Chapter 21: Evasion

"Then I would like to exercise my right to refuse that right," I replied automatically.

Everyone stared at me. I shrugged. What? Was there anything wrong with what I said? Only Doug Daniels looked amused, but everyone else seemed to be staring at me as if I had grown an extra head or something.

"You're refusing me?" Cecilia Stuart asked incredulously.

"If you asking me to be your boyfriend, then yeah. I refuse." I nodded judiciously, wondering if I could leave now. This was a complete waste of time. I wanted to go to class already. Getting involved in all this romance bullshit and teenage angst and drama was not worth my time at all. I had much better things to do.

"You're kidding me!"

"Is he serious?"

"I didn't hear him wrong, did I?"

The students gathered in the courtyard were whispering and murmuring to each other in disbelief. Either a lot of people had decided to skip class to watch the Crowley Academy students leave, or they didn't have any lessons scheduled for the morning. Not that I cared. What they did with their own time or timetable was none of my business.

Furthermore, I was too tired to deal this bullshit. It had been an unnaturally long morning for me, with so many things happening all at once. Ironically, this felt more exhausting than yesterday, when I practically singlehandedly blasted through five consecutive matches.

"Is he gay?"

"How can he refuse such a beautiful girl?"

"What an idiot…I would jump at the chance if I were him!"

This was getting stupid. I was not obligated to date a girl just because she was beautiful. Even though I had heard of Cecilia Stuart before, I was not familiar with her at all. Hell, this was the first time I had actually met her face-to-face. And what I saw didn't give me a favorable impression. She was cold, and arrogant.

Beauty was useless if her personality was ugly. While I admittedly found her physically attractive, her condescending attitude turned me off. If the other guys want to go out with her, they were more than welcome to.

Cecilia studied me for a moment. "You do know that I'm from the Stuart family, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you still refuse me?"

"Yeah."

"Even though I'm from the Stuart family?"

"So what?" I was getting irritated. Using her family to intimidate me now, was it? Or did she I was somehow obligated to go along with whatever she said and be her boyfriend just because she was from one of the top ten families who served as the pillar of the Federation? What kind of logic was that? I didn't care if she was a princess or a goddess. Her attitude and arrogance pissed me off, and that was all that mattered.

Cecilia seemed as if she didn't know if she should be impressed or outraged. She sighed and shook her head. "You'll regret this."

"I'm already regretting volunteering for the matches yesterday," I muttered as I shut my eyes, feeling a headache pounding through my temples.

"Don't say that." Doug looked a little hurt, though I could tell that he was joking. "I had a great duel with you yesterday."

"Yeah, but it is more trouble than it's worth." I sighed wearily. "I'm having a bad day, and it looks like it's going to get worse."

Cecilia narrowed her eyes. "That's not an excuse."

"Excuse?" I met her gaze evenly. "I'm not offering any excuses. I just don't want to deal with your nonsense. I already said no, and that's that. If you have a problem with it, that's too bad. I'm not obligated to cater to your every whim just because you're from the Stuart family. I'm not your slave."

"Fair enough." Cecilia folded her arms. "Then what are your conditions?"

I gaped at her for a moment, not comprehending. What was this girl on about? "Conditions? What do you mean, conditions?"

"What do you want in return for being in a relationship with me?" Cecilia was pondering on the matter. "Money? Status? I can give you the resources you need for developing your magic. I heard that you're having some trouble with your current ranking. If you enter the Stuart family, I can provide you with everything you need."

I stared at her, astonished. Was this girl serious? Just what did she view other people as? Did she think I was trying to ransom her?

"You misunderstand. I don't want anything. I don't want to be in a relationship with you. It's that simple."

Cecilia's frown deepened, as if she couldn't comprehend the possibility that a guy would reject a beautiful girl of her stature.

"I find that hard to believe. I don't mean to boast, but I'm pretty confident in my appearance, and my background…"

"Captain…" Doug began, smiling politely. "I don't think that's the issue here. And I don't think it's productive to force the issue. If Richard doesn't want to, then don't press him."

Thank heavens. I had an ally here. At least there was one person who saw some sense.

However…

"You cocky brat! Don't get too full of yourself! Who do you think you are, rejecting Cecilia's confession?"

Hal Gunther was glaring at me. Teacher Cure must have healed him completely yesterday, for he seemed fine right now. Somehow I wished she didn't heal him fully. The bastard deserved to be bedridden for a few more days.

"Just because you won against our team by yourself doesn't mean you can get all high and mighty!" Elena added angrily. "How dare you reject our captain's kindhearted offer?!"

Kindhearted offer? Me being cocky and full of myself? Were these idiots listening to the rubbish they were spouting?

And they wondered why I was refusing this farce.

"Now, now." Doug raised his hands. "There's no need to intimidate Richard. You guys are just proving his point for him."

"What point?!"

"Whose side are you on?!"

While Hal and Elena turned on me, Albert Alain raised a hand.

"At least tell us why."

"Why what?" I asked, bewildered. Just what did I need to say to get my message into their thick skulls?

"Why you refused."

"Why should I accept?" I countered, getting irritated. "Your notions of romance or relationships have nothing to do with me."

"It's not exactly romance, but…" Cecilia sighed. "I made a vow. I promised that the first male in my generation who defeated me will have the right to go out with me. I can't very well go back on my word now."

"…why did you make that vow?" I was trying to suppress my impatience. Honestly, I didn't give a fuck. Whatever vows Cecilia made had absolutely nothing to do with me. Except that I was the first guy in our generation to beat her, apparently, but I had no obligation to go along with something she went and swore on her own.

"Ever since I was young, I have been courted by many suitors. As you know…my family is one of the top ten clans of the Global Federation…one of the most powerful, influential, wealthiest…"

Now she was just showing off.

"So there is no shortage of suitors. But many of them were just aiming for my family…to marry into the Stuart Clan, for our wealth, or resources. Or they were only interested in my beauty." Cecilia sighed, her eyes taking a distant, weary look. "It became exhausting to reject them all. So…I challenged all of them."

Her eyes hardened as she focused on me.

"I swore that I will only accept a man stronger than me as my lover. I challenged them all, and beat them down. And soon no one dared to court me." She smiled bitterly. "The promise spread far and wide over the entire Federation. Many young men would challenge me, but I would defeat them all. It helped me build up a reputation, and soon I became known as invincible."

The legend of the Invincible Goddess of War. So that was how it came about.

"But you…broke the myth of my invincibility." Cecilia shrugged. "Not that it matters. What matters is that a lady of the Stuart family must keep her word. I will not break a vow that I made myself."

"Well, good luck with that." I wasn't sympathetic with her at all. She made her own bed, and now she had to sleep in it. I wasn't going to take responsibility for her careless promises. She got overconfident on her own, so now she had to clean up her own mess. If her reputation or principles got destroyed, then too bad.

It had nothing to do with me. I had no obligation to indulge her selfishness or whims.

"Fucker! Still acting as if this has nothing to do with you!" Hal howled.

"Our captain has already poured her heart out to you! How heartless can you be?!" Elena shrieked.

"Now, now…" Doug tried to placate them. "I'm sure Richard has his own reasons. Let's not press him." He turned back to me. "Sorry about all this, Richard. I'm sure we'll meet again."

"Yeah. I'm sure." Even as those words left my mouth, I secretly thought to myself that we would never encounter each other throughout the rest of our lives. They would go their way, and I would go my way. They were the top eight academies in the Federation. My school was ranked above eighty. So our paths would most likely never cross again.

Good riddance.

"I'll excuse myself then."

"Wait." Cecilia's voice was frosty. "We're not done yet…"

"Richard!"

Everyone turned in surprise when a familiar voice drifted through the courtyard. Alicia Violet was strolling toward me with a friendly wave. She nodded politely to Cecilia and the Crowley's Academy students before turning back to me.

"Teacher Fielding was looking for you. Class has started long ago. What are you doing?"

She grabbed my arm and began pulling me away. Wrapping her arms around my arm, she pressed herself somewhat intimately against my side as she led me back toward the building.

"Er…" I began, but Alicia cut me off with a whisper that only I could hear.

"Just play along."

Then I understood what she was trying to do. Feeling an immense wave of relief wash over me, I nodded.

Everyone watched, stunned, as Alicia and I went right back into the main campus building. For their benefit, I made sure to express my gratitude loudly.

"Oh, right. Thanks, Alicia."

Only Alicia knew what I was really thanking her for.