The victor of the Dai Jo had been decided.

In the presence of more than a hundred witnesses, Adrian von Vane had defeated Victor Gremont, the sole heir to Thornwall County.

Many found it difficult to believe, despite having watched it happen with their own eyes.

It was no small thing.

A child, assumed to be no stronger than a first-circle caster, had just brought down a seasoned grown man using abilities that defied every rule of classification anyone present could name.

Most speculated that Adrian had somehow tapped into the core skills of multiple classes.

Others refused to accept that outright, and yet not one of them could offer a satisfying explanation for how a single person had wielded ice magic, fire magic, and healing magic in the same fight without ever pausing to draw breath between them.

And if that were not enough to ruin an evening, the bettors had their own suffering to contend with.

Every person who had staked their coins on Victor Gremont walked away from that arena emptier than they had arrived.

The odds had been laughably one-sided, and they had paid for their confidence accordingly.

Still, there was something far more significant that had made itself clear by the time the dust settled.

For the people of Ashmere, and for the priest who had made the journey specifically to see the outcome for himself, one conclusion had taken root.

Adrian von Vane might be the single person capable of finally making Ashmere something worth belonging to.

...

Meanwhile, Adrian was dragging Victor’s unconscious body down the corridor by one arm, his footsteps steady despite the considerable dead weight trailing behind him.

He was mildly surprised that no one had moved to stop him.

Then again, by the rules of Dai Jo, Victor should have been dead.

The fact that he was merely unconscious was already more mercy than the occasion required, and anyone watching had the good sense to keep that observation to themselves.

The only reason Adrian could drag a man twice his size at all was the body enhancement skill still running quietly in the background, threading strength through his limbs where sheer size could not.

As he moved, he turned his gaze toward the screen.

[Congratulations on completing a quest.]

[1,200 SP has been obtained.]

[A summoning card has been obtained. Note: a summoning class is required to use this item.]

A flat, exhausted look settled over his face the moment he finished reading.

’I had a feeling that would be the case.’

He dismissed the screen and glanced up, just in time to see his butler standing ahead of him at the far end of the corridor, a quiet smile on the man’s face.

Not two seconds later, the sound of running footsteps reached him from behind.

"Big brother!"

"Lord Adrian!"

They hit him simultaneously, which was about the worst possible outcome given that he had nothing left in the way of mana to brace himself with.

He went down, the two of them piling on top of him with the collective restraint of people who had been holding their breath for the better part of an hour.

Erica did not say a single word.

She simply pressed her face into his chest and stayed there, her arms locked around him with a grip that communicated everything she could not bring herself to put into language.

Liora, on the other hand, had apparently saved every thought she had suppressed during the entire fight and was now releasing them all at once.

"You were incredible, my lord! I had no idea you could heal yourself like that, and that move at the end, what was that? Was it the same skill you used before? The one where you swallowed the sword?"

Adrian managed a nervous laugh somewhere beneath the two of them.

"I knew it was! My lord, people are going to be talking about this for years. You are going to be famous!"

"Famous?"

He had not thought about that.

His focus had been fixed entirely on proving to the people of Ashmere that he was capable, that there was someone standing in their corner worth standing behind.

The possibility of broader recognition had not crossed his mind at all.

"My lord does not want to be famous? How is that possible?"

"That is enough." He exhaled. "My head is starting to ache."

He managed to push himself upright, though Erica continued to cling to his side as though she had made a permanent decision about it.

"You ought to listen to the young master." The butler’s voice carried across the corridor with calm authority. "Given what he just put himself through, rest is the only appropriate priority."

Every gaze in the corridor found its way to him.

The butler smiled once more.

"You did well, young master."

"Before anyone moves to congratulate me, Alfred," Adrian said, eyes already drifting to the cloth bag the man had tucked under one arm, "tell me how much we walked away with."

He could already tell from the weight of it that Alfred had gone to collect their share of the wagers.

"About that, young master." Alfred’s expression shifted just slightly. "There was a small miscalculation on your end."

Adrian straightened. "What do you mean?"

"It seems you were not the only one who placed money on your victory. There was one other individual who bet against Lord Victor as well."

Adrian’s brow drew together slowly.

"Someone else?"

...

Some time later, they had returned to Ashmere, and the reception that greeted them was unlike anything the county had produced in recent memory.

Word of the victory had spread faster than the carriage had traveled.

By the time they arrived, people had gathered along the road, calling out Adrian’s name with the kind of energy that did not come from obligation but from something that had been dormant in them for a very long time and finally had a reason to surface.

It was a small thing, in the grand accounting of what still needed to be done. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

But for the first time in years, the people of Ashmere felt something that resembled pride.

Adrian was too drained to give them the presence they deserved.

The last reserves of everything he had were holding him upright by will alone, and so he retired to his room while the cheering continued outside the mansion walls.

The financial picture, at least, had shifted in a meaningful way.

The wager on himself had returned fifty million cens.

A figure that, by any honest measure, lifted both the family and the county out of the immediate shadow of ruin.

It would not solve everything, but it changed the shape of what was possible.

Once a full day had passed and his body had recovered enough to function properly, he received his first visitor of the morning.

He stood at the entrance of the guest room with Liora positioned a step behind him, one hand resting on the door handle.

"How many did you say there were?" he asked.

"Just the one," Liora replied. "A girl, a bit older than me by the look of her. She would not say what she wanted, only that she was here to speak with you directly."

Adrian exhaled quietly.

’A commoner, then.’

He turned the thought over once, then opened the door and stepped inside.

The guest room was still, the morning light cutting across the floor in clean lines from the window.

Seated in the chair nearest the far wall was a young woman, her hands folded neatly in her lap, a small white animal curled against her legs and watching the door with calm, pale eyes.

...

[A\N] I hope you enjoyed this Chapter, we might be getting a skip.