"Next time, the match won't be a draw."
Everyone who heard of Lesjon's words were confused. They all saw the battle and how the young master of Beryldot wasn't able to defend himself from the flames after the explosion.
Among all of them, Naell was the one who was truly surprised. As the one who had consistently been on the receiving end, he never even considered the possibility of a draw. Only upon thinking back did he realize what had really transpired.
"Naell's teacher in his estate was known for his snow magic. Specifically, spells that could very well bury you in snow." Moni was the one who explained seeing all her student's reactions.
Even Suna's student heard why it was a draw but not because of the professor, but because of Andrew's explanation.
" [ Snowified ] was a technique mastered by the head butler in the Berlydot estate. My parents told me how formidable it was."
Rinca and Namiku were feeling perplexed seeing the fight, but for a different reason. If someday they would have to face the villainous Naell, neither of them were certain that they would beat the young master without a scratch.
Nonetheless, the changes Naell had demonstrated when it came to his personality and abilities were immensely different from the old him, yet only Rinca was the one having a hard time accepting that fact.
Due to Namiku's status as the Easterside's princess (and her immense curiosity towards the mysterious young master), she had no difficulty in hiring investigators to spy on Naell.
From what they had gathered, not only did Naell not cause any trouble during the course of his stay, but he had even discreetly brought a group of syndicates to justice, without killing a single one.
Furthermore, Naell had so willingly refused to be accredited for his deeds, that he had even asked the guild and the authorities to hide his identity.
Yet that too was not the end of the young master's weird-but-not-wrong doings, as he had also isolated himself. Frequenting only the library, and the canteen, he had left himself with few interactions with the young master of Genoja, and of course, Owly.
With all the discussions going on, Naell was the only one who was silent as his thoughts were elsewhere.
'I guess you don't remember.'
Earlier in the battle, he thought he heard those words coming from Lesjon, yet due to the fast-paced battle he could not really confirm it.
"It is nice to see you again Na-ell."
Nevertheless, the last phrase had really caught Naell off guard. Something was telling him that there was more to his old self than he initially thought.
'I mean that's not my problem anymore... Hopefully.' Reassuringly he thought as he stood up and walked to the crowd.
.
.
.
Other matches were not as exciting as the previous bouts. They were also excellent, but lacked the finesse Naell and the rest exhibited.
Still, the last battle caught everyone's eyes, as the other student who also refuses to attend Mony's class--- April, was performing magnificently.
From the very beginning, all her movements were planned, yet she was capable of changing things to her advantage. Her usage of fire and earth magic were a combination of quick barrages of small flames, to well hidden earthly traps.
That was why it wasn't that thrilling as they knew the battle was over from the moment it began. Still, she also had her weakness, as her flame was lacking compared to the other students, yet with her perfect control and her stronger affinity to earth, even Viola knew it would have been hard fighting an opponent like her.
When the assessment came to an end, Owly with a whooosh flew above Naell's head, diffusing his villainous look, as the fluffy bird could amplify his appearance on the good side.
But before they could even run off, both Naell and April felt the somehow ominous smile that came from none other than their professor. Therefore, they awkwardly went with the flow and attended the remaining classes, fearing that going against it might incur the wrath of Mony.
As the lecture started, some of Naell's classmates only grew more curious about him. Not only was he handsome, but he was also a very capable mage.
The only downsides were the rumors surrounding Naell's infamy. Yet just like other rumors, it had been slightly exaggerated. The story to some of them was that the elegant man before them had once molested a poor engaged lady within his estate, resulting in his unfortunate beating from the lady's fiance, known to be an incredibly fearsome martial artist.
Luckily, not all of them knew the identity of who dueled Naell, as the young master's father, Baron Fharom paid a hefty amount to not further escalate the incident.
Rumor has it that he would have surely been disowned had it not been for Naell's status as the only successor of Beryldot.
"Viola are you okay?" Asked Marcha and Noveam as they could not help but ask upon seeing Viola glancing at Naell with a troubled look.
If Marcha was known for her bubbly personality, Noveam was known to be rather sophisticated, as she was born from an Earl's household who valued elegance and grace. Yet as they were both seated close to Viola, they had grown quite friendly towards one another.
"I'm fine... Sorry for worrying you guys."
With a grin and a ''wink wink'', Marcha whispered in a way that only the three of them could hear.
"Don't tell me you have a thing for the young master over there?"
Viola blushed upon her words but it wasn't at all true. Even Noveam could not help but add to the tease,
"Well, as far as faces go, Naell is certainly on top of the list."
"No! That not the case!" Viola's voice was so loud that most of the class were startled.
Mony's smile was directed at them as she asked,
"Mind sharing what you ladies are discussing?"
The three of them could only apologize and look at one another as they giggled at what they had done.
All the while, Naell was conscious that Viola and even Lesjon were looking at him from time to time. Which was why he knew Viola's "not the case" was probably about him in a bad way, but alas, such really was not the case.
On the other hand, Lesjon's "draw" probably meant he intended on finishing Naell, yet again that was very far from the truth.
Even though Naell began changing, his personality was still of a solid wimp blocking his very excellent mind from all the possible smart thoughts.
Only Owly figured out what kind of man Naell was. Nevertheless, it made the young owl more peaceful as he knew that the young master of Beryldot would never put himself in harm's way or more likely, if given the chance, he would surely use his mind for survival.
• You truly are weird, HOOT •
"Excuse me?." Whispered Naell, but he only got Owly's snore as a response.
After the lecture was over, Naell immediately went on his way towards the exit.
As he opened the door, he saw the faces of Andrew and the rest seemingly waiting for Viola. Owly who was sleeping on his head woke up with interest sensing the awkwardness in the air.
"Young master." Rizaul's bow and respectful tone shocked Note as he had never seen the half-elf being that polite, even with the princess of the Easterside empire, and the royalty of Taglagas.
Even Rinca was surprised, but only for a moment, as she remembered how the young half-elf had always been respectful towards his liege, which was Naell's father.
Upon seeing Naell and her friends together, Viola immediately ran over as she feared the potential bloodshed from seeing Rinca with a cold yet distant expression.
"Viola!" Seeing her, Namiku chose to abandon the weird atmosphere. She had no reason to be mad at Naell, so long as he would not hurt her friend.
Yet, on the other hand, Rinca, among all of them, did not at all acknowledge Naell's presence. She was expecting him to retaliate, but it never came as with simple words he said,
"It's been a while." Naell's words were also gentle underneath his panicking thoughts. His way of bowing was eyed upon by everyone as it was truly from a man of nobility.
It put Andrew in an awkward position, as he was also under Beryldot, but he could never bow to someone who had hurt his friends.
Sensing the pained face of Andrew as hostility, Naell thought that he was feeling mocked by his actions, so he then added on quickly,
"I will excuse myself now, Princess, Young master, young miss... Everyone."
They could not believe what had happened. As far as they knew, Naell would not have let that chance slip by. If he wanted to, he could call out Andrew's rudeness which would really put shame on the martial artist as he was a commoner.
Contrary to what Naell thought, Andrew never did feel mockery at that moment, he only felt guilt as he knew what his parents had told him, but even so, his character could not bend that easily.
As they watched him quickly walk away, Rizaul, after bidding them goodbye, followed after Naell.