"Stupid wretch! How dare you dirty my shirt with your peasant hands!"
The loud shout shattered the normal sounds of the street.
People nearby immediately turned their heads.
Lily frowned and followed the noise.
A small crowd had formed ahead. Most people stood at a distance, whispering nervously but refusing to interfere.
Curious, Lily stepped closer.
When she pushed through the crowd, the scene immediately made her pause.
A well-dressed boy stood in the center of the street.
On the ground in front of him was a middle-aged man and a small girl. The man looked bruised and exhausted while the girl clung to him, trembling.
The boy kicked the man again.
"Get up when I'm talking to you!" he shouted angrily.
That was when Lily noticed something important.
The boy was wearing a uniform.
A Formosa Academy uniform.
Her eyes widened slightly.
So he was already a student there.
The boy continued shouting in a drunken rage.
"You filthy peasants! You think you can just spill water on me and walk away?!"
The man on the ground weakly raised his hands.
"P-please spare us…" he begged, his voice shaking. "My daughter didn't mean it… she just tripped… the water spilled by accident…"
The little girl buried her face into her father's chest.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered quietly.
Lily blinked.
Water?
All this… because of water?
The situation was already ridiculous, but hearing that reason almost made Lily laugh out loud.
But the boy clearly didn't find it funny.
His face twisted with anger.
"You dare embarrass me in public?" he shouted.
Then he raised his hand dramatically.
"Fireball!"
A small ball of flame formed above his palm.
The air around it shimmered with heat.
The spell wasn't extremely strong, but it wasn't weak either. If it struck a normal person directly, it could easily cause serious burns.
Possibly even kill.
The man on the ground froze in fear.
The girl began crying.
"Please… please stop…"
But the noble boy only grinned cruelly.
"No!" Lily shouted suddenly.
"Stop! This instant!"
The street fell silent.
The noble boy turned his head slowly.
His eyes locked onto Lily.
He seemed surprised that someone had dared interrupt him.
"Who are you?" he sneered.
Lily stepped forward calmly.
"Stop what you're doing."
The boy scoffed.
"Mind your own business," he said dismissively. "Can't you see they're the ones at fault? I'm just punishing them for their rudeness."
Without waiting for another response, he flicked his wrist.
The fireball shot forward.
The man on the ground pulled his daughter into his arms instantly.
He turned his body, shielding her with his back.
If the fireball hit…
He planned to take the full impact himself.
But before the flames reached them—
"Earth Wall."
A deep rumbling sound echoed across the street.
A thick slab of earth suddenly rose from the ground.
The fireball crashed against it and exploded harmlessly into sparks.
Dust and small stones scattered across the road.
The noble boy's eyes widened.
"Wh—"
Then his expression twisted with anger.
"How dare a commoner girl like you interfere!"
Lily calmly reached into her bag and pulled out a small emblem.
She held it up.
"I'm a student from Formosa."
She paused briefly.
"Well… not officially yet."
"But I will be soon."
The boy glanced at the emblem.
Then he laughed loudly.
"So what?"
"I already am a student there."
"That makes me your senior."
His smile turned arrogant.
"So you should listen to me."
He turned away from her as if she didn't matter at all.
His attention returned to the injured father and daughter.
"Since someone interrupted my first spell," he said coldly, "I'll just make this one more interesting."
He raised both hands.
"Ember Flames!"
Several small flames suddenly appeared around his body.
They floated in the air like glowing red petals.
The crowd gasped.
Intermediate magic.
That level of spell was far beyond what most normal people could use.
"This," the noble boy said proudly, "is intermediate magic."
"A commoner like you could never—"
Lily didn't bother listening.
Her mind was already working.
Wind magic… water magic…
She quietly began casting.
"Cold Storm."
A chilling wind began to swirl through the street.
Then—
"Ice Road."
Thin frost spread across the ground.
The two spells overlapped.
Lily's voice echoed clearly.
"Flash Freeze."
In an instant, the entire street changed.
A thin layer of ice spread rapidly across the ground like a silver wave.
The air temperature dropped sharply.
The noble boy's feet froze instantly.
Ice wrapped around his boots and locked them to the ground.
Then it began creeping up toward his ankles.
The floating flames around him flickered violently.
Then they vanished.
The crowd stared in shock.
Even the noble boy looked stunned.
Flash Freeze…
His mind raced.
That was advanced magic.
Students normally didn't learn spells like that until much later.
Did she really just cast advanced magic?
If she had…
Then provoking her would be extremely dangerous.
The cold air bit into Lily's skin.
Although the spell was mostly focused on the noble boy, the freezing effect spread across the street.
Even Lily could feel the cold creeping into her bones.
More importantly—
Her mana was draining fast.
Ah… I used too much, she thought.
Her vision swayed slightly.
She quickly dispelled the spell.
The ice melted slowly.
The noble boy stumbled slightly as his feet were released.
Lily turned toward the injured father.
"Are you alright?"
The man nodded weakly.
"Th-thank you…"
The little girl peeked out from behind him.
Her eyes were full of gratitude.
Before Lily could say anything else—
"You peasants!"
The noble boy shouted angrily.
His face was red with humiliation.
"I won't forget this!"
He pointed at Lily.
"My name is Troy Flores!"
"I'm the third son of the Flores family!"
"One day I'll return this insult!"
With that final threat, he stormed away down the street.
The crowd slowly began whispering again.
Lily watched him leave.
Then she shrugged.
"Heh," she muttered.
"Flores? Never heard of them."
She looked down at the man beside her.
"Probably just some minor noble, right?"
The man suddenly turned pale.
"N-no…"
His voice trembled.
"The Flores family…"
"They are a count's family."
Lily blinked.
"A count?"
The man nodded nervously.
"Counts are… one of the highest ranks in the kingdom…"
Lily slowly processed the information.
King.
Duke.
Count.
Her eyes widened.
That meant—
She had just humiliated the third son of a count.
In the middle of a public street.
Lily stared in the direction Troy had left.
A small sigh escaped her lips.
"…Ah."
She rubbed her forehead.
"This might become a problem."