Chapter 34………………………….
Ivelina moved her hand busily.
With a soft scratching sound, letters formed on the wedding invitations.
She was in the middle of preparing the invitations to be sent to the guests.
Normally, this was something a maid would do, but Ivelina wanted to write them herself.
When she shyly told Noel she wanted to do it personally, he brought her the invitations and a quill pen.
Ivelina skimmed through the guest list Karina had given her.
Even someone like her—who had never once attended a social gathering and had no connections—recognized every name on it.
Seeing it written out like this made her realize again just how amazing Karina was.
“Alright, all done!”
She muttered to herself as she set down the quill.
Her fingers tingled from writing so much.
Still, seeing the neatly folded invitations filled her with pride.
She was massaging her fingers when she heard a knock.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
At Arsen’s voice, Ivelina jumped to her feet and hurried to open the door.
Standing there was Arsen in casual, comfortable clothes.
He peeked inside the room and asked,
“Are you very busy?”
“No, I just finished.”
“Good. I thought we should practice archery today.”
“Oh, yes! Right now?”
Arsen nodded slowly.
Ivelina beamed.
She had thought he looked busy today and didn’t dare bring it up—so she felt relieved.
“Then please wait just a moment. I’ll change and be right out.”
“Of course, Ivelina. Take your time and come to the training grounds.”
He placed a soft kiss on her cheek before heading down the stairs.
Ivelina touched her cheek with a faintly dazed expression.
Ever since he proposed to her, these small kisses had become more frequent.
He hadn’t kissed her directly on the lips yet, but it was embarrassing all the same.
She cleared her throat unnecessarily and tugged the little bell cord to call Berry.
A few minutes later, Berry entered the room.
“You called, My Lady?”
“Could you take these invitations to Noel? And help me change—I’m going to practice archery.”
“Yes, My Lady!”
Berry answered energetically as always.
After preparing herself fully, she headed to the training grounds, where she spotted Arsen.
He held a bow in his hand and seemed to be testing it, nocking an arrow to the string.
Ivelina stopped walking and watched him closely.
Arsen took his stance and drew the bowstring.
There was nothing awkward—his form was perfect.
When he released, the arrow flew swiftly and struck the center of the target.
As Ivelina approached, Arsen lowered the bow with a small smile.
“Ivelina.”
She looked at him anxiously.
“What if I make a mistake and you get hurt?”
At that, Arsen gave her a look that clearly said she was worrying over nothing.
“With a teacher as excellent as I am, that won’t happen. No need to worry.”
His playful tone made Ivelina let out a small laugh.
Her tension eased a little.
Arsen took another bow from the rack and offered it to her.
“This one is lighter than mine, so it should be easier for you to hold.”
Ivelina accepted it, her expression tense.
Fortunately, it really wasn’t heavy.
Following his guidance, she slowly took her stance.
“Move your foot forward a bit…”
“L-like this?”
“Yes, very good.”
He gently adjusted her awkward posture.
“Now try pulling the bowstring.”
Ivelina took a small breath and moved her hands.
But it wasn’t as smooth as she expected.
Seeing her struggle, Arsen carefully placed his hands over hers.
“I’ll help you.”
“Oh…”
He slowly pulled the bowstring with her.
Ivelina swallowed reflexively.
“I’ll let go now, so keep holding with the same strength.”
“Y-yes.”
He removed his hand.
Her arms trembled, but she tried to maintain her strength just as he said.
“You need to get used to this feeling. It’ll feel strange and difficult now, but with time it will become natural.”
Ivelina nodded a couple of times.
When he told her she could relax, she exhaled softly and lowered her arms.
They already felt sore.
Arsen was a gentle yet strict teacher.
If she seemed in pain, he checked on her—but he never suggested stopping early.
Thanks to that, Ivelina gradually learned to pull the bowstring smoothly without trembling.
Arsen smiled in satisfaction.
“How are your arms?”
“They’re fine.”
Ivelina giggled.
Truthfully, they hurt a lot, but she could handle it.
“Then let’s try shooting an arrow.”
He handed her one.
“Place it here. Hold this part with your fingers… Now pull the string like we practiced.”
Ivelina followed his instructions carefully.
“Now release.”
The arrow shot out forcefully—but dropped to the ground not far away.
She turned to him, flustered.
“That’s normal for a first attempt. It gets better with practice.”
He smiled as he handed her another arrow.
“Raise your aim a little.”
“Like this?”
“Yes, perfect.”
She released again, and this time it flew farther than before.
Ivelina grinned brightly.
“That was better than the last one!”
“Yes, very good. As expected—you’re definitely a genius.”
“No, I’m really not…”
He praised her as a genius for everything, which embarrassed her terribly.
Her cheeks flushed pink.
It did go farther, but still nowhere near the target.
But after continued practice, an arrow finally stuck in the very edge of the target.
Ivelina blinked in disbelief, and then her face lit up.
“Arsen! I finally hit the target!”
This time, Arsen was genuinely surprised.
He had expected it would take several days—she had never done any physical training before.
Yet she had managed it within a few hours.
Arsen became truly convinced that Ivelina was a once-in-a-century genius.
Otherwise, it made no sense to achieve results so quickly.
While he was caught up in those thoughts, Ivelina was simply delighted.
She had worried she’d slow him down or annoy him, so she felt relieved.
Watching his expression, she asked cautiously,
“Is… is this good enough…?”
His expression looked so serious it worried her.
She assumed he thought her progress was slow—but then he said something completely different.
“Good enough? It’s incredible.”
“…What?”
“In all my life, no one has ever hit the target this quickly. I’m not joking—truly.”
His sudden sincerity left her stunned.
His eyes held no teasing—making her almost believe him.
But thinking he was just being nice, she shook her head.
“You don’t have to praise me so much. I know I still have a long way to go, but I’ll work hard so I’m not a burden.”
She fiddled with the bow.
For some reason, she felt that if she shot again, she’d do even better.
She nocked another arrow and drew the string—
—but her finger slipped.
“Ah!”
She yelped softly.
Arsen, startled, immediately grabbed her hand.
The arrow had flown off in the wrong direction and stuck into the ground.
Blood was streaming from her finger.
His expression hardened as he quickly took out a handkerchief and wrapped her bleeding hand.
Then he lifted her into his arms without warning.
Ivelina gasped, dropping her bow.
“A-Arsen! I-I can walk by myself. Please put me down.”
“There’s too much blood. We need to treat it immediately—just bear with me for a moment.”
She was the one injured, yet Arsen was the one who looked deathly pale.
Feeling sorry for worrying him so much, she nodded quietly.
Arsen practically flew into the mansion carrying her.
Noel approached him, widened his eyes at the sight of her in his arms, then paled at the blood-soaked handkerchief.
“I’ll bring the doctor at once!”
Arsen nodded stiffly and headed upstairs.
Once in the room, he gently set her on the bed.
As he removed the bloodied handkerchief, he said,
“I should have been more careful. I’m sorry.”
“What? No! It’s my fault—I slipped my finger.”
Ivelina fidgeted nervously and gave an awkward smile.
“And it looks worse because of the blood. The wound itself isn’t very big.”
She meant to reassure him, but his expression only darkened.
He took out another handkerchief and gently wiped her blood.
Then the door burst open.
She looked up to see Karina—and a woman she had never seen before, holding a medical bag.
“My dear!”
Karina hurried toward her.
“I heard you were badly hurt—is it true?”
“Oh… um, I did get hurt, but it’s not serious.”
Ivelina smiled awkwardly and instinctively hid her hand behind her.
But there was no way Karina wouldn’t notice.
