I Married the Beautiful Female Protagonist In Order To Survive

41. Ah, So Impressive (Without Emotion)

The “Zerola wants to challenge Lord Henry’s sister to become a lapdog? He’ll probably be annihilated” scenario that everyone had envisioned… didn’t happen.

But that wasn’t because Lord Henry’s sister, “Henri IV,” was weak. The power she displayed had the teachers murmuring: Fiora, even the academy’s acknowledged genius Moriarty, would likely be facing a challenge.

So… the reason lay elsewhere.

No one expected that Zerola, the “problem student,” the “number one, well-known lapdog” in everyone’s eyes, would actually be able to go toe-to-toe with Henri IV once they were in the arena. Wasn’t he supposed to be annihilated, a clown serving as a backdrop to showcase Henri IV’s strength?

At first, everyone thought: It must be Miss Filora’s weapon that was too powerful. Considering her royal status, how could the weapon in her hand be a pile of scrap metal? But… unlike most students who lacked discernment, the instructors and a few students with some insight and strength quickly noticed: Zerola wasn’t utilizing the exceptional qualities of Filora’s sword at all. At best… he was just treating it like a rock-solid club.

His power, movements, even his strength, were truly his own! Aside from being quite different from what was taught at the academy, he was no different from a true powerhouse! This infuriated several instructors, who wore expressions of frustrated disappointment.

“That kid’s holding back! He looks like he’s handling it with ease, he could at least put up a fight against Moriarty.”

“What kind of backwater style is that!? If he was willing to accept proper training, he wouldn’t have to worry about finding a good girl!”

Meanwhile, Zerola had no time to pay attention to the idle gossip around him.

Blade clashed against blade, and Zerola once again faced Henri IV head-on. He had lost count of how many times this was, but what he knew for certain was…

“You and your brother really are siblings… your moves are exactly the same. Not bad for someone imitating his brother’s style.”

“You are… Brother said you were at least a seventh-level swordsman. I wanted to see for myself, but… you’re not quite there~”

Henri IV’s movements weren’t affected at all by Zerola’s greater strength as a man.

And… Zerola also realized: this Henri IV was holding back. From start to finish, it had been a contest of brute force, as if both had tacitly agreed to avoid “revealing too much.” How could he have such unspoken understanding with this woman? The thought bothered him.

But, he also breathed a sigh of relief: At least it showed that Henri IV knew she had to “lure out the attacker” and hadn’t forgotten her original purpose just to pick a fight with Filora.

“Whether I’m capable or not is none of your business.”

Gathering his strength once more, he pushed Henri IV away, and they both pulled back, planning their next exchange.

“Of course~ I’m just worried you’ll hold me back.”

“Then don’t give Filora trouble.”

“Oh my~ You’re really quite the simp, even though you two aren’t together?”

Tsk, once he had the right to stand beside Filora, he’d make arrogant, spoiled brats like her green with envy!

“Annoying!”

Zerola muttered, taking the opportunity to survey the surroundings: Students and teachers alike were staring intently at the match. While he wanted to glance at Filora, Zerola was more focused on finding any “suspicious individuals.”

Like… students furtively watching him or Henri IV.

Since there were none, then he’d have to make some “big commotion” to draw them out! Like… this!

Almost there.

His eyes sharpened, and at the moment Henri IV attacked again, Zerola responded in a way he hadn’t before!

Block this attack! In that brief instant, Zerola definitely had plenty of opportunities, even from a disadvantaged position, to turn the tables and give Henri IV a good lesson!

“Hmph, I’ll spare you this time.”

But if he did that, would the previous attacker still be “interested” in Henri IV? The answer was no!

So, Zerola had already decided on his plan here – to properly demonstrate to this woman, and to the surrounding students and teachers, that he was truly worthy of Filora, then…

Lose simply and easily, just like now!

*Thwack.*

With a dull thud, Zerola took a solid punch to the cheek. His body spun as he flew backward, landing hard on the ground and rolling several times before finally lying still.

“Ah! So powerful, I lost!”

Zelora himself felt like he was being sarcastic when he shouted that, but… those rubberneckers around wouldn’t hear it.

Or should it be said: did the thing “they were all worried about finally not happen, Henriette IV gloriously blew Zelora away” actually come true? All the cheers erupted at once, everyone tacitly treated the brief moment of surprise as if nothing had happened, burying it deep inside with their own self-deceptive logic.

Otherwise, admit that a “sycophant” is actually strong? Wouldn’t that be disrespecting Henriette IV?

“Henriette III’s sister, winning against a ‘clown’ is only natural, isn’t it?”

Such voices floated over, and Zelora, lying on the ground, knew: he’d won big. He slightly lifted his head, flashed a knowing look at Henriette IV, and watched her react with surprised annoyance, then storm off, drawing a throng of students chasing after her, assuming it was because Henriette IV was indifferent to fame and didn’t like the cheers.

Though it felt like Henriette IV had a strange little smile on her face when she left, Zelora was too lazy to think too much about it.

Once most of the crowd surrounding Henriette IV had dispersed, Zelora dusted himself off and got up, rubbing the side of his face that had taken a solid punch. He took a bit of a hit, but…

Henriette IV had definitely drawn enough attention. If his deduction was correct, the person who attacked Flora before was hidden among the academy students, so… it’d be hard not to notice this “newly powerful young lady.”

Next was to quietly wait to close the net, and then give that guy a good lesson.

For that, losing a bit of face was nothing.

“Zelora! Where are you going?!”

Flora’s scolding rang in his ears! It also scared away the last few onlookers, since… everyone thought Flora must be furious right now, because her “sycophant” had made her lose face.

Why stick around and get caught in the crossfire? Humph, a sycophant is a sycophant. He wanted to show off in front of his goddess, but ended up losing completely, haha! Made the goddess angry, didn’t he? Serves him right!

A group of people hurried away, whispering gloating words.

But they didn’t notice…

Behind them, Flora practically sprinted over, a look of concern on her face as she helped Zelora up.

The clown… who could it be?

Colored Illustrations Tomorrow or the Day After.