Everyone in the room froze, and looked at Felix. Serenity smiled, and stepped away from Felix for the time being.

Suddenly, Earl Belrose said "Sure!" quite happily, and snapped his fingers, causing a wind to blow Felix over to being in front of Scarlet. Felix was dumbfounded.

"Felix, I'm ordering you as your Lord to take Sca-" Earl Belrose began, when suddenly there was a shout from the other side of the room. "Wait, wait, wait, there's no way I can accept this!"

Everyone turned to look, and it was Leo shouting out, as he extricated himself from the throng of Ladies who had been bullying him all afternoon. They let him pass, hoping to see a good show. Leo went up to Earl Belrose.

"I was hoping to handle this matter after this ceremony, because I was worried there might have been complications due to the gift he gave to Scarlet, but all three of you forced my hand just now! Felix... he is a snake in the grass! This whole time, he is not actually a member of the Belrose bloodline! I don't know the specifics, but the bloodline seal doesn't react to him at all! And yet, he has been a continuous pretender in our midst this entire time!" Leo shouted out loudly, pointing his finger at Felix. Scarlet looked over at him, surprised as well.

There was much murmuring in the crowd of onlookers, but no one interrupted.

"Oh, that? I knew that already, since even before I invited him here." Earl Belrose said simply. "I don't think it's an issue at all. In fact, it makes this situation even better, since they're further apart in familial relations than everyone assumed." he said.

"Wha-" Leo said, dumbfounded. Then he blew over in rage. "How is this all right in any way?!? If he was actually my second cousin, I could barely accept this pairing based on his bloodline standing, but without that, he has no noble heritage to speak of! He's just a common peasant! How is he in any way worthy of Scarlet?!? Since Father died, it is my job to ensure Scarlet's happiness, and even if I have complicated feelings regarding Felix, the fact of the matter is, I can't allow her to be looked down on at all, even if it's you ordering it!" Leo shouted angrily.

"Hmph, daring to talk back to me! I suppose it's good to learn that you've grown a spine after all these years and dare to step out instead of always hiding in the shadows!" Earl Belrose said with a snort.

"If it's for Scarlet, I'll jump headfirst into a volcano, let alone talk back to you!" Leo said defiantly.

"Aren't you just doing what you want with no regard for Scarlet's own will?!? She picked Felix herself you damn brat! You tell me, if you don't want her to be with Felix, who should she be with, then?" Earl Belrose asked.

"Why not William? Or hell, any of the other bachelor Lords over there!" Leo said, pointing to the group of young Lords huddled in their group. "Any sorry fourth son of a low-tier Baronetcy is still more noble than him!" Leo declared.

"My, what an excellent suggestion." a voice sounded out suddenly from the group of bachelor Lords. Everyone turned to look in shock at who dared to speak up at this time... and Richard of house Duvain stepped out boldly, and walked to the front of the room.

"I thought this would be a wasted trip, and yet, I indeed found exactly what His Majesty wanted me to find. A golden opportunity to repair relations between our two houses. I am as of yet a bachelor myself, and scarcely two years older than Scarlet. My peerage is that of a Dukedom, so I daresay that if any fourth son of a Baronetcy can meet Young Master Leo's requirements, surely the second son of a Dukedom can. So why not have Scarlet marry me?" Richard said, opening his arms grandly with the suggestion.

Leo looked like he was just barely holding himself back from leaping on Richard and strangling him. "In your dreams! Your entire house isn't worth even one tiny hair on her head!" he yelled.

"Wasn't it you who declared nobility and peerage to be of the utmost importance not even three breaths of time in the past, Young Master Leo?" Richard asked him with a calm smile.

Leo looked like he had a chicken bone stuck in his throat. "Well... yes, I did, but..." he said.

"So if it is the most important quality, then, by your own measuring stick, is there any other young Lord in the entire land who is more eligible than me at the moment?" Richard asked, continuing to press Leo.

Leo grit his teeth. "Fine!" he shouted. "I take back my earlier words! Peerage can only be considered one factor amongst many! Even so, I would sooner Scarlet marries a dog or a horse than anyone from your piss-chicken house!" Leo yelled angrily, referring to house Duvain's golden raven symbol.

"Oh, is there another factor you believe deserves consideration, Young Master Leo? If it's wealth, my house is the third richest in the entire kingdom. If it's power, well, as a dukedom, that goes without saying. If it's peerage, well, we already discussed that. So pray tell, exactly what metric are you judging by? I have no doubt my house can exceed in whatever area it is you have in mind." Richard said, still smiling.

Stolen novel; please report.

"I...I..." Leo began, when he looked over at Felix. Felix thought for a moment, and pressed his fist into his palm. Leo's eyes widened for a moment, then he grit his teeth. "Suddenly, I find Felix much more pleasing to the eye! I'll consider him on account of Scarlet's feelings! But only if he can prove he's better than this piss-chicken!" he declared, pointing at Richard.

Richard's eyebrows raised. "Better than me how, exactly?" he asked.

"What prestige, what wealth!" Leo began. "The true core of any noble house is, and has always been, magical power! This is what truly gives us standing! So if Felix can at least beat you in a spar, I'll consider him!" he declared.

"Well said! This is truly the heart of the matter! Magical power has always come first and foremost!" Richard said, clapping. "Then, I trust that Young Master Leo will stick to his words this time and hold to it. If I can prove myself to be strongest in magical combat, you'll have to admit I'm the most eligible, isn't that right?" he asked.

"Hmph!" Leo said. "Save that talk for when you actually prove yourself to be better than a good-for-nothing in magic." he snorted. "Everyone outside to the training grounds, I'm not getting this clown's unworthy blood on my family's floors, it would be an insult to the slaves to have to clean it up!" he said, and walked outside. The crowd following them.

Felix turned to look at Earl Belrose and Scarlet. Scarlet had a complicated expression on her face. He could guess what was going through her mind. She was probably upset Leo disregarded what she had herself wanted, but knew he did it because he felt responsible for her since their father died. Earl Belrose, however, simply had a mysterious smile on his face, but he said nothing. Regardless, Felix could not ponder the matter at this moment. Now that things had come to this point, he could only sigh and walk out into the training ground after the crowd.

Arboro spoke to him. "Pretend you're a wood and darkness mage. You can bluff that your defensive skills are from the wood line, since early on it's comparable to the earth line in defense, and they only diverge into regeneration versus hardness later. Focus on using Harden and Regenerate, so you can catch him off guard with your earth magics later. Your trump card is definitely Earth Escape. Save it for when I tell you to use it." she said.

"Won't it be bad if I expose myself having three affinities to for all these nobles to see?" Felix asked as they walked.

"It'll be fine. It's just a couple of low level wood spells with strong synergy with your earthly magics. You can pass it off like anyone else learning one or two small trick spells outside of their main element." Arboro said, as Felix arrived to the training ground, which was basically just a very large dirt patch on the back-side of the manor. The spectating nobles had already stood off to the side, and were watching the events unfold with great interest. Richard walked off to one direction, and Felix walked off to the other. Leo stood in the middle.

"Rules are simple! It's a spar, so try not to kill each other if you can help it. If you're knocked unconscious or cry out that you surrender, then the other party is expected to cease their hostilities. Do either of you two object?" Leo asked.

"Actually, I have a question!" Someone from the crowd called out. Everyone looked over. It was Abel who had called out.

"What is it, Lord Abel?" Leo asked him.

"Is this even a fair matchup? I believe that Lord Richard is a full year and a half older than Felix, is he not? That wouldn't be important if they were both old men, but both parties are still early in their magical careers, where such a difference is huge!" he questioned.

Richard spoke up. "Lord Abel need not worry about this matter. Although I am older than my opponent by a year and a half as was stated, much of that time was actually spent on learning the mystic spells my house is renowned for, such as the ability to see the strings of karma, or the cleansing of evil spirits. We're probably surprisingly evenly matched in terms of actual combat magic." he explained.

"Does that satisfy you, Lord Abel?" Leo asked him.

"Yes, pardon my interruption then, carry on." Abel said with a bow.

"Any other objections?" Leo asked. No one spoke up, and a magical barrier was erected in front of the spectators.

"All right then. Begin!" Leo declared, as he stepped behind the barrier himself.

Richard snorted. "It would be shameful if I, a Young Master of a Duke's house, made the first move against someone who may not even be a noble whatsoever. Take the first move then." he said with disdain.

"Okay!" Felix said happily. He channeled the darkness within and prepared every hex he knew, and cast them all at once at Richard.

Hex: Soul Disruption. Hex: Mana Severance. Hex: Brain Fog. Hex: Wither. Hex: Distortion. Hex: Inner Turmoil. Hex: Hemophilia. Hex: Internal Bleeding.

The eight hexes appeared on Richard instantly. Richard had tried to deflect them, but he was unable to, as Hexes could not be dodged, nor deflected. This was one of their strengths they gained in return for their complete lack of any upfront power. Richard doubled over for a moment, and then raised his head to look at Felix.

"You... just what did you do to me? What evil magic is this?" he asked.

Felix stood there silently, simply absorbing as much of the nearby mana, as well as dark, wood, and earth element as he could. If Richard wanted to be an idiot and talk to him, giving his hexes more time to work, he was extremely happy to oblige him! But, of course, he wasn't going to give him any information about his magic, so he could only keep silent.

Richard snorted. "I don't know what evil magic this is, but I do know it can't stand up to my family's mystic powers to cleanse evil! I'll show you how feeble the Belrose family's magics are!" he declared, and he began to glow with a heavenly white light.

"Purification!" Richard shouted, as there was a flash of light.

"Hah!" Richard yelled out. "Do you see now how feeble your peasant dark magic is before a noble house! Now just surrender, if I seriously kill a lowlife like you it will besmirch my reputation as a noble lord!" he said with a snort. Felix didn't say anything and just gave him a pitiful look, and a few people snickered in the crowd.

Richard looked down. The hexes were all still there on his body.