unresponsive due to all the alcohol and substances in his weary body.

"These people must see you as one of their own," she remarks as she approaches him and grabs his short, light brown hair to lift his head from the table. "Imagine how surprised they would be to find out this walking trash was once the Great Lionheart Prince, heir to the whole North and beyond…"

The woman looks at the man's haggard face, her brown eyes filled with conflicting feelings. He mumbles, "Who…" but his movements are slow, his mouth drooling, and his body numb.

"How did you end up like this, Draven?" the woman asks. "You look nothing like the man you once were…;" 'Perhaps there's nothing left of him inside,' "None of the man I admired above all… nothing left of my brave and kind big brother."

The woman's words awaken something inside Draven, memories of a time when he was like Arthur, a loyal brother who would do anything for his little sister.

"Alicia???" A glimmer returns to his hollow eyes, only for the woman to pour a flask of clear liquid over his face the next moment, making him black out.

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Night falls over Fletcher Village, and after another hard day's work, Arthur walks side by side with Magaret to her house. She faces no danger within the village since Aria placed her magic runes around the territory, but these nightly walks have become a pleasurable habit for both of them.

"Whewww…" Margaret sighs as she prances around Arthur like a happy deer while they walk down the road. "I can't believe it's been a whole month since I started cultivating; time flies so fast when life is so good!"

Arthur's eyes sparkle as he sees Margaret so animated. "How can you be so energetic after all that hard work?"

She continues hopping around him like a bunny. "It can't be helped; I just feel this crazy energy running through my body!"

As soon as Margaret exclaims, she sees some people walking ahead on the road and quickly returns to Arthur's side like a well-behaved lady. "Hahaha…" He laughs at her cute reaction. "You don't like people seeing this side of you?"

'No, this side is only for you!' She keeps such thoughts to herself while casting a restrained glance at him.

As Arthur laughs even louder at the cute Margaret, the group of people pass them on the road. They're a trio consisting of a farmer pulling a horse with a cart and his two sons, both young adults. They smile and bow slightly in friendly greeting when they see Arthur. "Good evening, Young Master Fletcher."

Arthur dislikes being called Young Master, but he can't do anything about people's mentality, so he just acts friendly, also bowing slightly in return. "Hello, friends,"

But as soon as the trio passes Arthur and Margaret, the two young men can't help but look back, specifically at Margaret; after all, she is the most beautiful girl in the village in their age group. She seems to feel their gazes; however, instead of feeling flattered, she becomes shy and moves even closer to Arthur, literally pressing her body against his.

Arthur instinctively reacts and holds Margaret's hand, giving her a pleasant surprise, which makes her smile happily. He feels a possessive desire arise inside his heart, and it also makes him feel good, so he continues holding her hand.

'I can't believe this is really happening!' Margaret is so happy that she follows beside Arthur obediently for the rest of the way in silence, feeling the warmth of his strong hand holding hers.

Arthur also enjoys the feeling of Margaret's soft and delicate hand as they continue walking. Now, as people pass them on the street and men inevitably cast glances at Margaret and see Arthur holding her hand, she no longer feels shy but proud.

They walk together in silence, making the journey of a few miles last for an entire hour. But it inevitably ends, and they arrive in front of Margaret's house, where she hesitates to let go of Arthur's hand.

She looks at him warmly with a beautiful smile. "Can you wait for a moment?"

"Why? Do you want to give me something?" He asks, seeing her smile become even more charming. "Don't tell me it's more delicious food? I love everything you make, but you already gave me a basket today."

"It's not food…" She appears shy and hesitant for a second. "Just wait here, I'll get it."

"Alright," Arthur nods and watches Margaret head towards her house, amused to see her struggle with herself to release his hand.

As the excited young lady enters the house, Arthur turns and takes a good look at the horizon. The beautiful starry night sky makes him wonder how big the world is outside the village, and inevitably, he thinks about his father.

'Where could he be now? Will we see each other again…' He caresses the hilt of his sword while wondering how his relationship with his father became so distant.

'Nyx?' He calls her mentally.

'What is it?'

'Promise me something,'

'Sure,' Her tone is gentle and curious.

'If I start messing something up, warn me before it's too late so I can try to fix things.'

Nyx can tell that Arthur is thinking about Draven and his father's relationship with his family, especially with Aria.

'Alright, I won't let you screw things up,' she says confidently.

'Thank you, honey,' he smiles, feeling relieved about the future as he contemplates things.

It doesn't take long for Margaret to return from her house, carrying a package wrapped in colorful paper.

"Here," she quickly hands the gift to him, her face full of expectation with a shade of blush. "I hope you like it."

"Oh," as he takes the package in his hand, Arthur can already tell that it is made of smooth fabric. He opens it to see what kind of clothing it is and is surprised to find a small piece of stylish black fabric, something similar to boxers from Liam's world.

"Underpants?" He gives a curious look to Margaret as he stretches it out, noting that the fabric is very flexible, making it look like a very long pair of underwear.

Margaret shakes her head, the blush on her face growing deeper under the moonlight. "It's a pair of shorts I made with highly resistant fabric for you to train in."

"Shorts?" Arthur laughs as he stretches the small boxers, imagining how they would fit on his body. And he can't help but give Margaret a teasing look with a smirk. "I see; you want to see all the contours of my body when I wear something tight, don't you? You naughty girl!"

"Whaaat~!?" She is caught off guard by the way he talks to her, feeling afraid of acting too boldly, unwilling to make him think badly of her. So she reconsiders it and tries to take the shorts from his hand. "I didn't mean-"

But Arthur acts faster and not only holds firmly onto the shorts but also embraces Margaret, wrapping his arms gently around her waist. Margaret is caught off guard again by Arthur's actions, but her body shows no resistance to his touch; on the contrary, she longs for it so much that she just surrenders herself to his strong hold.

Arthur feels similarly, seeing Margaret work so hard every day in her cultivation without failing to prepare delicious meals for him, and now she is even making clothes for him. He simply cannot contain his growing feelings for her.

Since Nyx and his mother have already approved of Margaret, Arthur doesn't have anything to fear, and as soon as she looks at him with eyes shining with expectation, he seals her lips in a passionate kiss.

Arthur's actions are quick and intense, which is the result of refusing to contain his desires any longer, but she responds with total acceptance and a cute moan of pleasure. "Mm~?!?"

Arthur sneaks his tongue inside her mouth, searching for her little tongue and savoring the taste of her saliva. 'So sweet... and soft...'

Margaret can't think about anything right now; she is finally receiving what she has craved for years, her mind growing blank, with her heart being flooded with warmth. 'So sudden... so rough... but I'm already addicted to this!'

Arthur kisses her lips to his heart's content before making slight pauses to breathe as he nuzzles onto her cheeks and neck. "You don't have to hold back anymore... I like you this way... naughty as you are... my dear."

Those words make Margaret's heart overflow with joy and pride. 'Finally, he accepted me; I couldn't ask for more in my whole life!'

She doesn't respond to his statement with words but actions, holding his hand and leading it down her body to the curves of her ass. Arthur gets the message and doesn't hold back his instincts, squeezing her cute little ass with his big hand in a possessive, and tender way.

"Ngah~~!" Margaret releases more adorable moans of pleasure, feeling excited by the first kisses and touches of the man she loves.

*Thud*

A loud noise of an object crashing to the ground awakens Arthur and Margaret to an embarrassing situation, her parents watching their intimate moment from the house's door.

"Oh!"

"Damn!!"

Both Margaret's parents try to pretend that they weren't there and hide, but it's already too late; she feels very embarrassed; after all, she is still a single girl and without an official boyfriend, so she tries very hard to behave, especially in front of her parents.

"Don't worry," Arthur speaks gently while hugging her a bit tighter. "I'll talk to them, make my intentions clear about you."

'Is that what I am thinking???' Margaret gets even more excited and expectant, but so many emotions at the same time make her feel dizzy.

"Not now," She asks, panting because of the kisses. "I need to compose myself… this is too much for my heart."

"You are so precious," Arthur really likes seeing the shy side of Margaret since it creates a wonderful contrast with her bold and naughty side.

"You… you…" She can barely speak due to her emotions. "You are teasing me too much!"

"Now you are tasting your own medicine!" He laughs. 'Although it is more like a delicious nectar… which I want to taste much more.' He finishes inside his mind as he heads back home, leaving Margaret at her house.

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A/N: This is a fragment of the Eldoria map made by myself, focused on the south part; I will post the rest when they are relevant.