Vermilion Drake was a genius.
At the age of ten, he had already begun to realize the manifestation of magic on his own.
By the age of eleven, he was able to use magic, and now, at fifteen, he aimed to step into the fourth rank, proving his exceptional talent.
Because of this, Vermilion had never once in his life envied or looked up to anyone.
If there was one exception, it would be his grandfather, Alberton Drake, who was also the master of the Black Magic Tower.
However, even he was merely seen as a wall to eventually surpass, and deep inside, Vermilion never doubted that he would become the greatest magician in history.
But then—
Pababak!
“Ugh…!”
At this very moment, the pride he had upheld for so long was on the verge of collapsing completely.
He barely managed to block the incoming barrage of violet spheres with a translucent barrier, but his breathing had already become ragged, and he could hardly keep his body upright.
On the other hand, Kyle, standing opposite him, had not moved an inch since the duel began, with one hand casually tucked into his pocket.
Not only was he completely unscathed, but his clothes were spotless, without a speck of dust, a stark contrast to Vermilion, who was rolling on the ground in a miserable state.
“Damn it…!”
Goooooh.
The sight of Kyle, as if silently declaring that Vermilion could never reach him, filled him with rage.
Struggling to reorganize his disrupted magical circuits, Vermilion attempted to cast another spell.
The gathered mana in the surroundings condensed into a single point and, with a whoosh, transformed into a massive fireball that seemed ready to devour Kyle at any moment.
It was Haze Blast, a fire-based spell classified at the entry level of the fourth rank.
Though he had not yet fully reached the fourth rank, this was the most powerful destructive spell Vermilion could currently use.
Moreover, canceling a fourth-rank spell was nearly impossible, no matter how unexpectedly skilled his opponent was.
With this, he intended to end it.
“Vermil! That’s too dangerous!”
“Shut up, Georg!”
Sensing the ominous surge of mana, Georg tried to stop him in a panic.
However, Vermilion, blinded by rage, ignored him and swung his hand to kill Kyle.
No—he tried to.
Shiiiii…
“……!”
The massive fireball he had proudly summoned lost its power and disappeared into thin air.
If only it hadn’t vanished like that.
For a moment, Vermilion thought he had failed because he was too exhausted.
But the moment he saw Kyle’s cold smirk from across him, a chilling sensation ran down his spine.
‘No way… Did he just cancel a fourth-rank spell!?’
It was an unbelievable thought.
If Kyle could so easily cancel a fourth-rank spell, then calling him “one level above” would be a severe understatement.
At the very least, one would need to be a sixth-rank mage or higher to pull off such a feat.
‘Nonsense. There’s no way…!’
Vermilion refused to believe it.
No, to be precise, he had known from the start of the duel that his opponent was vastly superior to him.
Yet he had desperately denied it, ignored it.
He blocked out the whispers declaring that he could never win and resisted with all his might.
It wasn’t because of pure competitiveness.
Nor was it because he had a firm enough will to remain unshaken in front of someone vastly superior.
He just didn’t want to admit it.
The fact that someone of his own age possessed talent far beyond his own.
For Vermilion, who had always believed himself to be chosen, different from others, acknowledging this truth was unbearable.
That was why, with all his remaining strength, he tried to stand up—to prove his worth.
“What the hell? That Vermilion guy isn’t as impressive as they say.”
“Right? Rumors really can’t be trusted.”
“He can’t even cast a proper spell. And this guy is supposed to be the genius of the Drake family?”
“There sure are a lot of so-called geniuses in this world.”
But then, the murmurs of the spectators began to spread.
Vermilion, halfway to standing, froze in place.
All his life, he had been praised as an unparalleled genius.
Even within his family, he had never heard anything but compliments.
To him, these mocking voices were the most foreign and unfamiliar thing in the world.
Of course, these remarks came only from ignorant bystanders with no understanding of magic.
Anyone with real knowledge of magic would have recognized that Kyle was overwhelmingly canceling all of Vermilion’s spells.
But to these magic-illiterate spectators, Vermilion simply looked like a fool who couldn’t cast a single proper spell.
After all, how many of them had ever witnessed a mage using a high-level technique like spell canceling?
Canceling magic was generally seen as an inefficient technique.
While it seemed advantageous to nullify an opponent’s spell, it actually consumed far more mana than simply casting a spell.
Moreover, to cancel a spell, one had to fully understand its structure, meaning unknown spells couldn’t be canceled at all.
For Kyle to be able to cancel magic so effortlessly, one had to acknowledge that he was far superior—even to the so-called genius Vermilion Drake.
Yet, Kyle Lyard was infamous as the disgrace of the Lyard family, a man deemed less than mediocre.
So instead of acknowledging Kyle’s strength, the crowd began to interpret the scene differently.
Rather than admiring Kyle, they started to belittle Vermilion.
‘Just as I expected.’
Meanwhile, Kyle smirked as if he had foreseen this outcome.
This was his intention all along.
By using the cumbersome technique of spell canceling, he made Vermilion appear powerless.
He had deliberately refrained from canceling Vermilion’s defensive spells, ensuring that he appeared barely able to hold his ground.
By keeping Vermilion in a pitiful state for as long as possible, Kyle had successfully led the crowd to react this way.
At the same time, he aimed to thoroughly crush Vermilion’s inflated pride.
This wasn’t just some petty revenge.
Of course, seeing Vermilion leer at Sylvia as if she were an object had irritated him, making him act a bit more aggressively.
But that wasn’t the real reason.
“Young Master Drake.”
“…What?”
As Kyle approached him and spoke, Vermilion, who had been sitting lifelessly like a broken doll, responded irritably.
His previously refined speech had completely vanished.
He had already realized that the match was over.
There was no sign of him trying to counterattack.
Kyle knew this was the perfect moment.
“Aren’t you curious?”
“Curious… about what?”
“How I obtained this level of power.”
“……!”
A flicker of unrest passed through Vermilion’s eyes.
Kyle knew exactly what was hidden within them.
Desire.
The same desperate hunger that had once burned in his own eyes.
Recalling the moment in his past life when that man had first approached him, Kyle closed his eyes for a moment.
Then, with a gentle smile, he extended his hand.
“If you join me, I will help you gain even greater power.”
Kyle knew better than anyone how to turn someone into his pawn.
Approach those who had hit a wall.
Pretend to be their beacon of hope.
Plant the seed.
It was a method befitting a villain.
But he didn’t care.
Because to protect her, he had already decided to become a villain once more.
Under the name of a duel, a one-sided beating came to an end.
The gathered spectators dispersed, returning to their festivities as if nothing had happened.
“By the way, the second son of the Lyard family is quite skilled, isn’t he?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Who was it that spread rumors calling him the failure of the Lyard family?”
“Even someone like me, who knows nothing about magic, could tell he was far ahead of Vermilion Drake. He’s truly remarkable.”
The only difference from before was the topic of conversation.
Though to the uninformed spectators it may have seemed as if Vermilion had simply tripped over himself, the duel had provided enough spectacle for them to reevaluate Kyle Lyard.
After all, he had completely overwhelmed Vermilion Drake. It was only natural for him to be praised.
“Hehe…”
Hearing their murmurs, a quiet chuckle escaped Sylvia’s lips.
Although she hadn’t particularly enjoyed the duel with Vermilion Drake, she was delighted that people’s perception of Kyle had changed.
Moreover, she was pleased that, just as he had promised, he returned to her side the moment his schedule was over.
“You seem to be in a good mood, Lady Sylvia.”
“Do I?”
Kyle, who had been watching her silently, spoke up.
Sylvia quickly turned her head, pretending to be indifferent.
However, the faint humming and the lightness in her steps made it impossible to hide her feelings.
Not that she had really intended to hide them in the first place.
“E-Excuse me, Lord Lyard, may I have a moment of your time?”
“I was so moved by your duel earlier… I just wanted to come and say hello.”
“Oh, uh, of course. That’s fine.”
“…….”
Sylvia quickly realized that the shifting attention toward Kyle was not entirely enjoyable.
Before she knew it, young ladies from various noble families had begun to gather around him, slowly encircling him.
Though they used the duel as an excuse to approach him, it was clear to anyone that they were openly expressing their admiration for Kyle.
‘I liked him first. I was the first to see how amazing Kyle is.’
A childish sense of jealousy began to bubble up inside Sylvia.
She puffed up her cheeks in a sulky manner, staring at him as he chatted with the other ladies.
‘Hmph, just look at that smug face.’
Of course, Kyle wasn’t actually smiling like that.
But to Sylvia, who was currently seeing everything through a distorted lens, even he became an innocent target of her frustration.
“By the way, are you two in a relationship? I’ve been meaning to ask!”
“Me too! I was curious as well!”
Just then, one of the noblewomen, only now noticing Sylvia’s presence, carefully asked about their relationship.
Since romance was the biggest interest among young ladies of their age, others quickly joined in, eagerly pressing for answers.
Kyle found himself in an awkward position.
On the surface, they did claim to be in a relationship, so it wasn’t exactly incorrect.
But he hesitated, unsure if Sylvia would find it unpleasant.
Wham!
“That’s right. Though we haven’t been together for long.”
“W-Wait, Lady Sylvia…?”
Seizing the opportunity, Sylvia boldly stepped forward, looping her arm through Kyle’s without hesitation.
Kyle’s face stiffened in shock.
“What do you mean Lady Sylvia? Call me by my name, like you usually do.”
“Kyaaah!”
“You call her by her first name!?”
“So Lord Lyard is actually quite affectionate when no one’s watching!”
Sylvia, seeking a little revenge for earlier, feigned shyness and spoke with a coy smile.
Her words sent the surrounding ladies into an excited frenzy.
Thud.
Kyle silently pressed a hand against his forehead, utterly exasperated by the chaotic scene unfolding before him.
The composed expression he had maintained even while handling Vermilion was now nowhere to be found.
At this moment, he realized—
Enduring Sylvia’s teasing was far harder than canceling a fourth-rank spell.