As soon as Lucas left the room, the tough demeanor that Yelena had been keeping up shattered.
She instinctively covered her face with her hands and took a series of long, deep breaths.
This marked the second time she had witnessed Lucas behave in such a cold manner.
The first time was when she summoned him after the Mock War. Today was the second.
He had definitely changed. He wasn't acting like a brat nor was he acting like his young self.
However, what unsettled her about his behavior was that not a flicker of hate was visible in his eyes when he was talking to her.
While his words were indifferent, his tone sharp and his gaze cold, there was no trace of resentment unlike before.
"Haaa!" Yelena released a deep sigh, the weight of the situation settling heavily upon her.
She understood what Lucas was going through since she and Adel had been through a similar situation.
During their childhood, Lucas had been the golden child of the family. After all, he was an all-rounder genius.
He was brilliant in academics and adept at combat. It was clear to everyone that he would become a great figure in the Union Military.
As a result of that, their parents directed all their attention toward him instead of sparing any for Yelena and Adel.
Even after Lucas awakened a mediocre potential and Adel became the heir, their father's disappointment was evident since Lucas could have been a better successor had his potential been higher.
Even when he taught her the Dawnbreaker, Yelena knew she would never have been his first choice if Lucas didn't possess a mana core potential one tier below hers.
That was the root of her jealousy towards Lucas.
However, unlike Adel, who took out his years' worth of frustration on Lucas, Yelena did no such thing.
Why? Because, deep down, she still saw Lucas as her brother.
That night when Lucas came to her, she didn't mean to laugh at his misery. To this day, she couldn't understand what had come over her.
She never wished to harbor jealousy towards him. On the contrary, she wanted to support him.
But after that night, when Lucas had come to her in tears and she relished his pain, cracks formed in their relationship.
She never apologized and distanced herself from him even more than before.
And he was never the same again.
"Fuck," Yelena cursed under her breath, frustration seeping through.
She summoned a smartphone in her hands from the dimensional storage of her smart bracelet.
She then quickly dialed a number on it and waited for the call to connect. And after waiting for a few seconds, it did.
–"Yelena?" a deep voice resonated from the other end of the line.
"Dad," Yelena greeted, her voice tinged with a mix of emotions. "I need to tell you something."
–"Can it wait? I'm in the middle of something," Reynold replied from the other side.
"It's about your prodigal son," Yelena informed.
–"Haa. What has he done now?" Letting out a deep sigh, Reynold inquired further.
†
By the time I made my way to the President's office after my conversation with Yelena, I found out that Kai had already departed from the academy.
Well, I have a feeling I will soon talk to him again anyway.
As punishment, the President ordered me to participate in a two-day training drill that'll be held after the King's Tournament under Instructor Matterhorn's supervision.
I learned from the President that Kai and the other cadets involved in the incident received the same punishment, except they would have to participate in the training drill for the entirety of our semester break.
Honestly, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for them.
Their holidays were compromised because of a matter between Kai and me.
I'm glad I got off with only two days.
I showed the President the proof that Kai was the one who called me to him under the pretence of talking and later ambushed me.
My whole defence was that I did what I did because I was acting in self-defence.
While my argument was legally not wrong, the President knew that there was more to the situation.
That's why, despite lacking substantial evidence, or rather, precisely because of that, he sentenced me to the two-day training drills.
It's fine. I'll simply enjoy my holidays two days later than everyone else.
Right now, however, I should start focusing on the fact that the Vampires will attack the academy in two days.
I will have to come up with a plan of action before that happens.
Well, to be honest, before a plan of action, I will make a plan of defence since my own safety takes priority over everything else.
"Lucas!"
Just as I was about to leave the academy campus, a voice called out from behind me.
Frowning, I turned around and spotted a tall, well-built man with shoulder-length red hair tied in a braid and dressed in a dogi making his way towards me.
"Master?" I raised an eyebrow, showing my confusion. "What are you doing here at this hour?"
"I heard you got into a fight," he spoke as he approached.
Before I could respond, he began patting me all over my body, as if inspecting and ensuring that I was unharmed.
"Haha! Master, I'm fine. Don't worry," I reassured him with a chuckle feeling a little ticklish.
"Yeah, I can see that," he said, stepping back and giving me an intense gaze. "More importantly, did you win?"
"Huh?! More importantly?! Is winning or losing more important than my safety?!" I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Of course," he replied, crossing his arms and putting on a smug smile. "You are my disciple, after all. Death is preferable to losing."
"Huh?! No, it's not!" I retorted but eventually sighed and answered him with a smug smile mirroring his own. "But yeah, I won."
"Heh! Nice," he chuckled before turning serious and smacking my forehead.
Thack–
"Ouch! Why did you do that?!" I snapped.
"You could have fallen and died from that height, you know?!" he yelled back. "Can you imagine how pathetic it would sound if Leo Kurogami's first pupil died from falling off a building?!"
"But I didn't!" I retorted. "I used Phoenix's Embrace."
Hearing my response, he calmed down a bit and took a deep breath. "Just don't be so reckless, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," I nodded, assuring him.
"But I'm impressed that you defeated Kai," he remarked.
"Right? You should praise me more," I replied, grinning.
Leo smirked before saying, "Of course, I will."
"You will?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Yeah, by training you even harder." Leo nodded as if what he was bestowing on me was the best gift I could possibly ask for.
The smile on my face disappeared as I heard his words. With a blank expression, I replied, "No, thank you."
"You don't have a choice," he informed, grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the dojo. "We're going to train."
"Oh, come on!" I protested, trying to free my hand from his grip as if throwing a tantrum. "I nearly died today falling from a multistory building! And you want me to train?! Seriously?!"
"You said you were fine, right?" he retorted, continuing to pull me towards the dojo despite my futile attempts to escape. "Besides, the main event is closing in."
