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“Ahh… they started earlier than I expected!”
Noelle hummed as she got up to get ready for the fight, seemingly uncaring, but Emilia could practically feel the older girl’s excitement radiating off of her.
The crimson-haired girl tilted her head curiously. ‘Guess she’s the type to enjoy inflicting punishment with her own two hands more than just watching her enemies suffer?’
She wasn’t sure if her girlfriend’s ‘parents’ were afraid of possibly being sabotaged by the elders or panicking because of the lack of action from the side of their supposed ‘ally’, but whatever the case may be, she didn’t really mind as long as Noelle was having fun.
“Are you not going to get ready…?”
“Ah, right!”
Recalling how she was supposed to be the masked wife whom Noelle was trying to impress in the eyes of the Nightingale clan’s elders, the crimson-haired beauty rushed to the wardrobe as well.𝑜𝓋𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t
“Ready— whoa?!”
The word was barely past her lips before Noelle casually picked the younger girl up in a bridal carry before rushing off in the direction of the training grounds.
Emilia had to admit that despite her lack of facial expressions, Noelle was quite diligent when it came to her ‘role’, though the older girl wasn’t the type to slack off in most things, so perhaps that was only to be expected.
It didn’t take them long to catch sight of the high-impact battle, and the loud exclamations and cheers made it clear that despite their recently negative impression, people were immensely enjoying the fight between the two ‘top’ fighters of the clan.
Emilia was a little worried that Noelle would be disheartened thinking that her efforts had all been in vain, so she quickly tried to reassure her. “It’s normal for them to cheer, since no matter who comes out on top between those two idiots, both of them are getting beaten up, right?”
Noelle chuckled. “Is that so?”
Of course, while most people remained oblivious to their arrival due to being focused on the fight, the elders who had been on the lookout were quick to notice and waive them over.
Much to their embarrassment, however, Noelle seemed completely unaware of their existence, her full attention focused on the ‘beauty’ in her arms.
Some of them couldn’t help but grumble. “Even if she’s talented, what kind of ecstasy does one have to drink to be so whipped in just a few days?”
“You know, I’m really curious why she keeps her whole body covered like that. At first I thought she must have an ugly face despite having a hot body, but going by Noelle’s attachment to her… she must be really pretty, right?”
“Somehow I doubt it. After all, she’s already been around that empress, so maybe she’s so disgusted by beauty that now she likes ugly—”
The grand elder quickly interrupted them with a cough. “Don’t talk nonsense.”
If their blabbering got into the wrong ears, their Nightingale clan might not be able to afford the fallout. Not to mention offending the little princess of White Deer, simply getting on Noelle’s bad side was enough for them to lose hope of ever achieving their newfound ambitions.
The rest of the elders also seemed to have come back to their senses as they lowered their heads in shame.
If the only hope for a bright future of their clan was lost because of their curiosity or pride, wouldn’t they be the biggest sinners in the Nightingale clan’s history?
Fortunately, Noelle didn’t seem to be paying any attention to them at all, and instead focused on whispering something to her ‘wife’ before walking into the crowd.
Wearing a pure combat suit that made her look incredibly dashing, it didn’t take long for people to start noticing Noelle’s arrival, and their exclamation quickly attracted the attention of others.
“—It’s her!”
“The hidden genius!”
Of course, she was now better known as the future leader, but no one dared to say that out loud in front of Narcissa and Gildroy, lest they needlessly invite trouble onto the young girl in front of them.
Even if she was strong and incredibly talented, most people still thought that she probably couldn’t reach Narcissa and Gildroy’s level quite yet. And if the two of them attacked her together, the situation would be even more tragic.
Naturally, such thoughts stemmed from their own lack of competence. If they had been able to measure any of the three’s strength reliably, such thoughts would never have crossed their minds.
Unfortunately, aside from the elders, the few who could either hadn’t been present at the time Emilia and Noelle fought, or weren’t certain enough of their conjectures to share it with others and risk being ridiculed.
After all, it was one thing to proclaim Noelle as the most talented girl in history, and another thing entirely to say that she was already in a completely different league even compared to the top fighters of their clan.
If so, wouldn’t she be able to crush everyone like a bug once she reached her full potential? Even for someone from the Nightingale clan, that was impossible.
Someone who could be so much stronger than the strongest fighters in the world… could such a person even be called a human?
Of course, the commotion soon attracted the gaze of even the two people who were fiercely trading blows in front of the crowd, and unbeknownst to everyone else, they couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
As they expected, the elders might have prevented them from meeting Noelle, but they hadn’t been smart enough to think of the girl herself seeking them out!
Now, so long as they managed to finish the battle quickly enough—!
Their blissful thoughts were rudely interrupted when the girl didn’t just stay at the front of the crowd to watch them, but actually stepped directly into their combat zone, a mysterious smile on her face.
“I see that the two of you are quite energetic… you wouldn’t mind if I borrowed your strength to show off to my wife for a bit, would you?”
Noelle didn’t even allow them enough time to process her words before she directly jumped between them, throwing a punch at her mother’s face while sending her elbow straight to her father’s nose.
Of course, because she intentionally slowed her movements, both of Noelle’s attacks were blocked despite the element of surprise, though it was clearly not something her opponents did with ease.
Stumbling back in shock under the excited screams of the crowd, both Narcissa and Gildroy felt their thoughts turn into a jumbled mess.
‘What the fuck is going on…? Didn’t she say she wanted me to become the next clan leader…?’
‘Shit! Don’t tell me this bitch has really been brainwashed to the extent that she has the thoughts of betraying Emilia?!’
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