The atmosphere in the square in front of the Victoriaz academy suddenly fell silent for a few moments. The blowing afternoon wind carried a thick tension between the delegations of the Astoria, Flamort, and Marland Kingdoms. Kylen and Raven were still locking gazes full of hostility.
Before the bickering could continue into something more troublesome, Arvin took a step forward, breaking the brief silence that was occurring.
"I am Arvin Vedegra, a representative of the Astoria Kingdom. Nice to meet you." Arvin said in a flat and calm tone, as if unaffected in the slightest by the hostile atmosphere around him.
Hearing that legendary name spoken directly, Raven immediately shifted his gaze away from Kylen. The third prince of the Marland Kingdom stared intently at Arvin, assessing the blue-haired youth in front of him from head to toe.
But in the midst of his assessment, Raven's eyes were distracted by the white contract symbols engraved on the backs of the left and right hands of the Vedegra descendant, the Life-and-Death Contract symbols.
"You are... already married?" Raven asked to the point, his brows furrowing in wonder seeing someone who was still of academy age already having permanent marriage contracts, especially on both hands.
"Yes, I am already married." Arvin answered casually, hiding absolutely nothing. He then gestured with his hand toward the back. "And the four of them are my spouses."
Hearing that introduction, Allen, Alrain, Ordion, and Alvein stepped forward simultaneously. The four handsome and cute-faced youths smiled politely, then bowed elegantly like high-class nobles to introduce themselves in front of the Marland Kingdom delegation.
Seeing that sight, Raven and his four teammates spontaneously widened their eyes. Their jaws seemed to drop to the ground knowing the fact that a descendant of the Vedegra family had married four men at once.
The shock only lasted for a moment before finally turning into a condescending facial expression.
"You married fellow men?" Raven exclaimed in a high tone, looking at Arvin's face with undisguised disgust. He clicked his tongue softly. "Is your family truly that incompetent in educating you, that you lost your common sense and chose to marry men instead? How disgusting. No wonder the Astoria Kingdom is increasingly declining. Even its elite nobles have abnormalities."
Hearing the insults directed at their husband and the Vedegra family, the gazes of Allen and the others immediately sharpened. Kylen was also ready to open his mouth to return the insult.
However, Arvin raised his hand, signaling them to stay calm. The blue-haired youth smiled faintly, a smile that did not reach his eyes.
"My family educated me very well, Prince Raven." Arvin replied casually, his voice flowing calmly yet deadly. "At least, I married the people I love legally and honorably in the eyes of the Gods. Not like someone from a certain kingdom who was educated to be a real monster, until he finally had to be executed due to a brutal rape and murder case involving dozens of innocent girls."
Instantly, the breath of the Marland Kingdom group hitched.
How about it, Raven? Arvin thought with a mocking gaze. Can you deny the shameful case that befell your own biological older brother, the first prince who was tragically executed to death because of his savagery? Let's see how much pride you have now.
The reaction shown by Raven was truly unexpected yet very fast. His disgust and arrogance instantly evaporated, replaced by an explosive anger because his family's biggest disgrace was stripped bare in public.
With a lightning-fast movement, Raven lunged forward and directly grabbed the collar of Arvin's academy uniform with both hands. He stared at Arvin with a sharp gaze filled with veins of anger.
"Don't you ever dare discuss that disgrace in front of me, you bastard!" Raven hissed with full emphasis, his teeth grinding holding back his anger.
"If so, you also shouldn't ever carelessly insult my family like that!" Arvin threatened back, his voice growing heavy. He didn't blink at all as he stared into the purple eyes of the prince who was grabbing his uniform. "The Vedegra family has nothing to do with my marriage choices. Watch your mouth if you still want to return to your country with your head intact."
Slap!
With one swift motion, Arvin slapped Raven's two hands hard until his grip was completely released from his uniform.
The two of them did not back down a single step. Both stared at each other sharply, as if flashes of lightning were clashing in the middle of the empty space between their eyes.
The atmosphere in the square turned extremely tense and gripping. The students from both sides, representatives of the two kingdoms that were still in tension at the borders up to this day, looked as if they wanted to immediately vent their anger in a bloody battle right then and there.
"Until when are the two of you going to stand there blocking our way?"
A loud and clear female voice, originating from another corner of the square leading to the academy entrance, successfully broke the tension.
Arvin and Raven reflexively turned to the source of the voice.
What they saw was a new delegation stepping closer. They wore pristine white uniforms with elegant purple stripes dangling like the attire of a high-level priest, which was the absolute hallmark of the Holy Kingdom of Gardius's academy.
"Isn't this square still very wide?" Raven replied unamicably, still feeling annoyed because his altercation was interrupted. "You can take another path. You really ruined my mood, Elenora!"
"Call me Princess Elenora!" asserted the golden-haired woman leading the group, her chin raised slightly. "Do you not have basic manners as a prince when greeting a noble from another kingdom?"
"Your royal status is useless in this place!" Raven chimed in, scoffing cynically. "This is a neutral academy. If you want your princess status to continue to be glorified and useful, you'd better just go back to your territory over there!"
Instead of returning Raven's insult, Elenora merely rolled her eyes lazily. She ignored the prince's babbling and changed the direction of her steps instead, walking straight to approach Arvin.