Damn Family

-What? I can’t believe this. Is it really that strange for me to leave the Duke’s House?

This is literally it.

It was so sudden, barging into the room after hearing just one sentence from Marquis Magnuel and Duke Carsein’s conversation. Even now, thinking about it, it was too hasty.

Jumping to conclusions.

Grabbing people randomly.

Almost causing trouble.

Fortunately, I regained my senses in time. Otherwise, things could have gone as badly as the Rilfetten incident.

If the retainers had taken issue with this, Carsein would have faced consequences. It was a close call.

But why does this bother me so much?

I left the Duke’s House for a reason, but I still feel uneasy.

Could I be missing something?

“Clare. Clare.”

“Oh, Mother.”

I snapped back to reality and saw Isabella shaking my shoulder.

“I couldn’t tell how many times I called you.”

Since I didn’t respond earlier, she shook me hard enough that my body moved. That’s when I reacted.

Isabella asked me gently,

“…Did you fight with Carsein?”

Clare flinched at her question. She did meet Carsein, after all. And what happened there wasn’t good either.

But she denied it sharply,

“No, Mother! We didn’t fight… Why would you say such a thing?”

“You haven’t been looking at him at all. Look.”

Isabella pointed at the arena.

Carsein had already finished his match.

He won by pinning down his opponent in just two rounds. It wasn’t surprising that misunderstandings arose.

“The winner is Carsein Bargrand!”

─Wow!

The crowd was already noisy, filled with cheers.

Who should be the happiest person seeing this scene?

“Even though he’s fighting, you’re not even looking or reacting. Isn’t that worrying?”

“…”

The second sister was unusually quiet, which made people think they fought.

Misunderstandings need to be cleared up.

Clare cleared her throat and replied,

“I did meet Carsein, but we didn’t fight.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I had something else on my mind.”

Hearing this, Isabella relaxed.

“Don’t space out too much or you’ll miss everything. Clare?”

“Oh, Mother!”

The atmosphere returned.

With light banter and returning to the topic of Carsein’s match, their conversation naturally ended.

As she shook off her thoughts and turned to look at the arena, her collar was suddenly tugged slightly.

Her youngest sister, with slender fingers like a sprout, had a worried expression.

Indeed, if Carsein’s name came up, someone else would worry too. There were many remnants from the past.

Flora whispered to her,

“Did something happen to Carsein?”

“No, no. There aren’t any bad rumors.”

“But, I remember…”

“Flora.”

Clare gently stroked her youngest sister’s golden hair.

“Even if there are things I don’t know, I can definitely say this. This time, nothing happened.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So let’s watch the match without worry, okay?”

“Okay.”

Only then did Flora smile brightly and turn her gaze to the arena.

—I am the one who should leave the Duke’s House, after all.

Even though this still feels uncomfortable…

Clare decided to set aside this unease for now.

She couldn’t miss her younger brother’s performance. She needed to see it all.

—

Meanwhile, Arina carefully observed the other participants’ matches.

By watching others, she established her own fighting style and strategy.

She needed to create a path to victory using the information available.

While other participants used this time for personal adjustments, Arina calmly gathered information.

“The intense attack style of Meksel is quite challenging. He eliminated last year’s quarterfinalist. Impressive.”

Plus, new participants were quite strong.

Some members from the Western tribe joined the tournament as an example, showcasing significant skills. This increased the number of unknown competitors.

However, not many were particularly threatening.

Arina, with her substantial inner strength, didn’t find many opponents to be a real challenge.

Just then, a match began.

Arina’s eyes immediately focused on one person.

“…Carsein.”

Her eyes narrowed involuntarily.

Thinking about her birthday was inevitable.

The hair tie wasn’t just a hair tie; it was more important that the gathering of nobles and retainers didn’t fall apart because of it.

But Carsein, on her birthday, dramatically raised a huge storm by showing off the hair tie in the party hall.

His retainers criticized him harshly, and the nobles voiced their complaints and criticisms.

How much energy it took to calm everyone down. Carsein turned her birthday into the worst day ever.

Moreover, by canceling the birthday present she gave before, he completely ruined the remaining goodwill, leaving a bitter aftertaste.

All this happened the day before the tournament.

If she had faced Carsein in the match, she would have made him pay dearly for his arrogance.

In a way, Carsein was lucky.

“If we had matched up, I would have shed tears of blood.”

Either way, Carsein was positioned opposite to Arina, meaning they wouldn’t meet unless it was the final round.

This meant that Carsein wouldn’t get a chance to correct his rotten mindset anytime soon.

Even if a miracle happened and he reached the finals…

“Hmph. It doesn’t matter. I doubt it will be worth watching anyway.”

Given his awkward stance, it’s clear where his weaknesses lie. He’ll fall quickly.

Just as Arina was about to turn away from Carsein’s match, his sword moved gracefully, parrying his opponent’s strike.

-Klang! Klang!

Cleanly deflecting the attack, pushing the center of the sword, and finishing with a grappling move.

“…”

It was a simple yet elegant sword strike.

A plain movement without mana usage, easily recognizable at first glance.

Yet, he won.

Arina smirked.

“So, despite his arrogance, he has improved his skill.”

Compared to last year, he was clearly different.

After all, he spent considerable time training in the training hall. It seemed he hadn’t reached the point of elimination yet.

“Keep going until the end. Only then can I fully correct your rotten mindset.”

No, correcting his mindset wouldn’t be enough.

I’ll make sure he never speaks arrogantly again.

—

“See? I was right! Carsein Bargrand has truly improved!”

“Tch. His opponent was quite skilled too.”

With Carsein’s victory, a new atmosphere spread through the audience.

Unlike before, fewer people bet on him, but those who witnessed his impressive performance became even more enthusiastic.

However, many also envied him.

“Ha. Didn’t he win unfairly last year too? Of course, he would do the same this time.”

“Exactly. Why would a lowly person like him change?”

“Considering he only has one sponsor, it seems the family supported him. Hehe.”

“Maybe he’ll knock someone out during the match again, making it amusing.”

He still had many enemies.

For being adopted from the slums.

For a commoner suddenly rising to become a duke.

And for having a history of incidents and gossip.

These labels made him a perfect target for enemies in both noble society and the Peselros Empire.

There was no point reacting to such nonsense. Pollox tried to ignore their conversation.

“Even so, he won in just two rounds. How well he controlled his opponent…”

“Hey, there’s always luck involved, you know. Huh?”

“Well, maybe his opponent held back and lost on purpose.”

“Two rounds? It looked so easy. I could do it too!”

Pollox couldn’t help but laugh at their foolishness.

‘Is it really that easy?’

Unforgivable ignorance.

Yes, it was just two rounds. If there was a shortcut, he might have used it to win by taking advantage of his opponent’s guard.

Someone who hasn’t properly handled a sword or felt blisters from practice might think so.

Thus, it’s no wonder Pollox laughed.

‘A move easily recognized means the person’s actions were very precise.’

Clean and clear.

Intuitively visible to anyone.

This precise and straightforward action completely dominated the opponent, indicating one thing: the gap between them.

Already, the difference in skill level was evident.

The gap was so large that Carsein could crush his opponent in just two rounds.

That’s why this result occurred.

Pollox, who directly experienced Carsein’s swordplay, understood this best.

From his unwavering eyes and meticulous calculations…

Over time, he realized no one could beat this man.

‘Carsein and I have trained together for some time. Considering his growth over that period…’

Well, it’s hard to guarantee a win.

Though he was confident back then, he isn’t now.

“Indeed, beyond imagination. I didn’t expect him to grow this much when we last sparred.”

Behind him, some fools kept talking nonsense. Talfon sat boldly, interrupting their chatter.

The fools fell silent.

“Talfon.”

Pollox stared at Talfon, asking why he did such a foolish thing.

Talfon smiled at Pollox.

“It’s funny how these fools talk without knowing the gap between them. Carsein practices every day, yet they complain about his lack of results.”

“…”

“Do you agree?”

“Hey, Talfon.”

Upon hearing this, even those who knew nothing about the tournament fled.

Pollox sighed, feeling relieved.

“Unnecessary gossip.”

“Hmph. I won’t listen to these trashy imperial nobles insulting my friend.”

Well, Pollox somewhat agreed.

“So, Pollox, what do you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? I’m asking about the final matchups.”

Pollox glanced around the participants and answered.

“A dual top system, I suppose.”

“Indeed. I thought so too. I could smell six strong candidates by their mana.”

Talfon, drinking deeply, asked casually,

“Ha! But among them, only two will face off in the finals. You know who they are, right?”

“…What’s the point of saying?”

Strong individuals recognize each other.

In this arena, the two most noticeable figures were clearly Carsein and Arina.

The conversation ended here.

Even though they knew the outcome, neither Talfon nor Pollox brought up the obvious.

A strange silence hung in the air.

“The next match is starting!”

This silence was broken by the announcer’s voice announcing the next match.

—

-Swish!

“Gah…! I surrender.”

-Ding!

▶Defeated your opponent in the Martial Arts Tournament!◀

▶Proceeding to the next match.◀

-Clink.

“I lose.”

-Ding!

▶Defeated your opponent in the Martial Arts Tournament!◀

▶Proceeding to the next match.◀

-Flop.

“I surrender. You’re amazing.”

-Ding!

▶Defeated your opponent in the Martial Arts Tournament!◀

▶Proceeding to the next match.◀

Repeatedly, in the tournament, he defeated his opponents and won.

Winning and winning again.

As the Noblesse Points accumulated, it was finally time.

“The final match of the internal conflict within the Bargrand family starts now!”

-Ding!

▶Reached the Final Round!◀

▶Additional rewards may be given upon defeating your opponent.◀

[Opponent: Arina Bargrand]

Only those who emerged victorious in the fierce battles could reach this final stage.

The finals.

‘Haha. What a joke.’

The message in the status window was ridiculous.

[Ariana Bargrand]

[Jealousy: 86%]

The number had risen again.

It was absurd to see the word ‘jealousy,’ and the fact that it had increased was shocking.

Also, invisible text appeared each time she defeated someone.

▶Penalty received!◀

[Damage taken from Ariana increases!]

[Damage taken from Ariana increases!]

[Damage taken from Ariana increases!]

…

Stacking, stacking, stacking.

The accumulated penalties stood at:

[Damage taken from Ariana increases by 35%!]

With a 35% increase, she would likely suffer from other debuffs too.

‘She’s preparing thoroughly for me.’

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind—if this was the case, it must have been the same for the first match too.

This nearly caused a sigh of resignation to escape her lips.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already decided on my path.’

Perhaps this was the match everyone hoped for and expected.

An eagerly awaited matchup.

Following last year, the internal conflict of the Bargrand family has occurred again under similar conditions.

Someone might be hoping for a certain outcome.

Externally or internally.

And one person…

Desperately wants to crush me.

So, I’ll crush everything in one moment.

“I forfeit.”

---