"If you really insist on it, my lord, then I'll try not to beat you too hard."
Theo Roost accepted the challenge from Lord Agraviel despite noticing Tizmilly's warning. And that face... He must be angry. It was the first time Tizmilly saw him smile that wide. Somehow... he now reminded her of Mrs. Roost. That same dangerous, sweet smile before someone got scolded.
"Beat who, you? Of course, I'll defeat you in an instant," Lord Agraviel replied with his own remark, which only widened Theo's smile further. The air between them grew heavy.
Tizmilly knew that she couldn't stop him anymore, so she distanced herself from them with Miss Hamiula and the others while massaging her temple. A headache was already brewing.
Both parties backed off from each other until they created a gap of 10 meters between them. The glowing plants cast long shadows across the underwater floor.
As Theo and Lord Agraviel entered their fighting stances, Miss Hamiula approached Tizmilly with her usual smile, sickly sweet.
"Ah, so sad, with this, Lord Agraviel will thrash your new boy, Miss Tizmilly. Ah~ so sad~ so sad∼..."
She said that with eyes that clearly mocked her. Every word dripped with feigned pity.
Tizmilly was always wondering what the reason this girl hated her this much was. She had even approached her brother after she seduced Lord Agraviel, then her brother convinced her family to erase her name from the family. It was too thorough to be coincidence.
"Why? Why are you doing all of this?" Tizmilly asked her, voice low.
And Raffassa looked at her coldly because of that. The mask slipped for just a second.
While Lideon and Reffion's attention was on the duel, Raffassa grabbed Tizmilly's shoulder, nails digging in.
"What a joke, to think that you really forgot me, even after what I've done."
She tightened her clutch on Tizmilly's shoulder, her smile gone.
"Was my family name not tickling something? Or are we just too unimportant? Answer me, Lady Tizmilly?" she whispered in Tizmilly's ear, her breath hot with malice.
Because of the height difference, she needed to stand on tiptoes to reach Tizmilly's ear.
Her attitude shift really confused Tizmilly. Family name? Hamiula? She searched her memories, but nothing came. Only a vague unease.
_What is she talking about?_
Tizmilly wanted to hear her explain it, but before she could voice a word, the duel started.
Miss Raffassa immediately left Tizmilly's side and returned her innocent expression to her face as they focused on the duel. The change was instant, practiced.
Lord Agraviel was the one who attacked first.
Lord Agraviel was born without magic, so he could only use his sword, but with his talent, he was actually quite strong. His talent in the sword was even higher than Tizmilly's, to be honest. If only he were not such a lazy man who preferred wasting time playing with a strange girl like Miss Raffassa, he could even surpass her in sword mastery.
But his opponent was Theo Roost.
For some reason, Theo didn't use his magic. He deflected and attacked Lord Agraviel using only his spear. He didn't even use the ability of his spear, Boulder Thrust. He was fighting purely on technique.
Currently unfolding before them was the battle between Lord Agraviel, the crown prince of the Empire, and Theo Roost, a skilled Dungeon Diver.
In a pure skill duel, who would win?
...
Lord Agraviel swung his sword vertically downward, aiming to split Theo in two.
Theo received the attack with his spear and deflected it to the side, before counterattacking with the bottom tip of his spear. The movement was fluid, almost lazy.
The thrust almost hit Lord Agraviel's jaw. He took a backstep just in time to avoid it, surprise flashing across his face.
Then he threw a punch using his free left fist toward Theo's right side.
Instead of choosing to block the punch, Theo ignored it and launched his body using his spear forward, pushing the ground with the spear to enter the right distance to punch Lord Agraviel's stomach.
This time, the attack connected. A solid, wet thud echoed through the water.
"Guhak!" Lord Agraviel coughed, doubling over.
Using that chance when he was still not in the condition to counterattack, Theo let his spear go and began punching Lord Agraviel's face. No magic. No weapon. Just fists.
A punch straight to the left cheek.
"Argh!"
An uppercut to the jaw.
"!!"
Then more punches, and more. Each one deliberate. Controlled fury.
Tizmilly sighed after Lord Agraviel fell and was completely beaten, his royal pride lying in the silt beside him.
When she glanced toward the three, they were still too stunned to say anything. Lideon's mouth hung open. Reffion's bow lowered, forgotten.
"Fiuh! It's refreshing!" said Theo with a fresh smile, shaking out his hand.
_He enjoyed it._
That was unmistakably true after Tizmilly saw how fresh he looked. The anger from earlier had burned out, replaced by satisfaction.
"M-my lord!"
"Agraviel!"
At that time, Lideon and Reffion finally recovered and immediately rushed to take care of Lord Agraviel, who had passed out. Panic replaced their arrogance.
Miss Raffassa was still frozen in place, however. Her act had shattered. She stared at Theo like she was seeing him for the first time.
"We won, Tizmilly!" said Theo as he approached her and raised his palm, inviting her to a high-five.
But she ignored it and crossed her arms, her expression stern.
"You overdid it!"
Theo laughed awkwardly in response, scratching his cheek.
Tizmilly sighed. _Mister Roost really is reckless from time to time, even though he can become so mature when he's trying to comfort me._ He was like a storm—calm one moment, devastating the next.
She should make sure he didn't grow it into a bad habit.
"We should send an apology letter to the embassy of the Fazaar Empire later, okay?" she said, her tone leaving no room for argument.
He shrank under her stern demand, the hero of the moment suddenly looking like a scolded child.
"Yes, ma'am."