Once he had finished speaking with the woman, Dorian walked out of the office, Lili back in her bat form and perched on his shoulder.

"That went better than I expected. I thought she would ask more questions. I'm glad she didn't," he spoke as he walked, the students all looking at him as he moved.

"Master, are we taking the entire library with us?" Lili asked.

"If I could take the entire library with me, I would," Dorian sighed. "Unfortunately, that's way too greedy. Even for me."

He continued, "No, I only need a specific book. One that perhaps covers the existence of Gods and witches. There are a few things I need to learn." As he uttered those words, a serious expression played on his face.

Lili was about to ask why he would need to do research on these beings when Dorian suddenly stopped, a few inches away from the window, gawking right past it.

There, he could see his sister, Yelena, standing in front of a female trio—one girl and two grown men—dressed in the academy uniform as well.

At the far end, as though trying to draw attention to themselves, were Maria and Seraphina.

Seeing this, he narrowed his gaze, already having an idea of what was going on. He sighed.

"Let's go."

And with that, he began heading toward their location.

Meanwhile…

"Yelena? Is that really you? No way, you've changed a lot. I almost didn't recognize you."

This made Yelena chuckle mockingly, her arms folded before she replied. "Do I know you? I seem to remember you saying you didn't remember me back then. Did your brain suddenly start working again?"

The girl standing in front of the trio flinched a bit, trying her best to maintain a smile on her face even though it was slowly falling and twitching.

"What are you talking about? It's me, Steacy, your friend. We both aimed to enter the academy together, remember?"

Yelena still kept a straight face.

"Quit the act. It's seriously pissing me off." She laughed a bit. "You're only here because you heard that my brother is the next big thing in Lumberg."

That was true. Back then, Steacy and Yelena used to be really good friends. Though they were small, they still aimed for the academy.

The age requirement to be admitted into the academy was 16, and Steacy, of course, got in, leaving Yelena behind. But that wasn't all.

Even before they got admitted, Steacy's father was a former member of the Aurelian barony, a successful farmer who ended up moving to another barony after having a huge disagreement with the Baron.

This also led to Steacy bullying Yelena, especially after she found out how much of a fool Dorian was back then and how their family was in deep debt.

Both of them had never spoken since then, which was exactly why Yelena found her words absolutely ridiculous.

With time, it became hard for Steacy to keep her smile, so she grinned, an angry and yet devious grin. "What is this? You're talking back to me? It's only been a few years, but I can still put you in your place if that's what you need."

Yelena kept quiet for a while. Dorian had already actively told her not to start up trouble, especially on the first day. Not disappointing her brother was far more important than talking to this woman.

Yelena waved her hand and turned around. "You're not worth the trouble. Never speak of my brother like that again and stay away from me, too."

Maria and Seraphina smiled, feeling like mothers watching their child finally stand up for themselves.

However, the same reaction could not be said for Steacy. The ugly frown on her face was enough to chase away any lingering spirit in the area.

"How dare you turn your back on me? Just because your brother is in favor of the King doesn't mean you aren't shit anyway!" She grinned again. "Just like you hid under my shadow before, you are going to hide under him as well."

"Huh?" Yelena suddenly stopped to look at her. "Come now, you are a Master-ranked Tamer at best. What makes you think you are in any way close to my brother? Know your place, maggot."

"W-hat?" Steacy's brows twitched in anger, her fist clenched as she gritted her teeth. At this point, a lot of students already had their eyes on them.

As a third-year, there was no way she could let someone who just got admitted treat her this way.

"You're dead."

As though they spoke telepathically, the two men flanking Steacy's side both charged forward as fast as they could, their hands open to grab Yelena. Before they could do that, Maria and Seraphina chimed in.

Baam!

Maria booted the first man in the chest, sending him staggering backward and falling on his butt. The other one halted, seeing a strange magic circle glowing right in front of him.

"My my, how sad. Two grown men ganging up on a defenseless lady. Have you no shame?" Seraphina said, her hand outstretched as the circle pulsed.

Maria slowly lowered her leg, glaring down at the man she had just kicked. He did not dare stand up.

"Who the hell are you? You both don't look like you teach here, and you're way too old to be students either. What? Are you her guardians or something?" Steacy still carried the angry look on her face.

"Old?" Seraphina closed her eyes with a smile, a smile coated under layers of annoyance.

"What if they are? None of your fake bodyguards stand a chance against them. You might as well just keep your mouth shut," Yelena uttered, not wasting a single opportunity to clap back. If anything, she was wishing for Steacy to make a move.

"You think these grandmas around you can save you or something?" Steacy's fingers began to glow a bit, a small magic circle appearing right behind her.

Those who were knowledgeable about the Beast Tamer class knew she was about to summon her familiar.

And since she was a Master-rank, it wouldn't be a surprise if she was able to summon a High-level or Mid-level monster.

Though the same could be said for Yelena, since for a brief second, she forgot about her brother and was willing to go all out. Her finger twinkled a bit, flames slowly sparkling, threatening to burst out.

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed from the side. "Fighting in the middle of school, without any form of agreement whatsoever? Are you trying to get yourself expelled?"

Immediately she heard that voice, Yelena flinched in fear, knowing that voice belonged to her brother.

She quickly hid her hand behind her back, blinking multiple times as whatever excuse she thought about went out the window.

Steacy, on the other hand, was more mesmerized than anything. As she stared at him, her cheeks slowly turned red, her mouth slightly opened.

She had heard Dorian had changed a lot, but to think he would be this good-looking. "D-Dorian?"

Dorian moved his nagging gaze away from Yelena and straight towards Steacy. "A pretty girl like yourself shouldn't be fighting like this. You agree that it is rather... barbaric? I would have come on time, but I needed to draft a contract and all."

Steacy was speechless, words unable to leave her mouth. "Y-you're right! T-then I challenge you to a duel, Yelena Aurelian!" She pointed aggressively, her cheeks still red.

"Huh?" Yelena let out in dismay.

Yes, Steacy thought.

If she could disgrace Yelena in front of her brother, not only would she earn points, but she would also prove to Dorian how useless his sister was. Not to mention she had been looking for a way to get to him, but students were not allowed to leave the academy grounds. This was practically the only time she could get to win him over.

Dorian suddenly chimed in again. "A duel? Now that's more honorable. What do you say, sis? Do you agree to this?"

Yelena was surprised for a while; she never expected her brother to agree to this. He had already upgraded her to a Lord-rank; there was no way he truly thought this Master-ranked Tamer stood a chance. Unless…

Yelena thought of something, but to confirm it, she had to look at three different faces.

First was her brother, of course, who already had his hand deep in his shirt, ready to pull out something immediately if she was to give a response.

The evil grin he was trying to hide was not helping him either. Then she looked at Maria and Seraphina, and even they could not help but glance away, their faces etched with pity.

That was the confirmation she needed. Dorian was definitely up to something; whether it would favor her or not was where the bargain lay.

"Fuck." She sighed. "Fine, I agree to the stupid duel."

"AWWWWWWNN, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TOOOO~" Dorian had the biggest smile on his face before pulling a rolled-up contract from his pocket and stretching it out to the girls.

...

[A/N]

I will be giving a Yelena pov before the fight, since we are slowly nearing the revelations.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.