Chapter 95 - 29
The suffocating silence that hung over the Grand Colosseum Arena lasted for several excruciating seconds before exploding into an absolute, deafening uproar.
In the high VIP administrative box, Director Celeste gripped the stone balcony rail so tightly her knuckles turned white, her heart pounding frantically against her ribs. Beside her, Dr. Elena Vance simply chuckled, casually swirling the ice in her berry tonic.
"I told you," Elena whispered, a proud, fond smirk gracing her lips. "He doesn’t even need to lift a finger to bring a Calamity-Class beast to its knees. You should start drafting the incident reports now, Celeste, before the regional military observers faint."
"Incident report?!" Celeste squeaked, her face flushing bright, flustered red as her silver-framed spectacles nearly slipped off her nose. "He just tamed an uncontainable Obsidian Wyvern with a single glance! The entire council of war-matrons is going to lose their minds!"
Down on the scorched sands of the arena pit, the scene was utterly surreal.
The massive, thirty-foot beast remained completely motionless, its terrifying reptilian head pressed flat into the dirt, trembling softly in absolute submission before Arthur’s dark, unblinking gaze.
Lord Julian, still sprawled in the dirt where he had collapsed in terror, stared up at Arthur’s back with wide, bloodshot eyes. His face was pale, smeared with sweat and sand, his pompous aristocratic pride completely shattered into dust. He looked from the whimpering monster to the calm, unbothered commoner youth standing before him, his throat working silently as he failed to produce a single word.
𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Arthur casually lowered his basic iron training sword, resting the tip against the sand. He turned his head slightly toward the arena proctor’s box, where three high-ranking combat instructors were standing frozen, their jaws literally slack.
"Is the evaluation complete?" Arthur asked, his smooth, low voice carrying with supernatural clarity across the silent arena. "Or do we need to execute standard swordsmanship forms on a target that refuses to fight?"
The chief proctor blinked rapidly, snapping out of his trance and frantically grabbing his amplification crystal. "C-Combat Group 4... baseline evaluation... passed with maximum marks!" he stammered, his voice trembling over the loudspeakers. "Medical and containment teams, enter the floor immediately!"
As heavily armored beast-masters cautiously approached the docile wyvern with runic chains, the surrounding female students in the pit snapped out of their shock. They flooded toward Arthur like a surging wave, their eyes sparkling with intense, breathtaking admiration.
"Arthur! That was incredible! What kind of aura control was that?!"
"Did you use an ancient dragon-taming spell?! You didn’t even draw a magic circle!"
"Are you alright?! Let me inspect your armor for injuries!"
High-born heiresses, elite swordswomen, and master mages swarmed around him, completely ignoring Julian and the other noble boys who were quietly slinking away in absolute humiliation.
Arthur handled the sudden storm of attention with effortless, polite charm, stepping smoothly through the crowd without letting a single person touch his uniform. He navigated the sea of enthusiastic invitations and reached the edge of the pit where Katherine stood frozen.
Katherine was staring at him, her deep violet eyes glistening with unshed tears of pure wonder and intense, sweet affection. Her hands were still tightly clutching her threadbare cardigan over her tight combat harness, her massive chest heaving with fast, shallow breaths.
"Y-You... you were so incredible, Arthur," Katherine whispered, her voice trembling as a brilliant, fiery blush spread all the way down her neck. "I’ve never seen anyone... move like that..."
"You did well keeping your composure when the barrier closed," Arthur said gently, stepping close enough that his warm, subtle cedar scent wrapped around her. He reached out, his slender fingers lightly brushing against her cheek to wipe away a stray fleck of arena dust. "Come on. Let’s head back to the changing rooms before the crowds block the tunnels."
Katherine’s heart did a violent, breathless flip at his touch. She nodded frantically, her face burning like hot coals as she walked right beside him, feeling entirely safe and protected under the watchful gaze of the entire continent.
By evening, news of the arena incident had reached the highest administrative corridors of Aegis City.
Inside the private executive sanctuary of the Apex Estate, the twelve women of the Sovereign Council were gathered around the central projection pool, watching the recorded mana-feed of Arthur’s arena evaluation on a loop.
"Look at that divine, cold gaze!" Baroness Ignis boomed, slamming her fist playfully onto the velvet armrest, her long dragon tail thrashing with ecstatic pride. "He made a wild Obsidian Wyvern grovel like a newborn pup! That’s my sovereign!"
"It was a complete security breach," Valerie grunted, though a proud, possessive smirk played on her lips as she adjusted her leather gauntlets. "Julian’s family bribed the local beast-masters to swap the training golem. I have already dispatched three shadow squads. By midnight, House Julian will be stripped of their regional mining rights and placed under corporate audit."
"Good," Lyra declared smoothly, sitting at the head of the mahogany desk in her deep violet silk gown, her eyes shining with fierce devotion. "We don’t tolerate trash interfering with our lord’s leisure time. But more importantly..."
Lyra paused, her cheeks turning a soft, flushed pink as she looked around the room at her fellow executives—Vespera, Celeste, Sylvia, Elaria, Greta, Nisha, Aria, Kaelen, and Lilia.
"...Sister Elena explicitly stated last night that she expects Arthur to take all twelve of us as his wives," Lyra continued, her voice dropping into a breathless, sweet tone. "We need to begin organizing the formal union treaties and private estate arrangements immediately. We cannot afford to look unprepared when he decides the time is right."
The grand hall exploded into a wave of flustered, chaotic excitement. Celeste hid her burning face behind her clipboard, Nisha let out a happy fox-yelp while hugging her tail, and Vespera purred with victorious delight, her crimson eyes glowing in the soft candlelight.
Meanwhile, back in the quiet residential district near the academy, night had fallen smoothly over the city.
Arthur walked down the quiet, tree-lined alleyway toward his apartment building, carrying a small paper bag of fresh artisan pastries from the local bakery. The warm night breeze carried the comforting scents of blooming jasmine and distant ocean air.
As he reached the second-floor hallway of his building, he stopped outside Door 204. Standing right outside his brass lock, leaning nervously against the wooden wall, was Katherine.
She had changed out of her combat harness and back into her simple, modest student uniform, though she still wore her oversized cardigan pulled tight over her lush, voluptuous frame. She was holding a small, neatly wrapped parchment package, her deep violet eyes darting around the hallway in anxious anticipation.
"Katherine?" Arthur called out softly.
Katherine gasped, jumping slightly as her head snapped toward him. Her face instantly flushed a brilliant crimson, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
"A-Arthur!" she stammered, clutching the package tightly against her heaving chest. "I... I’m sorry for dropping by without asking! I just... I wanted to give you this!"
She stepped forward, holding out the parchment package with trembling hands. "I... I baked some sweet berry tarts in the dormitory kitchen... to thank you for saving everyone in the arena today, and... and for always sitting next to me..."
Arthur looked at the carefully wrapped package, then up at her flustered, breathtaking face. A genuine, low, captivating smile spread across his lips—a smile so rare and mesmerizing it made Katherine’s knees go completely weak.
He took the package gently from her hands, his fingers lightly brushing against hers.
"Thank you, Katherine," Arthur said smoothly, his deep voice carrying an irresistible, soothing warmth. "Why don’t you come inside and have some tea with me? I bought fresh pastries down the street."
Katherine’s breath caught violently in her throat, her deep violet eyes widening in utter, unbelievable shock. Her cheeks burned like fire, a sweet, overwhelming wave of joy washing over her heart.
"I... I would love to!" she whispered breathlessly, her heart fluttering wildly as Arthur inserted his brass key into the lock, turned it with a satisfying click, and held the door open for her to step into his world.