Everything will be my way!

Chapter 530

　　Thanks to the title of "junior disciple of the empress", a person enjoys many privileges, receives resources and the patronage of the Russell. It is believed that in their authority, the junior disciples are equal to the elder of any of the high-ranking families of Dantes. They are treated with respect and awe in every corner of Rosarrio.

　　However, the authority of the empress' senior disciple is many times higher: he is comparable in status to the patriarch of the high-ranking Dantes family. People with such a title are under the patronage of Lanatelle. They are like dragons among ordinary mammals. No one will dare to interfere with their interests. They are treated like saints.

　　The empress currently has 64 junior disciples and only 2 senior ones, which says a lot. And these two senior disciples are well-known young men: Stein Valentine - the elder brother of Rose Valentine and Asagi Hunter - the young patriarch of the Hunters (3). These two persons are the symbols of Rosarrio. In the eyes of the public, they are second only to her majesty in their position.

　　And suddenly today, the imperial representative, the official person of the Russells, declares that the one who takes the first place will become the third senior disciple of the empress! Just like that! Stein and Asagi earned their places by going through a lot of trouble!

　　«The empress' senior disciple?! I can't believe my ears!» … «Will there be a third blood dragon in Rosarrio?!» … «From rags to riches! Just like that!» … «I dare say that the bloody empress planned everything a long time ago. Someone from the order's students, in her opinion, is worthy of this title! But who exactly?» … «Of course, Elsa!»

　　The eyes of Elsa, who was in invisibility, lit up excitedly. If she takes the first place, then with the resources of the Russells, the pace of her development will increase significantly, and in the future she will be able to find her father without worrying about her life!

　　Seraphima and Clementine's eyes shone even brighter.

　　And only Kyon raised an eyebrow in surprise: {What's going on?}

　　On the one hand, it seems that the 0th general is laying out the red carpet for the messenger of the goddess on the way to the desired goal in order not to give citizens a reason to resent the appearance of a direct disciple of the empress later. However, how does he know that he will win? Even he doubted that he would defeat Elsa…

　　However, the man could, for example, threaten Elsa with telepathy, say, either you fake your defeat, or you will pay for it with your life. However, the question arises: why didn't he warn the messenger of the goddess about all this?

　　It seemed to Kyon that someone more powerful than the 0th general was actually involved. The empress! Two puppeteers cannot share one puppet. An invisible thread just bopped on his nose, he couldn't help but look up!

　　Most of all, Lovr hated being pushed around. But does he really have a choice in this situation? He promised himself to save Valeera, and for this he would have to ingratiate himself with the empress and the general. Whoever is trying to manipulate him, sooner or later the threads will tighten on their throats, and then they will become his obedient dummies.

　　All these thoughts calmed Kyon: {So be it, today I will be part of someone's plan.}

　　Meanwhile, an unprecedented hubbub did not subside among the spectators. So suddenly the importance of the tournament has increased tenfold. Who will become the empress' senior disciple?

　　Spreading his arms, the imperial representative solemnly announced: «I announce the beginning of the first round, the first duel. Rizat Hunter, the royal phaser at the middle stage, against Elsa Stone, the imperial phaser at the beginning stage! Let's welcome the participants!»

　　The noise in the stands turned into applause.

　　The guy with a strong physique with a sour smile on his face entered the arena.

　　Not far from him, the beautiful blonde suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

　　The applause in the stands was diluted with surprised oohs.

　　Bai and Diana gazed in fascination at the girl they recognized as Elsa. They saw her for the first time since she left the family. There was a tenderness in the grandfather's gaze that was not peculiar to him. There was a proud smile on the mother's lips. The daughter has become so pretty!

　　The signal for the start of the battle sounded. A protective barrier formed above the arena.

　　«I surrender!» – the young man immediately shouted and, bowing to the girl and the judges, left the battlefield.

　　No one was surprised by this outcome. Nobody blamed the guy. Only a fool would seek even a single blow from an imperial phaser.

　　The following fights were much more spectacular. The participants, who came from the families of the top ten, fought with each other like lions and tigers. The stands were bursting with shouts and cheers. The patriarchs of the winning families beamed with pride.

　　Finally it was Juno's turn. When the girl entered the arena, the noise in the stands abruptly subsided. The eyes of everyone present seemed to have fallen into paradise. Even those who had seen the blonde before could not get enough of her. Almost everyone was aware that she had married Roman Clinton two days before. Lucky guy.

　　At the signal, the battle began.

　　Many people cringed in concern, but then something happened that shocked them all.

　　The girl with the development of the noble phaser at the finishing stage defeated her opponent, the royal phaser at the beginning stage, with just one blow to the neck! Silence hung over the entire arena, soon followed by thunderous applause. Bai wiped tears of pride for his beloved granddaughter.

　　{Is she already a lord phaser at the ninth stage?!} – Roman was amazed. Something inside him tensed.

　　Soon it was Clinton's turn. Being the royal phaser at the 7th stage, he defeated his opponent in two movements and, after looking at Juno, who defiantly ignored him, left the arena.

　　The fighting continued.

　　Two beautiful girls, extremely similar in facial features to each other, but otherwise different, instantly defeated their opponents. Everyone, without exception, wondered – who were they? Where did they come from? After all, they look no more than 17 years old, and they are already the royal phasers at the finishing stage! Are they exchange students who come from high-ranking empires? There was no other explanation.

　　When a handsome pale-faced young man with thick blond hair (obviously a wig) entered the arena, part of the stands filled with the Valentines exploded with ovations, greeting their young master. Their applause sparked a chain reaction.

　　The signal for the start of the battle rang.

　　Rose, diligently hiding his morbid condition, straightened up to his full height and, inviting the enemy with a gesture, crossed his arms behind his back, resembling a noble warrior and instilling respect.

　　When Valentine was attacked, he gracefully grabbed the tip of the sword with two fingers with a smooth movement of his hand and instantly won with a kick to the stomach.

　　The signal for the end of the battle rang.

　　The momentary lull was replaced by loud shouts and ovations: «Uh-uh-uh! How good he is! How strong Mr. Rose is! Congratulations on winning!» … «This is to be expected from the future head of the Valentines!» … «Genius, he's an invincible genius!» … «Oh goddess, I want such a man so much!» … «What a handsome man!»

　　Grandmaster Yan nodded approvingly to his disciple with a slight smile on his lips.

　　Rose bowed elegantly to the audience and left the arena. As soon as he entered the toilet, where there were no extra eyes, he crouched on the floor in pain. How difficult it is to maintain the noble and majestic image of the patriarch's son in such a state…

　　The fighting continued.

　　It's time for the last match in the first round.

　　«The first round, the thirty-second duel! Timothy, the royal phaser at the finishing stage, against Dick Baker, the noble phaser at the middle stage! Welcome the participants!»

　　Uncertain applause mixed with stifled grunts and laughter sounded. The name and surname of the last participant could not leave anyone indifferent, but his meager development seemed even more comical in comparison with the rest of the participants. As if a pig was let into the lair of dragons!

　　As for Timothy, due to the fact that he also did not have a surname, everyone assumed that he, like those two girls, came from another empire.

　　As soon as people saw the unsightly "piglet" enter the arena, oohs and aahs were heard. Many people took their breath away. Someone laughed hysterically, banging his fists on the armrests. Some children cried. One old man even clutched his heart.

　　Everyone's self-esteem involuntarily increased when looking at the guy.

　　«Dick Baker! The brilliant investigator who took first place at the tournament in the forests of Regan!» … «Explain to me how he managed to run into Mrs. Elsa several times and become the winner?! Where were the judges looking during such a brazen scam?!» … «Obviously, he took advantage of the wealth of his family!» … «Someone, cripple him, I beg you! We all want to make things right!»

　　Once Baker was a hero of Dantes, even despite his appearance, but since he interfered with the interests of Rose, Roman and Elsa in the order, and then also earned impossible 77777 points at the tournament, thereby cementing his reputation as a clever swindler and fraudster, people have completely changed their minds about him. Although, of course, everything rested on his personal strength. If he was at least in the royal phase, everything would be different.

　　Three tall brothers - the princes of Liberia - bared their teeth in an evil grin. Now their long-time blackmailer (since the days of the forest tournament) will not be able to cheat in any way! The rules forbid the use of formations, and the fat man hardly keeps himself on his feet without them! Finally, they will capture his total failure and humiliation!

　　However, the smiles soon faded from the faces of the thugs. The audience looked at each other puzzled.

　　The imperial representative waited a minute and announced: «Timothy is disqualified for not appearing! Dick Baker won in the first round! Bravo!»

　　Someone even clapped, and immediately regretted it: he was given a slap on the back of the head.

　　There was an awkward silence. Some noble phaser entered the second round in the tournament of the best? It was absurd! As if a piglet walked past a sleeping dragon! But no one became indignant. Since Timothy was absent, there was nothing to be done.

　　The second round passed quickly.

　　Elsa, again, instantly won. Juno defeated the opponent with three moves, just like Roman. Two twin girls also instantly passed into the 3rd round. Rose, with the same grace and nobility, effortlessly defeated his opponent…

　　Elsa caught herself thinking that she was very annoyed by such arrogant behavior of the guy. Who does he think he is? Why is he showing off? Moreover, he is far from being the strongest in the tournament. He's so frustrating.

　　It was Baker's turn…

　　The fat man entered the arena, and his opponent… Had disappeared somewhere again.

　　«What?! Again?!» – shouted the first prince of Liberia, big as a mountain.

　　The audience looked at each other in bewilderment. They clearly remembered Baker's future opponent: the girl who had previously won, albeit with difficulty. So where is she now?

　　The imperial representative put his wrist to his ear, nodded and turned to the audience with a guilty smile: «Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you that Zarina Ushakova was seriously injured in the recent fight, so she will no longer be able to take part in the tournament. Dick Baker goes to the third round! Bravo!»

　　Indignant exclamations were heard instead of applause: «How so?!» … «Is this some kind of joke?! Why did some noble phaser enter the third round?! He spoils the whole prestige of the tournament of the best!» … «That's right! Just kick him out of here!»

　　Kyon watched the developments with interest. So these are the methods used by the person interested in making him a senior disciple of the empress! And what will happen next? Will Rose and Elsa really be threatened?

　　The imperial representative announced a half-hour break, and also reminded the audience that all subsequent winners will be rewarded with the title of "junior disciple of the empress".

　　It's safe to say that the next fight will be a hundred times more important than the previous ones. The young people will do anything to win.

　　The fighting started after a short break.

　　Elsa won again instantly.

　　It took Juno 30 seconds to defeat the royal phaser at the 4th stage. The Stones shouted loudly, rejoicing at the girl's victory. Bai even cried a little out of pride for her. He perceived any successes of his beloved granddaughter as his own.

　　Roman coped with the opponent in about the same time. However, the blonde did not appreciate his success. Considering what "he" did to her on their wedding night, Clinton was not at all surprised by her cold attitude towards him.

　　Seraphim and Clementine repeated Elsa's success.

　　But something went wrong with Rose. At first, he behaved with dignity, as in the first two rounds, but at some point, all the elegance and ease in his movements were replaced by stiffness and clumsiness. There was a strange tension on his beautiful pale face. It seemed that the fight with the opponent who was inferior by two stages was difficult for him.

　　Valentine seemed to have completely changed! For a whole minute he did his best, but he couldn't win!

　　Suddenly, Rose took out a beautiful red saber…

　　«It's the legendary red dragon saber!» – someone knowledgeable shouted.

　　«Why did he take out his weapon?! Can't he cope with the opponent without it?!» … «This can't be real! Mr. Rose is just up to something!» … «That's right! It's not just anyone, but Rose Valentine, grandmaster Yan's apprentice! Son of patriarch Monty!»

　　The recent approval on the face of grandmaster Yan was replaced by some kind of squeamish, unsightly grimace, as if the venerable old man had swallowed a fetid bug. His face flushed slightly. He flew in from Saturn to admire the success of his junior student, but he's doing something ridiculous, and now he's taken out his main weapon! How can't he die of shame?!

　　With the red saber in his hands, Rose cut his opponent's sword in half with the first attack.

　　«I-I give up! I give up!» – the guy shouted, raising his hands.

　　People from the stands could not figure out how to react to such a spectacle. It seemed that Rose won not because of his skills, but because of the expensive weapons bought with the resources of the family. Is such a victory worthy of the young Mr. Valentine?

　　The Valentines loudly applauded and shouted congratulations to their master, diligently pretending that nothing unusual had happened. Their reaction did not go unnoticed: it became contagious. However, the intensity of the ovation has significantly faded compared to Rose's previous victories.

　　Now Elsa would also like to drop from sight if she didn't know that Rose was sick with something. It was extremely unpleasant for her to see her boyfriend losing his reputation in front of the most influential people of the empire. However, something bothered the girl even more.

　　Pursing up her lips, the blonde turned away: {After all, I will have to marry him…} – remembering her promise, the lady felt inexplicable bitterness and sadness, for which she reproached herself, shouldn't she be happy?

　　Rose, after leaving the arena and going to the toilet, collapsed on his knees and emptied the contents of his stomach. His whole body was convulsing. The muscles were cramping from the incredible agony. However, a satisfied smile appeared on the face of the unfortunate man: {I won… I did it! I will become the empress' junior disciple! Elsa will have to keep her promise to me! Ha ha…} – and although his reputation was noticeably damaged, the guy didn't worry much about it. In the future, having eradicated the root of evil, he will show everyone what he really is worth.

　　Meanwhile, the imperial representative announced the last duel in the 3rd round: «Jacqueline Zemfirov, the royal phaser at the middle stage, against Dick Baker, the noble phaser at the middle stage! Let's welcome the participants!»

　　The onlookers became quiet…

　　Only one, the most infamous participant of the competitions since the founding of the tournament, Baker, entered the arena at a walking pace.