207- Where Is Rhys?!

"She's just unconscious, not seriously hurt," Rhys said as he walked over to Daphne and checked her condition. Finding nothing major, he instructed Astoria to take her back to the girls' dormitory. 

Astoria: "…" 

"How am I supposed to explain this? Just moments ago, she was a dueling master on a seven-match winning streak, and now she's been knocked out cold.." she asked, half-laughing, half-exasperated. 

"Just say she was too tired and fell asleep halfway there—out like a light," Rhys said, winking at her. 

"Fine," Astoria reluctantly accepted the excuse Rhys had come up with. Before he could do anything else, she quickly cast a Levitation Charm on her sister, causing Daphne to float beside her. 

Before heading back to the dormitory, Rhys walked over to the armor.

In its inner lining, he wrote a phrase in Latin and used magic to make the inscription appear faint and aged, as though it had weathered a millennium. 

Watching Rhys, who walked ahead of her seemingly deep in thought, Astoria's eyes glimmered with contemplation. 

Her sister's "sacrifice" hadn't been in vain. At the cost of her own defeat, Daphne had managed to get a rough sense of the gap between her and Rhys. If it ever came to a real fight, Daphne could at most withstand one move from Rhys, as she couldn't even defeat the enchanted armor he had conjured. 

As for the talk about "a wizard's letter" and "conversations with the Bloody Baron," that might fool children and simple-minded people like her sister, but it didn't fool her.

Astoria was convinced that the fiery armor just now had been imbued with immense power by Rhys's magic. 

With such terrifying strength, Rhys could not possibly be just an ordinary student.

However, Astoria had no intention of delving into Rhys's true identity or exposing his real intentions. After all, both she and her sister had been benefiting from him all along.

To them, Rhys's true purpose didn't matter much, even if it might potentially go against the current laws of the wizarding world. 

When they returned to the common room, the fact that the dueling champion had been carried in lying down naturally drew a lot of attention. When asked about the situation, Astoria brushed it off with a uniform excuse: "She was exhausted and fell asleep." 

Though the explanation was hard to believe, the students in the common room were tactful enough not to press further. Tonight's focus was celebrating Miss Daphne's impressive seven-match winning streak in the dueling competition. No one wanted trivial distractions to dampen the festive mood. 

Daphne regained consciousness the next morning. 

She abruptly sat up in bed, moving so quickly that she became dizzy and saw stars.

It took her about ten seconds to realize she was in her own dormitory bed. Her robes and trousers were sloppily folded at the foot of the bed, while her socks had been stuffed into her boots and left by the bedside. 

Pressing a hand to her head, Daphne struggled to piece together the events of the previous night. 

The winning streak in the dueling competition, issuing a challenge to Rhys, the moving armor… 

As fragments of memory gradually returned, the pain in her abdomen began to resurface as well.

Ouch!

Daphne didn't even need to look to know her stomach must be covered in bruises.

That armor hit way too hard!

Considering the fiery slash it delivered, it was already showing mercy by not cutting her into Da-phne pieces.

"What a monster... How could anyone possibly beat it?"

Daphne muttered to herself in a tone full of grievance while struggling to get dressed. The impact site was her lower abdomen, and every movement tugging at those muscles sent a sharp jolt of pain.

After tidying herself up as best she could, Daphne made her way to the common room.

Along the way, she encountered several other students. Younger first-years greeted her respectfully as "senior," while upper-year students warmly acknowledged her with friendly smiles and greetings.

Daphne understood—it was all thanks to the reputation she had earned from last night's duels.

Everyone wore smiles, exuding warmth and respect toward her. It should have been an utterly joyous moment, but Daphne couldn't bring herself to feel happy—after all, being defeated in a single blow by a suit of armor wasn't exactly uplifting.

By the time she reached the common room, her cheeks felt stiff from all the polite exchanges along the way.

Scanning the room, Daphne didn't see Rhys anywhere.

Instead, she spotted her younger sister, Astoria, sitting in the corner where Daphne usually sat.

"Where's Rhys?"

Daphne plopped into an armchair, but the abrupt movement tugged at her injury, forcing her to inhale sharply through her teeth in pain.

Astoria didn't immediately answer her sister's question but instead pulled out two small bottles.

"Rhys asked me to give these to you—a salve for external use and a potion to drink. They should effectively ease your pain."

"Thanks a lot," Daphne said, taking the two crystal bottles. Yet, she persisted with her question: "So, where's Rhys?"

"He has class this morning, so he's probably eating fast so he can attend it," Astoria replied, her expression practically screaming I have no idea.

Daphne couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. "Astoria, do you even know what the first class for second-year Slytherins is this morning?"

"Hmm?"

"It's History of Magic, there is no way he would go to breakfast without waiting for me just for that class.." Daphne said coldly, downing the potion in one go.

Astoria: "..."

She lowered her head, adopting an I don't know anything; if you're mad, go ahead and hit me look.

Daphne ignored her and started applying the salve to her injury.

To her surprise, the potion Rhys had prepared was incredibly effective. The pain disappeared almost instantly after drinking it, and the spot on her stomach where she applied the salve felt warm and soothing.

Once she had finished tending to her wounds, Daphne walked straight out of the common room. Sure enough, she found Rhys in the Great Hall, happily enjoying a plate of maple syrup pancakes topped with whipped cream.

"Just looking at your food makes my throat feel clogged," Daphne couldn't help but remark, criticizing Rhys's eating habits.

"Sweetness is a preference etched into the soul," Rhys replied with a grin, sliding a plate of pancakes without maple syrup toward Daphne.

"You should really consider the oil, milk, and sugar already in the pancakes," Daphne said, shaking her head as she picked up a plain pancake and began eating it. To her, the taste was just right without any additional syrup.

"Yes, and while you're at it, could you pass me that Basque cheesecake?" 

Daphne: "..."

"This morning's first class is History of Magic," As she handed over the plate of Basque chesecake, she mentioned this morning's class schedule intentionally or unintentionally.

"Um."

"So what are your plans?" Daphne pulled the plate back.

Rhys: Hey...!

"I'm planning to take a trip to the Forbidden Forest. If you'd like, you can join me for a stroll."

A large piece of Basque chesecake was placed in front of Rhys, at just the right distance.

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