NOVPUBThis was the highlight of the evening and a non-scoring match with a mercenary nature.
Christina gazed across the venue at the coach’s rest area opposite her.
The employer she was up against tonight, Viscount Charles Hammond from the Hammond financial group, was originally from a faction that didn’t get along with her father, Count Bathist’s faction.
Actually, if possible, Christina didn’t want to get involved in these disputes within the Poson nobility circles.
Although if she could win, her parents would definitely praise her for a job well done when she returned home.
But her reputation as a villainess heiress would surely deepen—
At just seventeen years old, she had toppled an elder of a rival family.
The screens around the venue were now displaying not only the competitors’ information but also the terms of the match and detailed paperwork.
For the sake of fairness and transparency, both competitors’ employment contracts were submitted to the league, which would then go through a public disclosure process.
"Why is the opponent involved in a super tightrope walking contract...?"
At this time, Christina also saw the proxy contract signed by her opponent.
The other party had signed one of the most extreme types of wager contracts.
If they lost, the duelist would pay a huge compensation to their employer.
Christina checked the league records and did some quick calculations, which was almost all the money the duelist had earned in the past two days. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
If they won, conversely, the employer would also pay a very high amount.
Unlike Lanci’s contract, which guaranteed commission regardless of winning or losing.
Only absolute confidence would lead one to sign this kind of deal, staking everything on the line, indicating the opponent’s competitor had absolute confidence in winning.
As long as they saw their chance of winning as one hundred percent, the size of the bet didn’t matter.
At that moment, Christina’s heart started to panic.
She wasn’t afraid of Rocky losing, or rather, if Rocky lost, it would be what she wished for.
But she didn’t want to see Rocky being brutally tortured by the opponent; she couldn’t bear to watch that kind of scene.
As the night grew darker, the air was filled with a tense and anticipatory atmosphere, and the spectator seats were brimming with people from all walks of life, buzzing with conversation and fervent gaze.
Until five minutes before the start of the match.
Finally, a figure emerged from behind the opponent’s coaching area.
Shadows clung to his form until they faded away—
It was a red-haired youth, who looked a bit short, perhaps more fittingly described as a young man, but his features carried a boyish air.
This red-haired youth named Enon exuded an aura that unconsciously carried the scent of a butcher.
As soon as he appeared, even the rowdy crowds in the back unconsciously quieted down.
However.
When Christina’s gaze landed on the red-haired youth who had emerged from the passage, an unprecedented fear instantly enveloped her heart.
Despite her usual confidence and bravery, she felt a weakness she had never experienced before.
Her palms began to sweat involuntarily, her heart rate accelerated, and for a moment, she wanted to turn around and leave, flee from the arena that caused her such palpitations.
It seemed her fear was sensed by the red-haired youth, as their gazes unintentionally met for a brief moment.
That instant, Christina felt as if she had been drenched in ice water, a fear from the depths of her soul sweeping over her in an instant.
His deep purple eyes, profound and shadowy, were like the belladonna in the night, carrying endless chills.
Christina felt as if she had become a skeleton tightly wrapped by the belladonna, the petals being both part of her flesh, about to separate from her being, her spirit like a small boat tottering in a storm, her soul close to being lost and scattered.
"What’s wrong?"
Until.
The butler’s gentle voice suddenly sounded in her ear.
Like the warm sun of spring, it brought her consciousness back, and only then did she hastily divert her gaze from the red-haired youth.
Christina gasped for breath, feeling her legs go weak.
"Rocky, let’s not fight, let’s return the money."
She said to the butler next to her, her voice filled with fear and decisiveness.
"Miss Christina, if we forfeit now, I also can’t find another contestant, and besides, I would have to pay the penalty fee,"
The man with a hooked nose immediately panicked upon hearing this.
Although there were other servants prearranged that could fight, he felt they stood no chance.
"I’ll pay for it,"
Christina said without hesitation.
Though it would drain her savings, she wouldn’t let the butler face such a dangerous opponent.
"No need, I never break a contract,"
Even so, the butler still maintained a nonchalant attitude.
"...Can you win?"
The golden-haired young lady looked at the butler, her eyes slowly filling with doubt.
Although she still felt uneasy,
She knew all too well that the butler was no ordinary being, and understood that what the contestant needed at this time was support, not doubt.
"We’ll win,"
Lanci affirmed with a nod.
"..."
After a long silence, Christina nodded gently, allowing the man with the hooked nose to breathe a sigh of relief.
"If you can’t win, immediately surrender, don’t let him hurt you,"
Despite having a thousand words in her heart, all that came out was a simple request.
"No problem,"
Lanci agreed, getting up and walking towards the entrance of the Void Gate, which had already opened to the Artificial Shadow World arena.
The red-haired youth didn’t speak, he merely looked up slightly, those indifferent eyes revealing themselves once more, and then he entered the battlefield.
Lanci followed closely behind, stepping into this vast prairie.
Just then, the red-haired youth’s employer, a middle-aged noble dressed lavishly, glanced over at Christina, as if mocking their courage and decision.
"Christina, how brave of you, I hope your family’s butler can still work normally next week."
