"Alright, let's finish what's left of my exercises."
After pondering the environment around him for a while and allowing his thoughts to wander sufficiently, Maimoun regained some of his strength. Therefore, he intended to finish this matter as quickly as possible, so that the fear would disappear from his heart.
"According to my calculations, time is on my side. I'll finish everything and there will still be a little time left. Nevertheless, I do not intend to slack off at all."
Although the surrounding circumstances suggested that everything would turn out fine, he couldn't calm down until the system announced the completion of the task. After all, all he had were just expectations, and reality didn't necessarily have to follow those expectations.
"Who knows when any unforeseen circumstances might arise that could hinder the completion of my mission?"
As if someone in that carriage had heard what was going on in Maimoun's mind, the carriage stopped not far from him, and a voice came from inside.
"Is that you, my dear Faty?"
"My dear Faty!? Could this be directed at me? Is Faty a pet name for the name Fayt?"
The young man was about to continue his training, and as soon as he heard this sentence, panic struck him. The reason for his panic wasn't exactly the sentence and its words, but rather the person who uttered them.
"Could it be that I misheard, or is it..."
Maimoun stopped training, knelt down, and looked at the carriage, waiting to see or hear the speaker again to confirm his suspicions. And out came the owner of the voice, and as soon as only the foot appeared out of the carriage, Maimoun slapped his forehead in bewilderment and astonishment.
"Darn it!! It seems my belief was correct, and I wish it wasn't."
Maimoun's expression became bleak as if he had collided with a bitter reality.
"As soon as I heard that sentence, doubt crept into me; a sweet, flirtatious tone and a gentle voice. The problem is that it belongs to... it belongs to a man!!"
"At first, I thought I misheard, but upon seeing those hairy legs where hardly any skin could be seen, how is that possible!! How could such a manly leg produce such a voice?"
At that moment, a 17-year-old or at least that's what his body size indicated, exited the carriage. But his appearance and clothing said otherwise. He wore flashy clothes with almost all colors and had smooth hair with a reddish-brown tint that seemed freshly combed, fair skin not touched by sunlight, and his eyes showed traces of makeup powder.
"It's really you, my dear Faty!! Oh, my joy!"
The young man exclaimed, jumping and placing his hands on his chest, clapping lightly.
"What are you doing here in this bad weather in these pajamas? Such a humid weather will negatively affect your beautiful fair skin."
The effeminate youth looked at Maimoun with a look of affection that shouldn't be directed from one man to another.
"Faty?? Who's Faty? You're mistaken, I'm not Faty."
Maimoun felt a shiver run down his spine and hastily responded to the effeminate youth, conveying a message that he wasn't welcome here.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
And upon hearing the effeminate's response, Maimoun sensed his lack of interest in continuing the conversation with him. In fact, it didn't require an expert in reading body language or assessing an individual's atmosphere to know that Maimoun didn't want to continue talking with this youth. Those emotionless looks and that cold, aloof tone were sufficient to convey the meaning.
"Huh?"
But did the effeminate respond to Maimoun's message? Of course not. Instead, he placed his left hand horizontally across his chest and placed the elbow of his right hand vertically on the forearm of his left hand, while placing the palm of his right hand on his cheek and biting his little finger provocatively.
"ohhh! really? So who might this handsome gentleman standing before me be? If it's not my dear Faty, then I want to get to know him today."
"Firstly, I'm his twin brother. Secondly, I'm not interested in getting to know you. You can go to the palace; you'll find Fayt there."
"Fascinating, fascinating! Did my dear Faty really have a brother?"
The answer came from the driver, or rather, the driveress.
"Sir, the young Mr. Fayt is the only son of the Stoneheart family, so he's probably just joking with you."
And as soon as the effeminate heard the driveress's voice, his expression changed from flirtatious to angry.
"Who allowed you to speak, you b*tch? It seems I haven't trained you well. When we return to the palace, I'll have to retrain you so you won't bark except when I command you to."
The driveress trembled in fear and quickly replied, "Please, sir, forgive this poor servant. I didn't mean..."
"Shut up. How dare you speak again. Well, it seems you're longing for punishment."
"...No, please, sir."
Maimoun was taken aback by the demeanor exhibited by the effeminate now. The effeminate showed a facial expression and tone he had never displayed during their previous interaction. Yet, this only caused Maimoun's disdainful gaze to increase towards this person.
'Gentle with men, and like a lion with women? Truly, manhood doesn't suit you... But was the driver a woman? If she hadn't spoken just now, I would still think she was a man.'
Maimoun wanted to intervene and help this woman, who didn't show anything because she wore loose robes that hid all parts of her body, even her face and hair, as she wore a veil. She was a servant to someone else unlike the beautiful girl he had helped. Maimoun knew nothing about her owner, so the consequences of helping her were unknown.
'If she turns out to be beautiful, maybe I'll try to help her... Of course, I'm kidding.'
He couldn't help her, but he could divert the effeminate's attention away from her. Seeing her tremble after the effeminate's threats, Maimoun couldn't stand still.
"Ahem.. Ahem.. I'm still here."
"The effeminate was about to move towards the driver, but Maimoun's cough redirected her attention to him. After that, the effeminate's demeanor returned to normal, and he glanced once again at Maimoun flirtatiously.
"I apologize for this inappropriate display. Where were we in our conversation, my dear Faty?"
As soon as Maimoun saw the way the effeminate responded, his anger intensified, and veins bulged on his forehead as he gritted his teeth. If it weren't for Maimoun's ignorance of his current situation and his lack of knowledge about who this person was in front of him, he would have likely uttered some derogatory remarks about this young man.
"I told you, I'm not Fayt. This is a misunderstanding, so go on your way and leave me be."
"Can it be that Little Faty is going through a rebellious phase against his older brother Dodo? But don't worry, I understand that any young boy will go through such a stage. As someone older than you, I shouldn't get angry and should respond to your anger with... l.o.v.e."
The effeminate closed his right eye and put his index finger on his lips, trying to appear charming, which had the opposite effect, especially when he mentioned 'love,' making Maimoun feel like he was about to vomit again, and he put his hands up defensively.
"Oh!! My dear Fati, are you sick? Do you need me to take you to your palace?"
"No... no, I'm fine. I just need a little time, and I'll be fine. It's just a visual distortion."
"visual distortion?? You're speaking oddly, Faty... Anyway, I won't be your older brother if I can't trust your words."
The effeminate stopped talking; it seemed like he was contemplating something as his expression turned serious before continuing his speech.
"Before I leave you to your business, Faty, I want to ask you, is the item ready for me to take to my palace? Even though I miss you, I didn't come to your palace today to visit you. Do you still remember that, right?"
"Yes, of course. I've prepared it for you for a while, but you didn't come to take it. Go to the palace first, and I'll follow you shortly."
Although Maimoun didn't know what item this person was talking about, he wanted to end this futile conversation with him and make him leave. Therefore, he didn't ask about the item and instead gave him a satisfactory answer.
"As expected from my dear Faty, even though you treat me coldly, you're still warm-hearted... to the extent that you might give up something important for me, even if it angers your father. This truly makes me feel your immense love for me."
'Give up something important for you!! Trust me, if I wanted random Pebble found in my palace, I wouldn't give them to you. But now is not the time to say that.'
Maimoun looked at the effeminate with anger as he thought to himself.
"You're indeed a good boy, Faty. Your beloved Dodo will reward you well one day. Anyway, I'm leaving now. Do you really not need a ride to your palace? I'm going there myself."
"No, I'll see you later"... 'You perverted effeminate.'
Of course, he said half of the sentence aloud while completing the other half in his mind. He really wanted to say the complete sentence, but not now, not in this situation.
.
..
...
"85... 86... 87... 88... 89... 90. Ha ha ha, let me rest a little. Luckily, the system didn't require me to do all the exercises at once; otherwise, I wouldn't know how to finish a hundred push-ups without stopping. Now, let me see what's left to get rid of this nonsense.
[Preliminary Task: This body needs a lot of work:
Three laps around the palace (Done)
Go to the training ground (Done)
Do 100 push-ups (Done)
100 squats (90/100)]
"Good, there's only a little left, and this nightmare of these cursed skills will end. Alright, get up, Maimoun, you only have half an hour left, so there's no time to hesitate. Fayt's skills may have been affected if I slack off even a little, and that might lead me to failure."
"91.. 92.. 93.. 94.. 95. This time, I won't stop. I'll finish them all at once. 96... 97.... 98.... 99..... 100."