Chapter 83 - Temporary Separation

This was not easy. Raphael didn't expect him to have to go through such long days, that he felt that time might have slowed down on purpose for him. It had been almost a month since Valerie had gone with Gregovich to train. Raphael returned to Acheron and performed some of his responsibilities as Chastain's second son.

He had to socialize. Raphael was the proud son of Acheron besides he was also a war hero. Everyone wanted to entertain and meet him. Not infrequently he had to face such uncomfortable questions. Was he really married? Where is his wife? Or did their relationship not work out well that they had to separate?

The answer was also not quite easy. Because the knight profession for married noblewomen was not a common thing. They had a hard time understanding why his wife had to leave him for months just to practice swordsmanship. Whereas the Chastain mansion itself was famous for training the best knights of Acheron. Her husband himself was a formidable Florentian commander. He should have all the qualifications to train his own wife.

Raphael didn't want to blame them. They thought Valerie was an ordinary knight. Her name was also not well known as part of the military. Valerie Dubois's name was certainly famous. But as a high-class noble girl who was admired for her elegant demeanor and manner of speech as well as her beauty.

Valerie was forced to accept the gossip that said she didn't really fit in at Acheron. She was used to living in a city with luxury. Acheron did not have many modern facilities and was inhabited by many human farmers. Therefore she made an excuse to leave Raphael.

Rumors quickly spread and many single girls thought that they might be able to heal Raphael's heart, that was left by his selfish wife.

It wasn't just Brianna Delacroux, who shamelessly visited the Chastain residence every day to meet Raphael. There were also other girls —who were once again trying their luck— every time they met the commander at a social event. They couldn't easily accept when Raphael said that he and his wife were fine.

This was also hard for Raphael. He had to go through lonely nights. In a few weeks he had gotten used to waking up every morning with the angelic face that Valerie had—which lay quietly by his side. Now he found only empty pillows and sheets.

As soon as his honeymoon at the inn ended, Valerie immediately followed Gregovich. She didn't even take the time to go back to Acheron to pack. She was a knight and thought all her collection of pretty clothes would be of no use there. It was said that Gregovich and Amelia would take her to a barren area like Ithadurna. There weren't enough people there.

Raphael managed to convince his former mentor to only take Valerie to areas that were fairly neutral. He still had to try to minimize the influence of Avalon on his wife. It was probably a waste because he knew Alex. Apart from his terrifying time-controlling powers, he was also the best mind manipulator in Avalon. But Raphael knew that Alex was a person who kept his word so he forced him to swear never to manipulate his wife again. Whatever the reason.

Dear Raphael,

I am okay here. You're right about Alex, his teaching methods are quite extreme. He asked me to awaken Apollon's power in a fast way. Namely using it to injure humans. But i got over it, i found a bunch of looters and lewd humans who are also serial rapists.

I punished them using Apollon. This isn't my first murder. But I think I can still stick with my idealism as Florentia. Sinners should be punished, right? And those humans deserved the death penalty. I don't even feel tempted to drink their blood.

Amelia had time to fill her stomach with their blood before I punished them. I don't think Alex is a bad person. He's just an Avalon who's used to doing vile things. But Amelia, believe me you won't want anything to do with her. She is evil and vile. He also said you were hot and asked me to share you with him. I know she did it on purpose to annoy me. You don't have to worry, I will kill her if she really tries to harass you.

Ah yes, after carrying out the punishment, Apollon's power has not fully awakened. But now I can make it shine when I want to. I guess it can come in handy if I'm adventuring in Dungeons or other dark places. I don't need a torch. You know I don't like the smell of petroleum. Moreover, they dripped and soiled my shoes.

Don't think about having an affair. I know Brianna and the other shameless girls at Acheron are now swarming over you like bees looking at flowers.

It was the first letter Valerie had sent to Raphael. The paper was a little wrinkled and some of the writing had faded. There were also a few drops of blood stains on it. Valerie was probably in a tough situation when she wrote it. Maybe in the desert or similar places. Alex was famous for daring to push his students to the limit. He familiarized them with pain and exercised their instincts.

Raphael realized he might not have the heart to do that himself to Valerie. That's why the progress was so slow. Valerie's training would take several months. Maybe almost half a year. But it was still faster than he who had to train with Caesar and Alex for almost two years.

Valerie was struggling in an unfamiliar place, with people she probably didn't like very much either. While the simple minds of the people of Acheron accused her of being an ungrateful woman who had the heart to leave her husband when they were newlyweds. Worse yet, Raphael's defense of her was not believable They thought, Raphael did it just to defend his pride.

"Commander!"

"Raphael!"

The man looked out the window. There he found men his age who were familiar with him. They were recklessly shouting for him in front of the venerable Chastain residence. Even though they themselves also come from a noble family.

There were Edgar and Damian, two of his friends as well as his men who were dressed in civilian clothes waving at him.

"Where's Valor—umm, I mean Valerie?" Edgar cleared his throat because saying the wrong name.

That was the first thing they asked when Raphael came downstairs to greet them.

"We're temporarily separated," Raphael said calmly.

"Huh? Did she dump you?" Damian said concerned.

"Naturally, you're still his fierce and overly assertive commander. You tortured her a lot at the Taverin. She must feel awkward marrying you," laughed Edgar.

"Oh shut up, Valerie and I are fine. She's a knight just like you guys...she's currently training..he wanted to be stronger before rejoining Florentia. He practiced with my teacher."

"What? He's with that General Avalon? Didn't you say his teaching methods are terrible?"

"Valerie wanted it, we met her on our honeymoon," Raphael folded his arms telling the story.

"So he left you during your honeymoon? So sorry Raph," Damian said, holding back a little laugh.

Raphael let them follow him into the living room. Then they just sat there with their eyes around. Chastain's house was no less luxurious than Dubois's. Although the interior was more understated. The feel was warmer and at one with nature because many trees were allowed to grow in their yard.

"I have prepared my provisions, when the horse carriage arrives, we will immediately go to headquarters," said Raphael who sat with them.

Sitting alone in Acheron without Valerie made him tired and bored. He decided to end his leave early and immediately went on a mission with several of his fellow Jaguar elite teammates. By keeping himself busy, he thought he could overcome his loneliness.

"So, Raph, let's tell us,"

"Tell what?" Raphael felt bad.

"About your first night, what else? How does it feel to sleep with a woman you thought was a man? She's a real woman, isn't she?" Edgar joked.

"Of course she's a real woman, I've seen her body and felt it all," Raphael said flatly.

"Does Valerie seem to like it?"

"How did I know about that?" Raphael's response was not too indifferent.

"Do you need help?"

"What kind of help?"

"We're both more experienced than you at this."

"I don't think so, Valerie said I did well," Raphael responded again, starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

"How did she know? Has she experienced it with anyone else?"

"Could be, she is very popular in Lapella, I heard he has several ex-boyfriends,"

Damian and Edgar started gossiping.

"You're all wrong, can we talk about something else? This talk is torturing me..After all, she's still your partner. I won't forgive you if you talk about her so disrespectfully," Raphael said firmly.

When he first did it, he knew that Valerie was still a virgin. He wouldn't believe that his wife had any experience with another man. He immediately felt angry just thinking about that possibility.

Raphael missed him too much. But he could only see her once a month because he didn't want to interfere with her practice. In her last letter, she was in Ithadurna.. Raphael would be there on a mission to meet him.