Chapter 26: The Fight I Never Asked For

Watching a match was fun, especially one that got the whole crowd’s adrenaline pumping.

But for Elias, watching anything without snacks just felt incomplete. So he figured he’d go track down Felix to buy some snacks and drinks.

He had no clue where Felix was even getting all that food and drink from, but Elias honestly didn’t care. He was just the consumer here, where the product came from wasn’t his problem.

’As long as it’s not spoiled.’

Right as he started to move, Evelyn was suddenly standing right beside him.

"Elysia looks really annoyed, that’s pretty bad~"

"Why did you forfeit?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"I’m just curious why you gave up the moment you were matched against Lady Elysia."

Evelyn clasped her hands behind her back, circling around Elias.

"No particular reason," she stopped right behind him, then wrapped her arms around him from behind. "If I actually fought Elysia, even just a friendly match, it’d drag on forever and end up way too intense."

Elias forced himself to stay calm with Evelyn’s arms wrapped around him from behind. Even with the ticklish sensation crawling up his neck from her breath, he kept himself steady and listened to what she was saying.

"I-I see... You two really are incredibly strong. So it’d be tough to decide a winner."

’Damn it. What is she even doing right now?’

"Pretty much that... By the way, there’s still a mark left over here."

Evelyn’s fingers trailed from Elias’s chest up toward his neck, sending a shiver through him instantly, pointing right at the spot where she’d bitten him before.

Feeling Elias’s body start to tremble, Evelyn let out a soft laugh before gently blowing a breath against his ear.

"Why’s your body shaking like that?"

’What is this? Is this some new method of killing someone? Like in a novel where they tease you first before you die?! Damn it! Am I about to go out exactly like that?’

Suddenly, Elias felt someone’s sharp gaze locked onto him. Even with the terrifying warmth right behind him, he could still feel a cold chill radiating from somewhere else.

Elias could only glance left and right, trying to figure out where the stare was coming from. He figured it was probably Elysia, annoyed at Evelyn, but Elysia wasn’t even looking his way, and besides, she was mad at Evelyn, so why would that glare be aimed at him?

Unable to find anyone staring at him after checking both sides, Elias finally dumped all 5 of his stat points into Perception, pushing it up to twenty-six.

’W-what? Why’s Edwin glaring at me like that?’

With no clue why Edwin was shooting him such a sharp look, Elias could only resign himself to his fate, mind already spiraling toward the worst-case scenario, the dreaded Beaten-to-Death Route.

’Does he have feelings for Evelyn? Now that I think about it, he did stare for a pretty long time when he first met the two of them. But come on... does he like both of them? Isn’t that a little too greedy for a prince!’

Elias finally tried to pull himself free from Evelyn, since he had no idea what might happen if he didn’t.

"Excuse me, my Lady. Could you let go of me?"

"...what? Why? What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable? Disgusted?"

"T-that’s not it at all. It’s just, we’re in public right now. Even if nobody’s really paying attention to us, being this close to a servant doesn’t exactly look good in the eyes of nobility."

"I don’t care about that. You owe me big time, you know. This hug’s part of the payback."

Rather than letting go, Evelyn’s arms only tightened around him further. Elias could even feel her sniffing lightly at his back.

He could also feel the prince’s glare growing sharper by the second.

’This is insane! Terrifying, terrifying, terrifying. That guy’s staring at me like his eyes are about to pop right out.’

"I understand. Could we postpone this until after the event’s over? After that, you can hug me as much as you’d like."

Hearing Elias’s offer, Evelyn finally released her hold and stood beside him instead, wearing a gentle smile.

"Alright, I suppose that’ll do."

’T-that was close... I don’t know why this girl’s acting so strange today.’

Elias let out a long breath of relief once Evelyn let go, and right along with it, the prince’s sharp glare vanished too.

As he wiped the sweat off his temple, Felix suddenly clapped a hand on his shoulder, still carrying his tray of unsold food and drinks.

"Where’ve you been?"

"Business, obviously."

"Perfect timing. Give me three of each. Grab yourself one too if you want."

"W-what?!"

Felix froze for a second before bursting into tears, overwhelmed with gratitude. He threw his arms around Elias, wiping both tears and snot all over him.

"*Sob sob... You really are my brother!"

"Get your face off me. That’s disgusting!"

Elias shoved Felix back, a stretchy trail of snot stringing between them like Mozzarella cheese. Grimacing at the sight, Elias grabbed a fistful of Felix’s clothes and wiped it off.

After that, he grabbed one snack and one drink for Evelyn.

Right as he started eating his own snack, his name suddenly got called out.

"Our next contestant is, Elias Veyron! Please make your way into the arena immediately."

*COUGH! COUGH!

"What?!"

Elias jolted in shock, wiping at his mouth, still dripping from chugging his drink too fast with Felix’s clothes.

"Wait, did that announcer misread something? I never signed up for this tournament!"

"Well... since it’s already come to this, why not just go up there, Elias."

"Lady Elysia?"

"Isn’t it a good thing, though? You get to show off your skills, and you might learn a thing or two from your opponent as well."

"And Elias Veyron’s opponent is, Lucien Valmont!"

The moment he heard his opponent’s name, Elias felt all the strength drain right out of his body.

"What exactly am I supposed to learn from fighting that guy? I mean, I never even signed up, my Lady. Someone must’ve registered me without my knowledge."

For some reason, Elias had a strong feeling that someone nearby had gone suspiciously quiet. Even while he was using Felix’s clothes to wipe his own mouth, that someone had stayed completely silent the whole time.

Sensing Elias’s sharp glare directed his way, Felix just kept his expression perfectly flat, staring straight ahead at absolutely nothing worth looking at.

"Well... what’s done is done. So hurry up and go beat that noble kid!"

Before Elias could even get a question out to Felix, Evelyn had already launched him straight into the arena with magic.

Watching Elias stick a perfect landing, the crowd erupted into excited cheers.

"Elias Veyron has entered the arena! What an elegant Entrance Ritual!"

Lucien, already standing in the arena, looked more than a little irritated watching Elias pull a stunt like that. As far as he was concerned, Elias was clearly just fishing for attention with that over-the-top entrance.

"Seriously? Why’s my opponent some commoner? Tch, are these people looking down on me?"

Lucien drew his sword and leveled it at Elias.

"I’ll make sure you never work as House Nocturne’s Caretaker again."

Even though Elias’s face stayed perfectly flat, like he couldn’t care less about Lucien’s words, inside he was genuinely bawling.

’Why am I even here?’

He glanced over at Felix, who suddenly gave him a thumbs up.

’Fuck...’

Irritated by Elias’s unbothered expression, Lucien dropped into a stance and charged straight at him.

"You’re looking down on me too, huh?!"

The strike aimed for Elias’s left side. Since it was just a basic slash, Elias blocked it easily with his sword, still sheathed at his hip.

’Damn, why’s this so light?’

Lucien froze in surprise, caught off guard that his attack had been blocked so effortlessly. He stepped back several paces to set up his next move.

"Hmph! Don’t get cocky just because you managed to block one hit."

Watching Lucien settle into his next "terrifying" stance, Elias finally gripped the hilt of his sword, staying on guard.

Keeping in mind that these noble kids were all talented, future pillars of the empire, Elias made sure not to underestimate Lucien. The guy was a Duke’s son after all, no telling exactly how strong he actually was.

’With the Duke family’s massive resources behind him, this kid’s definitely strong.’

A golden-yellow energy coated the blade of Lucien’s sword as he shot toward Elias, Wind Arcana concentrated into his legs to make his body lighter and boost his mobility.

Even so, Elias still felt like Lucien’s movement was way too slow. He could practically predict exactly where the attack was going to land.

’No, no! Stay sharp, Elias! This could be a feint. Maybe this guy’s actually got something powerful waiting, deliberately baiting me into letting my guard down.’

Since the attack was a quick, straight thrust forward, Elias just shifted his body slightly to the side, and right as Lucien closed in directly in front of him, he raised his knee just a bit and drove it straight into Lucien’s stomach.

*BAM!

"Ugh!"

Lucien froze completely in place, the impact knocking every last bit of air out of his lungs at once, pain flooding through his stomach immediately.

"...hah... hah..."

He tried to catch his breath while fighting through the pain, but Elias, still right beside him, immediately threw a punch that sent Lucien’s body flying backward.

Luckily, he managed to shield his face with his arm in time, but Elias wasn’t about to give him a second to recover.

With mana already channeled into both legs, Elias shot straight toward Lucien.

’That’s fast!’

*BAM!

Elias’s kick connected with Lucien’s body, sending him flying again. Elias chased after him immediately, already waiting right where Lucien was about to land.

"?!"

*BAM!

Lucien’s body got sent flying in yet another direction.

A few spectators started cheering even louder watching Elias relentlessly press the attack, never giving Lucien a single chance to get back on his feet. A handful of others started booing, figuring that kind of fighting style was downright cheap.

Still, plenty more just stood there, completely floored by what they were watching.

Moving from spot to spot at that kind of speed was already impressive for someone his age. But what really stunned the crowd was how Elias kept changing direction mid-air.

There was nothing to push off in midair that would let him change direction, but Elias had his sword.

While airborne, Elias planted his sword beneath his feet and used it as a foothold to launch himself toward another direction. Once he reached his destination, he immediately yanked the sword back using the mana thread attached to the hilt.

"Insane... That kid’s got real skill."

"Are all of House Nocturne’s people like this?"

"I’m speechless..."

Watching Elias’s fighting style, Edwin just furrowed his brow without saying a word.

Clara was still watching intently too, before murmuring quietly to herself.

"Impressive... Elias Veyron."

"That man... He was already impressive before this. But what’s with this sudden leap in strength?"

Unlike Seraphina, who looked completely stunned watching Elias, the Marquis just smiled and gave a small nod.

Meanwhile, Evelyn and Elysia offered absolutely no comment whatsoever. They were still watching the match, sure, but their expressions stayed exactly the same as always. Evelyn kept smiling, occasionally nibbling on her snack, while Elysia just sat there with a flat expression, sipping her drink.

Felix, on the other hand, was cracking up beside them, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Hahah! Yes! Hit him right there! That’s it! Hahaha! Yeah, we’re gonna be rich, Elias!"

Elias chased Lucien down again before his body could even hit the ground. He kept landing punches and kicks, darting from one spot to another.

Right, left, up, then down.

*BAM!

*BAM!

*BAM!

Lucien didn’t even get a chance to fight back. Every time he tried to get back up, Elias was already right next to him again, striking before he could do a single thing.

In the end, Lucien’s body hit the ground and stopped moving altogether.

Elias stood a few steps away, watching Lucien lying there unconscious.

"I was being so serious and careful the whole time, so why didn’t he even pull out his signature move?"

* * *