"I want your father."
Isabel spoke up and the entire room turned silent.
"…"
"…"
Both Vaan and Elara stared at her with frozen looks on their faces and finally,
"Haah?"
Vaan reacted.
There was a comical look on his face, soon however, that comical look turned into one filled with disgust and,
"Woman, are you out of your mind?
That old man may be handsome, I would know since I inherited his features, but he is still an old man.
He is over double your age and he is happily married, just what sort of sick thoughts do you have in your mind?"
"…what are you talking about?"
Isabel replied, it didn't take long for her cold, distant expression to fall off and be replaced by utter confusion.
"What do you mean you want my father!?" Vaan questioned.
He still had a slight hope that he had misunderstood the woman, however, seeing her react like this, he had a feeling that this girl might actually be a degenerate.
"I want Lord Orion to take me as his disciple."
Isabel spoke and once again, Vaan was dumbfounded.
"Do you have a screw loose or something?"
"Who do you think gave you the right to talk to me like that?" Isabel narrowed her eyes.
She may be a commoner, but, she was someone who had the potential to become one of the greatest swordswomen in the future, almost any power would beg her to join them.
She wouldn't allow such disrespect from an-
"Complete your sentence in one go.
What does 'I want you father.' even mean!?
Do you even realize how strange that sounds?"
Isabel frowned in confusion.
She glanced at Elara as if she had lost hope in Vaan being able to hold a proper conversation where they were on the same page, however, Elara had a strange look on her face as well.
'So that's why the two of them are engaged.'
Isabel nodded inwardly.
"Don't think you can win against Declan that easily. I have seen your battles, if you do not have any other trump card you are hiding, Declan would end the battle before a minute.
I am not asking much, an opportunity to Lord Orion would suffice as well and I assure you that I will give my all to give you a decent idea about Declan's strength."
Suddenly, Isabel stood up and,
"My offer still stands,
If you decide to change your mind, you can reach out to me anytime you want." n--//.-.--(-)1-/n
Saying those words, Isabel turned around and started walking out of the room.
"…"
"…"
Both Vaan and Elara watched her leave, they knew that there were some misunderstandings between the two parties, however, for now, they decided to not stop Isabel.
Vaan decided to look into this woman before getting involved with her.
She was a little too strange to get involved directly.
Vaan had dealt with a fair share of crazies in his previous life, women who were interested in older men weren't rare.
Although Isabel did clarify, Vaan still had his doubts.
Also, didn't she say that they can contact her anytime? Vaan decided to use the time that was given to him.
However,
"Hmm? You are out? What happened?"
Suddenly, Vaan heard a voice.
It was Orion's and from the looks of it, he met Isabel.
Vaan's eyes widened in shock, he and Elara quickly stood up and rushed towards the door and what they saw made them blink in pure shock.
"L-L-Lord O-Orion!!"
The cold and distant Isabel had frozen up as she stood in front of Orion. She was blinking continuously as if she couldn't believe that she was meeting her idol, her face had turned bright red, and noticing that, Vaan narrowed his eyes,
'There is definitely something wrong with this woman.'
"Isabel?" Orion called out with a frown on his face.
Isabel quickly came out of her reverie, however, instead of collecting herself, she somewhat panicked and displayed a perfect 90-degree bow.
"Lord Orion! I apologize for any disrespect I have shown you! My name is Isabel, I am an orphan so I do not have a last name! I am 27 years old, a peak 4 Star Swordsman and I am also a Star Student who currently has 9 Excellence Stars! I have been hearing Lord Orion's name ever since I entered the Academy and I am truly grateful for this opportunity of being able to stand in your presence!"
It was clear that Isabel was over-excited.
This time, it wasn't just Vaan and Elara who were dumbfounded, Orion had the same expression on his face.
He turned towards his son and daughter-in-law standing near the door and he tilted his head, it was as if he was asking, 'What's her deal?'
Vaan however, shook his head, he had absolutely no clue how to deal with this woman so he decided to leave everything to his father.
Abandoned by his own son, Orion glanced at Isabel and,
"Uhh… Isabel…?"
He called out with a forced smile on his face.
"Yes, Lord Orion!" Isabel glanced at Orion, her eyes shining brightly.
"C-Can I ask what are you doing here?"
"I came here with an offer, Lord Orion." Isabel's answer was instantaneous and she didn't stop there,
"Actually, now that Lord Orion is here, I believe there is no need for any offers."
Saying those words, she knelt on the ground,
"Lord Orion, please take me as your disciple."
In an instant, Isabel's aura changed.
If at first, she gave an impression of a fool who was living in her own world, now, she gave off the aura of a warrior who had been hardened by countless battles.
Suddenly, Orion's flabbergasted face turned solemn as well. He narrowed his eyes, looking at how the girl's aura did a complete 180. He could also sense that she was strong, much stronger than what he had sensed before.
"Why do you wish to be my disciple?"
Orion questioned.
"There are many skillful Professors you can choose from. There is even Headmaster Octavius, the person who trained me, with your qualifications, I am sure he would gladly take you in as his disciple, so why choose me?"
"I wish to be taught by the best."
Isabel's answer was instantaneous.
"I do learn under Master Octavius, however, before becoming his disciple, I had already made it clear that if I get a chance, I would like to learn under Lord Orion and become his true disciple.
I didn't think I would get the opportunity, however, the moment I heard you returned to the Agresia Academy, I couldn't help myself and rushed here."
"Why didn't you come here instead of going to the Vesta House to meet me?" Orion questioned.
Hearing that question, Isabel suddenly blushed and,
"I-I believed that meeting you through your son would be a better option instead of bothering you directly.
A-Although I am doing the same thing, that is only because L-Lord Orion suddenly came in front of me. I know I am currently too nervous, so I hope Lord Orion can overlook my mistakes."
"Meeting me through my son?" Orion frowned as he glanced at Vaan. Vaan however, shook his head, but Isabel continued,
"I offered to have an unofficial duel with Vaan in exchange for getting a chance to meet with Lord Orion."
"Is that so…"
Orion narrowed his eyes as he glanced at Vaan.
"Then why are you coming out of the room? Did he accept your offer?"
"I-I gave him more time to t-think about it. Lord Orion should already know, Declan is not an opponent the current him could defeat, he needs to practice with someone of a similar level however finding someone like that is close to impossible."
"So you are saying you would spar with him if I take you in as my student?" Orion questioned.
"I-I know the price I am paying cheap but I do not have anything else to offer right now. I don't even need to be a True Disciple! Take me in as a Trial Disciple, a-and if Lord Orion is not satisfied with me, he can send me away but I will still spar with Young Master Vaan whenever he wishes!"
Isabel spoke, the difference in her tone when she talked with Vaan and Orion was simply too much.
Orion stared at the girl in front of him and,
"Let's do it."
He agreed.
"W-What…?" Isabel couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"I will take you in as my Trail Disciple for 30 days.
If your performance satisfies me, I will take you in as my True Disciple."
Hearing those words, Isabel's face brightened up.
"T-Thank you, Lord Orion!
I will work hard and will make sure not to disappoint you!"
Then suddenly, a small smile appeared on Orion's face, and,
"Actually, how about we start right now?"
As he said those words, he glanced at Vaan.
The moment Vaan saw his father's expression, he knew something bad was going to happen.
And just like he expected,
30 minutes later, he was lying on the ground, with bruises all over his body.
He could barely stand up and the person responsible for his condition turned towards Orion and,
"Master Orion! Was that satisfactory? Or should I increase my strength a little more? I can even use my real sword instead of this wooden sword, but I believe that it would be too much for Young Master Vaan to take."
