Again, they were amazed when they entered a large room in the house. Their gazes were met by a floor tiled with black and white marble checkerboard, combined with walls decorated with gold carvings with candle holders.
Igor Kozlov smiled with satisfaction when he saw the expressions of his guests. “Welcome to….”
“Food,” Kimi muttered, then walked towards one of the large tables filled with various kinds of meat.
“I have to admit, this place is amazing.” Lauren advanced past Igor, looking up at the long flags on the ceiling. Each flag is golden, with a picture of two red goats standing opposite each other.
“Despite what happened, thanks for letting us in.” Alain tapped Igor on the shoulder and lined up with Lauren. “Our income has been decreasing lately. We haven’t had a good meal in a while.”
Igor widened his smile, then spoke to Elise. “Enjoy the party. Let your dog be our business. We will take good care of it, even to risk our lives.”
“Thanks,” Elise answered.
Mona has been entrusted to the head of the animal caretaker at the house, whatever that means..
Yua raised an eyebrow when she found the luxuriously dressed guests looking at her and Elise.
“Don’t worry too much about it. They’re just really impressed with your performance in the tournament.” Igor explained when Lauren and Alain joined Kimi to get food. Then, he pointed in a direction. “Ah, there they are.”
The dark-skinned woman with a curvy body waved to Raymund’s two servants. She was accompanied by a large man with a muscular build and red hair.
“Oh, hey.” Yua displayed a friendly smile to those who were fellow tournament participants. Trish Adeshida and Oleg Ivanov. “Long time no see.”
Trish, Elise’s first opponent in the tournament, narrowed her eyes at the female warrior. “Is it just my feelings, but do you seem to be getting stronger?”
“Thanks? I guess?” Elise flashed her trademark awkward smile.
“I want to fight you again,” Oleg spoke with a full mouth. He was holding a giant piece of meat still attached to a bone. “Do you have time after this, Alice?”
“My name is Elise…”
“I would love to see you two fight again.” Igor chuckled. “But, maybe now isn’t the right time.”
Elise looked around. “Where are the others?”
“I heard Stefan freaked out when he heard I was going to the party too.” Oleg laughed aloud. “Even though I wouldn’t have slammed him if he didn’t attack me first or we were in an official match.”
“Looks like Leonov wasn’t invited because he had beef with Renee Emilien.” Trish glanced at Igor.
“And Olga is busy running her now-bigger waffle shop,” Igor added, ignored Trish. “She has no time to come to this country.”
“I see…” Elise was disappointed that she couldn’t meet her friend. She had been excited when she heard that the other tournament participants were also coming.
“Too bad, even though I want to see that ultimate milf again,” Raymund commented.
Yua put her hands on her hips and smiled again. “Well, we’d better enjoy it while we’re here…”
“Elisee!!!”
The female warrior was very familiar with that woman’s voice. When she turned in a direction, she saw Renee running towards her in a luxurious light blue dress. As usual, the blonde woman jumped up and hugged the female warrior.
“Save me!!! I don’t like this dress, and I want more adventure!!!” Renee screamed like she was crying, though it was clear she was faking it. “I want to get out of here!!!”
A woman in a silver dress and yellow hair like Igor’s rushed over to Renee.
“Please, behave like a real noble lady, Miss Emilien.” The woman released Renee’s body from Elise. “How many times have I advised you? You’re the center of attention, but not everything is positive.”
Renee stuck her tongue out at the woman, whose veins in her neck were immediately visible.
“That’s my sister, Anna Kozlov,” Igor told Raymund’s servants. “She is the fifth child of the Kozlov family.”
“Ah.” Yua nodded, thinking that the woman was another referee in the tournament.
“And the person I hate the most in this world came.” Renee snorted, looking intently at a man with thinly cut hair and wearing white armor and a silver robe.
“I’m assuming he’s your future husband, Renee?” Yua whistled when she saw the man’s sturdy and tall body.
Raymund cleared his throat so hard that Elise and Kimi looked up, while Yua just flashed a mischievous smile.
“Please, don’t do anything vulgar like that again, my wife.” The man stopped in front of Renee, who had an arrogant face and folded her arms across her chest. Then, he glanced at Anna Kozlov. “It should be your job to make her behave better, my dear sister.”
“I’ve told you many times, haven’t I? My words are not magic that can make your future wife obey instantly?” Anna was clearly holding back so her voice wouldn’t sound loud. “And who suddenly wants to get married? We were barely able to prepare all of this because the timeframe you set was so short, my dear older brother Daniil. Of course, I don’t have time to educate your future wife.”
“I’ve been thinking about this marriage for quite some time after that tournament.” The man named Daniil turned to Renee again. “Come on, my wife. Your place is up front with me.”
Renee sighed as Daniil reached out. “At the very least, I want to speak to my friends for a moment. I’ll follow up later. And you Kozlovs go first. I want some privacy sometimes. And don’t call me your wife. We’re not officially married yet.”
“Okay, but don’t take too long, or the guests will think we’re not good hosts.” Daniil gestured to his two siblings, then the three of them left.
“I can’t talk to you girls for too long.” Renee took out the folded paper hidden between her breasts, then handed it to Elise. “Please, I really need your help.”
“Renee!” Lauren called from a distance.
The blonde-haired woman turned to the sorcerer. “Laureen!!! Alaiiin!!!”
And she ran to her two adventurous friends.
Elise then unfolded the paper, which read:
‘I was always blindfolded when I left or came back from the room, so I didn’t know where I was trapped. Their guard was really tight, and I couldn’t do anything about it. However, Sir Raymund will surely come up with a brilliant plan to save me!’
“If I may comment…” Yua scratched her head as she read the letter. “The writing is so bad. Can you read it, Elise?”