Lila blinked her eyes rapidly as she focused them on Atticus walking towards the stage. Even she, too, had been surprised about the sudden name call.
Lila had been feeling completely lost these past few days. This was especially because of the incident with Atticus when he had confronted and warned her in front of the whole class.
Ever since she had witnessed Atticus's fight with her brother, she had always known that the boy was far from normal.
He was one year younger than Dell, and yet, he had still beaten the living daylights out of him easily.
She was there that day and knew how effortlessly he had the battle had been for him. He didn't break a sweat.
If not because it was included in the mana contract that the result of the fight shouldn't be announced to the public, Lila was sure the Ravensteins would have used the opportunity to increase their influence by flaunting their heir.
And it was exactly because of this that after the incident with Atticus when she was 7, during all the years she had anticipated meeting Atticus and enacting her revenge, she had never for even once thought of letting her guard down.
She knew that he was a genius, that he wasn't normal, and that he was strong.
What baffled her the most about all of this was that she had expected him to be popular or at the very least, given his talent, be well known among the upper classes as a strong talent.
But during these years, she hadn't gotten any noteworthy word about him.
Yes, she had sent some people to spy on Atticus. Unfortunately, just like the obsidian order, what the spies had been able to gather was completely insubstantial.
Nothing notable because none of them could enter the estate, and the one they were asked to watch hardly ever left it.
But regardless, to have her revenge, she didn't want to take any chances.
'To think I made such a stupid mistake,' Lila thought, admonishing herself as she watched Atticus climb the stage.
Lila had always considered herself to be smarter beyond her age. It wasn't the kind of intelligence the Enigmalnk and Atticus had; it was more like a smart and cunning kind of smart.
And this was why she had wanted to take her time planning her revenge on Atticus. The worst kind of enemy one could have was the one you had no idea existed in the first place.
The kind of enemy that would plan and scheme behind the scenes and when one least expected it, they would strike with force.
This was exactly the kind of enemy Lila had wanted to become for Atticus. She had already been anticipating it, in fact.
But because of one stupid slip-up, she had made Atticus aware of her animosity towards him, and even worse, his words had made her doubt everything.
It was a terrible feeling, to doubt oneself. His words made her really think about the incident.
Just what did he do to her? She had been the one to challenge him, and despite the fact that she was trying to do the right thing, imposing her will on another person was wrong.
It took her a few days to accept this fact.
So just why was she trying to exact revenge? Because he killed her guard? The man had been the one who wanted to hit Atticus in the first place, so despite the fact that the man didn't deserve to be killed, wasn't Atticus only protecting himself?
Lila shook her head. She had been blinded by her rage and embarrassment from that day and had failed to properly think about everything that happened.
'What an annoying few days,' Lila thought.
At this point, Lila didn't know what to do. She had no idea how to proceed. Should she just forget about everything? Or should she still seek her unreasonable revenge?
'But those eyes,' Lila shivered.
She just remembered the eyes Atticus was using to gaze at her when he warned her. Those eyes were the same eyes he used to look at her during the arcade incident.
Those eyes, regardless of when or where she saw them, would always make her freeze. No one had to even tell her; she herself knew that he meant every word he had said.
'How can he have that face and treat a lady so terribly!' Lila focused her gaze on Atticus's incredibly handsome features.
Even she had to admit that he looked really good in that trench coat.
'Hmph! But he's too mean to be my type! What kind of man would even threaten a lady?' Lila thought, instantly shaking her head in the next instant.
She took in a subtle deep breath, trying to clear her head of any unnecessary thoughts she was thinking about. 'Stop thinking about rubbish,' she admonished herself.
Then she focused her gaze at both figures of Jared and Atticus, anticipating the battle that was about to unfold.
Every one of the other students mirrored her action and focused their gazes on the duo on the stage.
And seeing that everyone's gazes were focused on them, Jared decided to explain the rules. He once again controlled the intensity of his voice, his voice sounding in the ears of all the students,
"We are going to spar with both of our abilities locked. Our bloodlines, the ability to utilize our mana and use it to either empower bodies and or activate our arts.
"There would be only one thing left. And that is the passive strength you have depending on your rank," Jared explained.
Atticus nodded, understanding why it was made this way. He too also believed that it was the best way to enact the scenario.
If at any point they found themselves exhausted of mana, and unable to utilize their bloodline, this would be exactly their state.
Unable to empower their bodies or utilize any arts. The only things that would be left were the passive strength each individual had depending on their ranks.
