321 Bar Fight [4]
The group of misfits approached us, the muscular young man among them coming face-to-face with Amelia.
Instead of stepping back, Amelia clenched her teeth and stepped forward, locking her gaze with the imposing young man.
I could swear I almost saw the sparks crackle in the air between them where their gazes met.
A palpable tension hung in the air, accompanied by an unsettling yet fragile silence that felt like a delicate piece of glass, moments away from shattering.
Surprisingly, it wasn't the black-haired archeress or the imposing bald young man who broke the silence first.
Instead, it was a slender silver-haired boy standing behind the muscular one.
He pointed a trembling finger in my direction and yelled, his voice filled with accusation:
"You! It's you!"
I arched an eyebrow and tilted my head slightly, glaring back at the silver-
haired boy.
Looking around, I saw everyone else was just as confused as me. Even the boy's friends didn't know what was going on.
Finally, I decided to pose a question, "Do I know you?"
A nerve popped up on his forehead upon hearing me. He widened his eyes, shame and fury visible in his gaze as he yelled:
"I'm Jace Blackwood!"
I looked around, looking at the perplexed faces of everyone present around me, and shrugged puzzledly at his introduction.
"Does that name supposed to remind me of something?" I asked, growing even more confused by the second.
The muscular young man turned around and faced the silver-haired boy before speaking, "Jace, what are you doing?"
The silver-haired boy named Jace responded, his eyes still glaring at me, "Apolus! He's that guy I told you about!"
Apolus frowned. "What guy? We were here for that girl!"
Ignoring the muscular young man, the guy named Jace turned to me and yelled once more, "I met you in Silveserine!"
For a second, at the mention of Silveserine, I felt the chill creep up my spine.
Why was everyone mentioning Silveserine today?! What was going on with people?!
But in the next moment, I calmed myself down. With a cold glare, I said, "I met a lot of people there."
The silver-haired boy gritted his teeth. He stayed silent for a second before answering again, "You… were at that one casino. You beat me in poker."
"....." I didn't even know what to say to that. Blinking a couple of times, I cleared my throat and said, "I beat a lot of people and visited a lot of casinos there."
My response seemed to have finally struck a nerve, prompting Jace to snap. "This guy! I will kill this fucker!"
As he said that, Jace started making his way toward me. But right then, the striking young woman in their group intervened.
"Wait a second... Silver hair, red eyes, and that unmistakably charming face... Isn't he Lucas?! Lucas Morningstar?!" She exclaimed.
Their entire group frowned, even Jace Blackwood, who had been cursing me until now, stopped abruptly.
It took them this long to recognize me, which meant none of them were from the West — I mused inwardly.
The muscular young man named Apolus muttered more to himself than to his friends, "So he's Adel's brother."
Oh, they knew Adel too? It seemed my brother had acquired some new lackeys after joining the Ethereal Academy.
That also meant they were likely all from the Ethereal Academy. But why were they here?
As soon as that question crossed my mind, Apolus pointed at Jace with his eyes and said, "Listen, we're both nobles too. We're Blackwood brothers."
He hesitated for a moment before gesturing toward Amelia with his chin. "Our business is with that girl. Leave her here and go to the second floor. You'll find your brother there. I promise I won't hurt you if you do that."
Ignoring the imposing guy, I shifted my attention to Amelia and silently inquired, "Who is this clown?"
Amelia shrugged. "He wanted a drink with me, I declined, and we got into a bar fight. It was fun."
"He wanted a drink, huh?" I wiggled my eyebrow. "Someone is quite popular."
Amelia grinned brightly but then frowned as if she'd remembered something very important.
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask something. What about me gives off the impression that I'm not a noble?"
I threw my head back and chuckled for a few seconds before stepping closer to her and asking, "Why the sudden question?"
Amelia slightly pouted. "Just because."
I smiled. "You look too innocent to be a noble."
Amelia gasped. "Huh?! Excuse me? What does that mean? Do I look naive—"
Before we could continue our conversation, Apolus roared, "Hey! You two! Do you think we're joking here?! How dare you ignore us?!"
"Oh, right!" I clasped my hands together and nodded, turning my head to him. "You guys were here."
Apolus gritted his teeth and growled like an enraged bull, but before he could speak again, I chimed in.
"Listen," I said, locking eyes with the imposing young man. "I'll give you a friendly warning here, young Lord Blackwood. Kindly step aside, let us leave this bar, and I promise not to break at least one of your hands."
Apolus' face reddened with anger, but he suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
After a few seconds, he stopped laughing and stared directly into my eyes.
"You're dead," he declared, throwing his arm at me to grab my shoulder.
However, the moment his hand made contact with me, Apolus' massive body was flipped upside down.
Everyone, even the patrons quietly sipping their drinks, widened their eyes in sheer astonishment.
Thwaaam—!!
Apolus' hefty body crashed violently onto the hard wooden floor, causing it to splinter and crack.
"Arghhh—!"
The muscular young man let out a beastly scream, but I silenced him by pressing my boot onto his face.
"Shut up," I ordered, summoning my spear and bringing its crimson blade down at his neck.
I turned to his group and said, "You guys are his friends, right?"
"Yes," the fetching young woman in the group quickly replied. "But in our defense, we only became his friends recently."
I shifted my gaze to Jace and asked, "And aren't you his brother?"
Jace was sweating profusely at this point. He blinked a couple of times and staggered as he shrugged, "Yes, but I always had my doubts that he was adopted."
I glanced down at Apolus, my boot still covering his mouth, and said, "Tell Adel to stay out of my affairs, or he'll end up in your position next."
