Next Morning ~
The next morning, Ares woke up feeling exhausted after a long and eventful night. His thoughts were still fixed on the contents of the letter that Ivica had left for him, but he decided to push it aside and focus on the day ahead.
Today was the opening ceremony of the tournament, and Ares had to leave for the Golden Colosseum immediately. He took a quick shower and got dressed in his academy uniform.
As he stepped out of his room, he was surprised to see Livia standing outside his door.
"Ares?" Livia said, jumping into his arms for a hug.
Ares hugged her back, happy to see her. "Livia, you didn't leave for the Golden Colosseum with the others?" Ares asked, slightly confused.
"No, I didn't," Livia said, puffing out her cheeks slightly. "I was waiting for your call. You said you'd let me know when you got back to the academy, but you didn't. Why?" she asked, looking at Ares with a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
"Sorry, some things came up and it was already pretty late when I arrived at the academy," Ares apologized with a smile.
Livia looked slightly disappointed, but then her expression brightened. "I see... Did you have breakfast?" she asked, her stomach rumbling audibly.
Ares hesitated, knowing they were already running late for the opening ceremony.
"...."
"No, we don't really have time for that. We're already late," he said, as he grabbed Livia's hand and hurriedly moved outside the dorm building.
However, Livia didn't seem to be deterred.
"Eh? I'm hungry though. And I also bought breakfast for both of us so we can eat together," she said, trying to keep up with Ares's quick pace.
"Since we don't have much time, you can enjoy your breakfast in the car. The Golden Colosseum is about an hour away from our academy," Ares said as they quickly left the academy premises.
When they arrived at the academy gate, Meira was already waiting in front of her car. She looked confused when she saw Livia, but she quickly held open the back door for Ares.
"Good morning, Master. I see you have a guest," Meira said with a smile, glancing at Livia.
"Good morning, Meira. Yes, this is Livia. She's a friend of mine," Ares explained as they both got into the car.
Meira greeted Livia with a nod and a smile before starting the car engine with a soft hum and getting into the driver's seat. She adjusted the mirrors and fastened her seatbelt before smoothly pulling out onto the road toward Golden Colosseum.
"So, who is she?" Livia asked as soon as the car began to move, pointing at Meira.
Meira focused her gaze on Ares from her rearview mirror, curious to hear his response.
"She's my personal maid, Meira," Ares introduced.
Hearing Ares call her "my," Meira disregarded the next part and had a bright smile on her face as she now began to focus on the road ahead.
"Personal maid? She seems to be an assassin from how much bloodlust is oozing from her," Livia muttered nonchalantly.
Ares was surprised to hear her statement and how quickly she was able to recognize Meira as an assassin.
"Anyway, I understand she is your maid, but why is Miss Roselia accompanying us?" Livia spoke again, her gaze now fixed on Rose, who was sitting in the front seat beside Meira.
"...."
Ares paused, caught off guard by the question. "Well, even I don't know why miss Roselia is here," he admitted.
He asked Irethiel to let Meira stay at Rose's mansion as well with her when she arrived after transporting the vehicle yesterday.
"Rose also has to be there at the tournament, but she was waiting for my return," Irethiel's voice echoed telepathically in Ares's mind.
"I see," Ares replied as he nodded understandingly.
"Haha, please don't mind me, if you want, you two can act lovey-dovey in the back seats. Treat me like I am invisible," Rose said with a chuckle from the front seat.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Meira gave her a deadly glare that silenced her laughter.
"...."
"Then, don't mind if we do," Livia said as she abruptly took out a sandwich from her storage ring and unwrapped it.
She gestured it toward Ares's mouth and said, "Say, Ahhh."
!?
Ares looked at her in surprise, but he couldn't help but chuckle. "I can eat with my own hands, thank you," he said.
"Are you getting shy because of Miss Roselia? Don't worry, just treat her as if she isn't there," Livia said with a smile.
Ares took the sandwich from Livia's hand and instead moved it toward her mouth. "Here, you seem more hungry than me, so you can have it," he said.
Livia didn't hesitate to take a bite of the sandwich and began munching. She then took out another sandwich from her storage ring and passed it to Ares. "I had another one for you," she said with a grin.
Rose tried to stifle a laugh as she watched the exchange between Ares and Livia.
As they both munched on their sandwiches, Ares asked, "So, why were you so worried about me all of a sudden? I was surprised to see so many messages from you."
Livia hesitated for a moment before answering, "I-It's nothing serious, forget about it," and began eating faster.
Sensing her discomfort, Ares had a feeling he knew what might be bothering her.
"So, did you beat your fiancé?" he asked bluntly.
Livia's eyes widened and she began to choke on her food.
Cough—Cough—
Ares quickly retrieved a water bottle from his inventory and handed it to her.
After she had finished drinking, she asked him, "H-How did you know about that? Did my father or mother contact you? Or maybe his family? Or—" She continued to ask questions.
"No one contacted me," Ares cut her off and replied. "It was just a guess."
"Y-You guessed?" Livia repeated incredulously. "H-How could you just guess something like that?"
"It's just that I know you too well, and seeing your reaction, it seems like you mentioned me to them," Ares said, observing Livia's demeanor closely.
"I-I'm sorry for involving you in this," Livia apologized, her head hung low.
"What did you tell them exactly? That you were worried they'd come after me?" Ares asked, his curiosity piqued.
Livia hesitated for a moment before responding, "...I told them that I already have someone I like," she admitted, leaving out Ares' name and other details.
Ares paused, taking a moment to process her words. "So you told them that you liked me, and when they didn't agree with your wishes, you beat the shit out of your fiancé," he summarized, his tone was that of amazement.
Once again, Livia was taken aback by Ares' accurate speculation.
"I-I just beat him slightly," she protested.
"By slightly, do you mean you beat him to within an inch of his life?" Ares probed, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.
'There is no such thing as beating up slightly in Livia's dictionary, I can only imagine her sudden concern means her father is trying to come after me.
As before we met, Livia never went against her father's wishes, so he might be assuming I've brainwashed and spoiled her,' Ares thought to himself, a wide grin spreading across his face.
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