News travelled fast , the news of the Emperor ascending to tier 5 and calling war on two kingdoms at once spread to every corner of the continent.

  Bells of war were ringing and a arms race quickly started in the region , as prices of weapons , Armour and ration started to skyrocket.

  Armies were raised and border patroll was increased. Merchants were asked to return to homeland as soon as possible. Villages in the border regions started to feel uneasy , as they became ready to be mobile and abandon village at a moment's notice.

  Back at Hazelgroove kingdom , Rudra was introduced to the other five lieutenants by Patricia , all being at the tier 3 stage except him. Naturally some looked down on him , but did not voice this opinion out. As atleast on the surface , they were cordial.

  Rudra did not mind this one bit , as he knew his own worth. His mind was sharper than the five of theirs combined. Also , he would soon earn battle honor worthy of his position.

  A lot of formalities followed as he was given the military attire and the Lieutenant cap and bage and the like. Rudra was flattered and all but his heart just was not in the ceremony. His mind kept going back to Ruby , she was in Hazelgroove …… And he wanted to meet her.

  Hence the first thing he did when he was discharged was look for Ruby. This caused Amelia to be angry as hell on Rudra , as he directly ignored all the work calls , leaving her buried in work to cover for her.

  But Rudra did not care one bit . His only wish , right now was to meet Ruby and luckily , he crossed paths with her just before she was preparing to move out of Purplehaze city.

  The maids who saw a running Rudra chuckled , they were naturally aware of their mistress's little lover , and were very supportive of the choice of their mistress. Hence Rudra was led to Ruby's room , as the maids shut the door from the outside.

  Ruby was dazed to see Rudra for a second , just like how Rudra was dazed to see Ruby. No words were exchanged for a moment , as they looked at each other in the eye.

  After a moment , Rudra slowly approached her and closed in the distance between ther faces. Ruby bit her lip , as complicated emotions started to flicker in her eyes.

  Rudra touched his nose to hers , as he let it slide on hers for a moment while he breathed in her breath…… It was sweet and made him feel things down his stomach.

  Not able to resist , Rudra finally kissed Ruby , who was hesitant for a moment but returned it with twice the passion. For a moment , their tongues intertwined and it became a wrestling match for who wanted the other more.

  But then Rudra tasted something a little salty , on Ruby's lips , there was a slight wound …… Perhaps from her biting her lips too hard…… Rudra started to lick her wounds now , as he watched tears drop from Ruby's eyes.

  No words are spoken , but he wraps his left arm around her , which causes the tears to flow even faster , but she does not reject his embrace.

  After what seemed like a moment in eternity. Their lips parted .

  It was only now that Ruby vented her frustrations " You ……( Sob ) ( Sob) dummmy ( sob ) , why why why ( sob ) ( sob ) soo hurt? ".

  Her little nose was all red , as tears like crystals dropped from her eyes. She looked incredibly cute , yet it somehow broke Rudra's heart. Rudra had no way to console her. Hence he just cuddled her and said he was sorry.

  For the next 20 minutes , Ruby cried on his chest …… before finally somehow nuzzling herself to sleep on Rudra's chest.

  Rudra looked at the peacefully sleeping Ruby on her chest , as indescribable emotions clouded his mind …… He was too damn passionate about this woman , and her tears were not something he was ready to face yet.

  For the first time , Rudra truly regretted being soo reckless and actually made a resolve to not actively seek for problems in the future. There was someone who cared for him now. He needed to be well . If not for himself then for her. But he needed to take care of himself better.

  Is someday , Ruby even got a bruise on her arms …… Rudra had no idea how he would react. But he was sure , that it would not be pleasant.

  A firm beleiver in treating others how you want to be treated yourself , Rudra made personal wellbeing a priority going forward.

  Except for that , he was really happy. Seeing Ruby sleep on his chest while her small hands clutched onto his robes was incredibly pleasing to him. He was content with seeing her head rise and fall with his breathing , as he observed her features in great detail.

  Her pointy ears caught his attention first , as a Elven race member , she too had the long pointy ears , signature to the elven race , lewd ideas of what it would feel like if he nibbled on them entered Rudra's brain , and he immediately shooed them off .?Such thoughts were blasphemous to think about.

  However it did look incredibly tender , and sensitive …… Nonono , he can't think of such things. He focused on her nose hence.

  Her nose was a delicate feature of her face. Not as sharp as her pointy ears , it was what gave her the cute look. Probably Rudra's favourite feature on her face …… And the reason she looked soo unbearably cute to Rudra.

  Rudra absolutely did not want anything in the world to disrupt this sleep , but then a loud knock was heard on the room's door , which woke the princess up.

  Soon a maid entered the room , only to see the princess grogily leaning on Rudra's chest. The maid instantly blushed , as she said ' Oh '.

  And quickly closed the room of the door. Rudra wanted to move to explain the situation to the maid …… He was sure that from a third person perspective it may look like a different scenario of what was transpiring in the room. But how could he move ? ( He did not mind the confusion at all )

  However Rudra's face flushed red . However it was still a shade lighter than Ruby , who was blushing soo hard that steam was coming out of her ears.

  However Rudra misunderstood the reason behind her blushing. It was not because of the maid …… It was because of Rudra's manly chest , on whom she was leaning soo comfortably.

  As her soft hands touched his firm muscles , she was absolutely lost in dreamland. No words were exchanged for the next hour , as the two just enjoyed each other's embrace . Before it was finally time for Ruby to leave the city for going back to her kingdom.

  Before she left though Rudra said with conviction " I will come to get you soon ! ".

  A warm smile spread on her face as she heard this …… She absolutely had no doubts that he would.

  Hence she said " Next time , be safe ".

  Saying soo in a cute , angry and threatening voice , it was a warning + a goodbye message that gave Rudra goosebumps.

  Perhaps the gentle princess did have a ferocious side to her.

  Only a small reunion of mere hours …… Yet it recharged Rudra completely. His vigour in his cause had returned , as his reason to move forward was reminded.

  /// This chapter is for all the Ruby fans out there …… I hope you enjoyed it ///