Lev had rarely felt so cramped in his armor. Fortunately for him, the dissociation of his mind with the pain made his erection very uncomfortable in combat.

As he reached the outside of the walls, he sighed at the job ahead of him.

In the wastelands, there was never really daylight. Only a thick purplish haze, which cleared up in places without ever letting the light through completely. So, in the middle of the night, the situation was worse.

Fortunately, the Mage was on the scene, casting light for miles around. At his side were Rainier, the colossal Duke of Hastam, and Cara, the Southern Hammer.

-Hello, my quail! said the latter.

Tall, slim and athletic, the Duchess of Malleus was radiant. Rainier gave her a mischievous smile.

-Shut up, he warned from the start.

-Ooh, he's in a bad mood, the little cabbage! giggled Cara.

How could he not be, damn it!? He was on the battlefield on his wedding night!

On the other hand, he understood why. Out of the mist, he could see a whole legion emerging. Two-meter-tall demons, covered in scales. Disordered, but with a strength that was uncommon for humans. These were creatures living in the wastelands, where the barren soil was devoid of life and magic.

-We'll talk about it later, said Rainier. In training.

The elite soldiers from each Duchy stayed behind. It was always like that. The Protectors in the front line, the normal humans in the back to finish off the opponents.

-I'm counting on you guys! Lev called out to his men, bringing up his Shield of Nothingness.

Heavy, silver too, it was produced by magic. The intrinsic magic of Lev Clypeus, the one that earned him his title of Shield. It was the same for the other two. Rainier conjured up a spear of a weight and heft impossible for anyone else to wield. As for Cara... The Hammer brought forth her weapon of choice. A five-foot-long shaft, and a full head so heavy that even Lev couldn't lift it.

The first attack was sharp. A flying demon burst out of the mist, charging at Cara. The creature struck Lev's interposed shield with such force that it snapped its neck.

-Well seen! said the Duchess, springing up from behind him.

His hammer smashed the skull of one of the charging demons. They all came at the same time. A big mistake on their part. Rainier's gigantic spear pierced their defenses, with such force and speed that the weapon went through them one by one, sweeping away a whole line of demons.

This made them slow down a bit.

-Shield! shouted Cara.

Immediately, Lev dropped to one knee, his shield over his head. Cara jumped on it... And he threw it into the air, so hard that it flew towards the enemies. That was the point. Spinning around, Cara fell among the opponents, smashing her hammer into the ground. The shockwave swept them away like chaff. Good.

Lev then saw a flaw. Demons had passed them, and they were heading straight for their soldiers, who had stayed behind.

-Lance! he roared.

Rainier immediately turned to him, a new weapon in his hands. He threw it in his direction. Raising his shield, Lev took the impact, while throwing his arm to the side. This caused the spear to ricochet, skewering some of the demons that got past them.

A spell that turned the ground into quicksand slowed the last of them. Good thinking on the part of the Mage, Eleazar. All the soldiers had to do was finish them off.

Swinging back to the front, Lev was hit head-on by some kind of scaly boar. Thrown backwards, he did a somersault before getting to his feet. Fortunately, he had already made the dissociation between pain and body.

But it took more than that to bring him down.

Much, much more.

-Come on, piggy, he challenged the demon, waddling on the spot. I'm sure you can do better than that!

Charged, he shifted sideways while changing his grip on his Shield, which he grabbed with both hands... And slammed it with all his might into the back of the boar's neck. It sliced through its thick neck. Lev barely had time to breathe before running back to the front. Alternating techniques, he pushed back several demons, so violently that some were thrown back several feet. At one point, he found himself back-to-back with Rainier. Protecting him while fighting, they managed to get out of the way, just as Cara smashed the skull of a huge horned thing.

They fought for hours, helping each other, making sure the rear was not overwhelmed. Then the demons came back, driven back by the death toll. Exhausted, but satisfied with their work, the three Protectors joined Eleazar, like a lighthouse in the night. They collapsed at his feet, exhausted.

-You guys did a great job.

-Yeah, Cara said, falling backwards onto the black, barren floor. I just put the kid to bed... I'll go home and he'll be awake by then. I'm tired...

-Tell me about it, yawned Rainier. Given the time, my three monsters are going to jump on me when I get home.

-Don't complain, they are loves, your kids, made the Duke of Clypeus while raising the eyes to the sky.

-Ah... I had almost forgotten, said Eleazar, in a tone that clearly said the opposite. Lev, are we talking about this marriage thing?

Drinking greedily from the gourd graciously offered by one of his men, Lev froze. Cara had even raised her head to give him a sly smile. At the tip of his finger, he saw something thin and less white than before.

-What about the lacy panties that fell off your armor during the fight?

The three bastards gave him a sly smile.

Shit!

*

The wasteland was aptly named.

Of the Five, Vera was the only one who knew the limits of that statement. Barren lands, devoid of magic and life, made up most of the territory beyond the kingdom's walls. But Gentem was not the only oasis that flourished under nature's protection.

During her reconnaissance missions inland, Vera had been able to discover villages, whose weak latent power could barely protect a few fields and hovels. Nevertheless, the people who lived there had the ability to travel from protection zone to protection zone, unlike humans.

To Vera, they were demons, just like all the creatures that stormed the walls of Gentem. But she had learned it from the previous Sword, her great aunt, they were called the Ittlis.

And they had a strong taste for celebration.

Wandering through one of their secondary cities, she discovered that they were celebrating a victory. For years now, a civil war had been raging among the Ittlis. Everyone was taking sides, everyone was joining the armies.

Her missions over the past ten years had allowed Vera to see the evolution of this devastation, without ever taking part in it. After all, she was only here on reconnaissance. Equipped with a communication earring, she could contact Eleazar at any time. If necessary, an extraction maneuver would allow her to reach Gentem in a hurry.

But that would burn her out in the eyes of the Ittlis.

These beings... Even the weakest of them surpassed the humans.

One of their most disturbing abilities was the ability to perceive auras. Her great-aunt had explained this to her. For demons, every living person had an aura that could be discerned from the one next to them.

That's why the Sword was the only one who could go on a mission in the wastelands.

For she had no aura.

Invisible among the enemy, the Sword's role was to monitor their movements, to keep track of their cities and to get to know them. In addition to playing the traditional Protector. If anything, going to the wastelands was a vacation for Vera, even though she cleaned up after herself to prevent demons from attacking the western ramparts in her absence.

Sitting at a table, she noticed all those Ittlis dancing, all those who were beginning to argue about the war of succession that was tearing their empire apart. Yes, it was a vacation when we avoided confrontations.

-Hi, beautiful!

Raising her eyes, Vera considered the demon who was sitting in front of her with a mutinous smile.

-How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?

*

Standing in the fresh snow-covered outdoor courtyard, Flavia felt her anxiety rising. It had been an hour since the return portal had been opened by the Magus. The soldiers had begun to return, all exhausted. For reason, the fight had lasted all night and a good part of the morning.

This was the heavy duty of the Protector and his elite men.

But the Shield in question, she saw no trace of it.

Unable to eat, Flavia had simply put on one of her dresses. The servants had kindly brought her things to her, after discovering that she was sleeping in the Duke's room. They all looked at her curiously, but no one asked her any questions.

Frustrated at not knowing what was going on, Flavia thought. Her sister was on a mission, and judging by Eleazar 's urgent tone, there must be quite a few demons beyond the walls. Well... Sitting on a log in front of a small fire, she tried to ignore the curious looks around her. She had put on another veil, blue this one, to hide her face. A big coat on her back, she was a bit cold, but she didn't think to complain.

She was far too concerned about the situation.

At night alone, this had not been a problem. She was the sister of the Sword, so she knew that a Protector could be called at anytime, anywhere. Just as she knew she wouldn't hear from him until he returned.

What bothered her more was the situation with Lev earlier. Why hadn't he wanted to take off his shirt? Were his scars that bad? And then... She still didn't know why he had agreed to marry her.

It was unreal, for the moment. Even the scene with her father was hard for her to process. No one had ever demanded such an apology, for her.

Did he know about this?

No, impossible...

-The Shield is back!

Looking up, she saw Lev walk through the gate, which immediately evaporated. He was the last to return. Removing his helmet, he revealed a particularly exasperated expression. With his features drawn, it was obvious he had had a rough night. Should she go see him? Wouldn't she embarrass him by doing so?

By the time he was undecided, he had already spotted it and joined it.

-Flavia! he exclaimed with a big smile.

Getting up hurriedly, she returned his smile... Until she saw him irritated.

-Uh... Everything okay, Mr. Duke?

-Hey, oh...

He grabbed the edge of her veil with his gauntlet, pulling gently on it.

-Why do we go back to being formal?

-It's a reflex.

-It would be nice to lose it. As for this veil... No need, I'm not dead.

-It allows me not to embarrass your people with my appearance.

-We don't give a damn about the others.

-I'm better off this way.

With an angry smile on his face, he grabbed the veil with his full hand, ripped it off and threw it into the fire right next to it.

-Oh, my God, what's wrong with you?

-It's going very well, even though I took a few hits.

-That doesn't mean you have to be a like that!

-Oh, but I've always been like that, he said, putting an arm around her waist, urging her to follow him.

His armor didn't even rattle when he walked, proof of the magic that animated him. Following him, Flavia glared at him.

-It's my business if I don't want to show my face everywhere.

-It's my business if my wife has been taught some bullshit that makes her think she's ugly.

-We agree to disagree, then?

-Absolutely.

-Mpff.

Deciding to forget her annoyance, she saw her husband. With his hair in a mess, his helmet under his arm and the other one around his waist, he seemed to have recovered his good mood.

-I'm glad you came to wait for me, Flavia, he said as they entered the fortress.

As they passed, all the servants, soldiers and guards greeted them with big curious smiles. She would have liked to disappear behind her hair.

-Given your reception, I wonder why I did it, she retorted.

He winked at her, which made her smile despite herself.

-Mister Duke!

They stopped. A woman was walking towards them, looking authoritative. Not knowing who it was, Flavia looked at her husband. This one frowned.

-Who are you?

The woman, dressed in gray and a white apron, had a haughty bearing. So she was surprised when she replied:

-I am your new steward.

-My new housekeeper? I don't remember naming you.

Lev's tone was incredibly dry. Observing, Flavia noticed the behavior of the other people in the household. All had stopped, a satisfied smile on their lips. Again?

-Your gracious mother.

Mother-in-law.

-Certainly. Your previous steward was certainly impudent.

-Oh yeah? laughed Lev. I guess my mother-in-law took the liberty of firing her again because she thinks she's the mistress of the house? My steward objected to her decision to prepare the fortress for the wedding, and she fired her. To put one of her minions in her place.

Oh? Flavia observed the good woman, much less haughty at once. To the Duke's quite correct assumptions, she had the feeling that it was not the first time that someone did the trick to her.

- All right, that's enough. Gaston!

A gentleman in black livery appeared in their field of vision, before bowing courteously to them.

-Mr. Duke, Madam Duchess.

The duchess? Oh boy, that was her! Flavia bowed courteously in return to him, which made her husband smile.

-Clear that up, he said, pointing to the housekeeper with his chin. And put Béa back at her post. It must benefit from the thermal baths somewhere in the corner.

-As always, Mr. Duke. Guards, escort madam to Mr. Irvin Clypeus. You know the way.

Indeed, it was not the first time that Lev had been played this trick. She understood better the satisfied smile of the household. They must have had enough of the Duke's parents interfering in the running of the fortress, under the pretext that their rank was higher than that of the servants.

-Ah, and I'll officially introduce you to my wife later. For now, I'm exhausted.

Thereupon he left with Flavia. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed the looks on their faces. Curious. But above all, joyful.

On entering the room, Flavia passed a hand over the Duke's forehead. He closed the eyes at once, with a sigh.

-You have a fresh hand... it's nice...

-You're burning up... And exhausted. You should go to sleep.

He nodded, while backing away. On a gesture of him, his armor disassembled from his body, to return on the rack. Then he dragged himself to the bed, where he fell like a mass. A painful groan escaped him almost immediately.

- Lev? she worried.

-It's nothing... Just the pain waking up... You... There's a bottle on the secretary... And a jug of water...

She did not wait until he had finished to bring him all that. Rolling on his back, he swallowed a glassful of the bottle, then a sip of water to make pass a taste at first immondo. She put the whole back, before climbing on the bed at his side.

-You've blocked out the pain until now, haven't you?

He nodded, his eyes closed. That, plus the sleepless night, he must have been on the verge of exhaustion. Not knowing what to do to help him, Flavia leaned against the cushions, before starting to gently stroke his hair.

Opening his eyelids, Lev smiled at her. Before lowering her, until she was lying against him. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her forehead... to almost immediately start snoring.

She almost burst out laughing at the sound.

The most beautiful man in the kingdom was snoring louder and louder!

But well... Blocked in his arms, having spent a terrible night to wonder about many things, she did not delay to fall asleep too, snuggled in the heat of her husband.