Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 44 - 43 - The Arena 1.

The next day.

The Vaise family or the Vaise dukedom.

If anyone heard those words, they would usually bow their heads as the weight those names carried wasn’t bearable for everyone.

No matter where you go in the Velmoria kingdom, you will find someone from the Vaise family there.

To make things worse, they ranked among the highest wherever they were, since their bloodline makes it impossible for them to remain unnoticed.

It didn’t matter how bad they were seen inside their family, they were all still exceptional compared to other people.

That was how good even the worst of the Vaise was, and that was why, no matter where they went, no Vaise family member needed to prove their strength.

If you asked a member of the Vaise family to prove their strength, then you would be offending them.

Yet, in the kingdom, in the capital city, where the Vaise were like legends, the greatest genius of the family was asked to give a practical test.

It wasn’t even the family’s trash, but the greatest genius, yet he had to give a practical test to enter the academy.

Moreover, the one who had ordered this test didn’t appear to care about the consequences.

"Are you sure it’s fine?" Clara asked, walking next to Raven as they moved toward the main arena of the academy.

"Yes, even if he’s the academy’s principal, he seemed to be completely disregarding your position as the leader of this generation of the Vaise family," Jessy added, flanking Raven with her group following her.

Unlike what one would think, no matter what internal conflict the Vaise family had, they never showed it outside.

So, although Jessy didn’t want to accept it, she knew that Raven was the strongest among them and he was fit to lead them.

She would follow him and do what he says until she was stronger and confident that she could defeat him, taking that position away.

The same was true for Rufus.

Even if he hated and feared Raven, he followed the guy, flanking his other side, his group close behind him.

Jake, right beside Raven, along with Alex, also kept frowning.

They all found the principal’s action strange.

"...it’s as if someone is backing him," Jake muttered, and everyone tensed, the possibility that it was someone from the Vaise family appearing in their heads.

As they all turned to look at Raven’s back, they nodded.

’It is possible.’

With his talent, he could smoothly look like a thorn in anyone’s path—a huge thorn.

So, the possibility that someone from the Vaise family had planned all this couldn’t be excluded.

All of them thought this might be bigger than they had initially thought—all except one.

"It doesn’t matter. Raven can smash whatever comes at him like he smashed us!"

Alex flailed his fists in the air, imitating how Raven had hit them, making the others flinch, recalling their brutal beatdown.

Raven, on the other hand, wasn’t focused on their words; his attention was somewhere else.

’Fuck! For how long is this grandpa going to ignore me?!’ He yelled inwardly, lashing out like a child whose candy was stolen.

He had been waiting for the old man to reply, but until now, there had been no response.

The Old Man hadn’t opened his chats since yesterday, since the messages still showed ’Received but not seen’.

Raven couldn’t even sleep last night, fearing the old man’s anger.

Yet, the Old Man hadn’t said anything.

"—Raven, are you listening?"

It was only after being jerked to reality by Clara that he heard her words.

"Huh? Yeah, I’m listening," he replied, his focus returning to the main topic.

He was.

He heard some of their words, but since he already knew what was going on, he didn’t engage in speculations.

Clara, however, squinted her eyes at Raven suspiciously, knowing well that he wasn’t listening, but letting it go.

"We came to a conclusion," she began, making Raven raise a brow. "It seems like someone from the family is behind all this."

"Oh?" Raven was surprised how they came to that conclusion so quickly, but after recalling who they were, he nodded inwardly.

They were the best of this generation of the Vaise family. If they couldn’t understand what was going on, then who would?

He glanced at their faces, and seeing them all serious, he chuckled inwardly.

’Just yesterday, they were all looking at me doubtfully, yet today, they’re worried for me.’

It didn’t feel bad.

But well, he had to be honest with them.

"I know," he said, his words like a thunderclap in their ears.

’He knew?’

Even Alex, who, after being hit by Clara for speaking nonsense, now had a sore spot on his head, stared at Raven with surprise.

He didn’t know how others came to this conclusion, but he knew it was a big thing, so seeing Raven speak of it so casually was a stunner for him as well.

"Y-You knew?" Rufus, stuttering, spoke first, breaking the silence as everyone, who had frozen on their spots, quickly rushed forward, catching up to Raven.

"Did I stutter before?" Raven turned to the guy, making him lower his head in fear, and looking at it, Raven sighed contentedly.

’Man, it’s been so long since I bullied him. It somehow feels good.’

"Do you know who it is?" Clara’s expression turned serious, and everyone’s ears perked up at that question.

"Huh? Of course..." Turning toward her, he added, "Not."

The sound of collective jaws clenching could be heard as everyone, excluding Jake, gritted their teeth.

Only Jake sighed, somehow expecting it.

Clara, however, despite loving him, wanted to kill him.

"Tch," Jessy clicked her tongue, while Rufus just stared at the ground, not daring to show his angry expression to Raven.

And just like that, the tension was dissolved.

No one wanted to continue this topic, as it would just frustrate them, especially when the guy they were worried about didn’t seem to care about anything.

What they didn’t know was that Raven knew who was behind this, or at least he had an idea of who it could be, because he knew who the Principal worked for.

But since he wasn’t sure, he didn’t actually lie; he just didn’t tell them the truth.

Before they realized it, they had reached the arena.

It was huge, with boundaries covering it from all sides. Sharp spikes protruded out of the boundaries, making it impossible for any intruder to try to climb from the outside.

Iron gates were blocking its entrance, guarded by two fourth-year students.

Well, guards were necessary in an arena, so it wasn’t uncalled for, but before they could pass through the gates—

"Stop."

—One of the guards spoke, clearly not wanting to offend them but still doing his job.

"What do you mean by this?" Clara stepped forward, her expression cold.

Yes, the guard was just doing his job, but he needed to see who he was trying to stop.

If one tried to assassinate the king, saying it was his job, he would still be killed.

Everyone gripped their weapons, their auras flaring, making the guard flinch. His expression wavered as sweat poured from his forehead.

"I-I... I..."

He tried to speak but couldn’t.

The pressure was too much for him.

Even if he was a fourth-year, he wasn’t stronger than the monsters of the Vaise family.

But then, Clara noticed something—Raven’s gaze.

He wasn’t looking at the guard who spoke but at the one who was standing silently.

His expression was cold as his eyes remained locked with that guard.

’This might be bigger than I had thought,’ he realized as he knew who the other guard was.