I couldn't go back.

My memories were foggy, and yet, for some reason, I could feel a growing pain in my chest. I ran as fast as I could, heading towards the mansion, with the hopes of running into my brother along the way.

Yes.

He might have just returned to the Mansion.

Did I believe that? No.

However, in that moment, anything other than the truth would have sufficed.

My feet sped through the grass, the sun already beating down on me as I got ready to cross the threshold. But just as I arrived outside, I was stunned by what I saw.

Standing right before me, only a few inches away from the mansion, was my brother.

He looked completely beaten up. His clothes were dirty and, even more, burnt.

Upon seeing this, I instantly knew I must have been the cause.

In that moment, I also remembered how I lost my temper and went on a rampage.

Though the images were blurry, I was certain I tried to kill Maria, and my brother eventually.

Now covering my mouth, I decided to take a few steps back, praying not to be spotted by my brother.

Oh, how wrong was I.

As though he could hear my thoughts, my brother turned around to look at me.

His eyes held no life; it was like I was staring back at a corpse.

I wanted to speak before he could utter a single word. If my brother hated me, there was no way I could ever live with myself.

"Brother, I'm sorry!" I bowed my head, tears already falling from my eyes.

"I didn't plan to attack you on purpose. My jealousy got the better of me, and I lost control. Please believe me, I never intended for any of this to happen."

Silence took over, and I, for one, was too scared to look my brother in the eye.

I gripped my dress tightly, the tears still flowing like waterworks from my eyes.

Then came my brother's voice.

The voice that completely shattered me where I stood…

"Do I know you?"

My eyes widened in shock.

For a brief moment, a few seconds.

I died.

{Flashback ends.}

…

In the blink of an eye, the school arena had been filled with students, coming to watch the duel between the new student and the third-year student.

Though they were not many, a few of the students could be recognized as influential as they came from good backing.

This was a chance for them to figure out who they could take under them if the fight was something that piqued their interest, that is.

Then again, it was exactly what Dorian wanted.

Standing where the rest of the crowd was, he had his arms folded, staring at the arena where his sister and Steacy were currently about to face off.

Flanking both his sides, Maria and Seraphina watched as well.

Although, Seraphina had her eyes on the contract she was holding.

The sound of the students cheering for a battle they knew nothing about continued to echo through the entire arena.

A quite fitting reaction, since many students would pay for a chance to watch a duel.

It was quite similar to watching illegal fights, anyway.

After she read the contract, Seraphina made a rather disgusted but concerned look on her face.

"Darling, I can't believe you made her sign something like this. No, I can't believe she even agreed to signing this in the first place."

Dorian looked at her. "Huh? What? You made it sound like I'll be asking her to trade her soul or something. Relax, at the end of the day, only the loser is affected."

Seraphina huffed at him for a while.

"It says here that the loser swears servitude to the winner for the entirety of their school years. And it even says they cannot speak about this contract to anyone, or they will pay a fine of 1 million gold coins. Eugh! What if Yelena is the one to lose?"

"She's not," Maria uttered. "The other girl looks strong, but I can tell Yelena doesn't intend to hold back."

Dorian only sighed, glancing at Maria only briefly before turning his attention back to his sister.

'That's right. Yelena is a fire-based Mage class. This victory is already hers for the taking,' he grinned.

Yelena stared intensely at her opponent, her fist clenched and ready to go to battle.

At the far right corner, a teacher stood, supervising the entire thing. Steacy also had dedication etched on her face, although most of it seemed to be directed at Dorian.

And Yelena picked up on it pretty quickly.

Her eyes narrowed, an evil grin spreading across her lips as she slowly summoned her flames.

'This bitch is seriously eyeing my brother? His wives weren't enough, and now this one too? If she thinks for one second I'm letting her outshine me in front of him, then she is sorely mistaken.'

All while she spoke in her mind, her flames had already spread outside her body, already surging far up toward the ceiling.

The crowd was stunned by this, surprised as to how a new student was able to wield this much mana.

Even before the battle began, many of the students already had their bets on Steacy.

They had seen what her summons were capable of, so they were confident in her abilities.

That said, that confidence was starting to crack just from seeing what Yelena had just performed.

With a frown on her face, Steacy activated the magic circle behind her, summoning a huge golem with a red crystal stationed at the front of its head.

A golem, known to be a mid-level monster, but one that was strong enough to hold its ground against some high-level monsters.

Once again, the crowd was enveloped in shock.

"You may begin!" The teacher finally gave the go-ahead.

"Go! Crush her to pieces!" Steacy pointed at Yelena, sending the golem speeding towards her target.

Yelena took a deep breath.

"Watch me, brother. This is who your sister really is." Yelena stretched her hand forward and then drew it back in, this time her fist clenched and positioned by her waist.

Flames could already be seen dancing around it, surging with overwhelming heat.

Boom!

She charged forward, immediately crashing into the golem, her fist connecting against its gut.

The impact caused a massive explosion, leaving a huge hole on the ground while the golem leaped back, its injuries already healing.

Yelena had a giant grin on her face before she whooshed forward again, her footsteps sculpted with flames.

'Brother~'

Baam!

She punched the golem on the right leg, exploding everything at once.

Once its leg had been ripped off, it fell to one knee, giving out a massive cry.

The entire place fell silent, the onlookers shocked at what they were witnessing, including Steacy herself, watching her golem get tossed around like a rag doll.

'Brother~'

Yelena leaped on top of the golem's shoulder, finding her way to its neck, and then punched a huge hole right then and there, the grin still etched on her face.

'Brother~' she called out in her mind, her excitement etched on her face. 'Please tell me you're watching me. Are you seeing this?'

The golem tried to grab her with its hands, so she summoned two massive fire arrows.

She aimed them at its shoulders, causing its arms to fall off.

Then she shoved her hand into the hole in its back, pouring her flames into it.

In the blink of an eye, the golem exploded, tiny burnt rocks falling to the ground like raindrops.

At the center of this destruction stood Yelena, her cheeks red and face glued with joy.

How long… how long had it been since she used her magic so freely?

She slowly raised her head to look at Dorian, her fear slowly creeping in.

What if he looks at her and remembers that day?

But as she looked at him, to her surprise, he gave her a thumbs-up, wearing an even more sinister smile on his face than hers.

Panting heavily, Yelena stood there, tears almost dropping before she immediately stopped them, shaking her head with her eyes closed.

"Honestly, you don't play fair at all, do you, big brother?" She smiled, about to look back at him when a voice distracted her.

"The duel has ended! Yelena Aurelian wins!"

Yelena turned around and saw Steacy kneeling on the floor, her once-confident features replaced with shock and fear.

Then came the uproar from the crowd. "Ahhhhhhh!"

They all cheered for the new student. Many of them were still dazed by what they saw, but it would be foolish of them not to clap after witnessing it.

The fact they didn't know who she was proved she had to be a lesser noble. And if truly a lesser noble could wield this power, then they may have just stumbled upon a prodigy.

A Lord-rank prodigy.

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