The Duke's Passion

 Nôv(el)B\\jnn

866 ""

Samacl had his brows furrowed, blinking. 'Did you say something, Tilly?"

"I want to test your strength," Tilly continued with her toneless voice, eyes fixed on Samael. "Law was right. Since you never lost a battle, you are in a bottleneck. Ramin and Charlotte don't challenge you anymore. And you are already familiar with Fabian's fighting technique. That is why... you need a different opponent.

Everyone could only stare at Tilly with wide eyes. Law almost dropped his jaw, surprised but with a whole different reason.

"Tilly..." Law gasped. "... that's the longest you spoke in one go!"

"Tilly, I didn't know you could talk more than four words!" Sunny also gasped as if this was the first time she heard Tilly talk more than her regular word count.

No one could blame the children. No matter how gifted they were, they were still children. Their innocence was still prevailing in them. The adults were already used to Tilly's shenanigans; her lack of presence and her quietness were something they have already grown familiar with.

Therefore, it was a surprise Tilly suggested a spar with Samael, Heck. She would sometimes stop breathing because it tired her. But now, she wanted to spar! That would take more movements than just breathing!

"Tilly..." Lilou called under her breath, assessing Tilly's side profile. From what she could tell, Tilly was dead serious.

Tilly kept her gaze at Samael while the latter held her gaze. Meanwhile, Fabian's lips stretched from ear to ear.

"Very well." Fabian clapped excitedly. "I'll prepare the battleground at once!"

Tabian was the most elated at this turn of events as if he had been wanting to see a battle between Samael and Tilly. Fabian didn't waste a second, rushing to where Ramin and Charlotte were bickering.

The two were beaten to a pulp once again, but instead of wallowing about their loss, they were blaming each other. They only stopped quarreling when Fabian came to tell them about Tilly and Samael's sparring battle.

As warriors, this brought a bubble of excitement. Just like Fabian, they had been curious about how Tilly fought. They knew she was capable; she wouldn't be feared by the forces on the mainland for no reason, after all. But they never witnessed her true skills.

Finally, they would get a glimpse of the reason she was feared in the land of vampires.

In no time, Samacl and Tilly stood in the backyard that had been their training ground. There was a two-meter gap between them, facing each other, while the rest stayed on the side.

"I can't believe this is happening..." Law commented, now standing on the side of the training ground with everyone. "And to think Tilly is the one who initiated to spar with him?"

"Somehow, I can't help but worry" Lilou added with a sigh. She kept the rest of her sentiments to herself. I know Tilly had been worried about this thing in their clan, but for her to challenge Sam... she must be truly bothered by it.

"I have high hopes in this duel." This time, Charlotte spoke. She barely blinked, not wanting to miss even a second of this duel.

"I hope I'll learn a lot from it," Ramin commented as well.

"Whatever the outcome, this will be an interesting fight for sure." Ramin and Charlotte nodded at Fabian's remarks.

"Papa!!" Sunny yelled excitedly. "Beat Tilly like how you beat Mister Ramin and Miss Charlotte!" Sunny continued to cheer for her father while Ramin and Charlotte's faces twitched. Couldn't she think of another way to cheer for her father? Should she truly need to use them as an example? Adding salt to their wounds?

Ramin and Charlotte couldn't help but look in Sunny's direction, while Fabian chuckled.

Meanwhile, a soft gust of wind blew past Samael and Tilly. Neither of them was making the first move for obvious reasons.

"Tilly, you said you want to test my strength. Are you concerned about the curse in our blood?" asked Samael calmly. "If so, then I will not hold back."

Samael took out his cross carring and then swung his arm to the side. As soon as he did, the carring in his grip turned into a long, heavy sword, Catharsis.

"This is for your peace of mind that I can protect this family" he continued, swinging his sword that produced a powerful gust of wind. "Do not blame me if you got hurt because - oy!"

Before Samael could finish his speech - a speech that basically told Tilly to prepare - Tilly turned around and ran. The audience on the side tilted their heads to the side, baffled because Tilly seemed to be running away.

"Is that... Is that a technique to gain momentum?" wondered Ramin, denying what was right before his eyes.

"Tilly is running... She can run?!" Sunny gasped, even though Tilly's speed was far too slow to consider running. It was more like a jog, but her lack of exercise made Tilly pant for air.

"Even if I kick Sunny and she rolls over, she'll be faster than her" Law shook his head in disbelief, unable to discern which emotion was dominant. Was he in dismay at Tilly? Or just a plain surprise?

As Tilly fled the scene, she suddenly tripped and fell, face-front.

Everyone -> "...

"Aish..." Samael facepalmed, ruffling his hair in distress. "Why did you even initiate to spar if you're going to run away?"

Samael peeked through his one eye, only to sigh once more. Aside from Lilou, Samael wouldn't fight against Tilly. Even if it was a spar, there was no way he would be able to bring forth his maximum potential because he didn't want to hurt her.

"Nevermind." Samael huffed while Tilly was pushing himself up. "Tilly! Move quickly because I'm going to attack on 3... 2... 1!

As soon as the last syllable rolled out of his tongue, Samael disappeared from his vantage point. The only sign he left was the shallow hole in the ground.

"Tilly!!!" I au velled on instinct as soon as Samael reanneared behind Till with his sword about

to strike Tilly.

SLASH!

!