episode_0055

As the thick dust settled, one woman stood there proudly, Seraphina Serion. Her two legs felt like they were trembling, so she could not move easily. This was because her tense body relaxed simultaneously with being excited by the euphoria of victory. She won. She had won. She had defeated that Mark Visas, fairly and squarely with skill, without any tricks.. She had challenged him multiple times but never won, but finally made that man kneel. Even though it was something she herself had done, she couldn’t believe it. Due to the final blow she unleashed in the duel, the sky split, and above the wide-open arena sky, the sun shone only upon the place where she stood. Everyone may not have voiced it, but Seraphina’s appearance right now was the very image of a victor. Standing tall in the sunlight, her appearance was truly beautiful and noble, and her two hands gripping the greatsword were even reverent, captivating everyone’s gaze at this moment, in this place. Conversely, her opponent, who had been relaxed before the duel, was shamefully sprawling on the ground, his composure nowhere to be seen. There were no serious visible injuries, but he could not get up from where he lay, in a position as if he had fainted. That was how precise and sharp Seraphina’s technique was that finished the duel, more so than ever before. Serion’s treasure sword, which Mark had been holding, had also fallen to the ground, rolling about on the floor, covered in dirt. The first match, which everyone expected to end quickly, showed a high-level competition that silenced everyone. Perhaps because of this, the arena, which had been full of all sorts of commotion until the start of the duel, now held only a chilling silence. Neither the spectators nor the commentary team had yet properly grasped or understood the series of events that had unfolded before their eyes. Mark Visas, the favorite for the duel trial who had received everyone’s expectation and attention, had been defeated by Seraphina Serion, whom no one had expected and who had been treated as a washed-up has-been. “…! Yes..Yes! The..the duel has been concluded! Truly it was an incredible duel, to the extent that my eyes could not believe it! The victor is! Seraphina Serion!” Such commentary echoed belatedly, but no one paid attention to that fact. Not even a small round of applause was heard, let alone cheers. It seemed the spectators would still need sufficient time to awaken from the shock. Seraphina didn’t care about this situation and coolly turned around and returned to the competitor waiting room. This was because the person she wanted to share the joy of victory with was not the spectators. That’s why she had no choice but to hurry her steps. To the lovely man who was the only one here who had placed expectations on her, waited for her, and whom she could not help but harbor affection for.. “Seraphina!” “Ropel!” As Seraphina expected, Ropel was already waiting in his own waiting room. His face was flushed, and he wasn’t hiding his joy. As soon as she saw him, she ran into his arms and hugged him deeply. She freely indulged in his body warmth, which now felt warmer and more comfortable than anything else. Whether he knew this or not, Ropel showed a pure smile and accepted her hug without refusal. “Congratulations, Seraphina. It was truly an incredible duel! My mouth wouldn’t close the whole time I was watching, you know? As expected, your persistent training paid off.” “Thank you for the compliment. But this also would have been impossible without you. Truly.. I cannot help but express my gratitude.” “Haha, what did I do? You are the one who won this duel from start to finish. There’s no need to be more thankful to me than necessary.” “Hmph, you don’t seem to know that humility is poison when excessive. Well, it’s fine, this is also probably one of your aspects.” Honestly, matters related to the family were secondary in her heart right now. Of course, it was true that she was happy about her self-growth, that she had defeated Mark Visas with her own strength and increased the possibility of inheriting the family succession, and that she had gotten closer to the level she had dreamed of. This was because she immediately felt the desire to have another duel right away to try the technique she had just used again and develop it. But frankly speaking, what excited her now more than the fact that she could inherit the family succession. Was the fact that she could be together with this attractive and ideal man before her eyes, Ropel, as much as she wanted from now on. If she had been defeated by Mark, her fate would have been sealed for the rest of her life as a puppet to subject the man named Mark to the Serion family. And then she would have tragically had no choice but to let go of the man she could love for the first time. But she had seized victory from Mark. The duel trial is not yet completely over, but since she definitely defeated Mark, she might no longer be in a position to receive the family’s decision, but rather be in a position to make her own decisions directly. If that happens, perhaps in the future, when the day comes for her to decide on her partner, she will hold a considerably advantageous right of decision within the family. If that were to happen… Gulp She had already designated the man before her eyes as her life partner, with whom she would spend her entire life. Moreover, this naive and overly kind man, from the looks of it, did not seem to refuse kindness coming his way. Since she was not lacking in family background or ability, if she made up various reasons and pretexts and coaxed him well, it would likely be possible to keep him close to her. And from there, if she gradually targeted his body and mind, winning over this man, who was not just attractive but even vexing, would not be difficult. Although there were many other female cats also aiming for this same man, that was a problem to be solved in time. Lick In this hugging posture with their heads crossed, Ropel could not confirm her expression. That expression, which was licking its lips, was filled with desire and even vulgarity, as if the noble appearance from just moments ago had gone somewhere. “By the way, Seraphina. Well, given that you defeated Mark, the favorite, the duel might already be over, but you shouldn’t let your guard down yet, right? Don’t you need to start preparing for your next opponent soon?” “Certainly, that might be the case. But at least it’s not urgent, so there’s also no need to rush. There’s still plenty of time left until my next match. …So…” From the posture of hugging Ropel, she pressed even closer to him, to the point where her cheek touched his shoulder. Her two hands stroking his back also felt strangely sensual. ”Just… just let me hold you like this a little longer…” Saying that, she put even more strength into her hands holding Ropel. As if she would absolutely never want to let him go . . . The Head of the Serion family. The disciple of the former Sword Saint. And the Captain of the Serions Knights. All refer to one man, Regulus Serion. He was excellent not only in his own skill but also in his ability to raise successors, capable of producing countless talented individuals from the family’s knight order. And especially this year, he had designated a student who was not of the family bloodline, Mark Visas, as the next successor of the family. It was a somewhat strange and peculiar decision, but in the face of his fame and authority, no one in the Serion family dared to speak out. That man was now sitting in the VIP seats of the arena, staring blankly into the void, the duel trial in front of him secondary. The reason was naturally the result of the duel that had just happened, and furthermore, its content. This duel, that is to say, this match, also had the condition of deciding the position of the next head of the family. Originally, it was a sudden challenge from a man he saw for the first time, who appeared before his disciple who was overwhelming his daughter Seraphina, but the disciple himself accepted it. However, after the disciple won the duel trial, he suddenly changed the condition again, saying that the decision must be made through a duel with Seraphina, not that man. He had thought it was a little strange, but he didn’t want to delve into his personal reasons, so he hadn’t paid it much mind. But the situation was flowing in a way he could not possibly have predicted. Mark Visas, the genius he had taken notice of and the disciple he was raising again after a long time, had been defeated. And the opponent was his daughter, Seraphina Serion, whom he had judged to have no talent and had excluded from the succession structure. Surely, until just a while ago, Seraphina could never have defeated Mark. The gap in their talent was clear, impossible to bridge no matter how long she worked at it. But she had proudly won this duel. And the final blow she had unleashed in the final duel, powerful enough to split the clouds in the high sky, was clearly that of his old master. It was undoubtedly the technique of Sword Saint Sargos, a level of mastery that no one had ever realized or reached. This meant that at this age, she had reached a level that neither he nor his disciple, who inherited his philosophy and techniques, had been able to realize or reach. He clutched his throbbing head, trying to calm his confused mind. This was because the daughter who had denied the family had achieved the level that he, and the disciple who inherited his philosophy and techniques, had not reached, seemingly to show them. Shame, regret, guilt, and other such feelings flooded him in an instant, making him utterly unable to lift his head. But having said that, his mind was not entirely filled with negative thoughts right now. On the other hand, only now did he finally feel a sense of relief. This was because he could finally put his childhood memories and his feelings for the child he had first had and first lost into order. To understand this in more detail, one must speak of Richard Serion, the first child he had and his first disciple in life. About that man who lost his brilliant life far too early.