I am Viola. I am considered to be quite special. Because I am a member of the Scarple family. Unlike other nobles, the Scarple family is born with distinctive hair and eye colors. Bright hair intertwined with red and white and pink eyes that seem to be a mix of these two colors. Anyone with these traits undoubtedly carries the Scarple bloodline. These genetic features are also present in me. Being born into one of the three biggest noble families of Ucretnight kingdom is a dream for many.
But if you ask me, it's almost like torture.
Especially if you have an older brother with the potential to do beyond the exaggerated expectations placed on you by a noble family.
My brother Valerio Scarple is literally a genius. The rapier feels like a part of his body. He is extremely intelligent and responsible. He knows how a noble should behave and acts accordingly without anyone telling him. My brother is exceedingly perfect. He's so high up that I sometimes wonder if he even thinks like a human. We're not on bad terms, but we've never been close either. Plus, his perfection makes my own actions stand out even more, especially in my mother's eyes.
Even though I look quite a lot like my mother, Victoria Scarple, our personalities are completely different. She might be the coldest woman you'll ever meet. Very strict and owns her own harem of men. That's why I don't know who my father is. My mother kills at least two men every year. Carrying the dominant traits of the Scarple bloodline isn't exactly a good thing.
I am a disappointment to my mother. I was sure that she thought I was more like my father, whom I don't even know and whose identity I am unaware of. After all, my mohter's only child was Valerio. I am nothing more than an excess. The respect everyone shows me is meaningless because my biological mother doesn't respect me. Still, I am a Scarple. Despite everything, I have my duties. Yet, compared to Valerio's presence, my existence holds no significance.
If he is a genius duelist, I am a fallen duelist.
My older brother can do whatever he wants. Because I will do what I want. For example, I don't know how to bully common people. I am curious about how they live and the troubles they face. Moreover, I want to feel my mother's pressure less. The Academy was a great escape for me.
It has been exactly five weeks since I joined the academy, and now we are in the sixth week. Of course, my mother wasn't pleased with my enrollment, and she sends me warnings whenever she gets the chance to encourage me to come back. Even though I don't want to wake up in the morning, I have to. I am tired of rushing to classes at the last minute, so I now want to attend my classes on time. Honestly, I don't even listen properly to any of the theory lessons. One of the advantages of being noble is having private tutors, and even if I didn't want to, I had to attend those lessons.
But I can't say the same for practice lessons. Practice lessons are like great training for someone like me. Even though I am trained to use a sword, I chose my lessons in a way that would allow me to transform with different types of weapons and private lessons were perfect for pushing my conditioning to the limits. Before joining the Academy, the latest models of wallistics given to students were almost revolutionary in this technology. Features like the class path and magic path, which guide you to recommend the best options for your stats and abilities, were simply amazing. Someone experiencing wallistics for the first time could never feel the feelings I do. That's why I've been trying to improve myself to understand what's happening. After putting on my clothes and glasses, I wanted to check my current stats.
Strength: E
- Strength: 40 (F)
- Striking Power: 101 (E-)
Agility: E-
- Speed: 91 (F+)
- Dexterity: 26 (F)
Intelligence: F+
- Knowledge: 40 (F)
- Logic: 40 (F)
Endurance: E
- Defense: 49 (F)
- Resistance: 77 (F+)
Charisma: D
- Persuasion: 40 (F)
- Appearance: 220 (D-)
Magic: E-
- Magic Power: 25 (F)
- Magic Control: 93 (F+)
Although there hasn't been any increase in my stats since I first came to the Academy, I have experienced progress in the sub-stats. These sub-stats were strike power and magic power. That's why I knew I had become stronger. The more you develop in a particular area, the more difficult it becomes to progress at an increasing rate in that area. This phenomenon is also reflected in the stats.
F-: 0-24
F: 25-74
F+: 75-99
E-: 100-124
E: 125-174
E+: 175-199
D-: 200-249
D: 250-299
D+: 300-349
Most people's stats are around F. An F stat is a sign of mediocrity. Being at E in a particular area indicates that you can achieve some significant things in that field on your own scale. The development pattern in the F and E ranges is similar, but this changes at the D level. I mentioned that higher ranks demand more points, and that earning these points becomes even more difficult. That's why my progress, even if it seems slow, was still noteworthy. The only area where I didn't see any real increase was in my intelligence stats. I guess some things really weren't sinking into my mind.
Just as I do this routine check, I start running straight toward the class I am about to attend. Running is a very normal activity for me. I wouldn't say I get very tired while running. That's why I reached the Academy's square in a short while. My destination was the building made of green-colored stone and before heading there, I wanted to take a moment to breathe in the square.
When I looked around, I saw an old man sitting near the fountain in the square. This person, who is here every monday at this time feeding the pigeons in front of him, is none other than Dolphan, the Academy President. I didn't know why this old ritchi man was much wealthier than my family but I didn't care about that right now. Recently, my mother's pressure has increased quite a bit. I almost got into a fight once with my mother's personal butler Oswando but I was still able to continue my training because another student named Alex, who can beat Zui, intervened. Since then, I had been constantly thinking about Alex.
Alex was definitely very talented and had a pure heart and he didn't hesitate to take my mother on in front of me. I don't know if he was brave or just foolish. I only know that he did it because he wanted to. Beating Zui was a huge achievement once. She is the last person carrying the Amor surname and is someone born from a relationship that does not adhere to ethical values. When my family discovered his existence, no one connected to the Amor family was left. We hosted her at my estate to keep a close watch on her and she lived there until he entered the Academy with me. Even though I lived under the same roof with her for years, I never spoke to her directly.
"Greetings, Viola Scarple. I don't want to prolong the conversation any further. I will say this only once."
At that moment, someone greeted me. It was someone around my height, with blonde hair, green eyes and features that could be considered handsome. It was none other than Nell, whom I occasionally see and try to tease as a "commoner". I had fought with Nell once. He was really mediocre but under the right conditions, he was someone who could give someone like me a run for my money. Recently, he had started appearing beside Zui, whom I couldn't even muster the courage to speak to and his sudden communication with me felt strange. As if that wasn't enough, he began saying even stranger things in a loud voice.
"I challenge you and I request a duel in the arena."
"Arena?"
"I mean the place where we did our first fight."
Why did he suddenly want to duel with me? I don't know what his problem was but I wasn't going to bother with him.
"Sorry but you have other things to do besides fight me, commoner."
"Oh... I understand. So you're afraid of me."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. I just wondered. In that training fight where we tested each other's strength, you should have easily beaten me but you struggled quite a bit. In fact, that's why I started taking private lessons. I bet I can beat you very easily. And I want to make a proposition."
This commoner... If his goal was to deliberately anger me, I have to commend him for that. Especially since he was shouting so everyone could hear, that really drove me crazy. Normally I wouldn't care at all, but if I rejected his offer, my mother would drag me out of the Academy by force this time. On top of that, he would point out that I was a loser who couldn't even stand up to an ordinary person making remarks that insult the Scarple family.
"Really... Well, then. Let's hear it. What do you want to challenge me about?"
"Very simple. If you win, I will become a servant working for you. But if I win, you will tell me a secret about your family."
"Is that all?"
"Actually, I was planning to make you a rapier and twist you up."
"Seriously?"
"I'm very serious."
I don't know what Nell is planning but messing up his plans and knowing his whereabouts was a good way to do it. He were the only ones who didn't fear me during my bullying attempts. I was starting to get impatient, eager to show him my day.
"When does the duel start?"