Chapter 267

Vorbuk rounded up his matters with Damien. Since Damien worked with people in the black market himself it would only make things easier for him to locate the kind of person he would need in the future. That did not mean he trusted working with a pirate to smuggle him into Drethia Kingdom. There was not much choice in the matter however Vorbuk was certain he could make things work. He just needed to be willing to pay the price for making his vision a reality.

"Will you be heading to the training grounds to find the prince, master?" Ashley asked while stepping out of the king's study with him.

Vorbuk hesitated a moment as he considered checking on Prince Leo at the training grounds, "No, I should head back and rest for now. I have already drained myself enough today. It is already getting late. If something happens come and wake me."

"Yes, master~" Ashley smiled kindly as he thought about standing watch outside Vorbuk's room immediately. However his thoughts soon trailed as he turned to walk in a different direction. Holding the palm of his hand against his chest he took in the feeling of his connection to his master. If something truly put his master's life in danger he would be able to sense his master's distress. It was a bond to their master that any servant could sense.

Step. Step. Step.

Ashley moved with light steps as a familiar sound of swords clashing could be heard. He found himself entering the training grounds for the knights. They were scattered about the grounds sharpening their skills with each other. It did not take long for his eyes to catch sight of Prince Leo at the far end of the grounds dueling another knight for practice.

Thud. Clang!

Prince Leo landed on his butt as he sat down roughly. Tossing his sword to the side of him in order to catch his breath. He had been training for hours. Ever since they arrived at Theapan palace he had put a lot of effort into sharpening his own skills. It was obvious at a glance that his talents had expanded but it never felt like enough for him. No matter how much he tried he still felt like he was falling behind everyone else.

"You look like something ate you and spat you back out." Ashley said while carefully looking over the exhausted and filthy prince. He was drenched in sweat and covered in dirt.

Prince Leo's eyes glared up at Ashley. He always felt uncomfortable around Ashley. There was something about the vampire that made him naturally uneasy around him. It felt like he was pray sprawled out before a hungry beast.

Is it because he is a vampire? No it had to be something else. Prince Leo felt it was just Ashley himself that gave off a dangerous aura around himself.

Leo sighed exhausted as he retorted, "I'm not in the mood to deal with your insults about how weak I am right now."

"Are you not the one who asked for my help to get stronger lately?" Ashley asked.

"You just happen to be the best option to help me. With your speed my limits are able to be pushed farther." Prince Leo felt dirty just accepting help from Ashley, "If there was anyone else available I would have never bothered asking you to begin with."

Ashley flinched, "Everything I do is in best interest for my master. Do you really think it is wise to argue with me?"

"That is the very reason you wont kill me," Prince Leo knew that he would never cross the line and kill Leo, "However is that really why you ended up killing the princess's father?"

The air chilled around the two of them as the other knights kept a careful distance from them. None of the knights would step within distance to hear their argument. However if they started to seriously fight it would cause a ruckus among the training grounds. Ashley knew he could not overstep himself in front of others even if he wanted to do so.

"You wanted help with your training again correct?" Ashley asked him while summoning forth his blood scythe with a kind smile on his face. It was almost scary how easily he could smile while disregarding the fury that he felt inside himself. No matter how angry he felt with others he could not act against his master's will.

Prince Leo stood up with his sword and quickly raised it to block an incoming swing from the vampire, Ashley. A loud clang resounding throughout the area as the other knights all turned to glance in their direction.

"You should be more careful who you take your own anger out on, your highness~" Ashley spoke mockingly as their weapons grind against each other's. A sharp scraping sound could be heard as he put more pressure against the prince's weapon. He knew the prince was struggling with his own emotions and taking it out on him. However Ashley held his own fair share of frustrations that made him boil inside.

It felt like two savage beasts had lost control of themselves. Those in the background did not dare to step forward to stop them. A heavy heat radiated from Leo as his fire mana began to boil inside of him. The air around him swayed from the heat while Ashley found himself stumbling to jump away from the prince.

"Have you lost your mind?! Are you going to burn down the training grounds?!" Ashley shouted at the prince who struggled to contain his own mana out of frustration.

"Huff... Huff..." Prince Leo struggled to catch his breath as his mana began to slowly calm down inside of him. The temperature around him slowly decreasing. "I'm fine."

"Bullshit." Ashley swore as he glared at the prince with cautious eyes. "You almost lost control of your mana because your emotions are unstable lately."

"You're worried I would roast you." Prince Leo felt like Ashley only cared because he was in the danger zone for a moment.

Ashley smiled away his frustrations with the prince, "I was worried you would burn down the entire training grounds, your highness~"

"... Right." Prince Leo could see the other worried knights in the distance. They were still too uncomfortable to approach and check on the two of them.

"Perhaps you should simply head back to rest tonight." Ashley felt uncomfortable dealing with Leo any further. The time they spent together in order to train Prince Leo was not something they openly spoke about in front of the others. It was uncomfortable for the both of them.

The only reason Ashley agreed to help train the prince was to help benefit Vorbuk. As long as the prince could grow stronger it would help him grow more useful. Ashley could not tolerate the prince being around his master while remaining weak. It felt disgraceful to him.

"And waste the time sleeping?" Prince Leo was not willing to give up his training so easily, "I'm not that weak. Are you ready to go again?"

"Hmm?" Ashley pondered for a moment over how to respond to the prince. It felt almost bothersome to remain and deal with helping the prince. Tightening his grip on the blood scythe he glared at the prince with a cold gleam in his eye and a polite smile on his face. "Alright. Ready, your highness."