Arthur's eyes shine with admiration as he listens to Alicia's words, another icy dagger in Draven's ego. But Arthur couldn't care less about his father's opinion now; he just nods to his aunt before returning his cold gaze to the young Master.
"No, no, please!!" The young Master keeps begging, his face a mess of despair as a stinky liquid runs down his pants.
That scene makes Alicia shake her head. "It's always like this: these pathetic nobles go around bullying the weaker ones until they meet someone stronger, and then they start begging pitifully... just finish him off, Arthur."
Arthur twirls his sword skillfully as he approaches the young Master, still trapped by Aria's magic. But Draven can't help but complain. "You don't need to do this, Arthur; look at him, he's just a scared boy... you've already proven to be stronger, now you can choose to be like him or teach him how to be better. You can influence all his future generations to-"
"Cut the shit off!" Alicia interrupts Draven again as she continues looking at Arthur. "The law of Lumindell is clear: if a noble offends someone from another noble family, the offended party can demand a fight to the death, not to mention they were the ones who attacked first with the intent to kill."
"Alicia is right," Aria comments as she holds the young Master trapped. "Don't hold back, darling; you have the right to defend your wife here."
"Ahhh, come on!!" Draven still complains, but Arthur just keeps walking towards the young Master. "I'm going to give you a chance," He speaks in a mocking tone and puts his sword back in his sheath, showing his empty hands. "Fight like a man or die like a worm."
"Hahaha!!" Alicia laughs cheerfully while Draven shakes his head. The young Master, on the other hand, remains terrified. But the desire to live surpasses any other feeling in his weak heart, and he tries to stand up, picking up his sword with trembling hands. "I-I-I... w-will kill y-you..."
Arthur sees his opponent stagger towards him, swinging his sword without any aptitude. The blade looks refined, even if very inferior to his, but it doesn't matter since Arthur can predict the pathetic movements of the young Master effortlessly.
The poor guy is also too shaken to use all his Fighter rank capabilities; not even his Noble Lineage can help now. Arthur watches his moves in slow motion and easily avoids his strikes. *Whoosh* With small steps, Arthur dashes around the young Master's blade, playing with him. *Shooosh*
"Damn bastard!" The little noble grows furious and swings his sword even more wildly. Arthur starts lightly hitting him on the head, making the guy even more desperate. "Stop it!! You son of a b-"
*BAM* Before the young Master can finish cursing, Arthur lands a mighty punch right in the middle of his face, breaking his nose with a crunch. *Crack* The young Master's blood splashes as he lets out a long, piercing cry and tumbles. "ARGHHHHH!!!"
Arthur doesn't waste time and lands a strong kick on the noble's ribs, his clothes also look like an artifact due to their resistance, but at most of common rarity, which partially diminishes the impact of Arthur's blow, but the guy still takes damage and suffers a world of pain. "AAAAHHH!!!"
"Do you think you can just come and try to hurt my wife?!" Arthur asks as he continues to kick his opponent on the ground. "And you still have the nerve to insult my mother?!?" He kicks the guy in the most sensitive non-lethal spots, ensuring he feels maximum pain.
Each blow is followed by an even more desperate scream; the young Master pees himself again and even shits himself due to the pain, creating a disgusting scene. At some point, Draven just turns around and walks back to Aria's house with a disappointed expression. Margaret and her parents don't enjoy such a scene, so Aria just hugs the girl, whispering that everything will be fine in her ear.
In a few minutes, Aria leaves the area in front of the tavern completely clean, only powerful mages being able to tell that there was a bloody battle there. Then she walks over to Arthur and Margaret to caress their hair. "It's time to go home."
"I just need to do one more thing," Arthur comments while holding Margaret's hand and entering the tavern, finding her parents with shocked expressions on their faces.
They are clearly trying to deal with everything they have seen, but Arthur does not hesitate and shows his hand holding Margaret's to them. "I'm not blaming you for what happened, but I can no longer allow Margaret to live here; we haven't yet had a proper ceremony, but it doesn't change the fact that she's going to be my wife, so I'm taking her to live with me from now on."
Margaret can't stop smiling, her eyes shining with tenderness. Her parents can see how happy she is with Arthur and how far he is willing to go to protect her, so naturally, they have no reason to refuse his request.
Mr. Carpenter falls on his knees in front of Arthur, trying to kiss his feet. "Please, take care of my little girl!" Arthur quickly steps back as Mrs. Carpenter tries to lift her husband while smiling at Arthur. "Don't mind us, useless old bones... we just wish you two happiness."
Arthur ignores Margaret's parents; he's still upset with them for the idea of giving her to random nobles. Then he looks at her and strokes her face tenderly. "Can we go, honey?"
"Ah, I need a few hours to pack my things," she gives him small kisses on the lips cutely. "Can you come back to pick me up later?"
"Of course, my love," Arthur smiles and kisses her passionately, hugging her waist before letting her go. "I'll be back in a few hours," he comments before leaving through the door.
Outside, Arthur finds Aria and Alicia smiling at him. "Let's go home," he comments in a cheerful tone.
"Mm," Aria nods and gestures with her hands, making the trio levitate in the air. This is the first time that Arthur is flying, and he is delighted with the feeling. "Whoah!!"
"You'll be able to do this someday as well on the Mystic Warrior Path, darling," Aria smiles as she quickly takes them home.
Still in the air, Alicia throws a teasing smile at Arthur. "Oh, I forgot to say it, my nephew... you have a beautiful fiancée; it's hard to believe she has a common lineage."
"Margaret is really adorable..." Arthur comments proudly. But he also thinks about Nyx and how his aunt would react knowing he has a succubus as his Astral beast.
'My father would certainly have one more reason to look down on me, but what about Alicia? She seems to be on the same wavelength as us... so maybe?' He speaks to Nyx mentally.
'I like her,' Nyx quickly responds.