"Begin!"
I lunge toward him, conjuring hovering fire on my palms as I head towards him.
He's standing still, looking at me with calm eyes and a confident grin.
I direct a fire-coated palm strike toward his face, he shifts his head slightly, my strike hitting the air behind his head.
He crouches, his head slightly below my chest level, and he delivers a nasty blow to the side of my ribs.
Huh? That didn't hurt?
It didn't hurt it felt like I was hit by something... Soft, but not too soft.
His expression changes as he notices that something's wrong as I didn't shake after that blow and he steps back.
His confident demeanor is broken.
He brings out a large amount of flames in his two hands. They form some sort of flame blade. And he starts dancing with it like a Martial artist.
With a burst of speed, he strikes at my left ankle with his flame-sworded right hand. I raise my leg, his hands sweeping the ground and I send a punch with small strength to his face that he left unguarded.
Boom!
His head crashes on the ground, causing the sand to ripple and dust to soar in the air.
The entire training grounds are silent.
Richardson slowly lifts his head, he's bleeding.
I smirk.
"Do you accept def–"
"V-vayabol!"
Vwoom!
I forgot he's a first-circle mage.
A fireball shoots like comet towards my shoulder, but I dodge it.
I raise my head to see more fireballs hurling at me.
"Quite a lot."
I dodge them all swiftly and skillfully, slowly heading toward him as I dodge.
"Y-you! Argh!"
His childish voice reminds me that he's a kid.
I feel bad for what I'm about to do.
But it doesn't matter if he's a kid or an old man, I'm winning this duel.
I slip through the barrage of fireballs and I grab the collar of his shirt with my left hand.
I raise him high in the air, his stomach my face level, his legs kicking the air and he's groaning in pain.
"A-ah! Put me down!"
The blood from his open forehead drops on my hand.
I raise my fist and coat it with fire and I aim for his jaw.
"Clench your teeth kid."
"K–kid?"
"Stop!"
Just before my fist is about to hit the kid's jaw. The acting referee stops me.
"Winner of this duel... Charles Liam Flameworth!"
His voice was resolute and loud and was the only thing that filled the entire training grounds as the people were silent, watching the best student of the year get humiliated by a kid.
I look into Richardson's eyes and I see terror.
I smile bitterly and shake my head, dropping him on the ground, making a thud sound.
"You're lucky kid."
I told him as I walked off, adjusting the sleeve of my uniform.
"I'm– I'm older than you."
Is he still talking?
I turn my head over my shoulder to look at him.
"And you should be ashamed of that."
And I keep walking off.
____________
As I thought, that kid isn't just a normal kid. He completely overpowered a kid twice his age and a first circle at that. This is good. This is really good!
I grin as I watch Charles exit the stage.
Yes, that's how it's supposed to be, the one who holds great power is supposed to be unyielding, unrelenting, and– Brutal.
The boy is highly proficient In the Martial Arts of the Flameworths. I like that. The other kid he was fighting with got overwhelmed by his physical prowess that left no gap and switched to an anxious flurry of fireballs, pathetic.
I stand up from my seat.
I glance at my smiling first wife who's also watching Charles leave and I turn my gaze to my left to look at my second wife– Jina, the mother of James, she's glaring at Charles and biting her lips. She'll probably try to cook up some nasty scheme against him.
"Jina."
She snaps back to reality with a jolt, it's as if she was in a deep trance.
"Do not harm my son. I know you like schemes and malice and I know very much what you're capable of."
She frowns at me but I continue my warning.
"Touching him is akin to going against me. And if you go against me..." I summon blue flames from my index finger and raise it to my lips, forming a 'shush' gesture.
"Then your death will be guaranteed."
With that, she nods her head anxiously and I walk out.
I can't wait to hear about his endeavors and achievements in the Imperial Academy.
The boy has become my only source of amusement, the bitterness in my heart seems to dissipate any time I remember him.
His existence is like a drug that makes me high and forget about my sorrow.
And I'm finding much pleasure in hearing news of great achievement from the son born of my blood.
The bitterness that I feel always gets drowned into nothingness anytime I remember it.
There are only two things that ease my heart these days:
News of good achievements from Charles and
Anytime I'm drinking with my only friend, Kairo.
Ah, speaking of Kairo, it's been a while since I had a drink with him. I need to go to Ludia.
I just had a crazy thought.
Why is it during the later years of my life that fate decided to show me signs of goodwill? Why didn't it do that during all my times of turmoil?
I shake my head. Now isn't the time for depressing thoughts. I need to plan a way to make Kairo addicted to cakes like I am, and a way to convince Faleso, my secretary, that I'm going on a mission that the emperor requested of me.
And I need to start making arrangements for Charles's admission to the Academy by next year.
Ah– so many things to do.
With a satisfied smile on my face, I head back to my quarters.