"Lizbeth, have you ever been in love?"
When Riezel asked this with a curious look on his face, Lizbeth instantly froze before she began to panic a moment later.
"Wh-What are you talking about so suddenly, Master?!"
Lizbeth was both flustered and flushed.
Seeing her like this, Riezel couldn't help but smile, feeling amused.
"Shy, huh?"
Riezel couldn't be blamed for saying this.
One should remember that this little princess was bold enough to crawl into his bed, and during dimensional travel, when his consciousness wasn't even in his body, she had even spent the entire day and night hugging him at zero distance.
Ultimately, when Riezel finally woke up after returning from dimensional travel and felt the warmth of her in his arms, he almost thought he had made a 'mistake' that all men would make.
As a result, Riezel was completely flustered for the first time in his life, but when the little princess woke up, she just rubbed her eyes and casually greeted him like nothing had happened.
Afterward?
She just turned over and went right back to sleep.
Given that moment, seeing Lizbeth blushing up a storm just from a simple question made Riezel unable to help but feel amused.
"Master!"
Lizbeth exclaimed, seeming to remember that moment, making her little face immediately turn as red as a cooked crab.
Honestly, it wasn't like she wanted that to happen.
It was clearly his repeated instructions to keep him protected, to stay close to him!
Stay close!
What did 'stay close' mean?
She demonstrated the true meaning of the phrase with her actions, being extremely loyal and dedicated.
However, because his embrace was just so warm, she accidentally fell asleep—something she believed could not be avoided.
Seeing the little princess almost turn into a steam princess, Riezel kindly shifted the topic.
"Okay, I won't bring it up anymore. Just tell me, have you ever been in love?"
Riezel's second straightforward question made Lizbeth feel like her already burning face could never cool down and only got hotter.
"I-I never!"
Lizbeth shook her head vigorously, her ears turning red in the process.
"Is that so?" Riezel scratched his face in wonder. "Hmm, that makes things a bit troublesome..."
"Wh-Why?" Lizbeth asked shyly, her voice barely a whisper, her face flushed. "Do-Does it trouble you that I have never been in love, Master?"
"Nah, not really."
Riezel patted Lizbeth's head, completely unaware that his act unknowingly contributed to the birth of a steam princess.
"It's just that if you've never been in love, the things I'm about to teach you might not work out smoothly."
It couldn't be helped.
Even though Riezel had learned all sorts of breathing styles, it didn't mean he could master them all perfectly.
For example, Tanjirou, who could use Sun Breathing, Water Breathing, and Flame Breathing, faced many difficulties when it came to Water Breathing, as no matter how much he trained, his strength while using it never matched what he could achieve with Flame Breathing, let alone Sun Breathing.
Breathing Styles in the Demon Slayer world were like this, where some suited certain people and others did not. If someone practiced a breathing style that didn't suit them, not only would it be less effective, but the power they could wield would be very limited.
For this reason, even though Riezel had learned all sorts of breathing styles, some of them didn't suit him at all, leaving his understanding of them quite limited.
For now, the breathing style that suited Riezel best was, of course, Sun Breathing—or else his Nichirin Sword wouldn't have turned into a black blade.
Among the five fundamental breathing styles, Flame Breathing, which closely resembled Sun Breathing, was the best match for Riezel, followed by Thunder Breathing, then Wind Breathing. As for Stone Breathing and Water Breathing, they were less compatible with him.
Among the other derived breathing styles, Mist Breathing was a good match, and Sound Breathing seemed fine as well, but Serpent Breathing, Insect Breathing, and Love Breathing were much less compatible with Riezel.
As for Moon Breathing, since this breathing style was directly derived from Sun Breathing, its compatibility with Riezel was close to that of Sun Breathing.
If it were to be quantified, the compatibility between Riezel and the various breathing styles would look something like this:
Sun Breathing: 100%.
Moon Breathing: 95%.
Flame Breathing: 90%.
Thunder Breathing: 88%.
Wind Breathing: 85%.
Stone Breathing: 70%.
Water Breathing: 75%.
Mist Breathing: 80%.
Sound Breathing: 70%.
Insect Breathing: 50%.
Serpent Breathing: 30%.
Love Breathing: 20%.
Yes, Love Breathing was the least compatible with Riezel out of all the breathing styles he knew.
Even though Love Breathing was derived from Flame Breathing, which logically should have made it close to Sun Breathing, it still didn't suit Riezel.
In fact, when Riezel tried to use Love Breathing, it was incredibly awkward—not only could he not use it smoothly, but even when he tried to force it, the power would drastically decrease.
Love Breathing was the breathing style created by Mitsuri, designed specifically for her own needs, as she put it—
"My breathing style is a perfect manifestation of a girl's heart! It's the emotional personification of a great love!"
Riezel's reaction upon hearing Mitsuri's explanation was only confusion.
In any case, according to the creator's explanation, a girl in love would be able to fully unleash the power of Love Breathing. Riezel had only asked Lizbeth that question because he suddenly remembered this matter.
"Wha-What do you mean, Master?"
Lizbeth, who didn't know about it, could only look confused, though she was very curious.
"Are you going to teach me something related to love?"
Upon hearing these ambiguous words, Riezel's heart felt a strange twist, but Lizbeth herself probably didn't realize it.
It was unavoidable since, from other people's perspectives, the way Lizbeth said it made it feel like he was about to trick the pure and innocent little princess into learning something inappropriate.
Riezel quickly shook his head, trying to dismiss the unhealthy thoughts slowly forming in his mind.
"I'm gonna teach you swordsmanship."
Riezel finally shared his intentions with Lizbeth.
"Swordsmanship?"
Lizbeth still looked confused.
It couldn't be helped.
She already had one of the continent's most powerful swordsmanship, after all.
Even though she would likely use it less in the future to avoid revealing her identity, swordsmanship in the Akasha Continent wasn't just for fighting enemies.
One should know that the primary function of Akasha Continent's swordsmanship was to train one's body, giving humans extraordinary strength to stand up to magicians who could wield magic.
For this reason, even though she might not have had the chance to use the War King Sword Style in battle, she could still practice it freely in private. As long as she kept practicing, refining her swordsmanship, and strengthening her body, she could keep getting stronger.
Unless she encountered a bottleneck, an obstacle, or needed to test herself in real combat to break through her limits, could not being able to use the War King Sword Style in battle affect her growth as a swordsman?
Besides, if a critical moment came and she needed to use the War King Sword Style, she would still use it without hesitation since she was Riezel's attendant. If he were in danger, regardless of attendant contract or personal feelings, she would go all out to save him from harm.
With such a belief, Lizbeth never considered learning another swordsmanship.
Moreover, swordsmanship in the Akasha Continent wasn't something one could just learn at will.
Elementary Swordsmanship and Advanced Swordsmanship aside, Special Swordsmanship had strict requirements, and very few people could meet the criteria for two Special Swordsmanship, making it rare for someone to master both.
With Lizbeth's talent, learning Elementary Swordsmanship or Advanced Swordsmanship would just be a waste of time, and she couldn't meet the conditions for other Special Swordsmanship either, so when Riezel said he would teach her swordsmanship, she was really confused.
"Don't think too much."
Glancing at Lizbeth, who had a look of confusion on her face, Riezel could almost guess what was on her mind, so he spoke up directly to clear her confusion.
"Just follow me, and you'll understand the rest later."
Upon hearing this, Lizbeth relaxed and nodded repeatedly in agreement.
'Since it's Master's order, all I need to do is follow it—no need to worry about anything else, just like Elder Sister Marilyn taught me.'
Lizbeth involuntarily recalled the moment when Marilyn taught her everything about attendants.
'But why did Elder Sister Marilyn say that if Master wants me to come to his room in the middle of the night, I need to find a way to avoid it without breaking the contract's violation mechanism?'
'Why can't I go? And why did she seem so hesitant when she said it?'
Lizbeth began to brainstorm.
'Ah, is it because she already found out that I went to Master's room in the middle of the night? Is that why she scolded me?'
'But... nothing weird happened, right? Was she worried Master might bully me when no one was looking?'
'If that's the case... next time, I'll tell her there's delicious food in Master's room and games to play, especially at midnight. It's not as scary as she thinks.'
'Mm, that should put Elder Sister Marilyn's mind at ease, right?'
Lizbeth smiled faintly as she got lost in her thoughts until Riezel's voice reached her ears, snapping her out of them.
"First, breathe like I do."
Riezel began adjusting his breathing, demonstrating for Lizbeth.
'Teaching the breathing technique first?'
Lizbeth finally pushed aside all the scattered thoughts in her mind and focused, trying to match her breathing to Riezel's.
Because breathing was a key part of swordsmanship in this world, Lizbeth was very familiar with it since she had been practicing the War King Sword Style from the age of seven.
As a result, with Riezel's deliberate demonstration and guidance, Lizbeth quickly adjusted her breathing to match his.
"Huuu... Haaa..."
"Huuu... Haaa..."
Eventually, the sounds of their breathing echoed along the main road, gradually growing louder and clearer.
As the sky gradually darkened, the main road remained lively, with the refugees showing no sign of dispersing.