It was another half hour before Kaze and Lunaria completed their talk.
With the issue on the rules of their relationship out of the way, they were free to hang around till lunchtime.
"Ilesta, may I know who else is left in the palace?" Lunaria asked the maid.
"Yes, Lunaria-sama. Currently, only 3 of Kaze-sama's friends are left," Ilesta confirmed with her magic sense. "They would be Mitsui-sama, Rena-sama and Noel-sama. Mitsui-sama is in the library, Rena-sama in the kitchen with some of the cooks and Noel-sama training in the courtyard."
"Oh? What do you want to do, Kaze?" Lunaria turned to look at her lover with an endearing smile. "Now that we're couples, we are free to do whatever we want within the confines of the palace."
"Uhh, you tell me. I'm your guest, so I wouldn't know what's good for me," Kaze admitted.
"Lunaria-sama, I would suggest taking Kaze-sama to the wyverns," Ilesta suggested to the couple. "That could be a good place to start."
"Indeed. Let's go then."
"Wait, what is the thing with wyverns?"
"You will see. Come on."
Dragging a reluctant Kaze out of the room, Lunaria took him out of the palace towards one of the connecting stairs built to the side of the mountain that led all the way above.
Since it was a stairway that looked to be leading up forever, them walking there was already going to take some time, making it a rather tiring workout for Kaze. Never had he thought he would be climbing hundreds of stairs leading to the upper portions of the palace. For Lunaria, who could fly and had tons of stamina as a dragonkin, this was like a walk in the park for her.
The end of the stairway at the top lead them to a small open area, as if there was a small cave here once but the roof of it had been demolished to make way for more sunshine from the sky. Few trees helped shape the surroundings covered in massive rocks, forming a circle-like opening for them. Right at the end of where the stairs were, Kaze saw a few stables built into the walls of the mountain.
"Huh, a horse stable of sort?"
"Wrong, it's a wyvern stable."
"You rear wyverns here?!"
Kaze gasped in surprise when Lunaria disregarded his suggestion of horse or any other typical animal. He certainly did not expect there to be a wyvern stable all the way at the top of the mountains.
"You really shouldn't be surprised by this. As dragonkins, flying all the way up here wouldn't pose as a problem for us. Plus, wyverns make good transportation since they obey us dragonkins."
"Is that like a natural thing for the wyverns or were they trained from young?"
"A bit of both. While I do admit that wild wyverns would be hard to train, those used to the company of us dragonkins would obey us, just like how horses would for you humans if they have been trained and taught."
With Kaze trailing a few steps behind her, Lunaria brought Kaze up to the entrance of the stables made out of wood and vines. Signs around the area showed that there had been people here constantly to care for the tidiness and security of the place, as well as feeding and nurturing the wyverns stored here.
"We let them fly for a few hours a day, from dawn till noon and dusk till night," Lunaria explained the schedule for the wyverns to Kaze. "There are caretakers in place to ensure the wyverns don't encounter any danger or fly off on their own."
"Man… I can't imagine how you would train them," Kaze shuddered, glancing past some of the empty rooms where wyverns would normally be stored. "When are they returning?"
"Anytime now, it's almost noon after all," Lunaria confidently stated. "To answer your question on training, we just need to provide them with adequate food and care so they would learn to treat this place as their 'home'. It is a common misconception that wyverns are rough creatures due to their menacing look and sizes, but once tamed, you would understand that they are nothing more than any other animal."
"Easy for you to say. You're a dragonkin."
"Hehe, that might be true. If it was me, I couldn't imagine humans training wyverns without the necessary strength and force, needless to say take them out for flights."
As if on cue, a cry came from way above where they were. This was quickly followed by the multiplying sound of flapping wings approaching them. To this, Lunaria waved her hands and spread open the huge gates of the stables. The wyverns naturally followed, flying and perching on the rocks before crawling over to their individual gates. 3 dragonkins, 2 male and one female, were the last to arrive as they had to ensure that all wyverns were back at their stables.
"Lunaria-sama," one of the male dragonkins immediately bowed to her. "What are you doing here?"
"Just bringing my… friend here for a look," Lunaria paused slightly, reminding herself Kaze's relationship with her was still a secret. "Don't mind us."
"Ah, I see. Does this gentleman take an interest in wyvern rearing?" The other male dragonkin walked up to Kaze with a grin on his face. "Not many humans would be intrigued with this dangerous activity."
"Ilesta suggested a visit here as one of the trademarks of Aravel," Kaze politely responded. "I won't deny I took interest in it ever since seeing how wyverns were used to transport the Aravel royalty."
"Well then, we will be sure to tell you what we know about the wyverns if you are that interested. Can't turn away our beloved guests after all," the first male nodded at this. "You are in luck though. Not many get to see our wyverns returning at the same time."
"What do you mean?" Kaze tilted his head in confusion.
"The timing which we guide the wyverns back to the stables depend on the distance they fly out to," the female dragonkin explained. "Wyverns travel in a flock, especially those we have reared, so they have a leader. Depending on how the leader acts, the rest follow. It would be a pain to track them back if they flew close to the nation borders."
"This bad boy here is the leader," the second male dragonkin walked up to a wyvern close by and patted it by the neck. "If we can control where the leader flies, the rest is easy."
"Oh? How do you identify who is the leader among all the wyverns?" Kaze asked. "I mean, I can barely tell one wyvern apart from the other."
"Ah, that is two different things. Leaders of the pack are usually easier to spot if you look at the interaction between the wyverns," the first male dragonkin pointed. "See?"
As the leader wyvern crawled back to its space, the other wyverns it passed by began growling softly and glancing at the passing leader.
"Do you hear that? That is something like wyvern purring, it shows their respect to the leader," Lunaria pointed out for Kaze. "Bet you never thought wyverns could purr like kittens."
"THAT'S purring? It sounds more like a harmful growl," Kaze shivered from the resonating growls followed by some of the other wyverns.
"For a harmful growl, whether it be because a wyvern gets threatened or starts showing signs of attacking, you have to look at its other traits," the female dragonkin shook her head. "For instance, the way they move. A wyvern being threatened would begin flapping its wings while a wyvern purring would simply stare at you."
"Kaze, why don't we step inside the pen? You can try touching a wyvern if you want," Lunaria tugged on Kaze's hand.
"E-Eh? Touch one? Are you sure it wouldn't tear my limbs apart?" Kaze gulped nervously.
"Don't worry, they're tamed enough to recognise that we're not a threat or snack," the three dragonkin tamers laughed at Kaze's hesitance.
Faced with pressure from the rest, Kaze decided to risk it since this was worth it for the experience. Not many people would be able to say they managed to get up close to a wyvern and pat it.
Kaze took a step into the open pen where most of the wyverns were gathered. The pen he was in was one where socializing among the wyverns happened, meaning that it was a bigger open space that allowed for much more movement.
The moment he stepped past a certain line, all the wyverns stopped moving and turned to his direction. When faced with so many stares from the beasts, Kaze felt his heart stomach dropping. He lurched with every step he took, walking towards the middle of the pen. The wyverns, similarly, locked their gazes on Kaze and followed him with their heads turning slowly.
"You can't touch them immediately, you have to let them be comfortable with your presence before you move towards one of them," the female dragonkin said.
To demonstrate, she also walked into the pen, getting a few gazes from the wyverns previously staring at Kaze. Once the recognised it was simply their owner, they turned back to staring at Kaze. With a confident smile, she walked over to one of the wyverns nearby and gave it a kiss on its neck. To Kaze's surprise, the wyvern barely even reacted.
"See? Perfectly safe," the female giggled. "It would take a few minutes for them to determine you aren't a threat, though you might be a stranger."
"H-How do I know its fine for me to touch them?" Kaze asked aloud, already feeling like he was going to pee his pants from having so many wyverns stare at him.
"The wyverns will let you know themselves," the second male dragonkin notified Kaze from outside the pen. "It will stretch its head over to sniff you, so don't worry about that."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a few of the wyverns stretched their long necks out from their bodies over to where Kaze was. Hovering around him, they sniffed Kaze together without a pattern, making it look as though he was getting licked instead. The wild stench emitting from their nostrils caused Kaze to strain a cough, worried that any sudden movement or sound would result in his head getting chomped.
Up close, he was able to get a good look at how the wyverns were like. They were practically cousins of dragons with the similarities in their appearances. From the way their horns were shaped and connected to the back of their skull down to their wings and huge body, the one major difference was their size was nearly a quarter of an adult dragon. Each one of them had various characteristics that made them stand out and differ from one another, contrary to what Kaze just said earlier about them looking the same.
"Ah, you can touch them now," Lunaria smiled as soon as the wyverns started looking away from Kaze and going back to what they were previously doing. "They must have accepted you are at least not a threat."
Kaze sighed in relief and began observing the wyverns to pick one that he was comfortable with. Each of the wyverns in the room felt equally as menacing, such that Kaze hesitated when it came to a random choice of wyvern he wanted.
Sensing his hesitancy, Lunaria stepped into the pen as well and guided Kaze.
"Here, it's not that hard," Lunaria approached one of the wyverns.
Raising her hand, the wyvern noticed Lunaria and lowered its head for her to pat it. As soon as Lunaria began scratching at its course skin, it growled gently and began made the same low growl that signified it was purring.
"Lunaria-sama is an exception when it comes to the wyverns," the female dragonkin told Kaze. "All of the royals are."
"Is it because of their position as a royalty?" Kaze asked softly, watching Lunaria stroking the wyvern like it was nothing more than a puppy. "Or because of 'Ruler's Dominion'?"
"More so because of being a royalty that rules over the dragonkins in general than because of a specific skill passed down by lineage," the female dragonkin looked surprised. "Colour me surprise, Kaze. You know about Ruler's Dominion?"
"It was explained to me before, so yeah," Kaze nodded meekly. "It wasn't a pleasant experience."
"To follow up with what you said, Ruler's Dominion does work on the wyverns as well," Lunaria turned around, retracting her hand from the wyvern. "Sorry, I should have been the first one to tell you about that skill."
"Don't be. This was back in Tristania," Kaze comforted the princess and sighed. "My turn then."
"Mm. Just walk towards any of the wyvern and allow yourself to get comfortable with it," Lunaria nodde. "Follow what I did."
In accordance with Lunaria's words, Kaze walked up to one with grey scales where it was chomping down on a piece of meat. When it sensed Kaze approaching, it looked up from its meal and pierced through Kaze with its gaze. Blood dripped down the side of its mouth, proving how fresh the carcass was when it was given to the wyvern as food. It didn't help that pieces of flesh dangled from the side of its mouth along with its blood-stained dagger-like teeth were on full display.
Kaze reached out his hand when he felt appropriate, waiting for the wyvern to respond. Since the whole interaction was reliant on the wyvern rather than Kaze himself, he knew there was no point in forcing something that the wyvern didn't want. If it chose to ignore him, then Kaze would simply pick another wyvern.
Thankfully, things turned out alright for Kaze. The wyvern stared at Kaze's hand for a few seconds before giving him a lick with its tongue. Needless to say, Kaze was instantly covered in slob, saliva, pieces of carcass and blood right after. As if making fun of Kaze's appearance, the wyvern made a gargling noise before returning to its meal.
"K-Kaze!!" Lunaria squeaked when the wyvern licked Kaze instead, causing Kaze to groan at the stench now on his body.
"Yikes… to think the wyvern would lick him instead," the female dragonkin sweatdropped at the sight while her male colleagues laughed out loud.
"HAH! I'm never forgetting this moment," the first male dragonkin choked, wiping a tear from the side of his eye. "Oh, this is great!"
"… I think I'm not going to get this smell of me for weeks," Kaze gagged, Lunaria trying her best to remove the thick slimy fluids from his body with magic.
"D-Don't worry. A good soak in the bath and you will be fine," Lunaria reassured him. "At least this was the worst that happened to you, don't you think?"
"It's definitely better than missing an arm, I suppose," Kaze nodded slowly.
As he exited the pen, the other wyverns perked their heads up as Kaze walked past them. Clearly, they nearly mistook him for food from what the wyvern did to him, but thankfully recognised Lunaria next to him and did nothing more than making that same mocking gargling noise.
Without much else happening other than a rough tour around the place, Kaze and Lunaria then bid the three caretakers farewell before leaving. The stench, while horrendous, seemed not to bother the caretakers as much since they were already used to such putrid stench, comparable to wyvern faeces and such.
Back at the palace, Kaze felt bad at the horrified looks and chuckles that he received from passing by each guard and maid. They must not have expected Kaze to return back to the palace smelling like trash. If not for Lunaria being by his side, he was nearly certain that he would have been kicked out instead.
"Here, let me help you with that," Lunaria scrunched up her face as she removed Kaze's top once they were in her private bathroom. "Ugh… this definitely needs thorough cleaning before you can wear it again."
"Just throw it away," Kaze hung his head in shame. "I don't think I can wear the same piece of clothing without remembering such a horrid experience."
"Ahaha… your choice," Lunaria made a dry laugh. "Here, I've turned on the water already. Just wash yourself off with the soap and soak in the tub."
"Right… thank you, Lunaria."
"Mm, it's only natural for me to support my lover. Also, now that I take a good look at your outfit, maybe it's time you get a wardrobe upgrade."
"Are you suggesting a shopping trip? Lunaria, I can't make you spend any more of your money-"
"Our money. Kaze, I recognise the fact you lack the necessary funds to spend properly on yourself. As your lover and princess, I don't mind making a small investment in my partner if it means helping him to excel."
"B-But…"
"Don't start with you feeling bad. As it is, I'm the one feeling bad for treating my partner so horribly. I am well aware that I'm a princess so I shouldn't expect much from you, but perhaps I have been. Kaze, I've decided: you're getting a makeover to become suited as my partner. No more complaining."
"… Yes ma'am."
A satisfied grin appeared on Lunaria's face as soon as Kaze decided he wasn't going to further pursue the matter. At the same time, Lunaria felt guilty for imposing something like this so harshly on Kaze. It wasn't like she was trying to force it on Kaze; she simply believed he needed to cherish the opportunity he had received the moment they started dating. Of course, she wasn't expecting him to suddenly request money from her, but if she was going to go all the way and offer it to him without him requesting it, then it should be accepted. For Lunaria, who was well aware of the state that Kaze was in, she just wanted to provide the best for him as she could.
With a lingering feeling of guilt inside of her for practically forcing Kaze into this, Lunaria sighed and set aside his clothes for now.
"Kaze, I'm sorry… I know you don't like the idea of me spending on you," Lunaria leaned against the parting that separated the bathroom from the toilet. "I mean, I have already given you my sword."
"And paid for my meals in Aravel," Kaze added from inside the bathroom.
"That too," Lunaria nodded in agreement.
"And prepared a home for me…"
"Y-Yes, a shared cost with the others…"
"That you paid half of the price."
"Look, the point is, I have not spent a single dime that I regretted. What is the point of hoarding all my wealth if I cannot use it for something I want to? I don't expect you to forgive me for spending this much on you, but please know that I did this for you. It isn't because I want to win your heart or that I'm flaunting my wealth or spending it unnecessarily, I truly did it because I care for you."
The shower door opened and Kaze stepped out with a towel wrapped around his waist. Judging by his already clean body, he must have just finished washing off his body without getting into the bathtub yet. Lunaria lowered her gaze instinctively, as if she was a child who was about to get scolded by her parent for doing something bad. It only added to the fact that Kaze was nearly a head taller than her, making it ironic that she was a princess and Kaze was a commoner when she was now submissive.
"Man… I know that it is not my right to stop you from how you want to spend your money. I admit I was just worried about whether or not you are self-conscious that you are spending THAT much, and your response says so."
Lunaria shivered a little when Kaze plopped his hand on her head and rubbed it gently. Looking back up at him, she was met with a wry smile that showed how he couldn't stop himself from loving her.
"Sorry, I know it made it seem like I hated you for spending money. It's just humility from my part. Just do what you want but let me know about it," Kaze continued, his hand still patting Lunaria's head. "As your… lover, I am still new to the whole princess thing, so my actions might seem weird on your part. Please continue teaching me about your position."
Nodding lightly at what he said, Lunaria stepped forward and embraced him tightly. Silent tears slipped down her cheeks as she buried her face into his chest, her worries of him hating her disappearing now that he had confessed what he thought. Lunaria didn't know why she teared up at the thought that he might already hate what she said, but it only proved that her love for him was real.
"There, you have your hug. Can you let me go now? I need to shower, otherwise I'm going to stink up the entire palace," Kaze laughed, wondering why it was that Lunaria was suddenly so clingy. "Lunaria?"
"… I'm showering with you," Lunaria muttered.
"Eh? Um, you don't need to do that…"
"I insist."
"W-Wait, Lunaria? Your clothes-!!"
And so, Kaze spent some time in the bathroom with Lunaria, who displayed extreme clinginess to him. It was also on the same day, barely a day after dating Lunaria, that Kaze found out Lunaria was the possessive type.