𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

Chapter 15

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: EDITED

𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝟏
「𝙒𝙄𝙇𝙇𝙄𝘼𝙈'𝙎 𝙍𝘼𝙂𝙀」

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"And now, William Monique, going up against, Francis Hernandez." The crowd erupted into cheers as the boy entered the arena.

"And... begin!"

As soon as the horn blew William immediately jumped to the side. Fortunate for him since his opponent already launched an attack. What bothered him was the attack's essence. It wasn't normal water. Somehow he was able to manipulate it into an acidic substance.

Francis smirked upon seeing the boy's confusion. Using it to his advantage, he aimed towards one of the pillars, the acidic water destroying its base, making the construction fall. William quickly created an earth barrier, shielding him from the attack.

'So students from Aquarina can change the water's state up to its boiling point.'

Francis clicked his tongue, not liking how his move was unsuccessful. His eyes diverted from the crowd, eventually landing on a girl with pale hair. "You are a Monique yes? Funny that you and your sister don't hold any resemblance at all. I doubt that the esteemed Duke and Duchess would ever plot an affair against each other... unless?"

The boy froze, making the man cackle in amusement. 'How could he say that?'

"I merely jest, I already know... It's because you're adopted."

He commented smugly, William let his guard down. Quickly launching another attack at the frozen boy, only for him to swiftly doge. 'Why did he move?! He was practically a statue a second ago.'

What Francis did not know was that his words actually did affect William. Just not in the way he expected. Despite his continuous attacks and his consistent dodging, William was not fighting back. Only a blank expression remained on his face.

Francis gritted his teeth. "You were probably found from some rotting alley." Dodge.

"Your real parents must have hated you so much seeing as they dumped you in the streets" Dodge.

"The Duke and Duchess probably only took you in because they pitied you." Dodge.

"Your sister probably pitied you too." Dodge.

"Honestly I pity you as well, having to live a life with people faking their benevolence... it is quite sad."

All of a sudden the ground started shaking. People had to hold onto the bars and rails in front of them to not fall down. However one person stood perfectly still, William.

In a swift motion with his left hand he made a mountain appear. He then did the same with his right hand. Until the whole arena was completely covered. All of the audience members turned towards each other in confusion. They couldn't see the two boys since the tall mountains were covering the scene. Some nobles looked at the Monique couple in confusion and concern since that was their son after all.

However, they too were confused.

Little did they know, the seemingly innocent boy was beating his opponent to a pulp. Every punch that hit was so fast, it left no time for Francis to devise a move. This was definitely something that never happened during a duel. The idea of a noble almost barbarically attacking someone was practically unheard of.

The thing was, William was never a noble to begin with. A commoner at heart, used with the harsh reality and conviction of surviving in the streets.

With one last swing, he tried to catch his breath. Creating those mountains took a huge toll on his body, he could feel them slowly deteriorating.

"You pity me...?" His tired eyes looked down at his opponent's fallen body.

"It should be me who pities you." A heavy thud was heard, before William himself landed on the ground.

The two mountains begun to crumble down, finally giving the people a glimpse of the two students. Only for gasps to be heard from the crowd. Two figures laid motionless on the floor, as paramedics were called to the scene. The commentator could not decide on who won, so he gave each team a point.

Victoria and her family rushed towards William immediately, ignoring the calls of her friends and the spectators. The mother and daughter helped pick him up before the father carried him, running to the infirmary. Victoria looked back to see the young Hernandez being placed on a stretcher, no sight of his family beside him, just a crowd of nurses.

The people watched in awe as they saw how affectionate the Moniques could be, even to a boy who did not share their blood. Being a pristine house with close connections to the imperial family, the Monqiues were seen as untouchable by many. With it came a lot of enemies who wished for their downfall, failing due to the lack of dirt the family had on them.

They possessed a clean record, weaknesses were never discovered. Until today.

Many admired them for their kindness, but others saw this as an opportunity to exploit them.