Chapter 101 Noble's Arena

"Fight?"

James was caught off guard.

Why did this thirteen-year-old kid want to fight him?

Arvell was the same age as his fiance's younger brother; James was fifteen!

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Wasn't that a little too mismatched to be considered a fight?

No, wait…

He'd heard from Angela that Arvell was pretty strong, even for his age.

Could it be that he could give James a run for his money?

Moreover…

Whenever James looked into the silver-haired youth's amethyst-like eyes, he felt a surge of fighting intent.

He could tell that Arvell truly wished to fight him, to the point where he couldn't make his intentions any less obvious.

It wasn't an urge to fight which stems from anger either; he truly wished to fight James just for the sake of fighting.

James felt an urge to see just how strong his junior was.

He'd initially asked to have a 1-on-1 meeting with Arvell to quell his overprotective nature surrounding his fiance and her family, but… this was turning into something far better!

"Are you sure you wish to fight me?"

James knew how redundant his question was, but he still had to ask.

He wanted to see just how Arvell would respond.

"Is there a need to even ask? You already know my answer."

James's smile warped into one that closely resembled Arvell's.

"Let's do it then."

***

The noble's arena.

It was the designation given to a particular building located in the centre of Karsia, adjacent to the king's palace.

As the name implies, the noble's arena served as a fighting practice area for aristocrats.

The Elantryan aristocracy had grown very fond of the noble's arena, typically utilized as a stage for young nobles to display their power and prowess.

The building was initially constructed as a last-resort bunker in case the capital ever fell but was quickly transformed into a training area.

It was designed to withstand even the most devastating magic strikes, allowing nobles to unleash their full force without worrying about collateral harm.

Arvell walked behind Wilfried and James's father as they entered the building.

The Silvercolt's capital estate was not equipped with a training facility, so if Arvell wanted to fight James, he'd need to do it here.

Arvell had only been here a couple of times in the past, but that was almost a lifetime ago.

He remembered walking through these same doors with his family, eager to see his first magical combat.

When his family came to Karsia to introduce Arvell to his new fiance, the first prince Tristan and Lillianna's second brother got into a scuffle and decided to resolve their issues through a bout.

The second prince wanted his family to reject the political marriage between Arvell and his sister and, in a fit of rage, publicly denounced Arvell for being 'unquallified' for his sister's love.

An action which thoroughly enraged Arvell's siblings, to say the least.

Tristan, who was only thirteen at the time, challenged the second prince to a battle for the sake of his younger brother's honour.

The said bout resulted in a crushing defeat for the second prince.

Despite being the same age as Tristan, he wasn't a match for Tristan's overwhelming talent and ability.

Even though they were both royalty, there simply was no comparison.

After experiencing such a crushing defeat, the second prince stopped showing himself at public events, but when he finally resurfaced a few months later, he appeared to be a changed man.

Even apologizing to Arvell and the entire Vispian royal family for his actions and words.

No one knew what brought that sudden change, but seeing how it bridged the gap between the two countries, it was a welcome one.

'Not much has changed since the last time I stepped foot in here.'

Arvell smiled as the nostalgia kicked in.

Even after that bout, he'd come here whenever he visited Lily.

It became a fun past-time for them to watch magical duels, dreaming of the day that they too could fight like that.

'Well, that's one thing off of the bucket list.' Lykos commented.

'Yeah, to be honest, after the war, I never thought I would ever step foot in here again. Yet here I am.'

'Fate does work in mysterious ways.'

Wilfried approached the door to the facility and pulled out his family crest.

"I would like to request an available fighting area."

The guards looked at Wilfried with a scrutinizing look before freezing.

"T-that's the Silvercolt family crest!"

"It's the war hero Duke Silvercolt!"

The two guards immediately brought their hands to their heads and formed a salute.

"It's our honour, sir! It shall be done."

Wilfried nodded with a conflicted expression.

He was happy these two seemed to worship him, but…

They were a little too loud.

"What? Duke Silvercolt's here? Where is he?"

"Duke Silvercolt! Please give me your autograph!"

"Please tell me how I can be like you!"

Arvell watched blankly as countless passersby surrounded Wilfried, barely giving him room to move.

Zen, noticing Arvell's expression, sighed.

"My dad is somewhat of a hero for the people. Everyone in the capital knows how he fended off the invading Vispian forces and began to idolize him. Since we don't visit the capital too often, the few times we do, his 'fans' tend to gather around him like that."

"Isn't this highly improper to harass a duke like this?"

"It normally is… However, my dad doesn't do anything. These people all respect and revere him, so it would leave a sour taste in his mouth if he used his authority to make them obey him. Furthermore, it's not like they're not doing this out of malicious intent. While he does get irritated by their pestering, he never punishes any of them."

Zen grabbed Arvell's arm.

"Come on, let's use this to get in. It'll take awhile anyways."

"Is this okay? We're kind of abandoning your father."

"It's fine. Dad will catch up with us… eventually. Look, even Angela is doing that."

Zen pointed to Angela, dragging James with her as they slipped through the crowd.

James's face looked guilt-ridden, but he let himself be dragged away by Angela.

'I guess it's okay then?'

The rest of their families opted to stick with Wilfried.

Leaving him alone to deal with the crowd was too cruel.

Arvell gave one last look in Wilfried's direction.

'I'm sorry, Duke Silvercolt… May you rest in peace.'