They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 502: Final Day of Training

That birthday ball had to happen.

And so, he sat quietly... and let the four of them take down Somto.

Now that Nnenna was shooting him SOS glances with those pleading eyes, Arthur felt a strange thrill stir in his chest. She was looking at him. Seeking his help. That alone made his heart skip.

But... he didn’t move.

It was selfish, he knew that. But for once, he let his heart win. Carl’s words from some years ago echoed in his mind "You can’t go wrong following your heart."

And for once in his life, Arthur chose to believe that. Not logic. Not calculation. Just this quiet, stubborn feeling in his chest.

Thanks to Ava, everything that used to feel hazy and confusing now had a little more clarity.

So he sat there, quietly pretending not to notice Nnenna’s cries for help... while enjoying the fact that her eyes were on him.

Time passed slowly.

It took hours, literal hours, for Nnenna to finally settle on a dress. Not because she was being picky, but because there were too many.

At some point, her soul just gave up.

She didn’t even care about the style or color anymore. As long as it fit, covered her body, and didn’t fall apart mid spin, it was good enough.

"A sack would do just fine... just spare me," she cried inside, wilting as the Queen turned yet another page of the endless catalog.

In those hours, everyone had remained in the dining hall, chatting and laughing, soaking in the rare moment of togetherness. It wasn’t often the whole gang was in the same place at once, especially on a weekend eve like this.

Arthur, however, wasn’t in such a good mood anymore.

For the past few hours, he had been quietly stealing glances at Nnenna. She looked utterly drained, barely holding up under his mother’s relentless enthusiasm. And as he watched the weariness settle deeper into her features, something tugged at his chest.

Especially when he remembered what tomorrow held.

Their final training session.

The culmination of five grueling months. He would be testing her on everything, no breaks, no exceptions. It was supposed to be tough. It had to be tough. But looking at her now, barely staying upright, a strange wave of guilt crept up his spine.

She wouldn’t say a word, of course. She never complained. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t struggling.

And just like that, Arthur made a decision.

He would risk it.

He would speak up.

Ahem.

The quiet sound of his throat clearing echoed through the dining hall louder than he expected. Conversations froze mid sentence. All heads turned toward him in surprise, especially since Arthur had barely spoken a word all evening.

Even Queen White looked up, brows raised in curiosity.

He met her eyes and said plainly, "Mom... it’s late."

Simple. Soft. But layered with meaning.

He just hoped she would get the message.

But he was way off.

"I know. If you’re tired, you can retire first," Queen White said breezily, then even added, "Goodnight," with a polite wave, right before turning right back to Carl and Nnenna as if Arthur hadn’t spoken at all.

Arthur’s eye twitched.

She completely misunderstood.

And honestly, that was partly his fault. He hadn’t said enough.

Ahem.

He cleared his throat again, louder this time. Everyone paused once more, turning to him with a mix of curiosity and mild confusion. Arthur didn’t flinch.

"Mom... Nnenna has training tomorrow."

Queen White blinked. Then her eyes widened.

"Oh! Why didn’t you say that before?" she exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest like she hqd just remembered the girl had duties beyond dress fittings. "Nnenna, dear, you should get to bed now. You still have your final training tomorrow! And you’ll need to wake up early, unless you want that sensei of yours to cancel tomorrow’s training," she added, giving Arthur a knowing side eye.

Nnenna didn’t wait to be told twice.

She rose from her seat with tears of gratitude swimming in her eyes. Finally.

"Thank you," she whispered to Arthur as she passed him.

He didn’t reply, but there was a barely noticeable slight upturn of his lips.

"Would you like me to send some snacks to your—" Queen White’s sentence cut off mid air as she turned to ask, only to realize Nnenna was already gone.

She blinked. "Huh. She must be really tired."

The rest of the group just smiled knowingly but didn’t say anything. One by one, they stretched, stood, and began to drift off to their various rooms and responsibilities. The long evening had finally come to an end.

Back in her room, Nnenna shut the door and leaned against it, exhaling a long breath of relief.

Freedom.

After a moment’s hesitation, she picked up her phone and sent a simple message to Arthur, a thank you and a smiley face.

He replied almost instantly [Welcome.]

A few seconds later, Somto’s message came in.

[Sorry I couldn’t convince her. Are you mad at me?] noveldrama

Nnenna stared at it for a few seconds, her heart softening.

He sounded genuinely worried, like he had been holding his breath the whole time.

She quickly typed back [Mad at you? Of course not! I’m not mad at you.]

Then, after another pause, she added:

[I know you tried your best. Thank you!]

The next morning, Nnenna woke up before her alarm.

She had not slept much, not with the pressure of today hanging over her. Her final training session. The last test before Monday.

Still, she did not dare show up before 4 a.m. Arthur had made it clear that day.

So, exactly on the dot, she stepped into the training ground.

The morning air was crisp, the sky still blanketed in deep blue. Mist curled around her feet as she walked toward him.

"Good morning, Sensei," she said with a small bow.

Arthur gave a silent nod.

Then he went straight to the point.