People gasped because of that remark. Some people even decided to leave the party lest they get involved with something too much for them to bear.
Lady Vena looked apologetic, but she was inwardly pleased with herself.
It is true that she wanted a fight to be suggested. But it didn't mean that she wanted a fight to occur. She would be contented with using the suggestion to humiliate her rival.
Everyone was surprised and in shock. Tyson chose that time to cut the tension.
The little boy pointed at them and said with a cute voice, "Red rooster."
This made some people's faces turn pale in fright, but Arthur just laughed. He laughed not only because it was comical to say something like that in the midst of such tension, but the boy had said it like Wed Wooster. It was just too funny for him.
His laughter drew all the attention to himself. Lady Delia smiled at him while Lady Vena glared at him.
Lady Delia said to him, "My genius stepson. I'm sorry for thinking you were someone else."
He smiled back. "It is no problem. After all, the changes I have undergone are extraordinary."
Lady Delia nodded in agreement. "Indeed. I find it quite hard to believe myself. Not that I doubt you, but I'm sure that there are a lot of people here who will like to see your prowess for themselves so that they can believe. What do you think?"
"I see no problem with that either."
Lady Delia's eyes lit up at the sight of an opportunity. She pressed while the iron was hot by saying, "I am impressed with your demeanor. I'm sure that you will be able to defeat Greg easily. I have the utmost confidence in you."
Lady Vena had been making faces at him, signaling to him to keep quiet. But he didn't seem to have seen her warnings.
Instead, he puffed up his chest at the high praise of his noble stepmother and said, "Of course, I can defeat Greg. He is no match for me."
His behavior made him look like an adorable boy. The onlookers couldn't help but chuckle while soke shook her heads in pity.
Lady Vena couldn't let things continue in the direction they were heading. She stepped in to interrupt the conversation.
She said to Arthur, "I don't think the fight is fair. He is twice as old as you. Think about this carefully."
Lady Delia, on the other hand, encouraged him, "You have nothing to fear since you can defeat him. If you back down now, people might think you're a liar."
One of them tried to stop him while the other egged him on. They were like the temptations from a devil and the warnings of an angel to resist the temptation. Lady Delia being the devil and his mother being the angel.
His face moved between the two of them as they spoke. Then he said, "I'll fight Greg. It should be no problem at all. I can't let people think I am afraid."
Lady Delia smiled sweetly and said triumphantly, "You heard what he said. He wants to fight."
Then she shouted to everyone, "Arthur Dyson has accepted the challenge from Greg Williams. Let the fight begin."
She said to inform everyone at the party and make it difficult for Arthur to back out from the fight.
She had found the weak link and she wasn't willing to let it go. She felt happy about it and smiled to show off her happiness.
Lady Vena was also smiling. But everyone could tell that her smile was forced. Some people couldn't help but snicker in expectation.
Arthur and Greg were directed towards the large space at the center of the tent. That space was prepared for the graduates to fight and show their skills to recruiters. But it seems it will be used first by the guests.
Arthur's large outer robe was removed by his mother, leaving the slim inner dress. The top of the inner dress was also removed, leaving his chest bare.
While Lady Veba was helping him out, she was still trying to dissuade him.
She said to him, "There is no use fighting when there is no reward. You'll just be wasting your time."
Arthur paused with a look of contemplation on his face. Lady Devia didn't want him to come to his senses. She asked him with a loud voice, "Who says there is no reward?"
Arthur heard her from across the fighting pit. Actually, everyone in the tent heard her.
His face lit up as he asked, "There is a reward?"
She said confidently, "Of course there is."
He asked, "What is it?"
She asked back, "What reward do you want?"
He thought for a while and said, "I want the training technique to transcend the first mortal coil."
Everyone gasped. Then they turned to look at Lady Devia.
Lady Devia's face twitched as she thought to herself, "What a large appetite."
She had attracted so much attention and publicly asked him for what he wanted. She thought he was a child, so he would probably ask for a candle or some other trifle. But he didn't ask for those.
He directly asked for something she couldn't deliver. The method to transcend the first mortal coil is an important technique that is jealously guarded, if only for the fact that it can grant an extra lifespan of 50 years.
It is more valuable than that since it will grant power and the ability to grow stronger. Even her husband is only at the second mortal coil, and she is at the ninth transformation of the first mortal coil.
So it is not something that she could give. But she doesn't want to open her mouth and say that she can't get it in front of everyone right after giving him an open check. It was embarrassing to say the least.
Fortunately, there was someone reasonable nearby willing to come to her rescue so she didn't have to embarrass herself.