"This is the Moon Fox Tribe's Ling Yue's private estate. You may not enter without an invitation!"
"Get lost."
The guards looked at the individual in front of them feeling dumbfounded. The individual didn't even dismount. She looked down at them from atop her horse. She drew her long sword at her waist. She coldly looked at them and exclaimed, "You're not qualified to be my husband's guards if you don't even recognise me. Get lost. Let me in!"
"You can't…"
Another individual pulled aside the guard that went to speak and swiftly apologised to Nier, "Sorry. Sorry… Royal Princess. Sorry… I shall let you through now. He was not with the first group at Troy City. Miss Tanya brought him in. Sorry, Royal Princess… We will move right away."
They quickly opened the door. Nier coldly glared daggers at them, and then tapped her horse to ride in. The stunned guard watched her from behind until his senior gave him a kick on his b.u.t.t and, in a fearful tone, said, "She is the Royal Princess, and the former sword instructor for the Valkyrie Squad!"
"I didn't know that…"
"Didn't you see her when you underwent training at Troy City? Lucky you, though. You were lucky this time. Else, you'd be cut down on the spot for offending the Princess."
"Yeah…?"
The two guards stopped speaking and shut the door. They glanced inside with concern.
Nier came out of the stables and adjusted her sword at her waist. She then removed her cape and hat. She swept her eyes over the guards and maids around her before heading toward the inner section of the residence.
"You are?"
"Tell your Ling Yue that Nier Galadriel Rosvenor is waiting for her at the entrance."
"All right, please come in first."
"That won't be necessary. I'll have to come back out after going in. That's a waste of time. Call your Ling Yue to come out here."
Nier stood at the door. She folded her arms and looked at the servant. Just as she was about to say something, Ling Yue's footsteps and voice approached from behind. Ling Yue descended the stairs and gently nudged the servant away. She went up to Nier and looked at her. In a soft voice, she asked, "Long-time no see, Miss Nier. The last time we met was at Troy City, right? To be honest, you did not pay much attention to me at the time, right?"
Nier nodded: "That's right."
Ling Yue smiled: "This is our first meeting, then. My name is Ling Yue. However, our name is slightly different to yours. I have not changed my surname. Your surname is now Galadriel Rosvenor, correct? That is a familiar name."
Nier coldly replied, "It is to you, isn't it? It's my husband's surname. I am very proud to take on his surname. I think you must want to take it on very much, too, right?"
Ling Yue narrowed her eyes: "I have already received a sufficiently precious item, and I don't intend to conpete with you for anything. The one you need to be worried about is Lucia and not me. You sent such a dangerous letter and came to see me today. Are you planning to harm me?"
"Of course. I'm here to address your thievery. I can't control the fact that my husband likes you, because it's his choice. As his wife, I support all his decisions. I don't care that he had a woman when I couldn't offer him my body, but you went too far."
Nier looked at Ling Yue with a cold look. She drew her long sword at her waist and aimed it at Ling Yue: "You either come to the Imperial Palace with me now or cut off your relations.h.i.+p with my husband. My husband should always be in the palace to keep me company. You have no right to make him waste time coming here to see you. If you sincerely love my husband, then fine. But I think that you will cause people to think poorly of my husband with your nonchalant att.i.tude you have right now."
"So, what you're saying is that in that future, I could say that my husband went looking for a mistr-."
*s.h.i.+ng!*
The sound of metal grinding against something instantly rang out. Nier's blade was up against Ling Yue's neck before the guards next to her could even react. Nier coldly looked at her and harshly said, "He's my husband. Not yours."
"Oh, it seems that you care quite a lot about being the boss. But are you any different to me?" Ling Yue looked at Nier with a mocking smile. She didn't care about the blade on her neck whatsoever: "We're both the same compared to Lucia. Nier, do you feel you're superior, because you got with him a few months before me? At the end of the day, you came after Lucia. You just happened to have a child. I have everything you have. What right do you have to be acting as the main wife and reproaching me?"
"You!"
Nier extended her sword forwards a little, creating a little mark on Ling Yue's snow-white neck. The maids behind Ling Yue realised she wasn't bleeding right as they went to screech. The angle Nier chose, and the amount of pressure she used was perfect. She didn't cut Ling Yue's neck.
Ling Yue wasn't fl.u.s.tered at all. Her expression remained the same. She looked at Nier with a smile: "I know you won't hurt me here. You know very well that you and I are the same, so you won't kill me. You won't do anything that'd make my husband sad, correct? Hence, I shall give you a chance. Nier, I'll give you a chance to vent. Come with me. The training ground is at the back of the estate. We'll resolve our grudge there."
The two kept their eyes on each other. She didn't panic despite there being a sharp blade on her neck. Nier snorted and pulled her sword back: "Lead the way. You know how to use a sword?"
"No, not at all."
Ling Yue walked ahead with a smile while wagging her tail left and right, giving Nier to have an urge to grab it. Nier was able to resist the urge, nevertheless.
"What are you going to fight me with, then?"
"Miss Nier, you may have misunderstood something." Ling Yue led Nier behind the house to a huge vacant area. The area could be used to train cavalry, but the s.p.a.ce was empty. The guards also tidied up properly, ensuring nothing was left behind after they used the s.p.a.ce to train. Ling Yue stopped, and then turned her head around to face Nier. She smiled and asked, "You may have fought Lucia with a sword, but that's because you both specialise in swordplay. I don't know how to use a sword, and you want to have a sword duel with me?"
Nier responded, "You can use your weapon or ability. Use whatever you please. I don't care even if you use magic."
"Yeah? Good, then."
Ling Yue smiled, and then reached behind her to undo the tie holding together her dress. She swiftly removed her red dress and stripped down completely, revealing her perfect body. She stood in front of Nier. Nier was puzzled: "What are you doing?"
"Using my method… Let's use my method… to duel."
Ling Yue smiled, and then bent down in the same pose as a wild beast. After taking a few breaths, she vigorously opened her eyes, revealing her blood-red eyes that appeared as though they were going to leak blood from them. She opened her mouth a little and howled as a fox would. Her fur stood up, and her body gradually enlarged. Nier watched Ling Yue transform before her eyes with a stupefied look. Ling Yue transformed into a huge red fox that was taller than the building. While Ling Yue transformed into a huge fox relative to Nier, Nier was the equivalent of a small rodent to Ling Yue.
Ling Yue whipped her tail, and then bent down. She fixed her huge eyes on tiny Nier then opened her mouth and licked her sharp fangs.
"Not too shabby," commented Nier, indifferently picking up her long sword and getting into her stance. Tone cold, she said, "Now I'll be able to obtain a huge fox tail to make a scarf out of."
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