Chapter 459: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: More Wild Rumors

Saturday finally came to an end, with many of the Ashenlocke First-Years going through their recovery treatments after the previous rounds of the Combat Festival. Once their bodies had recovered enough, they spent the following day meditating and rethinking how they would approach the next rounds.

It wasn’t only the Ashenlocke’s who were doing this.

The First-Years of the Burnwick’s, Galehart’s, Bergwyn’s, Derlis’s, Drakes’s, and the other families that still had children competing in the tournament were also using the break to prepare themselves.

Some were resting.

Some were training their minds.

Others were reviewing the fights they had already experienced, trying to figure out what they had done wrong and what they could change before their next match.

With those preparations finally coming to an end for the following day...

Another hidden annoyance had also begun to grow.

***

Back in the Mix Arena inside the Art & Fashion Specialist Club building...

On the top floor...

Lucien Derlis was seated on a stool, his right hand holding a palette paint board while his left hand held a paintbrush.

He was busy painting something.

A soft piece of music played throughout the room while he worked.

The sound came from somewhere near the wall, low enough that it didn’t interfere with the movement of his brush across the painting board.

Lucien’s attention remained on his work.

His brush moved slowly across the board.

While a female student rested on a big table nearby while looking at the ceiling in a relaxed state.

Her navy-blue hair lay loose across the table, spreading around her head as she stared at the chandelier lights above.

Her navy-blue eyes followed the light without much interest.

The peaceful atmosphere continued for several moments.

Then...

Bam!

The door of the room suddenly pushed open.

"Eleanor Tempest, you bitch!!!"

Prince Daniel Aethelmont entered the room with heavy steps.

The sudden sound caused the door to strike the wall.

Eleanor didn’t jump.

She didn’t even sit up.

"Your Highness."

She said calmly, as she moved her body slightly so that she could face the Prince who had just shouted her name, without standing up.

Daniel’s expression was filled with anger.

"I was on board when I saw those negative messages being posted about my Vera."

He pointed toward Eleanor.

"Because I felt Vera deserved a lesson, but it was only for that time. Why the hell have the rumors increased again?!"

Prince Daniel’s voice rose through the room.

"Why am I hearing things like... Vera is only riding on Luck, gliding through easy opponents, because she was picked amongst the faces of the tournament. So, the school doesn’t want her to lose quickly and more terrible stuff about my Vera!! Answer me, Eleanor!!"

Eleanor simply looked at him.

She narrowed her beautiful navy-blue eyes for several seconds.

There was no fear in her expression.

No apology.

No sign that the Prince’s anger had affected her.

Minewhile...

Lucien, who should have been disturbed by Daniel’s sudden entrance and shouting, continued painting without any trouble.

His brush didn’t even stop.

"Ahhh..."

Eleanor sighed.

Then she lazily laid herself back down.

Clearly not bothered by what angered the second Prince.

It didn’t matter to her that a Prince was standing there shouting.

"It’s not like I’m the one writing those anonymous rumors about her."

She said calmly.

"But you are the head of the News Club, and you are the one who approves of any news being posted on the News Club’s private page."

Prince Daniel walked closer to the table Eleanor was resting on.

His footsteps were heavier now.

"So?"

Eleanor replied flatly.

Daniel stared at her.

"So?"

His teeth clenched.

The anger in his face became even more obvious.

"So, get rid of all those wild rumors now!"

He shouted in an authoritative voice.

"I’m not sorry, but I can’t do that... Prince Daniel."

Eleanor replied in a casual tone.

She didn’t even change her position nor did she look at the Prince while she replied.

"This bitch..."

Daniel’s expression darkened.

"Because you were given the title of a Flower of Britannia, you think you are on the same authority as me, a Prince of this Kingdom?"

His voice became harsh and cold.

"Do you want to die, Eleanor Tempest?"

Eleanor immediately laughed.

"Hahaha... Hahaha..."

Her laughter was light.

She slowly sat upright on the table, then she folded one leg over the other while adjusting the navy-blue casual gown around her body.

Then she looked directly at Daniel.

"Is that a threat, Your Highness?"

She asked softly, but there was a certain sense of venom mixed into her gentle tone.

Daniel flinched slightly.

His eyes met Eleanor’s cold navy-blue eyes.

For the first time since entering the room, his anger hesitated.

Even though Eleanor came from the Tempest House, which held only Viscount Noble rank...

Her status wasn’t limited to the title of the Second Flower of Britannia.

She was also ranked No. 5 overall among the Third-Years of the Royal Academy.

Prince Daniel, despite being a member of the Royal Family, was only below the top fifteen in the Academy’s overall ranking.

None of his followers were even close to Eleanor’s level in terms of actual Alchemist strength.

Eleanor was an Arcanist Alchemist.

A Full Alchemist at that.

Daniel’s fist tightened.

There was nothing he could do.

Especially because Eleanor was his elder sister Princess Brenda Aethelmont’s close friend and supporter.

"Tsk."

Prince Daniel clicked his tongue angrily.

"Stop bullying the Second Prince, Eleanor."

Lucien finally spoke.

His voice came out gentle and calm.

He had been putting the finishing touches on his painting while Daniel and Eleanor argued.

The brush moved one final time.

Then Lucien carefully lifted it away from the painting board.

"Hmm."

He looked at the finished section.

"Haha."

Eleanor laughed lightly before turning toward Lucien.

"I would never bully Prince Daniel."

She said casually.

Saying it as though she wasn’t the one who had been making Daniel feel pressured only moments earlier.

Daniel looked at Lucien.

His face still held the anger caused by Eleanor’s rude behavior.

"I was the one who wrote the new wild rumors about Vera."

Lucien said casually.

"You were the one?"

Daniel’s eyes widened in complete shock.

"But why?"

He asked, genuinely confused.

"Because... Prince."

Lucien finally looked toward Daniel.

He was now finished with his painting.

He stood up from the stool.

Then he calmly walked toward Daniel.

Daniel’s expression became even more confused.

"You know how nothing ever gets through Vera’s emotional guard."

Lucien said calmly.

"Even with these wild rumors, I’m sure she wouldn’t feel worried."

"So, why did you do it then?"

Daniel asked.

He was still trying to figure out why Lucien had gone through all this trouble if he already believed that the rumors wouldn’t affect Vera.

"Because... even if she doesn’t feel anything..."

Lucien stopped walking for a moment.

His eyes shifted toward the painting board.

He dropped the palette paint board and brush onto the table on his right.

"She’s still human."

He continued walking toward Prince Daniel.

"And that means, hidden within her beautiful heart... Dear Vera still feels something."

Lucien’s expression remained gentle.

He wasn’t simply talking about whether Vera would finally become affected.

That wasn’t his goal.

He wanted to reach the emotions she kept hidden behind the image she had built around herself.

He paused.

"Vera will definitely make it to the tenth round. That I’m very sure of."

He continued.

"But Vera will lose in the semifinals to Diane Bergwyn, and that’s where the reaction will finally ignite from."

Daniel listened carefully.

Lucien’s plan was now becoming clearer to him.

"The goal isn’t to affect Vera’s run in the competition."

Lucien said in his gentle voice.

"It’s to make her realize where her place is amongst the true talents."

He raised his hand slightly.

"And for a lady who has built the image of being unattainable...untouchable...a lone flower living in a different reality from every other flower..."

His fingers slowly closed.

"A crack will appear."

He stopped directly in front of Daniel.

"So, you want to use that crack to get into her..."

Daniel said thoughtfully.

"That makes a lot of sense."

He finally understood what Lucien’s plan was after.

"But what about that pest who is gluing himself around her?"

Daniel asked.

His mind immediately returned to Ezra.

"That Ashenlocke."

His expression tightened.

"He could become a problem to your goal Lucien."

Daniel said a bit calmer than earlier.

Lucien’s expression remained calm.

"Ezra Ashenlocke can’t be with Vera Ashenlocke."

He said as he turned around.

Then he began walking back toward his painting.

"The Main family wouldn’t allow something like that to actually happen."

He continued speaking while walking.

"Especially after what the King said about Vera getting married to the Royal Family, especially

amongst you and your brothers. That’s if one of you becomes the next ruler of Britannia, though."

Eleanor moved her leg back and forth while remaining seated on the table.

She listened quietly.

Then she spoke.

"He practically wants her to be the next Queen of the Kingdom, or she should hold a solid position as Britannia’s power."

She looked toward Daniel with a faintly annoyed expression.

"So, why would the Main family marry their dear flower to a Lowline of all people?"

Lucien stopped when he reached the place where his painting stood.

"That’s also why the Ashenlockes haven’t rejected any marriage proposal yet."

He placed his hands on the Painting Board.

"They are waiting to pick the right person for Vera."

He continued.

"And as long as that person becomes a big figure in the Kingdom, they will approve of the marriage."

Lucien turned the Painting Board around.

He finally showed Daniel what he had drawn.

Daniel’s eyes widened.

It was Vera.

She was wearing the black gown she had worn during the First-Years’ welcoming ball party.

Lucien had managed to capture Vera’s appearance so accurately that Daniel felt as though he were looking at her face to face.

The shape of her face.

Her eyes.

The expression she even usually carries on her face.

Even the way the black gown rested against her figure had been brought onto the painting board with enough detail to make the image feel almost alive.

Lucien looked at the painting for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"At the end of the day... Ezra Ashenlocke is nothing to worry about."

Lucien pointed at the picture of Vera.

"The biggest worry is breaking Vera’s emotional wall."

He said with a smile of longing on his face.

Eleanor pouted as she looked at Lucien.

Her eyes moved from Lucien’s face to the painting of Vera.

She seemed less interested in his plan than in the way he was looking at the painting.

And judging by the expression on her face...

She clearly wasn’t pleased about it.