Once the distance between them narrowed, Elenora's eyes scanned Arvin's face, then shifted to the four handsome youths standing behind him, and ended on the contract symbols on Arvin's hands. The woman's eyes suddenly sparkled brightly.
"Hey handsome guy, are you a descendant of the Vedegra family?" the woman asked without beating around the bush, her tone of voice suddenly changing from its initially firm state to being extremely enthusiastic.
Arvin furrowed his brows, slightly wary of the change in attitude of the woman in front of him. "Yes, you're right. I am Arvin Vedegra. Why does it matter?"
"Hey! Hey!" Elenora took a step closer, cupping both of her hands in front of her chest with eyes sparkling full of curiosity. "Can you explain to me the details of your relationship with the four of them in depth? Who is on top, who is on the bottom? How do you divide the time? I am very, very interested! Please explain it to me!"
The barrage of questions thrown with sky-high enthusiasm truly made Arvin stand frozen in silence. His jaw almost dropped. Even Raven, Kylen, and everyone around them were also left dumbfounded hearing the frontal questions from a princess of the Holy Kingdom.
A princess from the Holy Kingdom like her is actually enthusiastic about same-sex relationships?! Arvin thought in heavy shock, his brain trying to process the absurd situation that was occurring. Is she one of those hardcore fans of this kind of relationship? Good grief... this woman's nature is no different from most of the 'female BL fans' or 'fujoshi' on Earth! Does that trait actually exist in this world too?!
"Why are you just keeping quiet, handsome?" Elenora said again, impatient to wait for an answer. She then smiled broadly. "Ah, it's okay if you're shy to tell the story here! Sometime after this tournament is over, I will definitely pay an official visit to the Vedegra territory. You must welcome me and tell me everything about the romantic love story of the relationship between the five of you! Promise, okay?"
Seeing those puppy-dog pleading eyes, Arvin massaged his temples. He was completely out of words and energy to entertain this unexpected new madness.
"Whatever you please..." Arvin sighed resignedly, only wanting this conversation to end quickly.
"You promise, right? You really promise, right?!" Elenora demanded confirmation, highly enthusiastic.
"Yes, I promise..." Arvin answered simply.
"Yaaaay....!!!" the woman exclaimed happily, doing a little jump of joy without caring about her image as a princess of a holy kingdom. She clapped her hands once, then looked back at her group who could only bow their heads in resignation seeing their leader's behavior. "Let's go, everyone! We're going inside now!"
And with a blooming smile on her face, Princess Elenora stepped cheerfully, leading the delegation from the Holy Kingdom of Gardius into the Victoriaz academy building, leaving Arvin who was still massaging his temples, Kylen who was frozen in confusion, and Raven who still harbored his anger in the middle of the square.
The departure of the Holy Kingdom of Gardius delegation led by the eccentric Princess Elenora slowly made the Victoriaz academy square quiet again. However, the lingering silence brought no peace whatsoever.
The tension that had been temporarily broken was now quickly reconnected. In the middle of the square, Arvin and Raven were still standing face to face, staring at each other with gazes as cold as ice and as sharp as daggers.
"I strongly dislike the way you intentionally discussed my family's disgrace in public." Raven hissed, breaking the silence, his voice low yet laden with threat.
"I feel the same way!" Arvin replied quickly and firmly. "I dislike it the most when you talk about and belittle my family, which has absolutely nothing to do with this marriage of mine! Weren't you the one who started this provocation first with that arrogant mouth of yours?"
Hearing himself being blamed, Raven's ego as a prince was severely stung.
"Shut up!" Raven snapped with a loud voice, the veins in his neck bulging because he refused to accept being called the trigger of the conflict. "Don't you dare lecture me! You'd better—"
Before Raven could finish his sentence of abuse, a lightning-fast movement occurred.
In just the blink of an eye, Arvin closed the distance between them. His right hand darted forward, breaking through Raven's defense, and immediately gripped the neck of the Marland Kingdom's third prince tightly.
The sudden physical action instantly made the students from both sides gasp in shock. The atmosphere in front of the academy instantly became much more tense than before.
"Who do you think you are, daring to yell right in my face?" Arvin said very coldly, his gaze as if it could freeze the blood of anyone who saw it.
However, Raven was no ordinary youth. He was a prince from a kingdom that glorified military strength. Instead of feeling daunted, panicked, or struggling to be released, Raven actually returned the attack.
With a movement no less fast, Raven's right hand darted and grabbed Arvin's neck back with incredibly strong physical force. The veins in his arm tensed, trying to match the gripping strength of the Vedegra descendant.
"Do you think I'm afraid of you even though you're a Vedegra descendant, huh?!" Raven challenged with a hoarse voice due to his choked neck, yet his eyes radiated absolute courage.
Arvin narrowed his eyes slightly. "Do you really want us to fight and kill each other right here, right now, Raven?"
"I don't mind at all!" the prince answered quickly with a hardened jaw. "In fact, I can't wait to destroy one of the descendants of the family that is said to be a monster family with my own hands!"
The atmosphere was truly on the verge of chaos. Both Arvin and Raven had already started channeling mana into their arms, preparing to crush each other's necks.
"Stop this madness and let it end right there!"
A stern reprimand in a highly authoritative baritone tone echoed across the square.