Underhanded Tactic

"Tanya Vermillion vs Erina Port."

Before Tanya could move, she felt a bright light envelop her for a split second before she saw herself on the stage. Before her was a brown haired girl with a lean body, armed with her fists alone.

'She seems pretty… not my type, but still pretty.' Tanya mentally noted as she scanned the latter's face.

'Emerald eyes, and spotless skin. She must be training only indoors, I do not see any tanning on her whatsoever.'

"Hello, Ms Port." Tanya gave a beaming smile directed at her opponent.

"Greetings, Ms Vermillion." Erina responded as she slowly began moving forward as if she was trying to build momentum for a charge.

"Ms? If you want, I could become a Mrs; Mrs Port~" Tanya blew a kiss and winked.

"!!!"

*Critical hit*

"...Ms Vermillion, you jest…" Erina stopped walking and stumbled her words erratically, unable to respond with a straight face.

"I see you are confident with just fighting me using your bare hands… I like that. I could always use someone that is confident with their hands~"

A war of attrition? No.

Tanya did not spend energy when she did not need to. If she wished to make a point, she would make a point. If she desired to win a fight, she would win a fight. The methods however, they are what differ. She does not need to beat her opponent into submission, sometimes she just has to wear their mental defences and cause them to crumble.

Flirting just so happens to be a useful way to distract an opponent and passive them completely.

Erina could not help but blush. She may be a straight girl, but she could feel the effects of [Prince Charming] like any other fan girl. It was like a charm that felt so forbidden that she wanted it out of spite. Tanya's devilish smile stopped her from thinking.

Erina did not know what she was feeling, but she knew it was not good.

"Fight me!" Erina yelled as she dashed forward.

"Oooh… fight you? If you are so hellbent on being on top, I will give you this chance to prove your worth~" Tanya's eyes glimmered a thick crimson, drawing Erina closer and closer while befuddling her already jumble thoughts.

"Or perhaps you wish to play hard to get? I can tame you, it is not that difficult." Tanya quickly shifted to the side as Erina bolted towards her.

"AAARGH!" Erina punched the air, skidding a few metres past before stopping.

"Heheh~ I like those grunting noises… seems like I've already got you in the mood. But please stop, a cute lady like yourself should always remain calm and graceful~"

Tanya shifted to Erina's side and placed her foot behind one of Erina's knees, pushing the latter's torso backwards before catching her perfectly.

"Do you like the view?" Tanya smiled with a smug expression.

"Ehhh?!" Erina jumped backwards with a tomato red complexion.

"Oh? It seems you cannot even take that much. Perhaps I should be more gentle with you. How about we start with some easier-"

"I forfeit!" Erina jumped off the stage and began walking out of the auditorium, daring not to look back. This was just too humiliating for her.

Born a warrior count's daughter, Erina began her days with sparring and exercise. While many men did not find her activities to be lady-like and shunned her, she continued training nonetheless. Her martial arts and physique had been tempered all the way to [Warrior 3] and yet she lost to a war on her mind.

She did not train to fight against words. She trained to fight against the sword and the fist. Expecting more from her would already be evil.

The six spectating students sitting in the normal area all could not help but feel wronged. This was a duel, and yet Tanya won with just her tongue.

"Next time, you will not be able to use your tongue to defeat me." Erina's voice echoed from the exit door.

"Oh? You have not even witnessed how I use my tongue when I am serious~!"

SLAM

The door closed.

"Tanya Vermillion wins by forfeit!" Kieran announced, feeling rather confused about what just happened.

"Tanya Vermillion used such a devious technique to win the duel, I bet she would not be able to win in a physical fight-" The green haired figure complained.

"Careful what you say, Charles. If you looked closely, her movement was already enough for her to avoid Erina even if she was fully focused. Those steps and positioning were perfect, she did not spend anymore of her stamina than she needed to." Serena smiled and shushed the boy.

"Words are also a skill, no? Speechcraft can be more important than fighting ability when entering the world of politics. It just so happens that she knows how to push people's buttons." She continued to confidently analyse Tanya's behaviour with a soft smile on her face.

"Ah, I understand now. Why did I not see this before?" Charles came to a basic realisation.

'If you continue acting all confident like that, I will make all of your screws go loose.'

"It is okay to be a single step behind, but never be more than that. A single step can unwind your progress; another, can destroy your ability to fight back."

'Again with that terrible political philosophy. It is never okay to be behind. It is not even okay to be just a single step ahead. Ambition is what separates us.'

Tanya's body disappeared from the stage and returned to her seat.

"Tanya! You were so cool out there! You showed that gorilla who's boss." Yuri smiled and congratulated Tanya with all of her heart.

"Hmmph! An underhanded tactic, not fitting for a duke's daughter." Diana attempted to hide her surprise and blushing.

'You call that call that underhanded? I will show you something truly 'underhanded'.'

"My my… I believe my hand should fit in a duke's daughter… would you like to confirm that?"