CHAPTER 201: STOP IT MOTHER!

In front of everyone’s very eyes, the Duke’s eldest son, Malverick, died. He was turned into a bloody mess.

The audience couldn’t believe what Leon had just done. This was it. There was no going back now. They knew chaos would ensue the moment Leon stepped outside the arena.

In horror, many of them just started to leave. The excitement and rush no longer mattered; they knew things were going to get bloody. No one wanted to be caught in the fallout between a monster like Leon and a wrathful Duke Arselin.

He didn’t have his personal army in Hemsburg City, but that didn’t mean the commotion would be small. The King was here, and everything had happened right in front of him. A big fight was inevitable.

Leon wasn’t alone either. He also had the support of one of the strongest people in the Lower Domain.

Most of the regular civilians had left the arena in a rush, despite being Awakeners themselves. Only a small number of civilians remained. Besides them, only nobles and higher-ranking officials from different kingdoms were present.

They didn’t leave, as this seemed like the perfect opportunity for them to strike against the strong kingdom of the Lower Domain—its location too enticing to ignore, especially with the infamous academy present in their territory.

Even the neighboring kingdom of Valerine, where Leon was from—who had secretly made a deal with the Crown Prince and the King to act against Seraphine because of her blatant disregard before—was now changing their stance upon seeing the opportunity.

"I WILL CUT YOU INTO PIECES, YOU BASTARD!"

Duke Arselin, coming out of his shock, rushed toward Leon in a fit of rage. In his mind, there was only one thing he wanted to do.

Kill the man who had murdered his son in front of his eyes.

But just as he moved an inch, an overwhelming pressure slammed him directly to the ground. Struggling, he looked up with his eyes—only because he was allowed to.

He could see the blonde-haired Headmaster looking down on him from above, her gaze cold and unwavering.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

A shout of frustration burst from him as he realized he couldn’t do anything to the one who had killed his son—not because of his own strength but because of the Headmaster and her rules. He would never forget this moment in his life.

One day, I will make you pay, you bitch!

Phillips didn’t let Leon wait, even though the arena had become almost empty due to him killing the Duke’s son.

This was the decision the boy had made. Whether he would survive or not from now on was entirely up to him. Phillips couldn’t interfere.

On the second floor of the arena, a certain platinum-blonde-haired girl sat beside a middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman who bore a striking resemblance to her, sharing the same blonde hair, though not the same shade, but close enough.

Liora had been confused from the moment she first saw Leon inside the arena.

He reminded her of a certain young boy she had met during her class awakening dungeon—someone who had saved her life. His eyes, which she couldn’t see clearly from afar, still gave off a strange feeling. Even from this distance, she could feel something about them that reminded her of that boy from before.

However, he looked far too old to be the same boy. She didn’t know if he was his sibling or something else. She meant to meet him and talk to him, but what he had just done filled her with horror.

She would have never interfered with something so dangerous under normal circumstances. But now, it was different. The kindness shown to her—either by this Leon or his young sibling—was something she had to repay. No matter how dangerous it seemed, she had to help him.

If she ran away from this, she would never feel the same again, knowing she had left him to die.

And Liora also had a feeling that he was the same person, not his sibling or anyone else. From the way she saw him behave, especially with how Commander Seraphine and he acted with each other, she felt something was off. It weirded her out, but she had no time to think about that right now.

She stood up from her seat with a determined expression on her face and was about to make her way toward the fifth floor, where the chaos would likely erupt in just a few moments.

However, a hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

"Where are you going, my precious daughter? You look quite determined," Liora’s father asked her, sensing his daughter had made a decision of her own.

Liora had forgotten her father and mother were sitting beside her. She hadn’t thought of them when she decided she had to help him.

She didn’t try to hide anything—knowing it wouldn’t work, and time was too precious.

"Leon... he is—"

A feminine, charming voice cut off her voice from the blonde-haired lady standing next to the middle-aged man.

"Is he the boy you’ve been talking about for the past week—the one who saved your life inside the dungeon, Liora...?"

"Hmm." Liora nodded with a serious expression on her face. She had imagined the atmosphere would become quite solemn and expected them to try to stop her from going, which she would have had to decline. It would’ve been the first time she had to go against her mother and father.

But she couldn’t run away from this—even if she knew she might die today.

After a few seconds of silence, her mother’s voice came. It was calm and peaceful, as if she didn’t understand what was going on and how serious the situation was. But Liora knew that wasn’t the case. Without her mother, their estate would be doomed. She could even say her mother was too bright—something she didn’t always like.

"Hmm... But my daughter, when I asked you about him, you said he was only a little boy. And I still remember the tantrum you threw when I merely asked if you had fallen for him..." She paused, her voice now a bit emotional.

"But now that I see him, he appears to be quite a fine gentleman, not a little boy. Tell me, my lovely daughter, did you have some secret rendezvous with him inside the dungeon because of your passionate feelings for him? A helpless maiden, saved by a strong, charming hero... and they both fell in love—how lovely!"

"I’ve been such a good mother, and yet you—my daughter—hid something so important from me. Do you think I would’ve been against your choice, my daughter? I’m disappointed that you didn’t trust your mother enough..."

Liora was shaking in place, her face completely red. There she went again—her mother. Previously, her questions had stayed within limits, but now...

She had crossed the line.

S-Secret rendezvous inside the dungeon!!!

Mother, please stop! I was trying not to die in that dungeon, not planning a wedding.

She wished she didn’t know what that meant. Yet she did. She was so embarrassed she couldn’t even answer her, and the fact that she couldn’t explain something she didn’t even know herself frustrated her even more.

Liora turned away. She couldn’t even look her mother in the eyes, who thought she was the victim here, despite being the one who had bombarded her with embarrassing questions all week.

She saw him as a goal—nothing romantic, just a standard she wanted to reach. The reason she had talked about him so much after returning from the dungeon was that she had told her mom and dad everything that happened, and her mom wouldn’t let it go. Every time, she would ask those weird questions that only made Liora want to hide, despite her explicit denials and telling the truth.

"Nothing like that happened, and I am not in love with him... I’m going to help him now!"

She started moving toward the stairs to climb up, but when she heard two footsteps following behind her, she couldn’t help but have a slight smile on her face.

"Liora, you can’t run away from your mother. You’re going to risk your life for him, and you’re telling me nothing happened between you two? Your mother is not an idiot—you can’t hide this from me."

"Hmph! My lovely daughter, lying to me just because she found her man..."

Her smile vanished, and she increased her pace even faster, one hand resting on her sword holstered at her waist.

But no matter how much she tried to get away from her, she couldn’t. Her mother was like glue—she couldn’t keep any distance from her. The entire time, she made embarrassing speculations that Liora couldn’t even respond to.

Liora tried not to focus, but she couldn’t stop the blush on her face the whole time.

Yet the nerves that had been making her scared about what would happen slowly calmed down, knowing her mom and dad were beside her.