Lucien vs Seraphine

She can just do that? Just alter the rules on a whim because she wants to fight? Wait, why does she even want to fight me?

My thoughts were racing, trying to process this turn of events. But there was something else on my mind. Something I missed in the heat of battle, but now that I was thinking about it...

The entire fight, she was focused on me. She didn't even look at Alaric.

Their rivalry over Alaric's affection was a driving force in Seraphine conflict with Lily. Plan A had been to keep Alaric's attention on Seraphine instead of Lily, but I couldn't be certain that would work given Lily's protagonist status. So I came up with plan B: If Alaric falls for Lily, I need Seraphine to lose interest in Alaric. I was going to seduce her myself if I had to.

Now it seemed that I was further along in that plan than I thought. Seraphine was focused on me, even if it's not in a romantic way.

I got snapped back into reality when Alaric started laughing. He must have been in shock over his sudden defeat, and only now snapped back to reality.

"Ha, haha, hahahaha!" His face turned into a smile, and he held out his hand to me. "That was a good trick! You were holding back, weren't you? Letting me get confident, only to strike when my guard was down. Well played, Lucien. Well played. I'm looking forward to a rematch."

Yeah, no. I'd rather not.

I shook his hand and said "Of course, it'd be an honor to fight you again." Alaric gave me a smile and a pat on the shoulder, then we left the arena to make room for the next pair.

During the break before my fight with Seraphine I met up with Rieva. We retreated to an empty hallway where I could talk to her in private.

"Have you found any promising candidates for the Saint?" I asked her to confirm what she had been up to.

"None of the students have used holy magic so far. However, I have compiled a list ranking the most likely suspects based on the power they've demonstrated." Rieva answered, then handed me a piece of paper.

That wasn't necessary, I doubt it differs much from the ranking the school will publish after the event. 

I looked at the list. Lily was on there, but fairly far down, which didn't surprise me, her show of skill in the second part of the assessment is what earns her the attention of everyone.

Other familiar names were near the top of the list. Seraphine and Alaric were up there, as were Lily's other potential love interests. Alaric in particular got the top spot, which was ideal for my next plan.

I need to know how much my victory affected the timeline.

"Focus on Alaric for now. Keep an eye on him during the rest of the assessment. If he does anything out of the ordinary, I need to know about it."

Rieva nodded. "I expected as much, my lord. Of course you would have noticed."

Noticed what?

"What are you referring to, Rieva?"

"The prince was holding back during your duel, wasn't he? Of course, so were you, my lord, and I doubt he would have been a challenge for you even at his full strength. But I do find it suspicious that he didn't try to go all out."

I didn't notice that at all. But as long as she focuses on him, that's all I care about.

"There is another reason I want you to keep an eye on him. If he really is the Saint, he might react to such a close encounter with me. Report to me if you notice anything different about him compared to before today."

That should get her to keep me updated on any changes to the script.

"Of course, my lord." She bowed to me. "I will return to observing the assessment. Please excuse me."

With that, Rieva left and I returned to the arena as well. There was still one fight left for me to do. My battle against Seraphine.

The arena was filled with chatter as I entered it. A female student challenging a male student, a noble flexing their status to bend the rules, and to top it all she challenged me right after I had beaten the favorite, when most other students hope for an easy opponent to make themselves look better.

No wonder most of the students were talking about it. There was just one group of girls who instead still talked about my fight with Alaric.

They must be the prince's fanclub.

Seraphine stepped into the arena opposite from me. Her expression was one of confidence, as if she was assured she would achieve what she was after.

I can't imagine she'd be this certain she can beat me, not after I beat Alaric. So what does she have in mind?

To me, this wouldn't be a battle of skill, but rather one of wit. I needed to figure out Seraphine's motives, so that I could decide how to handle the fight.

We faced each other across the arena with everyone watching. Retreating or throwing the fight early on would cause suspicion, so I'd need to put on a good act until I decided how to end it.

The start of the match was signaled. Immediately, several beams of energy flew towards me. I barely dodged them when another volley already headed towards me, and from the corner of my eye I saw Seraphine already lining up another.

She's going for speed instead of power, the complete opposite of what I saw from her in the forest. Is she trying to throw me off?

Her attacks were fast, but she sacrificed power for it. Even a normal human could take a couple hits, but it would still be suspicious if I just ignored them. I kept dodging, and all the while putting up a show where I made it look like I was trying to get close to her.

Seraphine was keeping me at bay, she always stayed a step ahead of me. At least that's what we made it look like.

These weak attacks are meant to keep me at distance, not to finish me off. It's as if she's trying to bait me. Could that be it? Is she trying to get me to reveal my identity? I can't let it come to that. I'm going to end this fight now.

I waited for Seraphine to raise her right hand for another volley of spells. Right as she did I launched a fireball, not aimed at her but at the ground. Dust kicked up from the explosion obscuring Seraphine's sight. Just like against Alaric I used this chance to slip behind Seraphine.

I was about to knock her out of the arena, but then I saw the glimmer of magic in her left hand. While she was using her right hand to fire the weak spells at me, her left had been charging up another spell.

Her spell connected first, and I was sent flying.