"This is why I don't like you going here." Confessed Alyson softly.

"Wait, so you're mad this whole time because I wanted to go here?"

"...You didn't even know why I was mad?"

We traded a short, quiet exchange, which ended in my defeat.

'Well, for one, you didn't tell me.' I threw my gaze, running away from Alyson's.

Was I the only weird one here for not figuring out why? I mean, I was getting better at interacting with people and starting to understand some underlying subtext whenever I was with the ones who were close to me, but I guess I still needed a lot of practice before I could successfully tackle issues like this.

"That bitch is really getting on my nerve." Helena's snarky remark came from the side.

"Yeah. She really is something, alright." Added Alyson, her eyes alternating between Helena's and mine.

"What do you think of her, Alex? Is she pretty?" Out of the blue, Alyson threw me a question.

'Is she pretty? Well, she is kinda pretty, to be honest. There's a reason why the majority of her crowds are teenage boys, whose eyes often wonder whenever she's doing something.' As I objectively think of the answer, from the blind spot of his sister, Howard was making very noticeable gestures to convey something to me.

Thankfully, Howard's lip movement was really easy to understand. Or maybe it was thanks to his overly obvious and simple gestures. I don't know. At least it works.

'Don't say pretty...Helena gets crazy...? Got it...'

Yeah, Howard knew Helena best. I wouldn't even argue with him in regards to that.

"Pretty? I don't know...Maybe to those boys." And finally, came my answer to Alyson's query.

"And you don't?" Interrogated the ruby-haired Princess.

"I don't." And I lie. Hell, I'd lie any time, any day, if it got them to spare me from all this annoying thing.

"Hm...that's good. I don't like her. She's always been the bitchiest out of all the bitch I've known."

"Helena, you're too loud!" At this point, I believe Howard has already given up on fixing Helena's crude way of speaking, mainly reminding her not to be so loud when she's cussing someone else.

"...I don't like you, but I guess you are at least better than the manipulative ones..." Ignoring the two, Alyson interjected.

"Tch! The heck are you talking about? I don't care if you like me or not?" Barked Helena back.

"You should care. I am the sister of your fiancee. An older sister whom he loves and cares for with all his heart...Not to mention my Mom's first disciple. Need I remind you what does that mean?"

'What is this!? Why are we talking about this? Please, can you-...Oh, never mind...Here comes trouble.'

With firm and loud steps, a big boy with a stiff face came sauntering toward us.

I could see him from miles away, and I knew he meant business right away from the way he was looking at us.

It was not until some time that Howard, the one who often actively scanned his surroundings from time to time, took notice of the incoming boy.

Howard's face was changing rapidly. He clearly knew the other person, and I'd bet my money that it was anything but a good memory.

"Greetings, my fair ladies and fellow gentlemen." Said the bright, bluish-haired boy.

'Wow, who talks like that...' I mean, even the adult wannabe Howard didn't come out half as cringe as the edgy dude in front of us.

"You. Scram the hell off!" Helena replied as such the minute she saw who the other party was.

"The way you weave your words is still as passionate as ever, my lovely Princess. This Justin Ludwig Rotter can't help but fall pray for the depth of your charm. Let me take this chance to reaffirm my undying love for you, Helena, once again. Only for you..."

"This is the last time I'll repeat myself...Fuck off and leave us alone." Gritting her teeth, Helena growled menacingly.

It literally was the worst. Imagine that one stranger that couldn't take a damn hint, and you have to directly tell them you hate them, hoping to have some peace. But lo and behold, they just chose to ignore whatever you said and kept hovering around like an annoying fly, driving you nuts instead.

This dude was just like that.

"My Princess, you won't believe how heartbroken I was to hear the recent news of your engagement to Dawson's heir. It felt like the skies had come crashing down...To think that I would not be me who could stare upon that beautiful pair of gems...my love, this world is nothing without you in it...And to think you have been subjected to a marriage, void of any love to someone like-"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!"

And Helena finally snapped.

Surprisingly, it was Alyson who held her down. Meanwhile, Alyson herself was spouting pure venom from her eyes at the thick-faced boy.

"I know you are furious with me because it's been known how much you detest unnecessary attention over yourself. But I am doing this for your own good, my love. If you need someone to fight for your freedom and love, let it be me. This...kid...cannot do that, my Princess. Hence, I will take it upon myself to prove to everyone present here in good faith that he is not suitable as your future spouse."

'Ah...so this is your doing?'

I traced certain soft giggling from the girl, standing with the crowd a distance away, whom I met just a minute ago. The amused arch in Giselle's eyes was subtle for others yet vivid to me, hiding behind that unfolding fan of hers.

"Are you insulting my brother, the firstborn son of House Dawson, Sir Rotter?" Alyson's icy gaze penetrated the boy.

Even Howard popped a vein or two on his neck. It was crazy how things were ramping up.

"I am not insulting anybody, my lady. This poor man is just a man unloved by his cruel fate. But today, he will yield no more. Today, I will do right by my one and only love. If my fate was set to abandon me, then today, I shall fight for hers instead. And if the world doesn't take pity on my plight, then it is only fair that I take matters into my own hands. I hope everyone will serve as a witness here that I, Justin Ludwig Rotter, do not harbor any ill will against the House of Dawson...I merely did this because I needed to survive. That is all..."

This Justin dude took a glove he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and threw it in front of me.

"I challenge you, Alexander Von Dawson, to a duel!"

'Heh. Look at this punk...' I scoffed inwardly.

"I accept."

Without giving anyone a chance to react, I accepted the invitation, and the venue went nuts.

What can I say? When you see a naughty, insufferable punk, you just gotta smack their head a little to set them straight.

It is what it is.

'May fate smile kind on your path, you little prick!'

----------------------------------------

We were standing in the yard outside the mansion. It was quite huge, considering not even the many guests could fill it to the brim. We even got spectators from the older generations, watching from the balconies of the mansion.

I could see both Rygor and Bella. The man is frowning, while the elderly woman's face is still straight as wood. Also, George, Maya, and Adam. Their reactions were varied but mostly worried. I smiled to reassure them that it was not a big deal.

Be as it may, I did get an earful from everyone. Mainly Alyson and Helena.

Howard was a lot more chill and just asked me once whether I knew what I was doing or not.

It did help a lot to reduce their anxieties, knowing that my condition of the duel was only to use magic and nothing physical. Heck, Helena even gave the dude a sorry look when he proudly announced his approval of my proposal.

The judge soon stood between us and signaled the start of the duel, and as I sat there, staring at the bastard in the distance, several scenes played out in my mind.

I was thinking from which angle I should approach this whole thing. Should I play it safe, or should I go all gangsta on his ass...

Then again, he didn't give me the chance to ponder for long.

"Mighty spirit of Water, gift unto me the blessings of the neverending sea. Water Arrow!" Justin released a novice spell.

And man, his control and precision were bad...like straight-up garbage.

Forget about someone who's on Clara or George's level. I've seen Howard and Helena do their thing, and even they were a hundred times better than this brat.

Water was splashing everywhere like a broken faucet due to the loose constraint of his spell. And the sigil was also so crude because of how poor he was at controlling his mana flow.

It was a freaking mess. If it wasn't for the dome that served as a barrier around us, I reckoned this Justin guy would get his ass beaten by the mass simply because he was spraying them with waters left and right as if he was in a damn festival or something.

"Spirit of Earth. Be my protector, and give me your blessings. Earth Shield." Naggings aside, I responded kindly to Mr. Showoff's attack.

A small octagonal shape of solid earth flew up in front of me, answering the command of the word magic.

The two spells met each other, and just like I wanted, his arrow was able to poke a hole at the shield before it lost its power and disappeared.

So, basically, I was playing the role of a lucky and persistent kid who learned one good spell and did nothing but defend, holding on for his dear life against whatever it was that Justin cooked for me and barely survived each time.

He sent me a fireball. I turtled myself up with an earth shield.

Another water spell? Earth shield.

Earth pillar? You're not even good at the two elements to which you were best attuned...Yeah, really smart there, Sherlock...Earth shield.

Two consecutive fire mace? The spell was so horribly executed I almost didn't need to use a spell to defend myself. Nevertheless, almost was an almost. So...Earth shield.

Man, the look on his face was beyond hilarious.

And it got so much better when he caught Helena scoffing in delight.

Yeah, that really messed up his head, I tell you. Red as a roasted shrimp, the dude went full hard mode on dishing out spell after spell. I'm talking about going ballistic.

It went on for quite a while until I saw the dwindling mana that converged around him. Clearly, he was almost out of gas.

But the thing was, ever since the start, I've been acting like the one who was on his last leg. I mean, with jaw-dropping precision, I made Justin's spells appear like they were getting closer and closer to me while my shield was getting wrecked worse and worse each time he attacked.

And the time was finally ripe. The end of this short intermission was near.

Justin gathered his mana, condensing them, seemingly hinting to everyone that the big gun was coming. Moreover, seeing how out of breath and unstable my mana was, they just knew that this would finally be over.

'Well, it was fun while it lasted.' I mused inwardly.

I agreed with their judgment but in a different way.

'Inject mana there. Faster...Okay, enough.'

I ain't no stranger to messing with someone's spell. In fact, being proficient in using my Mind's eye had made it all the easier.

As a result, every soul in there could see the flustered look on Justin's face as his finishing spell swelled out of proportion and shuddered out of control.

It was a common phenomenon where someone mistakenly poured in too much mana and failed to adapt the spell's formula to the changes, resulting in the loss of control of the spell.

What was the outcome of such a blunder? Explosion up your ass, that's what.

BOOM!!