Chapter 22. What Gave You the Courage to...

A whole month had passed.

It was the day of the swordsmanship tournament. The school was overflowing with swarms of people, mostly noblemen however. "Isn't this a little bit too much?" The corners of Azalea's mouth had twitched. He was standing in the seats surrounding the arena, with his legs wobbling.

The arena was a large plain of ground. Meanwhile, the seats were all the way up in the air, surrounding to look down at the arena.

To Azalea, it felt as if the noblemen were watching a bunch of cattle from their high chair, trying to choose which cattle befitted their tastes.

It is way too intimidating...! He tried his best to calm down. Azalea breathed in and out, trying to calm the waves that his heart had trembled out.

"There's nothing to worry about, is there?" Lucilline looked at him with skepticism.

His long eyelashes fluttered along to the wind, "I'm confident that you have superb swordsmanship skills. After all, you're almost on par with Willow."

Sitting beside him was Willow.

The maidservant nodded encouragingly. "Have confidence."

Meanwhile, Daphnne sat beside her. "Az is great at swordsmanship! I believe that you have the talent to surpass the others! Do your best out there!"

Percival nodded with a smile.

Hearing all of his companions' compliments, Azalea regained some of his original confidence. He nodded, with his white hair bouncing up and down like a feather riding on the high winds. "I will for sure do my best!" His amethyst purple eyes held a strong determination.

Soon enough, the referee called for all the contestants to meet at the arena. Azalea quickly ran off to meet with all the other contestants. They had drawn lots to determine their opponent.

The tournament was beginning.

Cheers and clapping had resounded through the arena. Lucilline sat beside Percival, Willow, Daphnne, and Augustine. The atmosphere became quite heated, as many eventful fights began to aspire.

Azalea fought against many noblemen.

Even though his legs shook before, when he was facing his opponent, he did not shudder even a slight bit. His amethyst purple eyes remained unmoved. Azalea moved his sword thrice, then easily deflected all attacks of his opponent. Unfazed, he managed to force the opponent into surrendering by pointing his sword at their neck.

The audience watched how everything transpired.

Willow nodded, satisfied. "He's surely made an improvement."

Even Augustine; a trained assassin; couldn't help but admit that the male lead was an expert at swordsmanship.

"Az is really cool! Right, Lucilline?" Daphnne squealed.

Lucilline looked at her gently, "Yes." He agreed.

Meanwhile, Percival was busy taking notes down in his mind. So this is the type of guy that Lucilline thinks is cool. A handsome man who knows swordsmanship. It seems like I might also have to take classes from Willow... His lips thinned to a firm line.

"Agh, I lost... how could I possibly go back to M like this?" Gilg was wailing in the back corner.

Beside him, Tetra just sneered, "I could always bring your corpse back if you'd like."

Gilg immediately stood up from his squat, looking quite petrified. "I thought that we were on the same team?"

Tetra stuck out his tongue, "It's a joke?"

"Anyways," Gilg went back to complaining. "That Azalea sure is strong! I couldn't even make a single move on him! His swordsmanship is flawless! As expected of the male lead!"

Tetra's face had darkened. He snapped, "Don't forget about our true mission."

"But..." Gilg was confused. "What are you holding that cup of hot piping water for?"

Tetra's face had lightened, as if he was delighted that his companion asked so. "It's part of our mission. Don't worry, I won't mess up."

In the original novel, Lucilline truly hated the heroine for some unknown reason. During the swordsmanship tournament, he even decisively spilt hot water on the heroine! This had infuriated the heroine, and she called for a duel against the villain! The heroine wasn't some sort of weakling. She had beaten up the villain thoroughly. Lucilline had brewed even more hatred towards her!

Tetra pursed his lips.

However, it was different this time. After reincarnating, Lucilline even somehow managed to befriend the heroine and the two male leads?

His mission was to reverse this butterfly effect, and prevent the original storyline from collapsing.

*****

"AHHHH!!!" A shriek arose from the arena.

Daphnne was drenched in hot piping water. Her face turned from red to blue, as her chestnut brown hair and school outwear was soaked. The temperature burned at her skin. Half of her forearm had already turned scalding red from the heat, with the skin already beginning to peel off. The blood veins underneath her scarred arm was visible. It looked disgusting. It would for sure leave a scar!

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" A cry whimpered from beside her.

Daphnne whipped her head back, meeting the frightened eyes of a servant.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" This servant kowtowed. "I was forced!"

It took a long time for Daphnne to come back to herself. She held her breath, feeling the burning sensation ripping at her skin. Her chest heaved, trying to resist the pain.

A lot of people's attention turned to this commotion.

"That poor girl," a noblewoman sighed. "Her arm is forever ruined. She probably won't be able to ever wear dresses again."

"Who would do such a thing?" Another noblewoman gossiped.

"Who cares?" A nobleman sneered. "She's just a commoner in the end."

The whispers seemed to hurt even more than the burns. Daphnne gritted her teeth, and flashed a forceful smile at the servant. However, it looked more like a death glare.

Beside her, Willow had already ripped a portion off of her own skirt. She quickly got her own cup of cold tea, pouring it over her ripped skirt. The soaked fabric was pressed against Daphnne's wound, bringing it some sort of relief.

"Who sent you to do such a thing?" Lucilline looked at the servant. "Aren't you aware that deliberate harm is accounted for as endangering life?"

The servant's frightful eyes quickly turned into puzzlement.

"Why are you asking me such a thing? Aren't you the one who ordered me, Young Master Rubius?"

A heavy silence pressed down on the arena.

All of the noble people's eyes had probed in Lucilline's direction. They looked at him with gossip and disgust in their eyes.

"Why would the Young Master of Duke Rubius do such a thing?"

You say that like you actually care about Daphnne—even though you call her a commoner.

"I didn't know that he is such a terrible person?"

I didn't do it! It wasn't me! I only have two servants... Willow and Augustine.

"Is this how Duke Rubius teaches his children?"

Why must you bring up Father in every conversation? He didn't do anything...

For some odd reason, Lucilline was able to hear every single gossip from the noblemen and women. His ears seemed to reach far and wide, enveloping the entire arena with his senses. He wanted to refute all of their statements. He wanted to tell them that they are wrong...!

But... he couldn't.

It was as if something had blocked his mouth shut.

He couldn't prove that this servant wasn't his. Nobody would believe him. After all, he was a villain. Villains are supposed to hurt the heroine—the main characters. Villains must be hated on, they must be despised. Villains are horrible beings. He was a villain.

"AHHHHH!!!" Another scream ripped through the air.

Lucilline was shocked, as Daphnne let loose another shriek. The heroine is going wild! He couldn't help but think of that line.

Daphnne punched at herself, trying to resist the burning sensation.

She glared at the servant, "What is your name?"

The servant's eyes had widened. "Tetra...?"

"Last name!" Daphnne demanded.

As if influenced by the heroine's halo, the servant had bowed down to her command. "Wilson! I am Tetra Wilson, my lady!"

Another surname that I've never heard of. Lucilline seemed to connect this servant as one of the reincarnators...

"Tetra Wilson," Daphnne stood up from her seat. Her eyes were truly terrifying, "What gave you the courage to accuse the Young Master of Duke Rubius? Do you even hear how idiotic you sound?"

Her words seemed to cleanse all the evil behind.

Lucilline snapped out of it. He was stunned that the heroine believed in himself. Any normal person would have hesitated. They would have thought, "Maybe Lucilline truly is evil. Maybe he did come up with such a scheme to hurt me."

However, Daphnne did not hesitate.

"All noblemen, noblewomen!" She turned to look over at them. "You even dare to question your ruler? The three Grand Dukes of history—Rubius, Delta, and Leinhart—they protected us with their lives, but you dare to repay them with suspicion and disloyalty? You make me laugh."

"On behalf of the honour of Grand Duke Rubius," Daphnne caught the attention of everyone.

"Tetra Wilson!" The heroine shone like the almighty sun. "I, Daphnne Bellerose, challenge you to a duel!"

Everyone in the arena was stunned until speechless. In history, the only female that dared to challenge people to a duel was the eldest daughter of Duke Rubius; Lucilline's older sister; Scarletta. Until now, there has been no other female that dared to do so.

Daphnne was the first to follow up.

"Daphnne..." Willow's eyes widened.

The heroine was not messing around. "Tetra Wilson, if you're not a wimp, then come and meet me in the arena right now!"

Tetra, "..." How did his plan mess up? It's been blown out of proportion...

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Daphnne threatened. "Are you scared? Scared that you'll be defeated by a female commoner?"

Tetra wanted to cry. I'm from the modern world! I don't look down on females! And there are no commoners from my time!

"I-" Tetra tried to wiggle his way out of the mess. "I'm just a servant, I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Stop lying!" Daphnne roared. "I know you! You're from my class! You're a student, not a servant! I don't even know why you tried to disguise yourself in the first place! All I know is that you tried to accuse Lucilline Rubius for something he did not do."

She puffed her chest out. "This is a crime against the Grand Dukes in Lydia Kingdom. If you defeat me, then I will not pursue this matter of being burned by your hot water. However, if I defeat you, then you must leave S Academy!"

Cold sweat fell down from Tetra's forehead.

It took him a lot of effort to enter S Academy! As a reincarnator, he had to study his butt off in order to enrol, so he could complete his missions as a member of M with ease.

If he were to leave S Academy, then he would be making a lot of difficulties for M!

"I accept!" He gritted his teeth. He has to win!

Tetra found himself in the arena, with thousands of eyes watching him. In front of him was Daphnne, the heroine. Even though she was a girl, she had great memorizing ability. In her childhood, she was used to watching Azalea fight the wild animals. Therefore, she managed to memorize all of his moves.

This made her a strong competitor.

But... Tetra gritted his teeth. I must win! I need to win this fight!

Daphnne and Tetra both wielded metallic swords, with the blade sharpened. A mere contact of it against skin could possibly leave a hideous scar!

But Daphnne felt like there was nothing for her to lose.

Her arm, which was splashed in hot water, had already begun to numb. Blood vessels were blue and purple among her scalded red skin. As a girl, she had always tended to her beauty. Having her arm scarred, she was irritated to over beyond circumstances!

She wanted to win!

"Let the duel—commence!" The referee announced.

Without hesitation, Tetra and Daphnne both rushed at each other. Their swords were aimed at the opponent's vital spot—

All of a sudden, a loud crash engulfed the school.

Both Daphnne and Tetra came to a stop. They were stunned at the sudden interruption.

"AHHHHHH!!!" Noble people fled. The stands had crashed, with the stone walls tumbling over. Among the wreckage of building, a humongous creature raised its head. The creature was on its four legs, with two protruding horns on its head. It's entire body was coated in black ink, with hideous red scars running through its face. Slowly, it let out a smile, revealing its pointy sharp teeth, with residual blood painted across. "THERE ARE DEMONS IN THE SCHOOL!"

Author's Note: ٩(๑> ₃ <)۶ Ho Ho Ho, the plot thickens! Also, I don't know if my dear readers noticed something about the heroine's speech... She have revealed something about her name.

And now, demons have invaded the school! What could possibly be happening in the next chapter?