10 Chapter 10 (2/2)

Wilfred headed back towards the crowd, he'd have to wrangle his way in somehow, when he stopped after remembering something.

”Speaking of information though, there is some we need to pry out of Lucy. Where did she go?”

”I think I saw her during our match. Must be close to front row. ”

They headed back towards the fighting, weaving in and out of the crowd trying to move forward. A few more fights happened during the time they were away. Some students they knew but weren't very close to.

They found Lucy chatting with another student from her year, both excited about their matches but also nervous. Seeing her friends walk up to them, Lucy bid farewell to the other girl and walked to meet them halfway. Wilfred spoke first.

”Hey, we need to talk about what happened earlier.”

”Uuuuh, I already told you I don't want to.”

Wilfred sighed, facepalming.

”It's important. I have a feeling the matches are going to be rigged and you'll be up against that cousin of yours. Please, you're our friend, we want to help.”

Lucy nervously shuffled in place, debating if it was worth telling them.

”I-I..guess I can tell you, I owe you that much for all the help these last few weeks.”

Taking a deep breath, Lucy started telling her story.

”If we go from the beginning, my father is actually prince Nemar, third son of the King. Father fell in love with a commoner woman after she tended to his injuries because his unit was decimated in a fight against the dragon Ysern and they had a daughter. Naturally, when word got out about this, Grandfather was really upset. He forced them to separate and my mother kept me for some years. When they realized that I could use magic at 13 though, they came back for me. Meanwhile, Father had to marry a n.o.ble woman shortly after and they had a daughter as well.”

Lucy took a moment to compose herself and wiped a small tear away.

”So my half-sister can also use magic but it came later for her. During the exams last year, I thought I pa.s.sed but after review, they deducted me some points from the trials and it made me fail. I am pretty sure it's her mother pulling some strings but I can't prove anything. This is my last chance, if I fail again they'll remove me from the academy. So how do you think they're going to cheat?”

”I don't know. But I'll keep an eye out. It's likely no coincidence that I ended up fighting Lucius in the first round, makes it much harder for either of us to pa.s.s now. ”

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