Duke Olyno watched with genuine interest and a dose of excitement as the white-haired man pushed open the double metal door, which creaked in protest. The duke's eyes lit up at this scene, and his upright posture indicated that he was excited for the first time that night.
Next to the duke, Councilor Steegar didn't lift a finger to act, but his face contorted into an expression of annoyance.
On the other hand, in contrast to the apparent nonchalance of the two men with the greatest authority in this compound, the ten soldiers of the duke's personal guard quickly organized themselves into an arched protective formation and pointed their spears towards the entrance.
When Victor had finished opening the door, he raised his head and looked at everyone. His eyes followed an order of targets. The first person he focused on was the slight-looking man next to the throne, this was Councilor Steegar, his target. Next, Victor saw the blond-haired young man who was looking at him with such excitement, only to finally see the guards standing in his way.
Olyno was even more impressed when he saw the appearance of the intruder. He was a tall, white-haired man with broad shoulders, wearing dark clothes that contrasted with his white skin. His eyes were like burning coals, blazing with an intensity that made even the most experienced guards in the room want to retreat. In his hands, Victor held a sharp sword, whose glint in the crystal-lit environment added an air of imminent danger.
The soldiers of the personal guard quickly decided to act in order to prevent any action by the invader, because if this white-haired man had made it this far, he certainly wasn't weak. So they all stamped their feet simultaneously and took a step forward, pointing their spears straight ahead.
Victor twirled his sword in one hand and swung it forward, showing that he wasn't going to back down.
Duke Olyno's eyebrows arched with even more interest, and just as the confrontation between Victor and the soldiers seemed about to begin, Olyno rose from his throne, which made all the men immediately stop.
"First of all, let's allow this man to introduce himself, my loyal squires!" Olyno ordered loudly, his voice echoing in the throne room which was filled with an electrifying energy.
The intruder slowly turned his eyes towards the duke, but contrary to the boy's wishes, Victor didn't say his own name. "Kid, don't get in the way of big business. You're not the one I intend to kill tonight."
The wide, eager smile on Olyno's face immediately wilted. As a spoiled brat, he was used to having all the attention directed at him and expected Victor to be there to kill him, so Victor's response was like a slap in the face.
At that moment, Councilor Steegar approached the young duke and whispered a few words that made Olyno finally understand what was going on. The young man seemed to be frustrated by what he had discovered and sat back down on his throne while the counselor retreated to his side.
With a hand on his chin and a look of disdain, Olyno said:
"So you're just the father of the Rank-S who was arrested by my men. And to think that they let some old rat who's nothing special slip through the corridors into my office. That's shameful."
This time, it was Victor who was surprised. Ever since he discovered that Councilor Steegar was the one manipulating Olyno, he had assumed that the duke knew nothing about it and that Wanda's arrest had probably gone unnoticed by his eyes, but no, that wasn't exactly true.
"Well, if you came here after escaping from prison, you must have a plan. It's unlikely that you've only come to inevitably die at the hands of my men, which is what will happen if you try to capture her or anyone else in this room to use as a hostage." Olyno smiled with an almost venomous confidence.
Victor relaxed his posture and nodded. "As I said, duke, it's not you I want. Don't worry about that. But it's good that you're here instead of having gone to bed at the right time like other children your age."
Olyno's countenance turned bitter, but he resisted the urge to have his guards behead the old man immediately. "What are you getting at?"
"Duke, I want you to answer me: what is the only law that protects a desperate and cornered man? You see, this law was not proclaimed by a king, nor by a church that worships some deity, but it has always been present throughout human history in order to guarantee fair and equal combat. This law has already created pretexts for wars to be started, but it has also proved capable of concluding them. It is the most just law in the eyes of all people and the mere fact of rejecting it is already considered an outrage for the honorable. Tell me, duke, do you know what law I'm talking about?"
Olyno knew the answer to Victor's question from the first sentence, because this was the law that had allowed his father to be considered a great man when he was young, even though he had never had enough power to even try to take on the position of king, and this was the same law that could give him the position of King of the Athina Kingdom one day.
"Yes, of course I know... It's the Law of Dueling." The duke replied, but still seemed a little hesitant. "However, man, you should know that the law of this kingdom forbids Hunters, like you and your daughter, from directly challenging members of the nobility, like me, to Duels."
"I know, but your counselor is not a member of the nobility, I must assume, because, even if he was before becoming an counselor, he had to give up his titles, property and possessions before taking up this position, to guarantee total loyalty to whom he would serve. So, I, Victor Shiedman, Rank-B Hunter, directly challenge Councilor Steegar to a duel! If I lose, I will return to prison and take full responsibility for all the crimes I have committed, but if I win, you must leave my daughter alone!"