The cheers of the soldiers rocketed everything under the heavens, Zaramias nodded his head with satisfaction while Juliet raised both of her arms in enjoyment.
With a wave of his arms, Zaramias dissipated the formation that covered the training grounds, revealing the figure of the two who laid on the ground, motionless.
Soon, with the disappearance of the formation, the consciousness of the two returned and they were greeted by their squad members, especially Dan who was even thrown in the air.
"Goddamned it, Vice-Commander! Awesome as always!"
"It's okay, Ma'am, we tried our best, after all, it's the Vice-Commander that was our enemy..." Natalie's squad member looked somber, but still, their eyes shone in admiration when they remembered the prowess and intelligence that Natalie showcased.
Dan stood up, walking towards his little wife, she revealed a small smile. Even though she was defeated, she didn't care for the person that defeated her was her husband.
The couple approached each other and Dan carried his wife in his arms amidst the stunned gazes of the crowd, Zaramias chuckled, and explained to the astonished soldiers, "Bastards, you better keep your lecherous gazes away, that's my daughter-in-law..."
Those men that had lascivious desires in their minds immediately shook their heads and hung their heads low. Dan who noticed their actions pinched Natalie's cheeks and said, "Look at what you did, just why are you so beautiful..."
Natalie chuckled, "Aren't you the one who made me this beautiful?"
"What do you mean?"
"Aren't you the one who kept nourishing me these past days?"
Dan chocked when his words when he heard the word nourishment coming out from her mouth, stretching her cheeks, Dan commented, "You're becoming quite, cheeky, aren't cha..."
The laughter of the two echoed like bells, bringing with it a joyful and ambiguous vibe. But the soldiers who heard their sweet talks only rolled their eyes in annoyance and mumbled to themselves, 'Goddamned it, why is the Vice-Commander rubbing salt on our wounds...' They silently consoled their lonely hearts.
Inside Dan's temporary residence, the couple ignored the voices of commotion outside and tended to each other's wounds, sitting inside the bathtub full of clear medicinal liquid, Natalie sat on his thigh while Dan embraced her neck from behind.
Mysteriously, Dan was void of lust and he just wanted to dote on his wife, staring at the bruises that covered her arms, his heart ached and he gently rubbed them, hoping that his actions would hasten their recovery.
"Little Wife, mind if you tell me more about yourself?" Dan chided in a hushed tone, Natalie turned her head behind and stared right into his eyes
"Hubby, it's not really a good story to listen to..." Her tone turned despondent, before continuing, "It's just a tale full of tragedy and misfortune..."
"It's fine, didn't I tell you that you can rely on me in everything? Since you're my woman and I'm your man, we should not have any secrets before each other..." His words convinced Natalie and she started talking about her past life.
When she completed her exposition, Dan's expression turned red in anger, his theory was right. Natalie wasn't someone that belonged to this Empire, instead, she belonged to the distant, Empire of Eternal Faith, or more specifically, the Luzon Clan!
According to Natalie, the Luzon clan was the strongest clan of the Empire, second only to the Royal Family, they held quite a good number of connections within the Empire, and Natalie was a previous member of that clan.
But when they found that she lacked the affinity to cultivate, and since her late mother was just a lowly servant, she was expelled from the clan and had to fend for herself.
However, inside this world where the positions of women were treated as lower than men, she couldn't really find a job and had to resort to being an escort, wherein later on, she met Juliet's father.
When she talked at this part, she couldn't control her emotions and started choking with tears. Dan affectionately rubbed his head on the back of her head and patted her back with his free arm, letting her vent the emotions that she held for the past years.
"It's fine, everything will be fine now, all those people, and everyone who wronged and bullied you, I will make sure to have them pay a great price that they would never forget..." Dan vowed, and Natalie lifted her head.
"No! You must not go against them, what I said to you, only scratched the surface! They are more powerful than you can ever imagine..." Natalie warned, but Dan only chuckled, "I know, little wife, even if I can't destroy them completely, I can still make them suffer, right?"
Natalie hid her expression in his chest and replied with a soft moan of confirmation. Dan lightly smiled, taking a soap from the side of the bath, Natalie insisted that she could do it herself, but Dan shut her down, "This is one of the joys of a husband, can you not take this role from me?"
Natalie shyly nodded her head and the couple took turns washing each other's body.
Later on in the afternoon, Zaramias finally answered the summons from the Emperor and took the two towards the Imperial Palace. There, they found the Emperor greeting them with a smile.
"Brother Zaramias, you finally answered my calls."
"Sorry about that, I was quite busy with the army..." Zaramias took a seat before him and the couple behind respectfully bowed.
"Let's get rid of all these annoying pretenses and get straight to the point, both of you, I have two recommendation letters here, take a look at it and decide if you want to accept it." The Emperor handed two letters sealed with a deep sea gold insignia of the Empire of Dawn.
Dan knitted his eyebrows but when he received the letter, his expression widened in shock when he realized the letter's identity.
"What do you think? Dan? Those two letters can guarantee you an entrance for the Paradyne Academy, no matter what your cultivation is..." Zaramias revealed a slight smile, Dan glanced at Natalie and the latter gripped his hand, indicating that she would follow his decision.
Staring at the letter, it said that the Paradyne Academy was located at the heart of the Empire of Eternal Faith, recalling Natalie's words earlier in the day, a small smile lifted on his lips and said, "I understand, both of us shall enter the Paradyne Academy, and eventually bring glory for the Empire..."
Both men nodded their heads in satisfaction and the Emperor said, "My daughter is already a step ahead of you and started her journey, yesterday, maybe you'll meet her in the way and if so, I hope you take care of her since she's quite a handful of a child..." The Emperor said with a slight smile and Dan clasped his hands together and nodded his head in response, "This one shall obey..."
At night, Zaramias summoned the three and gave the two of them, Spatial Storage devices filled with money and food that they would need for their journey. Zaramias felt reluctant giving Juliet towards the two but he knew that his granddaughter needed the doting of her parents and could only let her go.
Daybreak soon arrived and the couple bid their farewells towards the Clan, entering inside a luxurious carriage manned by the servant George, the two started their seven-day journey towards the Empire of Eternal Faith.