CHAPTER 218: SMITHY

Riven and Liana made it to the restaurant, they got in, settled down, and without an issue, they placed their order.

While they ate, Riven looked up at her, he stretched his hands across the table. She spotted it and immediately stretched out her hand, holding his hands lightly.

Her face brightened up, and he, on the other hand, looked away.

’Take deep breaths, Riven. Take deep breaths, you have initiated it, so go with it, calmly, calmly,’ he said to himself, forcing himself to calm down.

He looked up at her, "Liana," he called her name.

"Hmm?" She looked up, a piece of meat on her fork.

"I wanted to ask, what’s your goal?" he asked. It was straight to the point.

She paused when she heard the question, then dropped the fork back on the plate.

"My goal," she said. She picked up a napkin, wiped the edges of her mouth, showing her elegance.

"To prove myself," she said, then looked at him. "I don’t expect you to understand this, but the Duke house is not as free as it seems.

My family is not just made up of me, my mother, and my father. It is made up of the inner family, the main family, and the outer family.

I am from the main family, and I have two older brothers," she said. She picked up the glass of water beside her and took a sip.

’This is the first time I’m hearing about the structure of the Duke family, I never knew it was like this.

I want to know more, maybe if I do, it will throw more light on her character and why she grew the way she did. I never even knew she had siblings,’ Riven thought.

"So you want to prove yourself, that you are as good as your brothers?" he asked.

"If it was that easy, I would have no issue. My brothers took after my father in talent and skill. But I was lucky, I got the purest form of our bloodline, making my talent the greatest in my generation.

Amongst the children of the outer, the inner, and even amongst my brothers, I had the greatest talent. And to that end, my mother refused to allow me to have a normal childhood. In fact, being born as a child from the inner or main house meant that you had no normal childhood.

You are trained mentally and physically to become the best because you must carry the name of the family for all to see.

On the outside, it looks like my family is kind and good. But that is the task given to the main family, portray the best image of the house. Beyond that smile and happiness is the gruesome set-up, training, and teachings.

My goal is to keep the name of the main family on top, and to ensure that I stand on the same level as my brothers, to make my mother proud, and to make her happy. She is the one I must prove myself to," Liana said.

Riven listened to her, he could understand what she was going through, the need to prove oneself to someone. He lived in it for a bit. He wasn’t going to tell her that she was on the wrong path.

After all, there was no right path, only the path that one believed was right.

She stared at him after he didn’t say anything, "I guess me wanting to prove myself to her is weird," she said.

Riven grabbed her hand tighter, "Why would it be weird? All I see is someone that is working their hardest for a goal, and if what you are doing is what makes you happy, then it is the right thing for you.

I’m sure your parents are proud of what you have become," Riven said with a smile on his face.

She looked at him, her face turned red, she looked away in a rush. "Don’t say stuff like that out of the blue," she muttered.

"Why? Because you are embarrassed?" he said with a cheeky smile.

She refused to look at him for a bit, then she turned, "What about you, what’s your goal?" she asked.

"I never really had one, I just wanted to please everyone," he responded.

"Did anything change?" she asked.

"Yes, a lot did. I met a lot of new people that I needed to protect. I met you," Riven said without thinking much.

"You... you want to protect me?" she asked in shock, her face turning redder by the second.

Only then did Riven realize that he had said something without thinking much. He waved his hands, "Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, it’s not like I want to protect you, it was a slip of the tongue," he said quickly.

"So you don’t want to protect me?" she said, frowning.

He looked at her, then took a deep breath, "I want to. You have so much on your plate that you might forget yourself, so once in a while, let someone help you out.

I see you as someone special to me, so yeah, I want to make sure that you are safe," he said. His words made her embarrassed, she looked away, red in the face.

"I can protect myself," she responded. "But since you offered, I’ll take it," she said.

Riven didn’t expect to say something like that to her, but since he did, he wasn’t going to back down from it. They stayed together at the dinner until it was late, and then they left, asking the carriage to leave without them.

They made their way toward the town square, the crystal lamps illuminated the area. Riven led them to a bench that was there under a lamp.

Both of them sat down, hands still together, the cold wind blew across their skin. Liana shivered, she scooted closer to Riven for warmth.

"I remember when we first met, and the bet that we made," Riven said.

"Yeah, I guess you won the bet," she said.

"I’m happy I did, because I get to know you," he replied. He looked at her as she leaned her head on his shoulder. The thought of kissing her came to his head, but he pushed it away.

’Not today, maybe another day,’ he thought.

They stayed together like that for a few more minutes before leaving and returning to the manor.

He walked her to her room, both of them stood in front of her door. She looked down at the ground. "Thank you for today, it was really fun," she said.

"Yeah, it was," Riven replied, scratching the back of his head. Suddenly she stepped in close, Riven panicked internally, worried that she would go for a kiss.

But instead, she hugged him, her hands around his waist. "Thank you," she said again, then let go and rushed into her room. She slammed the door, leaving Riven standing there with a red face.

Behind the door, she ran to the bed and jumped in, her face completely flushed, her heart racing, a feeling that she hadn’t experienced before.

She tossed and rolled, a flood of emotions in her. Tonight was definitely one she would remember.

[...]

The next day.

Riven went around the house searching for a room that would be good for his blacksmithing, but he couldn’t find any, so he headed straight for his father’s office.

Knock knock.

"Yes, come in," his father spoke from behind the door. Riven walked in casually, his father was seated behind his chair, a load of paperwork in front of him.

"You seem busy already and it’s just morning," Riven said.

"Yes, I am. The changes to Riven established never stop, and beyond that, I also have to make a detailed report of the attack that happened, handle and sign certain budgets for development.

Also, the three dukes sent me letters, asking about their daughters. Since the girls want to stay here until the gala, they want to send the needed protection for them," his father related everything that he was going through right now.

"They want their daughters to walk with guards?" Riven asked.

"No, not that type of security, the type that stays hidden and basically out of their way," his father replied.

"I see. Well, I have something I need to ask of you," Riven said.

"Hmm, what’s that?" his father asked.

"I need a fully state-of-the-art smithy built for me, preferably in the forest, secluded and stocked properly. I believe I have a share of the mines, right? And my share has been growing.

I want you to take it all and put it into the smithy, as far as it can go," Riven said.

"You want a smithy? Are you planning on practicing blacksmithing?" his father asked.

"Yes, so is it possible?" Riven asked.

"Yes, it is. I’ll gather everything that’s needed, and it should be done in three to four days for sure. As for the materials you need, make a list and give it to me," his father said.

"Thank you, also please make sure only my share gets into it, nothing more," Riven said before leaving.