Challenge

Eric gave Ethan a difficult task, which made him lose his enthusiasm to be with his wife. "All I want is romantic and passionate love," Ethan thought to himself sadly. "Not something that is forced."

He wondered what he could do to convince the woman who didn't want to be intimate with him to change her mind. It was much harder than having to endure a three-day journey without rest.

"Besides, where is she now?" Ethan grumbled as he searched for Helena. She had kept her promise to her grandfather that she wouldn't eat until Duke Henry gave her a suitable room. Ethan had hoped to meet Helena at the dining table, but she refused to see him even in her room. "How can I persuade her to make love with me when she disappears like a ghost?"

Ethan had searched the entire mansion for Helena, but she was nowhere to be found. He was exhausted and sleepy. While he was deep in thought, he suddenly heard the sound of a woman practicing with a sword. Ethan approached the source of the sound and saw Helena practicing with a waster, a wooden sword used by knights for training, hitting a straw dummy.

Ethan was amazed by Helena's graceful and fast movements. She looked beautiful even in her tight white shirt and sweat-soaked pants, showing off her mature body perfectly. Her long hair was tied tightly in a ponytail, moving back and forth like a ribbon.

"She can even defeat her male enemies without swinging her sword," Ethan whispered, staring at his wife in awe.

For Ethan, this was a special moment because the only knight he knew was Alfred, an old knight who taught him sword fighting. Compared to Helena, watching Alfred fight was like looking at a barren land with nothing special.

Soon, Ethan felt his neck being touched by a waster, and he realized that Helena was no longer practicing. "What are you doing? Spying on a woman practicing like a pervert," the voice behind him was stern and intimidating, belonging to Helena.

"Oh, I just wanted to join you, but I was afraid of disturbing you," Ethan replied, slightly trembling. He knew that even with a waster, Helena could still make him bruised and broken if she wanted to.

"Is that true?" asked Helena, squinting her eyes. However, she didn't seem to think that the night would be bad if she spent it practicing sword fighting with her puppet husband.

Ethan looked at her with hope. It was better to get to know and approach Helena this way than to have to drug or give her an aphrodisiac.

"Then, take your waster," Helena said later, smiling. "Fight me!"

Ethan swallowed hard. What if Helena was serious and defeated him? He had never fought anyone other than Alfred. Besides, the Helena described in the book was very strong. How could he possibly win against that woman?

However, a good idea suddenly came to Ethan's mind. "What's the prize?" Ethan asked.

"What do you mean?" Helena looked suspiciously at Ethan.

"What's the prize for the winner?" Ethan asked again.

Helena fell silent, then laughed out loud. "You want a prize?" Helena teased as she held her stomach. "It seems like you don't know who I am."

But Ethan remained unmoved. If he was lucky and won, he wanted Helena to give him her first night.

"Okay," Helena said later. "Of course, you will get your prize if you win. What do you want?"

Ethan swallowed hard. "I want to spend the night with you."