“The eldest son of the Drake family and the second son of the Lyard family are about to have a duel?”
A man, who had just rushed back from somewhere, threw a stone into the lively hall, which was bustling with a social party in full swing.
As the sudden news spread, the eyes of those filling the hall gradually showed curiosity.
While it wasn’t uncommon for people at social parties to have verbal disputes with those they didn’t get along with, it was rare to witness an actual physical fight.
“What? Who’s fighting whom?”
“The eldest son of the Drake family? You mean the rumored genius?”
“As expected from the disgrace of the Lyard family. He really picked the worst possible opponent to challenge.”
As the rumor spread like wildfire, people put aside their previous conversations and started whispering about the two individuals.
Kyle Lyard and Vermilion Drake.
Both were names familiar to anyone who had heard of noble families.
The difference was that one was famous for negative reasons and the other for positive ones.
“How did the fight start?”
“It’s obvious. That Lyard guy must have started something petty. Tsk, his older brother seems like such an easygoing man, but the younger one is nothing like him.”
“Vermilion isn’t the type to provoke others, hmm.”
Because of this, by the time the rumors had fully spread, the general consensus was that Kyle was the one at fault.
“Would the young master of Lyard really do something like that…? He seemed very kind when I met him before.”
“That’s what I thought too. Maybe there’s some misunderstanding…”
However, among some noblewomen, there were those who strongly believed that Kyle couldn’t possibly be the culprit.
Most of them were women who had directly witnessed Kyle’s sparring with Hassel or had briefly spoken with him behind the scenes.
Of course, it was difficult to judge a person completely from a short conversation, but at the very least, they felt that Kyle Lyard was not the cowardly and pathetic man the rumors claimed him to be.
‘He’s getting too popular.’
Meanwhile, Sylvia, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, pursed her lips in displeasure.
It annoyed her that people were talking about Kyle without really knowing him, but she wasn’t too pleased with the women who were overly admiring him either.
It felt like a secret restaurant she had cherished was now revealed to the whole world.
Even though she knew comparing a person to food wasn’t exactly appropriate, it was the only way to describe how she felt.
“By the way, where is the fight happening?”
“Yeah, I’d love to watch.”
“Come on, we’re not savages. Watching fights like this…”
“Watching fires and fights is always entertaining. This is a rare opportunity!”
“That’s true.”
As the news of their fight spread, people began to care less about the cause and more about the fight itself.
Even though they were supposed to uphold a noble demeanor, most of them were teenagers in their mid-to-late teens.
Especially for the young men, nothing was more entertaining than watching a fight.
Naturally, they turned to the man who had brought the news and asked him where the duel would take place.
“Looks like it’s happening in the training arena next door. If you’re interested, follow me!”
The man who spread the rumor smirked as he spoke.
In truth, he had been secretly asked by Vermilion to gather an audience.
He wasn’t particularly close to Vermilion, but the idea of witnessing the strength of someone as famous as him was intriguing enough to make him accept the request.
Besides, watching the so-called disgrace of the Lyard family get beaten and humiliated would be quite the spectacle—something worth looking forward to.
“Shall we go? I was getting bored anyway.”
“Let’s go. It’ll be over quickly, after all.”
“How long do you think Lyard will last? I say three minutes!”
“Three minutes is too long. Two minutes.”
“I bet it won’t even take 30 seconds.”
Eventually, most of the people in the hall got swept up in the excitement and followed the rumor-monger out, leaving the hall nearly empty.
‘I should go too.’
Sylvia initially just wanted Kyle to return safely, but seeing the crowd rushing toward the arena made her anxious, so she followed them.
As soon as Vermilion accepted Kyle’s challenge, he asked Georg, one of the castle’s staff, to secure the training ground.
Vermilion walked alongside Kyle, glancing at him with a cold smile.
‘This fool doesn’t even know his place. I’ll expose his ugly reality.’
As a member of the Drake family, a prestigious lineage second to none in magic, and one of its most promising talents, Vermilion took great pride in his magical abilities.
He also had a tendency to look down on those who couldn’t use magic, believing that it was an ability only the chosen ones could wield—a privilege.
That’s why he was furious.
No matter how much Kyle was called one of the “Three Swords of the Empire,” he was still just a fool from a house of non-magical brutes.
For someone like that to blatantly lie in front of him and even belittle the title of Tower Master—it was nothing short of an insult to Vermilion’s pride.
‘Where did he even hear such nonsense? That he’s at the fifth rank? Even a passing dog would laugh at that.’
The fifth rank was a level considered to be at the very edge of human capability.
It was said that only those who dedicated their entire lives to magic for 80 years could barely reach it.
Even Vermilion, the most talented magician of the Drake family, was only just touching the fourth rank.
Yet, Kyle—a so-called disgrace and a completely untalented fool—had the audacity to claim he was at the fifth rank?
Vermilion saw this not as a duel, but as a lesson.
Gathering spectators through a rumor-monger was part of his plan—to make an example out of Kyle.
“Has it started yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Hey, move over! I can’t see!”
‘They’re gathering nicely.’
As he stood in the training ground, facing Kyle, Vermilion smirked upon hearing the murmurs of the arriving crowd.
All that was left was to thoroughly crush his opponent with overwhelming power.
Then, admiration would naturally be directed at him, while scorn would be thrown at Kyle.
For someone like Vermilion Drake, who always saw himself as the victor, such moments of superiority were among his greatest pleasures.
Although he usually had to play the role of a kind noble, this time, Kyle had provided him with a perfect excuse to reveal his true nature.
‘As a token of appreciation, I’ll take my time playing with him.’
With the very concept of defeat erased from his mind, Vermilion turned his gaze toward Georg, who was approaching.
“You both know the rules, right? This is a duel, but you’ll be using magic.”
“Of course. No need to worry, Georg.”
As Georg, the temporary referee, reminded them of the rules, Vermilion nodded calmly while hiding his sneer.
Unlike duels with wooden swords, magic had no way to hold back its impact.
Some level of injury was inevitable.
In other words, as long as he didn’t kill Kyle, anything was fair game.
This was a perfect excuse for Vermilion.
‘Killing him would only dirty my hands. No need for that.’
His goal was simply to humiliate Kyle.
The official rules of the duel didn’t matter to him at all.
Just as Georg was about to lower his hand to signal the start of the duel—
“Wait, Georg. Before we begin, I have a proposal for Prince Drake.”
“Hmm? A proposal? What is it, Kyle?”
As Kyle suddenly raised his hand and made an unexpected statement, both men’s eyes widened at the same time.
“Prince Drake, since we seem to have gathered quite the audience, how about we place a small wager?”
“A wager, you say?”
This wasn’t some gambling den where people bet money, so Vermilion frowned slightly at the sudden suggestion.
“Yes, I figured I should at least get something in return for displaying my skills. Of course, if you find it burdensome, you don’t have to accept.”
“…Tsk.”
Kyle’s words sounded polite, but Vermilion immediately understood the underlying meaning and clenched his teeth.
It was as if he was saying, “If you’re worried about losing, you don’t have to bet.”
The blatant condescension in his tone made Vermilion feel his pride being chipped away. He exhaled sharply.
“If it’s to witness the skills of Lord Lyard, then of course, I should offer something in return. What do you want?”
“If I win, you just have to answer one question. That’s all.”
“A question… Alright.”
Hearing the seemingly insignificant request, Vermilion felt an odd sense of unease but nodded confidently.
“Then… begin!”
As if that was the signal, Georg’s arm slashed down, and Vermilion immediately gathered his mana to cast Ice Thorns, a second-tier ice spell.
Though it was a lower-tier spell, the fact that a mere fifteen-year-old boy could cast it without incantation was already a glimpse of his remarkable skill.
Crack!
“Ooooh…!”
In an instant—so fast that the spectators barely registered it—the spell materialized into sharp, ice-like spikes, drawing gasps of admiration from the onlookers.
Crash!
“…What?!”
But the ice spikes, which had formed in midair, suddenly shattered into countless shards and scattered to the ground as if they had lost all strength.
Vermilion gasped in shock.
It wasn’t that he had failed to cast the spell.
Ice Thorns was his most frequently used spell, one he was so familiar with that he could cast it in his sleep.
Which meant that the only possible explanation was…
That an external force had forcibly canceled his spell.
‘No way…!’
A horrifying possibility flashed through Vermilion’s mind.
Spell Cancelling.
The technique of interrupting and nullifying an opponent’s spell at the exact moment they cast it.
However, this was an ability that was virtually impossible unless there was an overwhelming gap in skill.
At the very least, the caster needed to be two whole ranks above their opponent for it to be realistically used in battle.
“If you won’t come to me, I’ll come to you first.”
Crack.
While Vermilion was still frozen in shock, Kyle’s calm voice rang out.
Above his head, an identical set of ice spikes appeared—just like the ones Vermilion had conjured moments ago.
However, these weren’t just similar.
They were at least twice as numerous, and each spike was far larger and thicker than Vermilion’s.
Rather than mere spikes, they looked more like actual lances.
Seeing such a stark difference in the quality of their spells, Vermilion instinctively realized the truth.
The man standing before him was on an entirely different level.
But even though he had finally understood, it was too late for him to do anything about it.