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“Miles, you hid that rather well.”
Hall shot Miles a sour look.
He did not know that Miles had not understood Aurelian’s situation either.
Since Aurelian had formed a contract with Phoenix when he was very young, Miles had never worried.
He had never heard of a phoenix forming a contract with an ordinary person.
“You flatter me.”
Miles smiled broadly at Hall.
Seeing the man’s bitter expression put him in such a good mood that, if the occasion had allowed it, he might have burst into song.
“Hmph.”
Hall grew even angrier at the sight of him.
With a cold sound, he turned his attention back to Aurelian and Joyce inside the barrier, a trace of killing intent sharpening his gaze.
“Bastard,” Miles muttered under his breath once Hall stopped talking.
Then he too returned his focus to the duel.
Aurelian had proven he could use magic, but the fight had only just begun.
In the end, the result would decide everything.
…
“So that is how it is.”
After seeing Aurelian cast successfully, Joyce gradually calmed down.
His unusual talent and his family’s doting had made him arrogant, but he was not stupid.
Aurelian was the heir of House Pendragon, House Lancelot’s ancestral enemy.
Forming a contract with a phoenix already proved his talent.
Now that he had also proven he could use magic, Joyce had no choice but to be cautious.
His purpose was to embarrass House Pendragon, not to become the one humiliated.
“But if you think that is enough to frighten me, you are badly mistaken.”
“Reducto!”
Joyce’s eyes sharpened, and he fired another spell.
“Impedimenta!”
Aurelian answered without retreating.
His own spell met Joyce’s and cancelled it out.
“Petrificus Totalus!”
“Stupefy!”
“Incarcerous!”
“Diffindo!”
The two boys launched into a fierce exchange.
Spell after spell burst from their wands in flashes of color. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Some collided and cancelled each other out; others struck the barrier created by Miles and Hall and sent ripples over its surface.
“As expected of the heirs of House Pendragon and House Lancelot.
To have this level of skill at their age…
I suspect many third-year Hogwarts students would not match them.”
To the heads of the pure-blood families attending the banquet, the fight was almost child’s play.
Even so, considering Aurelian and Joyce’s ages, admiration flashed in more than a few eyes.
“Serpensortia!”
“Engorgio!”
When Joyce saw another of his spells cancelled out, he suddenly conjured a venomous snake.
Then he struck it with an Enlargement Charm, turning the slender serpent into a giant python that hissed and lunged at Aurelian.
“Aurelian, look out!”
“Master Aurelian, be careful!”
Fleur and Catherine cried out from outside the barrier.
Hall saw the scene and allowed delight to show on his face.
He turned toward Miles, hoping to catch anxiety or fear there, only to find that Miles remained perfectly calm, as if he were not worried about Aurelian at all.
“Let us see how long you can keep pretending.”
Disappointed that he had not seen what he wanted, Hall gave a cold sound and turned back to the fight.
Inside the barrier, Joyce’s python had already reached Aurelian.
Its maw opened wide as it bit down, while Aurelian stood in place as though frozen in fright.
“Aurelian!”
Fleur squeezed her eyes shut.
Yet after a long moment, she did not hear Aurelian scream.
Instead, the surrounding guests began crying out in surprise.
Driven by curiosity, Fleur slowly lowered her hands and saw a sight that stunned her.
In the arena, Joyce was controlling the python as it attacked again and again.
Aurelian kept moving, slipping aside at the last possible moment each time and narrowly avoiding the serpent’s strikes.
“Miles, it seems your boy never abandoned knightly training.”
Mrs.
Longbottom watched Aurelian move for so long without his breathing turning ragged.
Unlike most young wizards, his body was clearly not weak, and surprise flickered in her eyes.
“Yes.
Since he was small, the brat has insisted that as a descendant of King Arthur, he cannot disgrace his ancestors.
Even now that he is a wizard, he refuses to put aside knightly training.
He has trained hard for years, and that is how he built that body.”
Among the listeners, some looked at Aurelian with disdain, while others showed approval.
Miles gave a bitter laugh at Mrs.
Longbottom’s words and wisely did not argue.
“Is dodging all you can do?
You are embarrassing wizards everywhere.”
Joyce became increasingly anxious when he failed to take Aurelian down.
“You can save that line for your ancestor, Sir Lancelot.”
Aurelian answered with a jab of his own.
Even so, he finally stopped moving.
Joyce was delighted.
He immediately sent the python coiling toward Aurelian, determined not to give him another chance to dodge.
“Relashio.”
Just as the python was about to wrap around him, Aurelian touched his wand to its body.
The giant snake went limp, as if every ounce of strength had drained from it, and collapsed onto the ground.
“Mimblewimble.”
Before Joyce could react, Aurelian fired another spell straight at him and sealed his tongue.
Panic flashed across Joyce’s face.
He had not yet learned nonverbal magic.
With his throat bound, he lost the ability to fight back.
“It may be a duel to the death, but today is still my engagement banquet.
I do not want anyone dying at my own celebration.”
Aurelian watched Joyce struggle to make a sound and began considering how best to teach him a lesson.
“Got it.”
After a moment, he clapped his hands, having thought of an excellent method.
“Accio flyswatter.”
“Engorgio.”
First, Aurelian summoned a flyswatter with the Summoning Charm.
Then he enlarged it until it was absurdly huge.
Holding it in both hands, he looked at Joyce with a wicked smile.
“Accept the judgment of the flyswatter.”
The words had barely left Aurelian’s mouth before he swung.
Joyce tried to dodge, only to realize the giant flyswatter covered every path of escape.
Smack.
Under Joyce’s terrified gaze, the flyswatter struck him.
The next instant, he was flung backward, slammed into the wall, spat blood, and collapsed bonelessly to the floor.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.