"My head hurts…" When I opened my eyes, my head was pounding. Drinking so much wine had left me with a hangover. I sat up to think a little and tried to control the migraine. With my ice core, I solved the problem quickly. Another kind of headache struck immediately—the memories of yesterday's party came rushing back. All my embarrassing actions and words hit me like a whip.

"Why did I do all that?" I knew the reason; I just wanted to find another culprit. Yesterday, I had been overly affectionate with the three of them, loosened my own restraints, and let the alcohol carry me away. I would be lying if I said I hadn't enjoyed it—it was just embarrassing to think about it afterward.

"I want to crawl into a hole." At least only familiar people had seen me. If all those gossiping nobles had witnessed it, rumors would already be spreading everywhere.

I took a shower to calm my mind. On the small dresser in the room, I saw a jug of water with a note: "For the hangover", left by Marquis Julio. The water disappeared instantly—I had been parched after drinking so much sweet wine.

"Damn, I'm late." I changed as quickly as I could and ran out of the room. At the entrance to Camux's house, a servant informed me that the Baron and his daughter had already left for the party. That meant I had to arrive alone at Arisa's mansion. I asked the family coachman for a ride, and we set off for the second day of the festivities.

The whole way, I tried to come up with excuses for when the girls teased me. In the end, I decided to just accept their criticisms or jokes with good humor and reply accordingly. My face turned red again just thinking about everything I had done.

When I arrived, one of Arisa's family's servants guided me to the back courtyard. I was surprised by the number of games and attractions available. This was literally a village fair in a massive courtyard. At least I would try to enjoy myself today. If I managed to win some stuffed animals, I could give one to each of them as an apology.

I thanked my guide and moved on. "So you finally decided to show up." I heard a familiar voice hiding behind a tree halfway down the path.

"I would've been here earlier if someone hadn't dragged me into a wine-drinking contest." A small laugh followed, and then the culprit revealed herself. Susan, dressed in a soft red gown similar to yesterday's, the cause of all my headaches.

She raised her hands as if to say it wasn't her fault. "You kept drinking alongside me without me asking." That was true—the sweet taste of the wine had made me forget the consequences. I sighed.

"It's done now. Let's just enjoy this little fair." I had to turn the page. There was no use being upset at her.

"Yes, the weather's perfect for a beer." I looked at the vast, clear sky, the sun shining, the breeze cool. A perfect day—not too hot, not too cold. Fresh. I stared at her after that suggestion. "Don't look at me like that. The best way to fight a hangover is to drink more. If you're a man, you'll join me." I rolled my eyes and reacted just in time to catch the object flying toward me—a glass bottle of beer.

"One doesn't count." She opened her beer, and though I hesitated, I eventually gave in.

"I'll only drink one." The bitter taste of beer ran down my throat. I could've sworn I heard: They all say that, only one. I ignored Susan's comment.

We walked a few steps, and Susan suddenly stopped. "Maki, activate your Personal World." I did so reluctantly, extending my senses in all directions until the large dome surrounded me. At that moment, an unpleasant scene appeared within my ability. My gaze fixed in that direction, anger bubbling in my stomach. I turned toward Susan.

"Go on." She winked at me. Without another second's hesitation, I moved toward the group of five boys. Time to fix this.

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I hid behind a tree to listen first. Four of them were bullying a single boy. He wasn't defending himself—just enduring the punches and kicks silently, without saying a word or making a move.

"You brought this on yourself for defending that other idiot. Trash understands trash." The leader said this before punching the boy in the stomach.

"Yeah, we can't do anything to that peasant since he's always surrounded by people. I wish I had him right in front of me so I could prove how strong I am. He thinks he's better than us because Lady Marga, Lady Arisa, and Lady Sol pay him attention. I'll beat him up, and maybe then they'll fall for me." Another one chimed in, and the four of them laughed.

That was enough. These idiots weren't just bullying someone; apparently, this boy had defended me. Who did they think they were? A switch flipped inside me. It had been a long time since I felt such rage toward spoiled children.

Luisu's Point of View

"You think you're strong? You look like a worm to me." A voice came from behind us. My group and I turned to see the boy walking toward us.

A terrifying fear struck me. The pressure coming off that kid was unlike anything I'd ever felt. Each slow step closer screamed in my mind: Run, get away, escape! But my body wouldn't obey. I was frozen, staring at his feet.

"Didn't you want to beat me up? I'd like to see you try." His voice was icy, his pressure suffocating, his killing intent palpable. I hadn't felt anything like it, not even against grade-2 monsters.

I turned to my friends—they were in the same state, bodies poised to run but unable to move. How could a mere child make us feel like this? Who did he think he was?

"Shut up, you idiot, you don't know who I am, you don't know—" Arnold, another viscount's son like me, managed to find the courage to speak. His shouting gave me a little courage to meet Maki's eyes. But his gaze was terrifying. He looked at us as if we were worse than garbage. It made my blood boil. How dare he look at us like that?

Before Arnold could finish, Maki vanished in front of me. A groan of pain echoed to my side. I turned to see Arnold clutching his stomach, falling to his knees.

"As if I cared who you are." His eyes swept across us. When they met mine, the fear returned, and I quickly lowered my head. Shame burned inside me, but my instincts screamed it was the right choice.

I heard his steps stop moments later. "Are you alright? Can you stand and walk?" I began to turn slowly to see. "Who said you could turn around?" Instantly, a crushing force restrained me. A combination of Imra and some kind of mana pressed in from all directions. I couldn't move. From the groans, the others were trapped too.

"Yes, thank you…" The other boy was on his feet now. I struggled against the pressure with my mana and Imra, but nothing worked. The harder I fought, the stronger it pressed. What the hell was this? How was it possible? Wasn't he only an Emerald rank like us?

"Let's go. There's no point staying here." Maki's voice hammered in my ears. His footsteps passed by, and moments later the pressure lifted. "The Marquis already knows what happened."

I raised my head to look at him one last time. His eyes regarded us as prey, waiting for us to make a move so he could act. None of us did. He simply turned and left.

Shit—we were screwed. Everyone knew about his close ties with the Timal family. We were utterly screwed. Strength drained from my body, and I collapsed to my knees. Arnold was still curled up from the blow.

Maki's Point of View

I felt restless, frustrated that I couldn't give them a proper beating. Using my ice core, I calmed myself enough to realize that wasn't the best solution. I had only punched the loudmouth to relieve some stress.

If they had fought back, it would've been different—I could've beaten them senseless under the guise of self-defense. But they hadn't. They'd been frozen from the start. Once I calmed down further, I applied the technique Susan had explained yesterday. Adrenaline and rage had been perfect fuel. Without those emotions, I wouldn't have used it so effectively.

I turned to the boy walking behind me. I recognized him—we had fought in the novice tournament years ago. What was his name again? I couldn't remember… If I wasn't mistaken, he was the son of a minor noble like me. That unique skin, eyes, and hair were hard to forget.

"Thank you for defending my name against them." He had been beaten because he stood up for me. That spoke volumes about his upbringing.

"Eh?" He looked confused by my gratitude.

"I overheard them. They were hitting you because you had defended me while they were talking shit. Thank you for that. By the way, what's your name? I don't remember…" Not just anyone defends a stranger. We had only met once in the tournament.

"It was nothing, they didn't—" He cut himself off, then changed his words. "Thank you for helping me. My name is Matt Zumis." He bowed in gratitude.

"Why didn't you defend yourself, Matt? You're stronger than them." I wasn't sure he could've beaten all four at once, but at least he could have avoided the humiliation.

He looked me straight in the eye. "I didn't want to cause trouble for my family." His sincere response struck me directly. This young man was truly a good person. I felt the beginning of a new friendship with Matt.

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