The Kick-ass Sylvia

Upon arriving at the center of the commotion, people began to look at them. The young noble and his guards quickly turned their attention to Sylvia and Alexander. When the young man's gaze landed on Sylvia, he was surprised.

Sylvia was equally surprised to see who was causing the commotion. It was Vincent Greenfield, the son of Baron Gregory Greenfield.

Both sides then glared menacingly at each other.

Gregory Greenfield was a friend of his father who wanted to meet her previously. He expressed his interest in matchmaking Sylvia and Vincent. Although not opposed, Leofric didn't want to push this matter on Sylvia. He and Elena had nearly been unable to marry because of such customs. Given Sylvia's personality, he also doubted he could force the issue.

They suggested Sylvia spend time with Vincent to get to know him. However, Sylvia, being smart enough, understood their plan and flatly refused. She wouldn't even meet with Vincent, so they could only leave it at that.

In the past few days, Sylvia had been really annoyed by Vincent's persistent pestering. She couldn't sneak out to play for fear of running into him. This added to her frustration, as her big brother was also unavailable to play with her, seemingly ignoring her.

Vincent was also in a bad mood these past few days. Sylvia's constant evasion felt like an affront to the dignity of his Greenfield family. He found it intolerable. Even though Sylvia was pretty and talented, his family was much wealthier than the Baron of Mapplewood Manor. This was true if they disregarded Sylvia's origins—the Lightguard family from Lumina City. Her father was an ostracized son and didn't hold much influence there either.

However, his father also didn't want to sour his relationship with Leofric Lightguard. To him, Leofric was a brother; they had shared life and death on the battlefield, to the point that Leofric had saved his life multiple times. So he also left the matter at that.

Seeing the situation, Alexander panicked a bit, as it was his first time in such a commotion.

"Shit, from how things are proceeding I might have to face-slap three generations of this guys family based from the novels I've read," Alexander thought to himself. "No, based on my strength, I would be the one to be face-slapped by the three generations of this guy's family."

He needed to find a way to calm things down. Noticing the emblem on the guards' leather armor, he quickly figured out who they were.

He had heard that Baron Gregory Greenfield recently visited Mapplewood Manor, and his son would come by in the mornings to look for Sylvia. Alexander knew about Sylvia's situation but wasn't too concerned, since both his father and Gregory had left the matter as it was. There was no arranged marriage for his little sister to worry about.

From the conversations around him, Alexander discovered the reason for the young man's fury. Earlier, they had approached the caravan to meet the young lady inside, but she refused.

She was an actress preparing for the village's upcoming play, and she declined to meet Vincent for two reasons: she was genuinely busy, and she had a bad impression of him, having heard he was arrogant and rude.

Earlier, Vincent had heard that one of the actresses in the play was very pretty, so he decided to see for himself and chat with her. However, when she refused to meet him, it added to his already bad mood from being avoided by Sylvia. This perceived 'insult' made Vincent explode, demanding that the young lady come out to explain herself.

Alexander stepped forward, trying to ease the situation. "Ehmm, brother, please calm down. This isn't the way to court a lady. If you ask me—"

Vincent interrupted angrily, "And who are you to teach me how to court a lady?"

Alexander wanted to retort, but realized Vincent was right. In both his previous life and this one, he had never had a girlfriend, and he even had very few female friends. This thought made him feel a bit depressed.

Alexander wanted to say more things, but was also cut off by Sylvia.

"Enough, brother. This kind of punk needs a thorough beating to wise up," Sylvia declared.

"Hmph. Sylvia, you've been irritating me these past few days. You really think you're so great? Come, let me see the Lightguard family's prodigy for myself," Vincent retorted.

"Hey, hey, you two should—" Alexander started to say, but both sides glared at him, forcing him to shut up.

The guards from both sides seemed to have reached an agreement. One of Vincent's guards stepped forward, bowed to Sylvia, and asked, "Are you both sure you want to fight each other?"

"Yes," Sylvia replied.

"Yes," Vincent affirmed.

Both sides agreed.

The guard then said, "Alright, this duel will be 'first strike' only. Do you both agree?"

Both nodded in agreement.

The guard glanced at Bertram, who nodded, expressing his consent.

Based on Alexander's memories, duels were common in this world. However, unlike in novels where cultivators fought with few rules, these duels had many. The rules depended on the type of duel: first strike, first blood, fight until one side concedes, etc. There were also fights to the death, but these were rare and always supervised by a court official.

Before the fight began, Sylvia spoke up. "Before we fight, you must agree to my request. If I win, you'll apologize to the lady in the caravan and stop bothering me."

"Fine, but if you lose, you will have to apologize to my father for being rude and … agree to meet with me," Vincent said. He wanted to say 'agree to the marriage proposal' but thought that forcing a marriage would also be too much.

"Heh, fine then," Sylvia confidently agreed.

Watching this, Alexander could only sigh. His little sister was always headstrong and confident. She truly had the main character vibes, the complete opposite of his own loser vibes.

Alexander carefully observed Vincent, a teenager around 13 or 14 years old. He wasn't very tall but had a certain handsomeness. Although arrogant and rude, as people said, the fact that he didn't push the marriage proposal into the bet made Alexander think he wasn't entirely bad. This aligned with how his father described the Greenfield family: very proud and overly confident; however, they are loyal and trustworthy. They despised scheming and were always direct in their actions, whether good or bad. From these observations, Alexander realized he definitely didn't want to be enemies with them.

Alexander checked their power levels through the navigator: Sylvia was yellow-orange, while Vincent was still yellow. This made him relax a bit, as it indicated Sylvia was slightly stronger. However, he couldn't be certain since it had never been tested. It might only reflect cultivation levels, and Vincent, being older, might have the advantage. Moreover, in a battle, the stronger party doesn't always win—accidents could happen.

"Alright, I'll give you a chance. Go ahead and attack first. I don't want you running home to your father, claiming I bullied you too much," Sylvia declared proudly.

"As you wish," Vincent replied.

He pressed his hands together and chanted, "lamina folium vitis." Vines sprouted from the gaps between his hands, wrapping around his arms.

In response, Sylvia chanted, "gelida obice," and waved her right hand, summoning an ice barrier in front of her.

Vincent struck first, waving his hands as the vine leaves flew forward like blades. They hit Sylvia's shield but had no effect.

Vincent frowned while Sylvia maintained her smug smile.

Vincent continued his attack, but it still had no effect.

"Is that all you've got? Very well. Take a hit from me then," Sylvia declared.

She raised her left hand, formed a hand seal, and chanted, "clavum glacies." Several palm-sized ice spikes floated around her. Though pointed, they weren't too sharp, although a hit would not wound Vincent, it would still bruise him. Sylvia pointed at Vincent, and the spikes shot forward while she maintained the ice barrier.

Vincent dodged, using his footwork to avoid being hit. This made him frown deeply.

Suddenly, his expression turned serious, and he sprinted with incredible speed to Sylvia's side, then aimed a punch at her head.

Sylvia canceled her spells and dodged, ducking and stepping aside to evade Vincent's punch.

Vincent pursued her with more punches, but Sylvia evaded them all.

"Hahaha, you're really very slow," Sylvia mocked, clearly enjoying the battle.

This infuriated Vincent, but he couldn't retort as he was running out of breath.

Seeing this, Sylvia said, "Alright, let's end this."

She ducked to avoid a right hook from Vincent, then disappeared from his sight.

Vincent couldn't see her, even in his peripheral vision, so he guessed she was behind him. He quickly spun around, only to be met with a kick right to the chest. He was blasted away and curled up in pain on the ground.

The crowd then gasped with amazement. They were completely thrilled by the fight they witnessed earlier.

Vincent then slowly climbed up with a bitter expression, clearly unresolved, and wanting to continue. His guards hesitated, unsure whether to intervene.

Suddenly, the sound of clapping and footsteps came from the side. Someone walked forward and said, "Alright, we've seen your magnificent performances. Let's end the duel here."

It was Healer Agnes. She smiled at the two as she approached. "Both of you performed very well and deserve to be called geniuses, but the winner should now be clear. Now it's time to honor the bets." She then asked with a smile, "Would young master Vincent be a gentleman and fulfill his end?"

Vincent could only sigh. If there was someone he didn't want to offend in this village, it was Healer Agnes. Her influence extended beyond Maplewood Village; neighboring villages and nobles respected her for her skills and kindness. Many noble houses, including the Greenfield family, were indebted to her. Even his father had sternly warned him not to disrespect her. So what else could he do but swallow his pride?

He then went forward to the caravan, where a beautiful young lady could be seen peeking. He was then surprised when he met her eyes. She was so beautiful. He wanted to talk to her more, but he was also ashamed of how he had behaved. He could only bow down and apologize to her, then leave. He was completely regretful of how he let his rage get the best of him and make a mockery of himself.

Upon leaving, the beautiful lady stared at his back with a hint of pity. Thinking that in the future, if they meet, she shouldn't be too rude to him anymore, as he didn't seem to be someone that bad.

After the fight, Sylvia continued to smile smugly at Healer Agnes.

Healer Agnes sighed, saying, "Haiz, you're always so mischievous." She ruffled Sylvia's hair and chuckled.

She then said goodbye to Alexander and Sylvia before leaving.

Alexander then evaluated the fight. Based on the moves they used earlier, he could guess that both parties practiced Martial and Spirit paths. In terms of Spirit Cultivation, Sylvia was superior, and in terms of Martial Cultivation, she was still superior. Also, regarding their combat skills, Sylvia was really way ahead of Vincent; she can even dual-cast spells—a defensive shield and offensive spikes. This resulted in a one-sided battle. He could only get to one conclusion, his sister was 'kick ass'.

After the fight, they went to watch the play. Sylvia's eyes sparkled with enjoyment as she watched the performance.

When the play ended, the young lady from the caravan approached them. She introduced herself as Elaine, an actress in the play and a member of the traveling minstrels who entertained people in towns and at festivals.

She thanked Sylvia and Alexander for their help earlier. Though Elaine was very pretty and attractive, Alexander—who previously was twenty-four years old—felt completely disinterested, as she seemed too young for him. He really couldn't understand those old perverts who targeted children.

Sylvia asked, "Brother, why aren't you talking to that pretty sister? She's seriously very beautiful."

Alexander replied seriously, "What does a little kid like you know? I like them with nice curves."

Sylvia didn't understand and was confused, but Denis and Bertram understood.

Denis, "A man of 'Culture'"

Bertram, "Indeed."