Dedicated to Sunny_Shumail, Supreme_Deityll and Apple_Deswari! Thank you for your continued support!
....
When Arella woke up, she felt as if she had woken up from a specially refreshing sweet slumber. Her body felt light. The moment her eyes found the Sun shining brightly outside the window, her happy mood soared to new heights.
Humming a soft tune, she stretched her limbs and touched the other side of the bed. It was cold as usual. Adrian must have left for his morning jog.
She touched her blanket and was about to step off the bed when the matters of last night started filling her brain. Her slight smile froze on her face. A frown replaced her smile, and a contemplative glint appeared in her eyes.
As she was sorting out the details, the door of the bedroom opened. Adrian walked in with a serious face. He looked straight, and when he found Arella awake, a relief washed over him.
His feet automatically moved toward her as if she were a magnet pulling his strings. He sat down next to her and checked her temperature. After making sure that her temperature was back to normal, his pursed lips relaxed a little. Then, he held her hands and sat still.
Arella voluntarily leaned in his arms. Adrian subconsciously embraced her, letting her find a comfortable spot in his arms.
"Are you feeling alright?" Adrian asked softly. Other than this, he did not know what else to ask. He did not know what was going on with Arella, and he was not sure if Arella knew it herself or not.
"Hmm." Arella hummed as a response. She could sense the worry he was trying to hide behind a mask. No matter what happened last night, her priority was to appease this man.
Adrian could feel his stiff muscles relaxing in her comforting arms. Hmm. It was good that she was okay. Everything else is secondary, her health comes first.
Likewise, both husband and wife tried their best to alleviate each other's worries. Adrian, after feeling satisfied, opened his eyes and wanted to retreat from her arms. After all, he had things to share.
But something caught his attention, stopping him in his advances. He saw a tattoo like mark on the back of Arella's neck. Frowning, he tried to remember if it was still there earlier.
He had touched, caressed, and kissed every part of her body. That is why, he was quite sure that the mark was not there a week ago. Confused, he broke away from her.
"There is something on your neck. Something like a tattoo." Adrian voiced his thoughts aloud.
"Huh?" Even Arella became baffled. She has never been inked, so what tattoo?
"Wait a minute." Adrian moved swiftly and picked Arella up from the bed, only to let her sit in front of the dressing table. He haphazardly found a handheld mirror. Lifting her hair, he put the mirror at a specific angle.
The clear image of the outline was reflected in the mirror. Both Arella and Adrian could identify that it was a pair of wings. Looking at the outline, Arella's eyes widened.
Wings! So, it was not her hallucination last night. There really was a pair of wings! Excited, she turned around and embraced Adrian, catching him off guard.
"Adrian, Adrian! Last night, I saw a pair of wings! I think it was my beast! I might be a member of the Bird clan! Maybe I will be able to awaken my beast soon!" Pure bliss dripped from her words. Her tone was enough to tell anyone that she was absolutely thrilled and happy.
Listening to the girl chirping like a bird in his arms, Adrian's mood became better. So that is what happened last night. Her beast might be stirring up. It was a good sign. Especially considering her constitution.
He still remembered the evaluator's words. Only she could break free of the curse. So, getting in touch with her beast was definitely an opportune moment.
Most beastmen could sense their beast's consciousness since the day of their adulthood. But for a tamer, it was a big thing. Most tamers could only sense their beast after reaching B or A ranks.
So for Arella, despite being a D ranked tamer, sensing her beast was undoubtedly a feat to applaud.
"Once I awaken, we can fly together." Arella happily shared.
"Good. I will be waiting." Adrian whispered softly.
"For now, you should focus on your skills. You are a tamer and could be a member of the Bird clan. So, the apparent advantage should be your agility and speed. But you should also work on your sight and sense of hearing. These could be your advantages as well." Adrian unconsciously assumed the posture of a trainer, guiding her.
"Yes sir!" Arella giggled and hid in his arms.
A slight smile appeared on Adrian's face as well.
"Later, I will let Andrew guide you during the day. He is a Hawk. His insights might be of some use to you. And I can take up the night training. Okay." Adrian asked gently. Internally, he was thinking, was he being too rough? Should he let her train on alternate days?
If the army members, who were forced to undergo intensive training without a day's rest, came to know of his leniency, they might have complained about the demon's bias.
Listening to the word training, Arella tilted her head and looked innocently towards Adrian. She pursed her lips as if wanting to tell him something. But she knew not how.
Adrian looked at her with a hint of guilt glinting in her eyes.
"I…I want to tell you something." Arella looked at him and picked up her courage to share her interaction with Nicholas and his outline of the training. She also wanted to share her session with Devon and Anne.
Adrian was about to respond when a beep sounded from his watch. It was a message, from Andrew, asking for updates.
Considering Arella's health conditions, Adrian had wanted to take a day off. But the project he was working on could not be proceeded in his absence. His presence was mandatory. Piqued, he could only resort to a delay.
He had asked Andrew to convey that he would be delayed by a few hours. Andrew must have checked his message now only, asking him to specify the hours.
Arella was next to Adrian, so she too, could read the message, and Adrian never intended to hide. A cursory glance, and she understood Adrian's thoughts. Fortunately, she had woken up earlier. Otherwise, she could have delayed him.
"You go, get ready now. We will talk once you are back." Arella urged him to get dressed. Adrian too, did not put on any resistance. He knew that Arella was fine now.
"You are only allowed to rest today. I will let Andrew stand guard at the door. You are not allowed to go out. The food will be delivered to you." Adrian shared his views, and only after Arella agreed did he agree to leave her alone.
Andrew, who was lazing the bed, was happily planning his day by thinking of places that could be shown to Madam. He wanted to cherish every moment of his hard earned days of leisure.
Poor him! His position was downgraded from the reputed personal assistant to a mere watchman without his knowledge.