Marcos turned to Fenris, trying to tell him that it was not necessary to fight his brother.
"Fenris, you know that it's not necessary to fight your own brother-" But Marcos was interrupted by Fenris, who maintained a serious expression even with Gregory pressed up against his face.
"Challenge accepted." Fenris said bluntly and confidently. He ignored his father's words and chose to accept Gregory's request for a duel. After all, it was the perfect opportunity for him to exact an even sweeter deal of revenge than he did the last time. In other words, he was only salting the wound.
In spite of Fenris' confident statement and even though he felt certain of getting revenge, doubts were stirring within him, too. He had never seen Gregory fight with his sword before, and he would see it for the first time in this duel. Fenris knew from Roland that Gregory wasn't as skilled as he was, but he still felt queasy about the whole thing.
Over the remainder of the day, Fenris and Gregory did not speak at all. Considering the two had a bitter relationship and only got along when pushed together by circumstance, this wasn't entirely unheard of. In the evening, the family sat down to dinner as they normally do, but this time there was a special guest.
Sarbina, Fenris' servant, ate with the family at dinner. To her, this was a dream come true. In comparison with what she usually ate every night with the other servants, the food she was served at the long dinner table was of much better quality.
"I am grateful for the wonderful food you provided for me, Lord Marcos!" Sabrina smiled as she ate. Gregory didn't like the fact that a servant ate at the dinner table, but he kept his mouth shut. In any case, it's not like Sabrina is his servant anymore, so there's no point in complaining about her presence.
Meanwhile, Fenris stared blankly into space for what seemed like an eternity. In an effort to snap him out of it, his father spoke up.
He asked his son, staring at his empty plate, "Are you going to eat?" Marcos asked in a concerned tone.
A gasp escaped Fenris' mouth as he became aware of his surroundings again. In front of his family, he looked embarrassed to act like this. The expression on his face quickly changed to one of apology, as if he were asking for forgiveness from his father.
"Sorry! I'll start eating now." Fenris replied in a slightly shaky voice as he grabbed whatever he could from the other plates and filled up his own plate with things such as meat and fish, two very nutritious food items that nobles usually ate.
The food was delicious as usual. Though unlike Sabrina, who seemed overly surprised by the quality of the food she ate, Fenris thought this was normal for him. He had this kind of quality so often that he got used to the taste. This was to the point where it didn't seem surprising anymore. Not to say it wasn't any good, though.
Not expecting much from this particular dinner night, things quickly took a turn when Fenris's mother, Maria, turned her eyes to look at his. This was perhaps the first time in her life.
"Fenris," Maria said in a neutral tone of voice. "Are you sure Arcana is right for you? I mean, with it being such an elite academy, I reckon it'll be difficult for you to get in. If you didn't pass the entrance exam, do you know what else you would do with your life besides school?" Maria added.
Fenris stared blankly at his mother for a moment before fixing his expression to be more natural. He was heavily confused as to why his mother spoke to him only now when she hadn't in all of his life. However, the woman had a point. He hadn't considered what his backup plan would be if Arcana turned out to be a no-go for him. Fenris began seriously considering alternatives, placing his hand on his chin, indicating he was thinking.
"Hmm..." Fenris said, thinking. "Well, Mother, I haven't really considered any other alternatives if I didn't pass the entrance exam, but..." Fenris smiled as he pulled his finger away from his chin. "I thought the Adventurer's Guild? They take people 12 years old and up, don't they? I could start from the bottom and work my way up." Fenris added. He said this enthusiastically because becoming an adventurer would be an awesome alternative, as he could put his skills to the test against live monsters. Not that he hasn't done this already, but he'd do it as his job instead of for training or fun.
"Interesting, interesting..." Maria raised her eyebrows at Fenris when he responded to her question. She didn't expect him to answer it so thoroughly, but then again, he's always been polite, or at least tried. Deep inside, she felt a little guilty that she hadn't talked to her son in a motherly manner since he was an infant.
"Hah, the Adventurer's Guild? Someone like you would be laughed at by the older adventurers. But if you really want to make a fool of yourself, Gregory said, dropping his fork for a moment as he spoke out of pride again, talking down to Fenris about his idea of becoming an adventurer. Though he wasn't entirely wrong, some adventurers tend to act like jerks, especially towards younger and less experienced adventurers. Gregory knew this because he had been on the streets quite often, including in taverns, where adventurers usually gather after a hard day's work.
Maria, offended by Gregory's haughty attitude towards Fenris, sharply turns her eyes over to his and gives him a quick punch in the arm. "Ay! Not at the table, young man." She says it in a firm tone of voice.
Gregory flinched at his mother punching him in the arm. It didn't hurt much, but what mattered was the effect of discipline that it had on him. He always feared his mother more than his father because she scolded him more often than Marcos did. In response to his mother's annoyed response, Gregory shut his trap and continued to eat.
Fenris couldn't help but smile, thinking to himself. "Serves him right."
The rest of the dinner was standard. The family had a variety of conversations, mostly related to current events and politics. Fenris, often a part of these heated debates, hated them with a passion. Thankfully, his sister, Lilianna, who was now 10 years old, was still too young to be included in these kinds of discussions.
A few hours later, it was close to midnight. The feelings of doubt within Fenris seem to have subsided for now. However, he knew that tomorrow would determine whether he got a chance to go or not. In his mind, he assured himself that everything would be fine and nothing bad would happen.
However, his brother seems to have had other plans.
Suddenly, Fenris detected a substantial amount of concentrated mana outside his bedroom window. He immediately suspected it was a spell being cast, but by whom?
Unfortunately, he did not have enough time to react as the spell blew open the bedroom window. A loud "thud" could be heard as Fenris' body crashed against the wall on the other side of the room.
Once he had gotten up and dusted himself off, Fenris heard a voice outside. He stepped forward to his now-opened window, only to look down and see his brother looking very angry.
"COME DOWN HERE, FENRIS; WE ARE GOING TO SETTLE THIS LIKE MEN RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!" Gregory yelled out, knowing full well that his brother could hear him. He unleashed that wind spell to wake him up and lure him to the ground.
Fenris looked down at his brother from above, frustrated and scared at the same time. Though the only reason he was scared was because he had just been woken up by a wind blast, this was definitely not something you'd wake up to normally. Knowing he could not back out of the duel now, Fenris grabbed his sword on display in his room and jumped down from his window.
The two brothers stood against one another in the Tonelico mansion backyard. Both with swords in hand, they would duel each other with swordsmanship only. It was honorable to do, after all.
After a period of awkward silence between the two, Fenris was the first to speak up. "You couldn't have waited until morning at least, Gregory?" He said it in a somewhat irritated tone, as he was still tired even though he had been woken up rather abruptly.
Gregory ignored his question, however, and cut right to the chase. "Since when did you start conspiring against me?" He said it in an angry tone of voice, just like before.
"I've always wanted to go to the magic academy, if that's what you mean." Fenris replied in a cool voice. Despite being tired, he wanted to remain calm for as long as possible.
"Well, that's not going to happen!" Gregory shouted back at Fenris, with his temper rising the longer he looked at his little brother's face. "Because I'm going to defeat you right here, right now, and show you that I'm the best in this family and that your 'skills' that I have been told about are just a fluke! So, get ready, Fenris! The first one to draw blood wins!" He added.
"Heh, if you think you're so confident that you're going to beat me, best wishes to you, brother." Fenris replied, unsheathing his sword and getting into his stance. He placed one foot back while the other lunged forward, with the sword out and protecting his face. "I'll give you the first move since you're so confident. I insist." He added.
Now that he was about to face his brother and unleash all of his hatred on him through clashes of steel and tang, his worries and doubts melted away. Fenris had remembered the techniques the knights had shown him when analyzing an opponent. He would analyze everything, from their stance to the twitch of a muscle. This allowed him to predict Gregory's movements and counterattack accordingly.
Gregory took the bait and launched the first strike. Using magic to enhance his speed and strength, he dashed forward at Fenris at inhuman speed, striking downward. Fenris saw this coming and countered with an upward strike, clashing each other's blades for the first time.
Gregory thought of this as pure luck, so he attacked Fenris again by swinging the blade at him soon after the latter parried his first attack. Fenris dodged it before falling back, adjusting his sword grip to only one hand instead of two.
Fenris then lunged forward, swinging his blade at a downward-right angle to aim at the lower belt. This time, Fenris showed off more of his physical prowess and let loose his speed. His attack came so fast that Gregory barely had enough time to block it before being knocked back by Fenris's blade.
"What's wrong? Already losing your steam?" Fenris mocked. "I thought you were supposed to be 'superior' to me! But I guess that was just a load of bull, wasn't it?" He added, quickly raising his voice while striking Gregory again, this time from the side. Fenris came at him even faster this time, sending Gregory tumbling a few feet to the ground before getting back up.
"The hell...? What are you? Some kind of freak?!" Gregory said this in disbelief at what was happening. He refocused, enhancing himself further with mana, allowing himself to better detect Fenris's attacks. However, at this point in the fight, it seemed like he was only toying with his elder brother.
Fenris' attacks came from all around, mostly in the air, as Gregory struggled to block or parry most of them. Fenris, in turn, spoke to his elder brother in a more vulgar fashion, venting all of his frustration at him in a mocking way.
"Oh, what's wrong, Gregory? Can't keep up with my attacks? What happened to that big, strong confidence of yours? Did it get thrown into the fire like our relationship did?" Fenris yelled out, attacking Gregory's ego, which he knew would hurt him the most. Fenris didn't give a damn about venting his hard feelings about his own flesh and blood because he hated his guts.
Gregory grunted as he struggled to parry each and every attack. To him, Fenris was just toying with him, which made him even madder than before. To be played like a pawn like this drove Gregory up the wall, and he had had enough of Fenris's taunts.
"Oh yeah?! What makes you suddenly the better man here? You weren't even born into this family! While I am a pure-bred son of the distinguished Tonelico noble house," Gregory parried one of Fenris's attacks mid-sentence. "You're the bastard son of a mistress! I have no idea why Father accepted you into our family, but he did anyway. Obviously, he doesn't seem to care that you're illegitimate!" Gregory yelled out to Fenris, trying to counter all of his mocking remarks.
Enraged, Fenris quits holding back and unleashes all the power he can muster on Gregory without killing him. He launches a sword strike that knocks Gregory's sword out of his hand and sends it flying. Meanwhile, Fenris drew his sword upon his brother's neck, grazing it only slightly while still drawing blood.
"This fight is over." Fenris had said it in a deep and calm voice with a stern expression on his face. Knowing he had won, he removed his sword from his brothers' necks and sheathed his blade. Fenris stared down at his humiliated brother coldly. He then told Gregory point-blank about his demands for tomorrow.
"Since you have lost this fight, you will go to Father tomorrow and say you've forfeited the match. Got it?" Fenris spoke in a cold tone, impatiently expecting an answer from his brother.
"...Fine. I surrender." Gregory said, defeated. He had lost to his younger brother, and now he would have to bear the humiliation of telling his father tomorrow that he had forfeited. He got up and dusted himself off, turned away from Fenris, and never looked back. He stormed back into the mansion, heading for bed.
Fenris, satisfied with winning over Gregory, his elder brother and the one who bullied him for years, flew back up into his window and closed it. With everything now settled, Fenris found himself very tired and went to sleep.