ALL NOVEL Chapter 16: Grey Wolf
"Haaaaah"
A long exasperated sigh escaped the mouth of a young lady as she collapsed on the bed prepared for her by the servants. Hugging the pillow close to her chest, Claudia clenched her fists and shed a tear softly.
"I hate this" she whispered to herself as she buried her face on the sheets.
Claudia already had a vague idea of what Juliette felt for the man she longed for. Just by looking at and listening to her act and speak, way back during the Prince's debut, as well as their little skirmish when she and her sister, Camilla, arrived here, she could clearly guess that Juliette didn't just see Larc as her Butler, and because of what she witnessed just a couple of minutes ago, she also realized that Larc as well held strong feelings for his mistress.
The mere memory of her first encounter with him was enough to make her face heat up and her heart beat faster, while the interaction between him and Juliette caused her chest to tighten. Because of this young man, she was made to feel different things that she had not felt before, and it scared her.
"Just what is this..." She muttered as she lightly sobbed, her Ruby like eyes glistening with the tears that rolled down to her cheeks.
The pain she felt when she saw how Larc looked at Juliette was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Not like how a wound would feel, nor a bruise, that pain was much, much worse. Not only did it drained her, it also made her think of bad things. Almost like a dark cloud was looming over her.
".. I wish I'd never seen thag." She whispered under her breath.
Looking back to it, she didn't even remember why she agreed to come here with her sister.
Was it because she wanted to hinder the two of them? Or was it because she expected Larc to somehow look her way?
She didn't know.
The one thing she was sure of though, was that she did indeed love this man. This kind, compassionate, generous, man that made her feel indescribable feelings had unknowingly captured her heart. Even though he was just a servant, even though he didn't look her way, even though he already had an important person, she couldn't hold back her feelings. She was now certain. That strange feeling that's been bugging her for a long time, It's called love.
*hic* *sob* "I hate this..." She whispered once again as she clenched the sheets tighter.
+++
Come morning, Larc had already recovered from his earlier predicament.
Waking up earlier than usual, he stood in the woods near the estate, examining his body under the cover of dawn. Surprisingly, instead of feeling under the weather or fatigued, he felt surprisingly good, better than usual actually. His body that should've been sore from his injuries felt lighter and stronger. His mana that should've been drained to the last drop felt deeper and thicker, even his eyes seemed to have been sharper.
[Strange..] He thought while opening and closing his fists.
He unsheathed the training sword he had brought out with him and started practicing his swings.
Having no memories of what transpired after he exhausted his mana reserves, he could only listen to the explanation that Juliette gave him, which she in turn got from her brother Jorgé.
"Tch"He clicked his tongue while thinking to himself; [My weakness once again became evident.]
"?!!"
Just as he was staring to exert more force into his swings, he suddenly felt a presence lurking behind him. There was no way that Larc would not feel this overwhelming violent intent, akin to a beast stalking it's prey. Quickly turning around, he readied his training sword and surveyed the surroundings.
"Who's there?" He bellowed. "Show yourself this instant!"
Sporting a grin, as if saying "I found something interesting." A large, well built man walked out of the trees. Larc was already fairly tall himself, standing over most people of his age, but this man here stood two whole heads taller than he is, quite possibly even taller than Lennox.
Dressed in fine garments, the man looked to be atleast 60 years old, but his body was anything but old. He was muscular and lean, not an ounce of fat or sagging could be seen. Sporting a scar that ran from his left eye all the way to his left cheek, his gray hair and braided beard fluttered about with the wind.
*Gulp*
[...This is bad..] Larc thought to himself as he unconsciously gulped.
"Heya, kid!" The old man bellowed as he showed a shit-eating grin. "Care for a match with this old fool?"
Hearing this, Larc tightened his grip to his training sword. He assumed the stance that was drilled into him by the head butler Alford.
"Who are you?!" He asked the old man. "You are trespassing in the estate of the Carmine household, identify yourself this instant or face dire consequences!"
"Why, I'm just an old fool looking for my friend" The man answered, but not before taking a stance himself.
"Fortunately, I seemed to have stumbled upon an interesting prey" He continued while grinning and crouching down, similar to how Larc crouches down when he prepares for an attack.
[?!]
Surprised by the man's stance, Larc unconsciously relaxed his body. A fact that the man did not miss.
"You're wide open!"
The man kicked off the ground and propelled himself at an astonishing speed.
[?!! He's fast--]
Before he could even finish his thought, Larc found his vision spinning as he was sent flying by a strong blow.
"Gah!" He gasped as he felt the wind get taken away from his lungs.
Sent tumbling a good distance, Larc struggled to control his breathing. Using his training sword, he propped himself up and tried to regain his bearings.
[Kuh! H-he's fast! Faster than sir Alford! And the strength of his blow is incomparable!]
Readying his stance once more, the man's grin grew even wider. He planted both his hands on the ground, looking as if to tear the soil from it, and dragged one of his feet backwards, much like how a sprinter would prepare for a sudden burst of speed.
[Tch! He's gonna charge again?!]
This time however, Larc was anticipating his attacks and strengthened his entire body. Having realized the difference in their corresponding strength and speed, he drew a defensive stance that allowed one to parry a larger and stronger opponent.
He casted his legs wide and held his sword to the side of his head, pointed towards his assailant.
"Hohh?"
Seeing this, the man's eyebrow perked up.
"That's good! But it won't matter much!!" He scoffed as he once again blitzed Larc with overwhelming speed.
[There it is!] Larc thought to himself.
Having realized that the man and him uses almost identical stances, Larc knew that the weakness of that move was that it was destructive in a straight-line but at the expense of not being able to change directions mid dash, much like how a boar would charge in one direction until it hits something.
[I have you know!] He exclaimed in his head as he leapt to the side and swing his sword diagonally to the side of the man's head.
[?!! What?!]
To his surprise however, his full force swing hit nothing but air.
The man had stopped his dash at the same time Larc leapt to the side and crouched down low. He then twisted his body and kicked Larc off his feet with a sweeping motion.
"You really think I'd fall for that??" The man scoffed. "Guhahaaha you underestimate me, boy!"
Having exerted force in his swing and getting swept off his feet, Larc was not able to defend himself against the man's fist and was blown away once again. Fortunately this time, he had body strengthening on his entire body, so the damage he took was significantly lighter than before. Unfortunately though, it was not enough to completely negate the damage.
"Guuuh!" He grimaced as he tumbled back a good distance once more.
"Haah.. haah.. haah.."
He panted as he struggled to get back to his feet.
[Damnit! How the fuck is this guy able to stop and change directions mid dash???] He cursed inside his mind.
The man leisurely walked towards Larc while mocking him and showing a shit-eating grin once more.
"Two's enough for you? I pity the woman you'd call your wife Guahahahha!"
[Tch! This shitty old man!.. ]
Having been made aware about the difference in not just their strength and speed but also technique, Larc had no other choice.
[Then I'll do that!]
Throwing away his training sword, Larc assumed the same stance the man had used before. Crouching down low, Larc as well planted his hands on the ground.
"Hooohhh???"
Seeing this, the man's smile grew even larger.
"A contest of charge, eh?? I'll take your head off! Guahahahha!" He exclaimed as he assumed the same stance.
The two stared at one another for a time, just anticipating who'd make the first move.
[He's mocking you, use that to your advantage!]
Focusing and condensing his mana to his feet, Larc was the first to act. He kicked off the ground and dashed towards the man who quickly did the same.
"You think you can take me head on?? Guahahahha! I'll show you the difference in our strength!" The man bellowed as he readied his fist.
At the same time as the old man, Larc as well raised his fist and acted as if he was throwing a punch. But just before the two reached each other's attack range, Larc suddenly opened his fist and threw the dirt held within to the face of the man.
"Gah! You cheeky brat!"
Getting hit squarely in the face with the dirt, the old man could not help but close his eyes.
[You may have blinded me, but you're right in front of me, and my fist is stronger than yours!] The man thought to himself as he put his strength into his attack.
[??!!]
"What the--"
Contrary to his expectations, instead of hitting flesh, the man hit nothing but air.
Right after he threw the dirt, Larc used the momentum of his throw in order to twist his body and get underneath the punch of the man. He then replicated the sweeping kick the man had used and threw the man off of his feet.
[Splendid!!] The man thought to himself.
[I have him now!]
Larc had successfully thrown the man into mid air. Because of the momentum of the charge, there was no way for him to regain his balance mid air, so Larc was sure that he had won the contest of strength, even though he cheated by throwing dirt.
Unfortunately though, the one he was fighting with wasn't exactly what you'd call, a normal person.
Just as Larc prepared to follow up the attack the man kicked off the air itself. A loud booming sound akin to an explosion echoed, followed by a strong invisible force that blew Larc away and allowed the man to regain his footing.
This invisible force was far stronger than the first two attacks, and because Larc condensed his mana to his feet, his body felt the full force of it.
[What.. was that...]
Those words ran through his head as he tumbled to the ground for a third time before finally falling unconscious.
+++
"---ey.. hey.. brat!"
The voice of an old man, as well as the light tapping of his cheek woke Larc from his, for a lack of better term, sleep.
Opening his eyes, what he saw was the grinning face of the old man that was illuminated by the morning sun.
"You're finally awake! Guhahaaha." The man remarked as he sat down beside him.
Larc wanted to quickly stand up and get away, but his body was not properly responding to his commands.
Seeing him struggling, the old man chuckled a bit before patting him on the chest.
"Oh don't be so sensitive, boy. I made sure that no real damage would be done to you! Guhahaaha!" He laughed as he propped Larc to sit.
"Your body is just in shock!" He added.
Greatly confused at the words of the old man, Larc rubbed his head and his chest while paying close attention to the man.
[..eh?]
Strangely enough, although his body did feel fatigued, the last attack that he took was quite powerful, so he was certain that he should have a couple of ribs broken, or even ruptured organs. But he didn't feel any of that, just the small bruises he had on his arms and face.
He once again gave a suspicious look at the old man, which was met by another shit-eating grin.
"...Who are you anyway, Old man?" He asked as he tried to stand up.
The man looked to his direction and gave him a dumb look.
"Ehh? I'm just as you say, an old man."
"Quit fucking with me! Who are you?!"
Unable to contain his emotions Larc lashed out at the man while glaring at him.
"Haaah.. finee finee, you don't have to be angry about it." Said the man nonchalantly while raising his hands in a gesture that seemed to say "it can't be helped".
"My name's Vilka, I'm the--"
"Headmaster! So you were here all along."
Before the old man could finish his introduction, Jorgé emerged from within the castle wearing an exhausted look.
"The guards told me you arrived early, then suddenly vanished. You caused them quite a bit of trouble you know?" Jorgé complained as he drew closer to the two.
"Oho? I see you've already made each other's acquaintance?" He continued.
In response the old man stood up and made a hearty laugh.
"Guahahahhaha! That's right, Jorgé. When I arrived, the guards said that you were.. how do I say this.. still preoccupied with your fiancé. So I opted to just look around."
Hearing this, Jorgé ears turned slightly red.
"Ah, about that, I apologize, Headmaster."
"Guahahahhaha! No need to apologize you know?? A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Guahahahha!"
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't phrase it like that haha."
Seeing the two interact like this, Larc couldn't help but hold his head in confusion.
"Excuse me, my lord. But do you know this old man?" He asked as he stood up groggily.
"This old man here came out of nowhere and attacked me." He continued.
Jorgé rubbed his forehead and lightly shooked his head after he heard Larc. Looking up he gave the old man a tired look.
"I believe I've said this before, but please refrain from attacking my retainers."
"Guahahahha I just thought I'd exercise for a bit before meeting with you."
"Even so."
"Finee finee Guahahahha!"
Although the man agreed, both Jorgé and Larc knew that it was highly unlikely that he'd actually follow through.
"Ah, that's right!" Seemingly remembering something, Jorgé snapped his finger and turned towards the confused butler. "Larc, this here is the headmaster of the Academy, as well as the Wall of the North, Lord Vilka of House Denver, the Grey Wolf."
"That's me! Although, I'm no longer called the Wall of the North, I lost some of the territory to Ferahim afterall, Guahahahhaha!"
Hearing this, Larc couldn't help but show a dumb look to his face.
"..eh?" He muttered as the old man laughed heartily while Jorgé smiled wryly.
