The girl tensed her legs, and then launched herself forward with explosive power, flying toward the young man like lightning. Mid-air, she raised her left leg high and snapped it down fiercely toward his head like an elastic whip.
The young man swiftly brought his arms together in front of his face, bracing himself to block.
*BHAM!!*
The sheer force of the kick threw him backward, his guard barely softening the impact.
Twisting his body gracefully mid-air, he managed to maneuver himself and land several meters away. As he skidded backward, he raised his head—
"BHAM*
Before he could fully recover, the girl's fist crashed into his face. His head snapped violently to the left from the blow to his right cheek, quickly followed by another punch from the opposite side.
The girl held nothing back, raining relentless blows onto his face and causing him to stagger.
The young man desperately tried to retreat, to escape the suffocating proximity he had been forced into, but the girl seized his wrist. As he was dragged back toward her, he saw another kick swiftly coming for his head.
He instinctively shut his eyes—but the kick never landed.
Instead, her leg slipped past his head and immediately folded at the knee, locking firmly around his neck.
Using her momentum, she bent her body inhumanly, planting her hands firmly onto the ground. With an explosive contraction of her muscles, she swung the young man from one side of her body to the other.
Her hands rooted to the ground, her body rotated like the hand of a clock spinning half a circle, while the young man's head slammed violently into the earth.
*CRASH!*
The ground cracked from the impact, leaving the young man sprawled out, dazed and motionless.
"WOOAAAHH!!"
The child sitting on the middle-aged man's shoulders leaped down, letting out excited squeals. With small, energetic steps, he dashed eagerly toward the girl.
"HAAA! HAA!! MARCELINE! You completely destroyed him!"
Joy and excitement beamed from the child's face.
Laughing brightly, Marceline scooped him up from under his arms, lifting him into the air.
"HAHAHA! I sure bruised him up good, didn't I? HAHAH! Praise me more!"
As the child rose cheerfully into the air, he continued to squeal even louder with joy, prompting Marceline to laugh just as heartily.
Joining this joyful moment, the middle-aged man approached, clapping with a warm smile.
"Indeed, Marceline, that was magnificent. You barely gave your opponent a chance."
Marceline gently placed the child back on the ground, then put one hand on her waist with a smug grin.
"Thanks, Gerard. Wanna have a match too?"
Gerard lifted his hands with an uneasy expression.
"Haha, I'll pass. Even I might not handle going fist-to-fist against you," he said with a humble chuckle.
Marceline smiled approvingly, folded her arms, and glanced down at the young man still lying on the ground.
The young man lay half-conscious on the ground. Beside him, the cheerful child from before squatted down, poking the young man's face with his finger while faking an exaggeratedly sad look.
"Heeey, Lucien, you alive? I think you might've broken your neck…"
Lucien struggled upright with a sour face, brushing dirt and dust off himself, eyes downcast in frustration.
"Yes, thanks, Elio, I'm alive... Also, it's big brother Lucien."
Elio stood up, shrugging exaggeratedly with a smug expression on his face.
"You really got beaten up, Lucien. Actually, you got beaten so badly, even I feel like I could take you now."
Elio began pacing with his eyes closed and nose proudly raised.
"But don't worry—I saw your bravery. Especially that sword trick you did; that was pretty cool…"
While Elio continued his self-satisfied monologue, Marceline and Gerard approached Lucien.
Gerard looked at Lucien with genuine admiration.
"You fought well. You tricked Marceline into believing you'd repeat your first attack, then swiftly changed the angle of your strike, hitting her sword vertically. Clever bait. Marceline can never resist a challenge like that."
Lucien scratched his head awkwardly.
"Well... Actually, I was aiming to break her sword, but somehow mine ended up shattering."
"Hmm, I see. Were the moves afterward improvised? Good instincts and quick thinking..." Gerard said approvingly.
Lucien smiled humbly, while Marceline looked away nonchalantly.
"Eh, it wasn't bad."
Lucien stood up, sighing.
"Marceline is a real monster. I have no idea how to beat her."
"You can't," Marceline said bluntly, folding her arms and gazing off into the distance.
"Marceline..." Gerard began thoughtfully, then added, "For now, the gap between you two is quite significant, but who knows."
Elio began slapping Lucien's leg, puffing out his chest boastfully.
"Lower your head, Lucieenn, let me smack you a bit too…"
Lucien sighed heavily, clearly fed up with Elio's teasing. After a moment, a sly grin formed on his lips.
"Elio.. where's your mother?"
Elio's cheerful expression instantly vanished at the word "mother." He tried to flee in panic, but Lucien quickly grabbed hold of him.
"So your mom doesn't know you're goofing around here, huh? And your siblings? Have they finished their lessons yet?"
Elio squirmed uncomfortably.
"I already finished my lessons! Alia finished too, but I don't know what she's doing. Isolde was still struggling."
Lucien put on a scary face, leaning close to Elio.
"If you don't want your mother to find out, go help Isolde now."
Elio nervously began backing away.
"Fine, fine! Don't tell her!" Elio shouted, sprinting anxiously toward the palace entrance.