Crushing flags and claiming the Villainess-Chapter 99 - 98- Unwell Valerie

Early in the morning, Rhea continued sleeping until late hour and woke up late.

By the time she reached the common hall, the students had already gone to watch the selection trials; that’s why the common hall was nearly empty.

’I really should be careful about my sleep cycle...’ It’s quite a bad trait for someone aiming to become a knight in the future to have such a messed up routine.

She finished her meal as soon as she could and ran to the indoor gymnasium.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

Her match was tomorrow, but she wanted to watch a few matches before going to training.

’Rudolph must be waiting...’ She and Rudolph had decided to watch the matches together and share what they learned from the battles.

She has told him that she would come early in the morning for a spar, before the trials. However...

As soon as she entered the gymnasium, she was assaulted by the loud noises of the students, cheering and hooting.

She went towards the seat where she sat with Rudolph, thinking that he must have kept a seat for herself.

....however, Rudolph wasn’t there.

Rhea looked around, just in case he forgot where they sat. But he was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, Carter, did you see Rudolph?!" She had to shout since the place was too loud.

The said boy shook his head, "Nope! He didn’t come I guess!" Saying so, he turned back towards the arena and began shouting.

Rhea frowned; he didn’t come? Under normal circumstances, such a battle junkie couldn’t miss the selection trials.

’Something is wrong...’ With those thoughts, Rhea exited the venue and headed towards the boy’s dormitory

She could ask the warden to check on Rudolph if he was sick.

However, just as she was about to enter the dorm,

*Dhak*

"Ah!"

Rhea crashed into someone even when there was no one standing there.

The other one fell on the floor, and he began to appear out of nothing.

Rhea frowned upon seeing the man who definitely was using a skill to hide himself, and looking at his uniform it was clear that he was not from the Academy.

"Who the hell are you?" The pink head asked.

The man panicked and tried to run away

Rhea grinned, as she summoned her bow, and while taking the aim, she murmured, "Great training dummy."

---------**---------

A Heat Vessel was a boat in which the steam of coal was used along with a monster core to light up the furnace and push the boar at a rapid pace.

The boat featured several small cabins where passengers could rest during the journey. A compact kitchen was also available, though travelers had to bring their own ingredients if they wished to prepare meals.

It was quite spacious in the room, with two beds, one cupboard, one table, and a small kitchen on the side.

The total amount needed to rent the boat, along with the ship captain’s fees, amounted to fifty gold coins.

It was enough to rent a big house for three months in the Capital and for a peasant to afford luxurious food for a year.

Valerie had saved a hundred gold coins, which she offered completely to Austin. However, the blond Prince returned the rest after using fifty gold to rent the boat.

Now, Sebastian was outside with the Captain, smoking something unhealthy and talking about the local history of places the Captain had visited in the past.

Sebastian told the two teenagers to rest inside since the journey would take the whole day and they would probably reach Drenovar by the middle of the night.

"Are you feeling fine?" Austin asked as he softly rubbed Valerie’s back after she was done vomiting whatever she ate for breakfast

It turned out, she doesn’t like the ocean much. Motion sickness caught her not long after the boat began sailing.

"I...would be fine now. I just have to avoid looking outside." She spoke through her hoarse throat.

She has shown a very ugly side to her Lord, that’s why she couldn’t even raise her eyes to look at him.

Austin heaved a sigh before he went towards the kitchen, took off the small container from the boiler, and poured the warm water into a cup before squeezing lemon juice into the water.

He brought the cup to Valerie before telling her, "Take light sips. You will feel good."

Valerie thanked him before taking the cup.

Austin sat on the other bed while facing Valerie, and he said, "After drinking it, try to sleep. Once you get up, we will be already there."

Valerie nodded, "I will try...but I don’t think I can..." Just the slight sensation of moving around made her stomach churn, and her head began to throb. If she focuses on it even just for a few seconds she might again ...

"Okay, let me help you with that." Austin got up, and since she had already taken a few sips of the drink, he rested the cup on the bedside table before telling her.

"Lay down," Valerie was taken aback, but she didn’t question him and obediently laid down before Austin climbed onto the bed and laid down on the other side.

Collecting Valerie in his arms, he pressed her head against his chest and softly began running his hand up and down her back.

Generally, this position would have made her a blushing mess. Being this close to Austin was like asking her to faint right away.

However, at the moment, his warmth and peaceful heartbeat were making her aching mind and body calm. She continued to listen to his heartbeat and clung to him as much as she could.

"Just don’t think about anything and sleep." Austin softly mumbled as he moved the blanket over her and covered themselves completely.

And it worked. Valerie was feeling much better, here in the dark space inside the blanket and pressed against the only person whom she could blindly trust.

In his arms, she was safe...felt like, nothing in the world could harm her anymore.

Austin wordlessly continued to pat her back and not so long after, he sensed her breathing turning calm.

Austin remained by Valerie’s side for quite some time, before he asked the system, ’Can I enter the dungeon without moving from my spot?’

He already had a full night’s rest, and he had several hours before he reached Drenovar. That’s why Austin was thinking of visiting the dungeon and earning a few points, in case he needs to increase his stats during his stay at Drenovar.

[Ding!]

[You can host. Just think of pulling the illumination towards yourself, and you will be teleported into the dungeon without moving from your spot.]

Austin glanced down at Valerie before kissing the crown of her head, and mumbling,

’Wish me luck, love.’

°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.