He was just an orphan with no backing—how could he possibly make it past the first round? This was her thought, but she was greatly mistaken...
But when Ryker faced off against Nysera and grappled her like that, Selene had felt a chill.
She seriously hoped that she wouldn’t cross paths with him, as that would ruin a lot of things... It was too bad things didn’t go according to her wishes.
Had she known this would happen, she would’ve been more proactive with Ethan...
’I lost him.’
’I lost everything.’
And worse...
Even the Evernight family’s na—her family, her pride—had been dragged through the mud.
Selene’s hands trembled violently at her sides as she forced herself to stand still, her face a perfect, emotionless mask while her mind scread in despair.
The buzzing chatter around her blurred into aningless noise. She barely heard the laughter, the congratulations.
All she could feel was the gaping void where her carefully crafted future had just crumbled.
’No.’
’It’s not over.’
’It can’t be.’
Selene straightened her back slowly, her nails digging into her palms so hard they threatened to draw blood.
Her heart, once delicate and scheming, now beat with cold, furious determination.
She would fix this.
Whatever it took. Whatever price she had to pay. She would fix it.
Because she had no choice.
Because failure... was not an option.
A resolute look appeared in Selene’s eyes.
Ethan, standing casually by her side, had been subtly monitoring her reaction from the corner of his eye.
The look she had just now—it wasn’t one of acceptance.
It was the look of soone who was about to do sothing stupid.
Ethan inwardly sighed, a trace of weariness flashing across his gaze.
’This is getting more troubleso by the second.’
He thought he could avoid unnecessary drama by acting cold... but clearly, he underestimated just how dangerous desperate won could be.
’With my background, it’s extrely hard to get peace of mind and focus.’
He had barely begun considering his next move when a voice called out from behind him.
"Hello..."
Turning around, Ethan was greeted by the sight of David.
David Fangblade, with his sharp, cold eyes and signature dark hair streaked naturally with silver.
Usually, David wore a blank, detached expression—but now there was a small, strained smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
It looked almost painful, like soone who hadn’t smiled in a long ti and wasn’t sure how to.
Ethan let out a small breath of relief inwardly.
Finally... a breather.
Back on Earth, he had been a playboy, well-versed in the intricacies of handling won.
He knew how complicated they could be, how their emotions could shift like the tides.
Won were complicated creatures, and it seed the won of this world—Nexa—were even more complicated than the won of Earth.
Back on Earth, won could get desperate, but it was for money.
In this world, things were different.
Money mattered not. Strength did.
Here, won weren’t desperate for money. Strength, status, family connections—that was the currency of desire here.
It wasn’t greed that drove them most. It was survival. It was ambition.
It wasn’t just won either.
The young n of noble families were subjected to the sa pressures, though their burdens were different.
Won were often grood to form advantageous alliances—marriages for political power, breeding for stronger bloodlines, manipulation for future control.
anwhile, n were pressured to build strength and achievents that could uphold the family na, or else they risked becoming disposable pawns.
In this world, every relationship was a transaction, and love was a rare luxury few could afford.
Ethan understood this... but knowing didn’t make it any less exhausting.
With the faint smile still on his face, David extended his hand for a handshake.
Ethan clasped it firmly.
"I hope I’m not imposing on you two?" David asked smoothly, his tone neutral but polite.
"No, of course not," Ethan replied with a slight smile of his own.
David’s eyes briefly flickered toward Selene, who stiffened at the sudden third party’s intrusion.
He had been observing from a distance—and though he wasn’t the most socially intuitive person, he could tell Ethan had been caught in a precarious situation.
David wasn’t doing this out of pure goodwill.
He had sparred with Ethan recently.
And from that fight, he had felt Ethan’s personality and seen glimpses of Ethan’s potential—potential far beyond what Ethan showed on the surface.
This wasn’t soone to underestimate.
Plus, Selene—this was the perfect ti to get back at her. He couldn’t afford to miss it.
And more importantly...
David Fangblade was pragmatic.
If he could earn even a small favor from soone like Ethan at little cost to himself, why wouldn’t he?
A few minutes of polite conversation was a cheap investnt for the possibility of a future ally.
"Congratulations on your match," David said.
Ethan gave a casual nod. "Thanks. You did well too."
They both smiled lightly at each other.
There was a mutual understanding between them.
A kind of silent acknowledgnt.
Both of them were pretending at normalcy.
Both understood the rules of this ga better than most.
"Actually," David continued, tilting his head slightly—it was very awkward, he was trying hard to think of sothing to waste ti...
Coughing awkwardly, he said, "I wanted to ask you sothing."
"Oh?" Ethan raised an eyebrow in mild interest.
David’s lips curved slightly. "During our spar... that last move you used. It was a feint into a counter, wasn’t it?"
Ethan smiled thinly. "You noticed?"
"I noticed," David confird. "Barely. I almost fell for it."
Selene, standing stiffly beside them, was practically trembling with suppressed emotion—but the two boys completely ignored her presence, casually talking as if she didn’t exist.
’They’re doing this on purpose.’
Her anger and frustration had currently risen to unprecedented heights.
David continued, his voice low but steady, "I wanted to learn that move. If you’re willing to share."
Ethan’s smile deepened.
There it was.
The real reason.
Still, he wasn’t annoyed. In fact, he welcod it.
"Sure," Ethan said lazily. "It’s not so big secret."
David’s eyes glead faintly. "I’d owe you."
Ethan chuckled under his breath. "I’ll keep that in mind."
David shrugged lightly, his smile never leaving his face.
The tension around them eased sowhat.
The next second, sothing happened—disrupting the composure of everyone.
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