'Lassie?'
Ryder rushed over to check on her. He believed earlier that it would take a long period of time before she woke up; however, it seemed to be the opposite.
"Urgh. What happened..?" Lassie asked as she held her head.
Brenna looked at Vienna for a second though, before answering her question. "You were attacked by Lynn Advans, a low breed. Hence, the announcement on the World screen.."
At that moment, Lassie recalled all that had happened while she was on her way to Ryder's castle, almost as if a movie was playing in front of her.
"But I thought the World screen was only used for dire situations?"
"This seems to be one to the Academy. If I am to be honest, we shouldn't be surprised. The academy has always wanted to control the low breeds. What happened only made it easier for them to fulfill their goals.." Vienna stated.
Just then, silence filled the room as the trio awaited what Lassie would say next. This never came though as she would grit her teeth. Observing his other two fiancees, Ryder noticed their indifferent expressions. This was to be expected as they didn't really care about low breeds like Lassie did. In an attempt, to cheer her up, he spoke out only to be interrupted later on.
"I..."
Turning his focus to the door of the room, Ryder stared at it like he had just seen a ghost. The fiancees were confused for sometime until they eventually felt it as well, a massive amount of pressure heading right for them.
The door burst open in an instant, revealing a figure that was too fast for their eyes to keep track of. This speeding figure collided with Ryder, sending him flying through the room's wall. The result of this attack was a shockwave that sliced Ryder's castle in half. Dust filled the air making it impossible to see through by normal means. After a few minutes, the dust settled revealing the shattered castle filled of maids, butlers and soldiers trying to get to their feet.
The fiancees on the other hand were safe thanks to the mythical looking shield that emitted from Vienna. Their cool and calm expressions soon changed though when they realized who had attacked Ryder.
"Father..?" Lassie stated almost as if she didn't believe it.
In front of them was the enraged Strageia staring down a bloody and unconscious Ryder, whose eyes was still wide open. The insane amount of pressure emitted from this man caused everyone around to hold their movements, as if the slightest motion would result in death. Brenna and Vienna were not an exception as they felt their breath get heavy as well.
"How dare you!" Floyd stated as he gripped his fist tightly.
"Father! What are you doing!?" Lassie questioned as she was slightly freed of her shock.
As if motivated by her question, Brenna and Vienna got in front of Ryder in order to stop any further damage. Even though they were brave enough to so this, Floyd could tell they were trembling in their boots. After what felt like a minute, he turned his sights to Lassie softening his expression a bit.
"I heard what had happened from the World screen. Unlike everyone else though, it seems I got a better explanation of the situation from the Academy. I believe that is because I am your father though."
Lassie was not surprised that he believed something like that. However, it was obvious they wanted to make life as hard as possible for Ryder.
"When I gave you to him, I did so believing he was more than capable of taking care of you. The fact that you were attacked and poisoned with Vile scorpion venom... you are indeed lucky to be alive. My attack not too long ago was simply to express my disappointment in him. I am sure a Strageia of his caliber will survive my previous attack though."
Hearing her father's explanation, Lassie couldn't really argue with him concerning his actions. He was clearly worried; however, she couldn't fully agree with what he had done.
"Father.." Lassie said in a low tone unsure of what to say for some period of time.
Her father seeming to pay attention patiently, eventually spoke cutting her off.
"Lassie, you can't stay her anymore. What happened today proved something to me. It showed me that he is not capable of protecting you the way I initially thought he could," Floyd glanced at Ryder briefly.
Brenna and Vienna did not dare try to intervene as they still felt like they were in a danger zone.
"But father..!"
"No buts, Lassie.." Floyd stated with an expression full of resolve.
Keeping silent, Lassie would stare at Ryder who was still laying unconscious on the floor. Floyd walked over in slow controlled steps before picking her up in his arms. Afterwards, he turned his attention to Brenna and Vienna, expressing his thoughts at the moment and delivering a warning.
"I will be taking my daughter to my castle. There I will help her recover as best as I can. Tell Ryder that if he even thinks of showing his face there...I will kill him."
In an instant, he dashed off at incredible speed, vanishing from their sights. With the intimidating Strageia gone, the two fiancees sighed loudly, full of relief. Turning their sights to the castle and then Ryder, the two went to work in order to restore things to the way they were.
Few hours later, Ryder could be seen waking up from what seemed to be a nightmare. With sweat filling his face, Ryder gave heavy breaths before eventually placing his hand on his forehead.
Even though he had just woken up from a nightmare, he could remember as clear as day that he got his senses knocked out of him. Looking at his body, he was not surprised to see that he was healed of every injury on his body.
"So that's what it feels like to get the shit knocked out of you. It feels terrible alright," Ryder said to himself as he scratched his head.
Getting up to his feet, Ryder walked out of his room, moving around the halls of the castle. The castle which was split in half earlier, was now looking as good as new, not that Ryder was aware of this. From the cool breeze moving around the pass, he could tell straight away that it was night time.
As he roamed the halls, he eventually took a right turn to the side of the hall, almost colliding with somebody. This was stopped though by what looked like a small part of a shield deflecting his hand away.
'What!?'
This was the first time Ryder had ever seen this structure face to face, not that he was aware of it in the first place.
"Oh, Master Ryder! Sorry about that, you kinda startled me," Vienna said with a strange smile.
"Brenna.."
"Oh, her, she is sleeping in her room."
Ryder was not surprised to learn this as Brenna had been awake through out the whole day. She had just returned from wherever Vienna found her and she was sucked into his mess. For sure she was exhausted as hell. Though this made him wonder why she wasn't asleep as well.
As if understanding his thoughts, Vienna proceeded to answer the question he had in his mind.
"I am still awake simply because I don't want you to do anything you are not supposed to," Vienna said with a smirk.
'Something I am not supposed to!?' Ryder thought to himself.
"While you were unconscious Master Floyd gave out a warning."
Upon hearing this, his expression changed into one of bitterness; however, it was not so easy to recognize at first glance.
"He said that if you even think of showing yourself in his castle, he will kill you."