NOVGO.NET Chapter 1708: Came to Duel
Chapter 1708: Came to Duel
Villain Ch 1708. Came to Duel
Allen leaned forward, elbows on his knees. Let his eyes adjust.
Then, with a groan, he reached for the phone on the nearby desk.
Allen: I’ll come down soon.
He stood after sending it. Stretched his arms. Walked over to the sink built into the corner alcove, splashing cold water on his face. It hit sharp, and real, and grounding. He stared at himself in the mirror. Messy hair. Collarbone peeking from the low scoop of his black home shirt.
He considered changing.
Maybe putting on the proper clothes. Or something more ’Goldborne-appropriate.’
Then again… this was Azura.
This was fine.
He ran a hand through his dark hair to make it slightly less wild, grabbed a neutral cologne bottle—something subtle with smoky notes—and sprayed twice. One on the wrist. One behind the neck.
Good enough.
The marble hallway outside was silent as ever.
She was already waiting.
Azura.
And she never just waited.
By the time Allen stepped into the Goldborne living room, he could already smell her perfume.
It was faint but distinct—like crushed petals and iron. Beautiful and sharp. The kind of scent that made you think of ballroom murders and elegantly phrased death threats.
And there she was.
Azura sat on the long velvet couch with one leg tucked beneath her and a cup of tea—Goldborne blend, of course—resting on her knee. She looked up as he entered, eyes catching his like they’d been waiting there the entire time.
“Hey.”
“You’re slow,” she said, voice smooth and amused. “I could’ve died of boredom.”
“You’ve fought through three boss raids with a broken arm,” Allen said as he walked over. “You’ll live.”
Azura smiled. Not warm, not cold. Just… knowing.
She was dressed in a black cropped sweater and silky wine-colored pants, casual by her standards, but still too elegant for someone allegedly just here to chat.
“You were hard to find,” she said after a beat, sipping her tea. “I checked your friend list. You weren’t online.”
“I was writing,” Allen replied as he lowered himself into the armchair across from her. “Didn’t log in today. Not until just now.”
“Writing?” she raised a brow.
Allen leaned his head back and gave her a long-suffering look. “Don’t start. Ask anything except that.”
Azura smirked faintly. “Fine. I’ll behave.”
A pause. The kind of silence that wasn’t awkward yet—just charged with the kind of tension that came from people who tried to inspect each other.
She stirred her tea absently with the tip of her finger, the spoon clinking quietly against the fine porcelain.
“…How are you?” she asked at last, casually. Maybe too casually.
Allen blinked, caught slightly off guard. “That’s a trap.”
She raised an eyebrow. “It’s a basic question.”
“Exactly. Which makes it suspicious coming from you.”
Azura let out a soft snort. “You’re impossible.”
Allen exhaled through his nose, the corners of his mouth twitching. “I’m fine. Tired. Busy. The usual.”
Azura hummed, her gaze drifting along the walls of the room. “So gaming and helping your dad?”
“Yeah,” Allen said, leaning back into the armchair.
Allen looked at her. Really looked this time.
She looked calm. But somehow Allen knew she cover up something.
“…What about you?” he asked quietly. “How’ve you been?”
Azura lifted one shoulder. “Fine.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the same answer you gave.”
He raised his hands in mock surrender. “Touché.”
She leaned back on the couch, crossing one leg over the other, posture the picture of ease. But her fingers kept playing with the hem of her sleeve. Nervous tic. She always did that before exams. Or raids.
A light talk. Harmless banter.
But Allen watched her eyes as she spoke—how they never lingered too long on the tea or the room. How they tracked him. How they flicked toward his chest, then darted away like nothing happened.
She was watching.
Calculating.
He recognized the signs.
“So,” Allen said, voice low, “are we just here for tea and banter? Or…”
Azura’s smile didn’t vanish, but it did shift—just slightly. Less teasing. More deliberate.
She set the cup down, carefully, precisely, and met his gaze head-on.
“I came to duel.”
Allen blinked. “What?”
“In the game,” she clarified. “Simulation mode. Goldborne’s duel arena is open. We haven’t used it since last time.”
“That’s… random,” he said slowly. “You walk into my house just to challenge me to a duel?”
She shrugged, innocent and dangerous. “Why not?”
“No reason?” Allen pressed.
Azura smiled again, this time softer. “No reason.”
But he knew better.
No reason never meant no reason.
Not with her.
Not with the way her voice lingered a little on the word duel, or how she sat straighter now, her gaze fixed like this was a high-stakes negotiation and not casual cousin catch-up.
He leaned forward, elbows on knees. “Azura.”
“Hm?”
“You didn’t come here just for that.”
“No,” she said after a pause, too casual.
“You could’ve sent a message.”
“I wanted to see you.”
There it was.
Allen didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe for a moment.
Her tone wasn’t desperate. Wasn’t romantic. Wasn’t flirty.
It was real.
Soft and plain in a way that somehow made it hit harder than anything dripping with affection.
Allen’s gaze softened for a split second. “You miss me that much?”
Azura looked away—just a flicker. Just enough to confirm it.
“Maybe.”
He stood slowly. “Alright. I’ll boot the simulator.”
Azura looked back up. “Now?”
“You showed up in person,” Allen said, walking toward the hallway. “You don’t get to chicken out.”
Azura’s smile returned. This time a little more wicked. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
As Allen left the room to prep the duel settings, his heart beat just a little faster.
Not from danger.
But from the tension.
Because even if it started as a friendly spar…
Azura didn’t want a duel.
She wanted to know something.
And she was going to use every strike, every spell, and every look to find it.
’It seems she already knows the emperor is me…’