Ascension Of The Villain

"A sword battle. Between you and me tonight," Vyan declared, his gaze piercing through Eryndor.

Eryndor sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "That's bold coming from you. I thought you were mediocre at handling swords."

"Well, then I guess you will find out whether I am or not," Vyan retorted. He would normally keep his calm and let provocation like this slide, but this… this wasn't an insult coming from a nobody. It was his own grandfather—the man who spewed more hatred for his family than anybody else.

Vyan wanted to show this man that prestige and honor wasn't everything. If he truly believed his daughter could do such a thing, then that was his loss.

But Vyan was not in a position anymore that he had to take the insults with a straight face.

He could retaliate and that was fine—as long as the emperor didn't find out about it. He had to keep up his pretense of being a harmless little kitten until Althea ascended the throne at least.

Vyan could at least unveil his sword skills in front of his grandfather. Although they were not on par with Iyana's, they were still enough to be praiseworthy. He believed he could take down this arrogant man, and surely, this man wouldn't be such a fool to parade around his own defeat once he lost.

Eryndor's eyes gleamed with a smug sense of superiority. "Alright, I accept. Tonight, let's settle this."

"It won't be a public display," Vyan added, his tone steady, masking the storm brewing within him.

Eryndor chuckled darkly. "Of course, you don't want that. You don't want to make a fool of yourself."

"Let's not be too sure of who is the fool until the duel," Vyan replied, his smirk betraying nothing but cold confidence.

Eryndor's gaze shifted to Ronan, sharp and commanding. "Are you coming with me now or not?"

Ronan, standing resolute beside Vyan, shook his head firmly. "I am staying with Vyan."

Eryndor's expression twisted with contempt. "I just hope you don't get lost again," he spat before turning on his heel and stalking away.

The tension hung heavy in the air as Vyan and Ronan watched Eryndor's retreating form, knowing that tonight's battle would be a test of more than just skill—it would be a clash of pride, power, and the unspoken grudges that simmered between them.

Once Eryndor was out of sight, Easton remarked, "What a bold challenge you made. I must let you know, Duke Preaton is quite the swordsman."

Of course, to Easton, Vyan must have been perceived as foolish and impulsive. To not disappoint Easton, Vyan continued play that part of a pathetic, weak person.

"I just seemed to have lost my temper and ended up bluffing in front of him," Vyan said,his tone filled with regret. "Maybe I will not even appear at tonight's duel," he lied because there was no reason Easton had to be present at the duel.

"As expected of you." Easton rolled his eyes. He couldn't help but be suspicious of the way Vyan reacted to the way the duke insulted his family. Then again, nobody would take kindly to their own families being talked down like that, even if the said family had truly been an enemy to the nation.

Ronan turned to Vyan, head hanging low. "I am sorry."

Vyan sighed, ruffling Ronan's hair with a faint smile. "Don't worry about it." He glanced at the fluffy bundle in Ronan's arms. "Well, isn't that just the cutest little thing," he remarked, amused.

Ronan's eyes lit up with excitement. "I know, right? I saw it and just had to have it. Look at those adorable ears!" He stroked the rabbit's white fur, grinning from ear to ear. "I want to keep it as a pet." His smile turned into a dramatic pout. "But Mother won't allow it."

"I will work my charm on her to convince her," Vyan assured, and Ronan's face brightened immediately.

Easton, watching the exchange, shook his head with a sigh. "Ronan, just try not to get distracted by every cute creature you see."

Ronan nodded earnestly, then looked up at Vyan. "Let's get back to the hunt. We have barely bagged anything."

"You are right. Even if we don't win, let's at least not come in last," Vyan agreed, glancing up at the midday sky.

With a flourish, he drew an arrow and aimed at a C-grade monster, ready to dive back into the adventure.

The monster was a giant spider with hairy legs and a bulbous body. It was distracted in spinning its vast, sticky webs between the trees to trap unsuspecting victims.

As Vyan's arrow soared through the air and hit the target where he wanted it to, he was grateful that Ronan got back on time, otherwise, he could have been a prey to the spider's venomous bite.

"Do you know, Ronan, that monster usually paralyzes its prey before it wraps them in silk to consume later?" Vyan narrated, then shot him a teasing grin. "It missed you just by a hair."

A shiver ran past Ronan's back, then he steadied himself and brought out his own arrow and bow.

"Nothing would have happened to me," he feigned a composure full of gusto, "because I know all of the monsters in this forest are under a spell to not kill anybody."

Vyan chuckled. "That's true, but you could have been seriously paralyzed, though."

"If it did come to it, I could have still defended myself."

"That's the spirit."

Ronan might be a short boy for his age and might look timid, he was truly talented. He only lacked confidence in himself, and Vyan wanted to boost that for him. The only reason he was this afraid that Ronan would be in danger was because Ronan might have panicked in the face of monster all alone.

Easton scoffed. "You two think you can continue on so easily after sabotaging me earlier?" Although Easton did find it strange why he didn't notice Ronan and Vyan on the tree earlier until they fell down, he decided not to dwell on it much.

"What are you going to do, Your Imperial Highness? Snatch our targets now?" Vyan challenged, and a faint smirk formed on Easton's face.

"Exactly."

Vyan glanced at Ronan, who shrugged with a mischievous grin, so he continued, "Bring it on then."

The three of them spread out, eyes peeled for any sign of movement. It didn't take long before a low growl echoed through the trees. A large, menacing shadow lurked ahead—a B-grade monster.

Without a word, the competition was on. Vyan's arrow flew first, but Easton's arrow was right behind it.

The monster roared, swatting at the projectiles as it charged towards them.

Vyan and Ronan exchanged a quick look of understanding, Vyan hinting that they would need to work together to bring the beast down and to not let Easton have it. Ronan looked a little unsure, but at Vyan's confident nod that screamed 'you can do it!' Ronan agreed.

In order to fend off the oncoming monster, Easton unsheathed his sword, but Vyan didn't follow.

"Your Grace, are you seriously giving up fighting this creature just because your arrows didn't work?" Easton questioned, his tone so rigid that one wouldn't guess the hostility behind it.

"Please, Your Imperial Highness, I am no good with the sword anyway. It's pointless," Vyan feigned.

"You truly are pathetic." Easton smoothly flanked the creature, aiming for its knees.

Vyan shrugged casually and turned around to leave. "Pathetic as you may think, I am not too eager on this one. You can have it. It's too much effort than it's worth."

"What? But it's so easy to take it from close distance." What Easton didn't notice was the big tail behind the monster, which Vyan was aware of because he was the one to capture it from the Forest of Beast. It was quite the nasty one.

So, as Vyan predicted, the monster swung out its thick tail towards Easton with the intent to smack him away. But Easton had fast reflexes.

He managed to jump out of the way, creating an opening for Ronan to jump out from the back with his sword and aim for its heart from behind. The monster writhed in pain, howling in pain. It had been defending its back with the tail until now, but to attack Easton, it left its back unguarded.

"What the hell?" Easton let out and snapped his head at Vyan. "Why would you let Ronan be the one to attack that thing?"

"Didn't you hear him?" Vyan leaned casually against a tree. "He can defend himself, which means he also knows how to attack."

"Weren't you the one freaking out because he is a kid?" Easton pointed out, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"As long as he is doing this sort of stuff under someone's supervision, he will be fine just like how well he did just now," Vyan responded, shrugging.

"How convenient. You still used me as a bait," Easton gritted his teeth.

Vyan flashed him a smug smile. "Why, does that make Your Highness not want to compete with us anymore?"

"As if," Easton shot back. "I am not letting you two get a single more kill."

Vyan laughed lightly, the thrill of the hunt now rekindled.

———

Meanwhile, on the girls' side, the three of them were walking around, searching for monsters when Katelyn started grumbling that she was hungry.

"We are supposed to go back in a few hours, but if you want, we can go back now," Althea suggested.

Katelyn shot her a look full of disdain. "Why would we go back so early? Everyone would laugh at us."

Iyana noticed the way Katelyn was acting rudely with Althea, despite Althea trying so hard to be nice. She felt bad for the older princess and placed a hand on her shoulder, offering her a sympathetic smile.

"Why do you let her act like that with you? You are spoiling her," Iyana whispered, walking beside her.

Althea smiled wistfully. "What can I do? I want to win her over, and the only way I know how to do it is to appease her."

"I can't relate to the feeling, but still, I suggest you be strict when needed."

"She will only villainize me more if I do that."

"Even so—"

Just then, Althea noticed Katelyn tore off some poisonous red berries from a shrub and was about to pop one into her mouth.