Only then did Asia realize she had fallen for Nova’s prank. Her already flushed face became even redder, while Nova could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.

"You...! How dare you joke like that with me?!" Asia shouted, her face completely red as she stepped forward in embarrassment and anger.

Nova raised both hands innocently.

"Relax, it was just a joke..." He paused before a mischievous grin appeared on his face. "Or... were you hoping it was true?"

That was the final straw. "I’ll kill you!"

In one swift motion, Asia drew a sword from her spatial ring and slashed toward him. Although she had no real intention of harming him, the strike was still fast enough to surprise an ordinary person.

Nova, however, didn’t move. He simply raised his hand and caught the blade with his bare palm. Asia’s eyes widened.

She knew she hadn’t used her full strength, but stopping her sword with nothing but a hand was still far beyond what she had expected from Nova.

The next moment, Nova released the blade. Caught off balance, Asia stumbled forward, but before she could fall, Nova instinctively caught her by the waist, pulling her into his arms.

Asia’s face instantly turned crimson.

Her heartbeat quickened as she struggled in embarrassment, trying to free herself. Seeing her reaction, Nova immediately let go.

"Calm down," he said with a helpless smile. "Can’t you take a joke?"

Rieka watched the entire scene quietly. She didn’t hold anything against Asia. If Nova ever chose to accept another partner in the future, she wouldn’t oppose it, though a small trace of jealousy still lingered in her heart.

Even so, having multiple partners wasn’t unusual in this world, and she knew Asia was a genuinely kind person.

Seeing Asia lower her head without saying a word, Rieka walked over and gently held her by the shoulders.

She then looked at Nova."Enough, darling... you made her cry." Nova froze, only then did he notice the tears gathering in Asia’s eyes.

...Damn, Looks like I really went too far.

{You know... teasing a girl who already likes you isn’t the smartest idea. You ended up hurting her feelings. Look... the poor thing is crying.}

"Alright, I know I messed up," Nova admitted inwardly to Liya. "But... how do I fix this?" Before Liya could answer, a voice suddenly echoed from somewhere nearby.

"My Lord, wait... please wait! Lady Asia is training right now!"

{Looks like... your solution just arrived.}

All of them turned toward the voice, including Rieka and Asia, who had just finished wiping the tears from her eyes. Nova saw a maid frantically chasing after a young man who looked to be around eighteen or nineteen years old.

He was dressed in expensive, luxurious clothes that clearly reflected his noble status. However, his appearance was far from impressive.

With a round belly, an unattractive face, and an arrogant expression, he looked exactly like a spoiled young master who had been pampered his entire life.

Who is this fatty? Nova thought as he looked him up and down. Although his appearance was nothing special, his strength wasn’t weak at all. Using his appraisal, Nova found that the young man was already around Level 90.

The young man completely ignored the maid calling after him and excitedly shouted, "Asia, my love! How are you? I heard about the beast tide. Are you alright?"

As he hurried toward them, Rieka glanced at him before turning to Asia with a puzzled expression.

"Do you actually know that idiot?"

Asia’s face immediately filled with annoyance, completely forgetting the prank Nova had played on her moments ago.

"Unfortunately, yes," she replied with a sigh. "He’s the son of Duke Damon Claremont... Daniel Claremont." By then, Daniel had already reached them.

Without paying any attention to Nova or Rieka, he looked only at Asia and spoke with an excited smile.

"Asia, my love! How are you? Did you miss me?" Nova’s lips twitched slightly. He didn’t like hearing this fatty call Asia ’my love,’ but he chose not to interfere. After all, the young man was the son of a duke.

Although Nova had never heard of Duke Damon Claremont before, he knew there were only three dukedoms within the kingdom.

Which meant...Daniel belonged to one of the kingdom’s most influential noble families.

But Nova had already made up his mind.

He was going to show this fatty such horror that he would never be able to fall in love again for the rest of his life. No one got away with calling his women "my love."

Nova was being possessive here. Even though Asia wasn’t completely his yet, he wasn’t planning to wait much longer. Sooner or later, he would make Asia fall for him completely and utterly.

"What are you doing here, Lord Daniel?" Asia asked, forcing a smile as she gestured for the maid to return.

"Oh, I came to see you! I heard about the beast tide, and after asking Father for permission... although he didn’t allow me, I still came! Hahaha!" Daniel laughed, his round belly jiggling as he did.

Then his gaze shifted toward Rieka before finally landing on Nova. The moment he saw him, his expression turned ugly. He didn’t like how handsome Nova was.

Standing nearly 190 cm tall with a well-built physique, Nova completely overshadowed him, while Daniel was only around 180 cm.

Most of all, he hated seeing Nova standing so close to Asia. He didn’t mind Rieka, since she was a girl and, in his eyes, Beastfolk were no better than servants.

Daniel didn’t even bother looking at Nova properly before asking Asia,

"Asia, who is this ugly guy?" Nova’s face twitched.

Seriously... this fucker is asking to get beaten up. Even so, he kept his composure. He had already planned this fatty’s breakdown.

Asia turned toward Nova. Seeing him smiling calmly, her cheeks flushed slightly, but she still managed to answer,

"H-He is a friend."

Daniel wasn’t convinced , he placed both his hands behind his back and took a deep breath, trying to pull in his round belly. Then he pointed at Asia and said proudly,

"You should know one thing...She is my fiancée... so it would be better for you to stay away from her."

Hearing such a shocking declaration, Nova raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Asia, she avoided meeting his eyes.

Before Nova could ask anything, Rodrick arrived and looked at Daniel. "Lord Daniel, you’ve arrived without informing us."

He glanced behind him before asking in his usual calm tone, "Has Lord Claremont arrived as well?"

"No. Father didn’t come," Daniel replied. "I came because I wanted to see Asia."

"I see."

Rodrick nodded politely.

"In that case, please come with me. Lady Asia has just finished her training and will meet you after she gets freshened up. We have also prepared a fine feast for you."

Daniel was reluctant to leave. However, the moment he heard the word feast, he couldn’t resist. Turning toward Asia, he smiled and said,

"I’ll see you soon."

Then he shot Nova one last glare before turning around and following Rodrick into the estate.

Seeing the nuisance finally gone, Nova looked back at Asia. This time, she couldn’t avoid his gaze. Even Rieka looked at her curiously, waiting for an explanation as well.

Having no other choice, Asia finally spoke.

"It’s not what you two think. I didn’t have any say in this. His father once did my father a great favor, and in return, Father had no choice but to agree to their terms."

She let out a quiet sigh before continuing.

"You might not know this, but the Claremont family is the second most powerful noble family in the Kingdom of Aureth. We couldn’t simply back out of the engagement... even though Father has regretted that decision ever since."

"So... what are you going to do?" Rieka asked. "Marry him?"

Asia instinctively looked at Nova. He was staring at her with a calm, expressionless face, and for some reason, it made her nervous.

She slowly shook her head.

"No... I don’t want to marry him." Hearing her answer, a smile finally appeared on Nova’s face.

"If you don’t want to marry him... then don’t." Asia gave him a helpless look.

"But how am I supposed to do that?" she asked gloomily, her beautiful face losing its usual confidence. "You already know it’s not that simple. Daniel’s family is too powerful."

"You can always create a reason to break the engagement." Asia looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Nova’s lips curled into a faint grin.

"You can leave that to me."

Asia blinked.

"Why are you doing this for me?"

Her beautiful blue eyes shimmered as she looked at him.

"Because I want something."

"What do you want?"

The grin on Nova’s face widened.

"You."

"..."

Asia’s eyes widened, and her face instantly flushed crimson.

"Y-You..."

Thanks for reading....