The Sword She Set Her Heart On - Chapter 4

I had considered forcing Yue Shao to form a bond with me.

In fact, I had made several quiet attempts.

But the rules constrained us. Even when Yue Shao turned a blind eye and let me try, I could not make the divine sword acknowledge me as its wielder.

Yue Shao, by the way, was the sword spirit’s name.

I told him it sounded beautiful.

He did not appreciate the compliment.

“Ha. Do you think flattery will make me cooperate? Dream on.”

In truth, his cooperation made little difference.

By then, I was certain that the only way to form a bond with the divine sword was to pass its trial. For that, Yue Shao had to sincerely believe he was experiencing a “sweet romance.”

I went straight to the point.

“Yue Shao, date me.”

Back in the Sword Tomb, I had seen his reluctance and chosen kidnapping over persuasion. I had thought stealing the sword would let me avoid the issue.

After all those twists and turns, I was back where I had started.

Yue Shao let out a disbelieving laugh. “Is that how you ask someone for a favor? I haven’t forgiven you for kidnapping me. If you want my forgiveness, start by shouting ‘Yue Shao is—’ ten thousand times!”

Given his flighty, spoiled nature, any request he completed would be outrageous and beyond the reach of normal people.

So before he could finish, I grabbed a fistful of his silver-blue hair and kissed his chattering mouth.

Yue Shao’s mouth, which had yet to catch up: “Ten thousand times, Yue—Yue…”

Yue Shao: “…”

He clapped a trembling hand over his lips. His lovely face burned red before my eyes, right down to the hair bristling at the crown of his head.

“No—how could you? How could you just… Have you gone mad, or have I?”

I patted his ruffled head and lowered my voice.

“Date me, or I’ll tell everyone what just happened. You wouldn’t want people to hear that the divine sword is a scoundrel who takes liberties with innocent young women, would you?”

Yue Shao stared at me as if I were the most shameless bastard alive.

“How can you say that? You kissed me!”

I shrugged.

“Then you can correct the rumor. I just wonder which version people will find more entertaining: the divine sword being forcibly kissed or the divine sword being a lecher.”

Either version would devastate the proud Lord Sword Spirit’s reputation.

Yue Shao knew it too.

So although fury nearly choked him, he agreed to my unreasonable demand.

He pressed his freshly kissed lips together and nodded with obvious reluctance.

“Fine… You’re getting a bargain.”

I might have forced him into the relationship, but my feelings for the divine sword were absolutely genuine.

Like any green youth falling in love for the first time, I began racking my brains for ways to please my demanding sweetheart.

I remembered my first glimpse of Yue Shao reclining on his couch in the Sword Tomb.

His behavior had been infuriating, yet the image of him propping up his cheek with one hand, legs crossed, had somehow branded itself into my mind.

So I emptied my pockets for a couch made of pearwood and inlaid with coldstone.

The costly, luxurious piece looked absurd in my shabby home—a pearl dropped into a bed of gravel.

It was also the only object there even remotely worthy of Yue Shao.

I led him to it, eager for praise.

“Aren’t you sensitive to heat? This couch is inlaid with coldstone. You should like it.”

Yue Shao cast it an uninterested glance. He did not even try lying down.

“I’m sensitive to cold. I don’t like coldstone.”

Sensitive to heat and cold? Was he a sword spirit or a sheltered young master?

Over the following days, I developed a more complete understanding of Yue Shao’s delicacy.

He was fastidious. Every night before bed, he reverted to sword form and insisted that his blade be polished.

That was fine.

The problem was that he would accept only merfolk silk.

“Other fabrics are too coarse. They’ll scratch my blade.”

I stared at him. “The divine sword can cut through an enemy’s spine like tofu, but cotton will damage it?”

Yue Shao lifted his chin. “Correct. Do you have a problem with that?”

As if I dared.

I could only dig into my savings again and buy the spoiled creature his merfolk silk.

Merfolk silk to polish his blade. Clothes made only from radiant brocade. Even the comb for his hair had to be carved from the finest sacred sandalwood.

Before I had purchased half his necessities, my marriage fund was nearly gone.

I held the wooden box containing my final two spirit stones and sighed.

Not because I begrudged him the money.

One could not have everything both ways.

I had used underhanded means to pluck the proudest, most precious flower. I owed it to him to provide the best care I could, not ask him to lower his standard of living because I was poor.

Spending money on him was only right.

What troubled me was that no matter how much I spent, Yue Shao never appeared moved.

It made sense when I thought about it.

Seven hundred years ago, Yue Shao had been the finest divine sword under heaven. His wielder had been the legendary savior who slew the Demon God.

The truth of those ancient events had been lost to time, but Yue Shao clearly had not lived in poverty.

The treasures that drained my every last coin were probably ordinary things he had used all his life, hardly worth a second glance.

Good things were commonplace to him. I, meanwhile, had run out of ideas.

Trying to sound casual, I asked him directly.

“Is there anything you especially like? Something that would make you happy if you received it?”

Yue Shao’s gaze darted to my lips.

The moment he realized what he was looking at, he jerked his eyes away and coughed in embarrassment.

“H-happy? Don’t spread rumors. I wasn’t especially happy at all.”

Me: “What?”

Were we talking about the same thing?