Afternoon sunlight streamed through the massive, arched windows, casting long shadows across the wooden floor. Massive oak bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling, built to last for centuries.
Lucian asked the ladies for a few book recommendations as they walked inside the library. It was so large, it had multiple floors, separate wings, reading nooks, and winding corridors that could be easily lost in.
While Edmund was trapped inside the academy walls, Lucian casually bought the key to his cage using his connections, his investments, and his contacts.
He had built a web of relationships, favors, and influence that allowed him to manipulate the situation and bend the rules to his advantage.
Even the strict Royal Academy's rules could be bent if the right strings were pulled.
Lucian's thoughts were interrupted by a scream that sounded from the deepest part of the library.
He took off running, causing the ladies who had separated to look for books to follow after him in confusion.
Mathieu was running from a different direction toward the same place upon seeing the crowd.
As Lucian rounded a corner, he stopped short at the sight before him.
Three male students were holding a struggling female figure in their arms, her clothes disheveled. They were trying to remove her undergarments and touch her inappropriately.
Mathieu went wild, shoving the ladies out of the way. He grabbed the assaulters and started beating them up without restraint.
Lucian quickly joined in, placed his coat over Lady Adeline's body, then rushed to one of the targets under the aphrodisiac's effect and delivered a few punches to his body.
He slipped an antidote down his throat, so when they were interrogated later, there would be no sign of aphrodisiacs in their system.
"Adeline!" Mathieu yelled as he tackled another assaulter, "Are you alright?"
Lady Adeline nodded, pulling the coat closer to her body, "Cousin…" Her voice trembled as tears rolled down her face.
Mathieu's expression became bloodthirsty as he started beating the assaulters again.
Lucian grabbed Mathieu's arm before he could do any more damage, "You are going to kill him."
"Good!" Mathieu yelled like he wanted to keep beating them until they were nothing but a pile of bones.
Lucian didn't really want him to stop and was more than happy to enrage Mathieu further, using a fist instead of words. His knuckles made a satisfying sound against Mathieu's jaw, and the young man stumbled back.
It felt so good, he almost forgot that he was supposed to be helping him.
Mathieru didn't even flinch when Lucian punched him hard enough to knock him to the ground. He pushed himself up, spitting out blood, "Get out of my way!"
Fighting 200 hundred ferals on a daily basis for a few months had made Lucian's body adapt to the combat quickly. He could dodge, strike, and counter with ease. But he wasn't going here for the win; he was just pretending to stop Mathieu.
"Ugh," Lucian got punched in the stomach, flying backwards, and hitting the bookshelves. Dust and books flew everywhere.
"Someone stop them!" A few ladies screamed, attracting more attention to the scene.
Edmund was among the first to arrive at the library, taking in the situation, "What happened here?"
The ladies pointed at Lucian with worry, "Mr. Arclight is hurt!"
Edmund joined Lucian in trying to hold Mathieu back, "Hey, that's enough! Stop!"
Mathieu didn't seem to hear him; his eyes locked on the three men on the ground, who tried to run away. "Bastards," he snarled, activating his silver rank and grabbing one of the attackers by the collar, choking him against the floor repeatedly.
Lucian pretended to join Edmund's side, pulling Mathieu's arm while pushing his shoulder to make him stumble. He accidentally tripped Edmund.
Mathieu used the chance to kick Edmund's gut, making him fall, and Lucian 'accidentally' stepped on Edmund's hand, adding to the pain.
Edmund cursed, his emerald rank kicking in, and he grabbed Mathieu by the legs, knocking him down. Mathieu fell backwards, but he quickly got back up and tackled Edmund, slamming him into a table in between the shelves.
Edmund was supposed to stop Mathieu, but he seemed to have switched to fighting mode, their house's backgrounds fueling the rivalry.
Lucian, the good man that he was, tried to pull them apart, avoiding their fists and elbows, getting a few weak hits on his body here and there.
The ladies cried, some of them going to get the teachers.
Lucian had no rivalry with them, so he knew they were holding back, not going full force at him.
Lucian took full advantage of it, leaving bruises on their bodies. He just had to make sure not to use anything too brutal, like targeting their groins or eyes. The ladies were watching after all.
He kicked Edmund's ankle, making him stumble, then hit Mathieu's shoulder with an elbow.
As an emerald rank, Edmund should be easily able to deal with two silver ranks, but Lucian and Mathieu were not normal silver ranks. Even though they didn't do much damage to Edmund, they made it difficult for him to win.
Edmund's fist hurt Lucian's ribs, and he gasped for air, before delivering a side blow to Edmund's waist.
Mathieu had managed to land a few blows on Edmund's face as well.
Lucian didn't know what type of stages Mathieu had gone through to achieve silver rank, but he seemed to have focused on strength and speed more than defense.
Edmund's stages focused on defense and recovery.
Lucian's was endurance. He could keep going, even with broken limbs and shattered bones. He couldn't activate his shackled powers without making his eyes glow yet, but he was still shackled. His strength could make one think he focused on it in his stages.
The guards finally arrived, stopping the fight.
Lucian quickly stopped attacking, but Mathieu was still trying to punch Edmund.
Mathieu was beaten up by Edmund so much that he ended up bloodying the floor with his nose. He almost had his eyes swollen shut, too.
Edmund was almost intact, with no blood or visible injuries. He was just out of breath, his uniform torn in places. Lucian pulled a few of his hairs out to complete the look of the battered.
Lucian then hid among the ladies while the rest of the male students were detained by the guards, who were confused about who to blame.
Of course, the ladies came to Lucian's defense, so the guards let him go while a female teacher escorted Lady Adeline to the infirmary.
She had bruises on her arms and neck, where they grabbed her, and her eyes were open wide from shock. They didn't go all the way, but the horror of what could have happened was enough to leave her traumatized.
The Crown Prince also heard the commotion and arrived at the scene. It was chaos, and Lucian added more to it by worrying about the female student's well-being in the academy.
"Lady Rochefort could have been kidnapped," Lucian said to the guards about the dent on the ground, loud enough for Edmund, Mathieu, and the Crown Prince to hear.
Lucian didn't know if they had investigated the dent in the ground by the duke, where the fight had taken place. One didn't use that type of strength on a woman, or could a woman do that to the ground. Only a knight with an above-emerald rank could do such a thing.
He continued, "It seems like one of the students or staff must have interfered and tried to save her from the attackers, but was overpowered by them. Young Master Edmund was there when I arrived, so he must have seen more than I have."
Edmund slowly turned towards him.