Spending time among sisters (4)

Viviane took a deep breath and exhaled, murmuring quietly, "Let's take it up a notch," she said to herself.

As she said this, Scarlett felt a strange presence enveloping Viviane, like an aura that hadn't been there before. It pressed on Scarlett, making her feel somewhat suffocated.

Without hesitation, Viviane charged at Scarlett once again. While her speed seemed unchanged from before, there was a sense that she had somehow become faster.

In the blink of an eye, she appeared before Scarlett, her fist driving through the air as she unleashed a devastating blow towards her.

The gears in Scarlett's eyes rotated as she sidestepped, masterfully avoiding the strike, though Viviane's fist brushed against her.

Knowing she couldn't stay on the defensive forever, Scarlett took a calculated step back. At the same moment, her leg arced upwards, targeting Viviane's head with deadly intent.

Viviane effortlessly ducked, evading Scarlett's kick, and immediately launched a counterattack at the now-exposed Scarlett.

Unable to evade the rapid assault, Scarlett instinctively used her leg to block the attack.

As Viviane's fist collided with Scarlett's leg, the impact sent her flying backward, her feet carving furrows into the soft grass. Fortunately, despite the force, she swiftly regained her balance.

"Not untouchable anymore, huh?" Viviane grinned, seeing the frown on Scarlett's face as she glanced down at her leg where a red mark had appeared.

"A mere fluke," Scarlett retorted, her voice cutting through the air like ice. Her expression hardened, and the gears in her eyes whirred with a fierce, renewed vigor.

Not giving Viviane a chance to respond, Scarlett launched herself forward, her legs a blur of motion as she closed the gap between them with lightning speed.

Seeing this, Viviane also lunged at Scarlett, a wild and excited grin playing on her lips.

Boom.

A small explosion, followed by a cloud of dust, appeared as the two young women clashed.

Seconds later, the cloud of dust cleared, revealing the two sisters locked in a fierce battle. Their movements were a blur of kicks, punches, and counterattacks, each one executed with deadly precision.

Scarlett's eyes, still whirring with mechanical intensity, tracked Viviane's every move, while Viviane's wild grin never faltered as she met her sister's attacks head-on. Meanwhile, the ground beneath them trembled with the force of their clash, a testament to the ferocity of their combat.

Yet, the stunning part was that none of them managed to even graze each other. Each time Viviane attacked, Scarlett would evade before counterattacking. The counterattacks would equally fail as Viviane also evaded the attack. Their fight became a mesmerizing display of skill, with each of them flawlessly dodging the other's moves.

The more time passed, the more shocking their fight appeared. More than ten minutes had passed and, aside from their initial exchanges, neither could even graze the other. Their movements were so precise and their defenses so impeccable that it seemed impossible for either to land a hit.

"H-How..." Violette wondered as she watched the spar. Well, "watched" was a strong word; the speed at which the two moved was too fast for her to follow, so she could only perceive their conditions after they retreated from each other.

"Scarlett's fighting style relies on calculation; she anticipates and moves according to her opponent's actions," Alice explained. "Viviane, on the other hand, relies on talent and experience to fight. Though their styles are completely different, the one thing they have in common is that it's extremely hard to land even a blow on either of them. Believe me, the two of them are the most frustrating opponents you could face. I know that more than anyone," she added with a bitter smile.

"Who usually wins when they spar, then?" Violette wondered.

Eve, who was observing the fight with keen interest, also glanced down at Alice, curious about her answer.

"Viviane had won thirteen out of the thirteen times they sparred," Alice answered.

"Ah, I didn't expect that," Violette said, surprised.

If it were before the start of the spar, she would have easily accepted what Alice had said. However, after witnessing Scarlett's prowess, she found it hard to believe that Scarlett had lost every time she sparred with Viviane.

"Is Viviane really that strong?" she wondered absentmindedly.

"Believe me when I say that you haven't even witnessed half of her true capabilities," Alice said. "But, it's not just because of that that she won every time against Scarlett."

"Then how did she win?" Violette asked.

Alice smiled wryly, "That's because—"

She didn't get to finish her sentence when a voice resounded in their ears.

"I give up."

With expressions of disbelief, Eve and Alice watched as Scarlett raised her hands in surrender.

"The reason Viviane always win is that Scarlett always give up," Alice with a sigh.

"Hey! What are you doing?!!" Viviane exclaimed with an annoyed expression, "the fight isn't over!!!"

"For me, it's over," Scarlett said as she untied her hair, letting it flow down her back. "Although you're restraining your strength and speed to match mine, you can't do the same with your stamina. As the spar drags on, I'll tire out while you won't even break a sweat. It's clear that you would eventually win, making it pointless for us to continue this spar."

"You don't know that, per-"

"Perhaps the fight will end in the next exchange?" Scarlett glanced at Viviane and chuckled. "I doubt something like that will happen, and you know it. Plus, my goal with this spar was just to stretch, after all. I never agreed to fight you until one of us defeated the other."

"Still!" Viviane glanced at Scarlett with a furious expression. "Dammit! That's why I hate sparring with you. You really are a pain in the ass!!"

"Thanks for the compliment," Scarlett said with a light smile.

"That wasn't one!"

Ignoring Viviane, who was throwing a tantrum, Scarlett walked over to Violette and Alice and took a seat next to the latter.

"Sometimes, I wonder if you aren't giving up just to enrage her," Alice remarked as she observed Viviane huffing in frustation.

"Nope, I just don't see a need to continue. You know that I don't like fighting losing battles," Scarlett answered, taking the cup of tea that Eve handed to her.

"You know that Mom dislikes it every time you give up a fight, right?" Alice said to Scarlett as she observed Violette and Viviane discussing something.

"Mm," Scarlett hummed in acknowledgment.

Taking a sip of the tea, she glanced towards the fuming Viviane and chuckled. "Though I have to say, it's quite entertaining to see her like this."

"Violette, come here!" Viviane suddenly exclaimed. "You're next!"

"Yes," Violette swiftly stood up and hurriedly walked towards Viviane.

Seeing this, Alice sighed and concentrated on the spar between Viviane and Violette that had already started.

In contrast to the spar between Viviane and Scarlett, the one between Viviane and Violette didn't last more than five minutes.

Violette was utterly crushed.

"Haa...haa...haa," Violette gasped for air, sweat cascaded down her face and her chest kept rising and falling with each labored breath.

In those last five minutes, the respect she had for Scarlett had skyrocketed. 'How could someone fight that monster for more than thirty minutes and come out unscathed?' she wondered.

During their spar, she had come to understand just how terrifying Viviane was. The worst part? She seemed to not even be seriously trying to defeat her!

'That's humiliating,' Violette thought with a bitter expression.

She understood she shouldn't compare herself to Viviane; the latter was older, more experienced, and mad enough to want to spar with the likes of Grace.

Nevertheless, Violette couldn't shake off the bitterness of her loss.

"Here," Viviane reached out her arm to Violette, who was lying on the ground.

Violette took a deep breath and reached out to grasp Viviane's extended hand.

"You fight just like Mom," Violette heard the moment she got back on her feet.

"Thanks, I guess," she replied.

"You should learn to fight differently," Viviane advised.

"Huh?"

"Don't get me wrong, the fighting style you learned from Mom is great, but it's lacking something."

"What?" Violette wondered.

"It lacks your own essence," Viviane said, poking Violette's chest. "Don't just blindly fight like Mom taught you; experiment with your own style, change some things. Understood?"

"Um, yes...I think."

"That's great! Come on, let's rejoin the others," Viviane said, placing her arm around Violette's shoulder.

"Good fight, you two," Alice greeted as they approached.

Both of them nodded and sat down.

"I don't drink that stuff," Viviane declined as Eve offered her some tea.

"And what would you like to drink, young lady?" Eve inquired politely.

"Um, milk... yes, milk!" Viviane said.

Eve gave her a suspicious glance before nodding and heading inside.

"I thought you hated milk?" Alice asked.

"Yup, I hate it," Viviane confirmed.

"Then why did you order her to bring you milk?" Violette asked.

"Hehe, that was to get her to go away," Viviane admitted mischievously. "What I really wanted to drink is this!" She retrieved a bottle of alcohol from her space ring. "I found this in Dad's office while searching for him. Always wondered why he drank this stuff. Who wants to find out with me?" Viviane asked, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"Mom clearly forbade us from ever drinking alcohol, and even if we had any intention of drinking this, how long do you think it would take Eve to come back with a glass of milk?" Scarlett asked, eyeing Viviane as if she were foolish.

"Hmph, coward," Viviane snorted, causing Scarlett's lips to twitch in irritation.

"For your information, we are low on milk; some weirdo with questionable taste drank it all. So, Eve won't be back soon," Viviane declared proudly.

As the words left her mouth, the four of them heard in their heads: 'That's what I thought.'

Suddenly, Eve reappeared before them. Without hesitation, she swiftly took the bottle of alcohol from Viviane's grasp.

"I'll be taking this," Eve stated firmly.

"Hey! Give it back!" Viviane exclaimed.

"Lady Candace ordered me not to let any of you come into contact with alcohol, so no, I won't be giving that back," Eve asserted.

"Here's your milk," she said, handing Viviane a glass of milk.

Viviane grumbled in protest, but eventually acquiesced, taking the glass of milk and downing it in one gulp.

Seeing this scene, Alice, Scarlett and Violette smiled wryly.

'I guess she is the weirdo with questionable tastes.'