219 This Match Is Over
“Uncle Soren, Grandpa said that you wanted to talk to me in private,” Ethan said as he approached the man who was standing straight with his arms clasped behind his back.
“Indeed,” Soren replied without turning around to look at Ethan.
“May I know the reason why?”
“Yes.”
Chloe’s father turned around to look at the young man with a solemn expression on his face.
“Have a spar with me,” Soren stated as he approached the tree and picked up his sword.
Ethan glanced at his Uncle’s weapon.
He noticed that there was a string that was looped around the scabbard, preventing anyone from drawing the sword.
“Why the sudden spar, Uncle?” Ethan asked as he stared at the man who was standing a few meters away from him with a sword in his hands.
Soren didn’t answer Ethan’s question. Instead, he asked the young man a question of his own.
“Do you like my daughter?” Soren asked.
“I do,” Ethan replied.
“Then fight me,” Soren stated. “If you can’t beat me, then don’t even think about courting my daughter. I will not give you my approval or my blessing.”
“I see.” Ethan nodded.
The handsome young man then took out the Moulding Ball from his storage ring. A few seconds later, the ball transformed into a wooden staff.
“Magic.” Soren narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t know that you were a Wizard, Ethan.”
“You’re only half right, Uncle,” Ethan replied as he took a fighting stance. “I’m a Dud.”
“Don’t call yourself Dad. You still haven’t married my daughter.”
“…”
Ethan was at a loss for words. However, before he could correct the other party, Soren had already charged and swung his sword towards Ethan’s shoulder.
Chloe’s father was quite annoyed by the fact that Ethan had brought home two other girls aside from his daughter.
He was a very perceptive man, so it was quite easy for him to tell that Luna and Emma liked Ethan.
Although the young man didn’t openly show his feelings for the two girls, he noticed that his gaze would soften whenever he looked at Luna.
This was more than enough to let Soren know that Ethan liked other girls as well.
Because of this, he planned to not only test how strong Ethan was but to also teach him a lesson for two-timing his daughter!
But before his sword could even hit Ethan’s shoulder, the young man side-stepped to his right side, avoiding his sword strike.
Soren was surprised because he initially expected that Ethan would block his sword strike.
He had placed the full weight of his body on that attack because he wanted to overpower the boy.
Ethan didn’t take advantage of Soren’s momentary surprise in order to launch an attack of his own.
He simply distanced himself from his Uncle and waited for him to recover.
“Not bad,” Soren commented. “Boy, I will not take it easy on you anymore. Are you ready?”
“I am ready, Uncle,” Ethan replied. “Come.”
Chloe’s father once again charged at Ethan with his sword held high. This time, he no longer underestimated the teenager and treated him like a Bandit who had come to take something very important from him.
Similar to what happened earlier, Ethan didn’t block Soren's attacks. He simply dodged with minimal movement and allowed his Uncle to unleash a flurry of strikes against him.
Not far from them, Benjamin was watching their spar with an amused expression on his face.
He was a farmer and not a fighter. Even so, he could tell that his grandson had the upper hand in the sparring match.
Benjamin was one of the two people who had raised Ethan, so he couldn’t help but feel smug after seeing his grandson’s performance.
Suddenly, he heard several footsteps, making him turn to see who was behind him.
“So this is where they are,” Jessica said as she looked at her husband and the handsome young man in the distance. “For him to give Soren this much trouble, it seems that he has experienced a lot in the academy.”
“That, he has,” Chloe replied. “He has been through a lot.”
“Hmm.” Jessica hummed before opening her folding fan and fanning herself. “Well, at least he knows how to protect himself. He has to be able to do at least that much to gain your father’s approval.”
Chloe’s cheeks reddened after hearing her mother’s words.
Truth be told, Jessica was also dissatisfied when she saw that there were two other ladies aside from their daughter at this little family reunion.
“The boy sure has improved a lot.” Agnes nodded her head in satisfaction. “If this goes on, he will defeat your husband without the need to land a blow on his body.”
“It’s too early to say that,” Jessica replied. “Although Soren has already retired from Guard Duty, he still trains his sword skills twice a week. Ethan will not be able to beat him that easily.”
“Of course, Ethan will beat him,” Agnes smirked. “After all, he is my grandson.”
“… Just where are you getting that confidence of yours, Sister?” Jessica shook her head helplessly.
“He inherited my genes. Do I need to say anything else?”
“… You adopted him, remember? He’s not related to our family by blood.”
“Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Agnes shrugged. “Aren’t you happy that he isn’t related to us by blood? If he were blood-related, it would not be possible for Chloe to be his wife.”
Chloe’s face turned crimson, but there was a smile on her face. Getting the old lady’s recognition was a very important thing because it affected her future.
Jessica didn’t have a comeback, so she decided to just observe the sparring match from where she stood.
A few minutes later, she noticed that her husband was starting to pant heavily, while the handsome young man still looked composed.
Aside from the few beads of sweat on Ethan’s forehead, his breathing was still steady, which surprised Jessica.
“Do you only know how to dodge?” Soren asked. “Is running all you can do?”
Ethan smiled before taking a fighting stance.
“It’s my turn to attack, Uncle,” Ethan stated. “Are you ready?”
Soren steadied his breathing before taking a fighting stance. “Come.”
Both men took a step forward and clashed.
A moment later, Soren found himself lying on the ground facing the sky.
His weapon lay several meters away from him, and his chest was heaving up and down due to exhaustion.
Ethan on the other hand, stood a few meters away from him, with the butt of the staff resting on the ground.
“It’s my win, Uncle,” Ethan said. “Do you want to fight another round?”
The corner of Soren’s lips twitched after hearing Ethan’s challenge. Even though he could still fight, he was certain that no matter what he did, he wouldn’t be able to land a blow on Ethan.
Because of this, he accepted his loss with grace and shook his head.
“It’s your win,” Soren replied. “This match is over.”
Ethan smiled and reached out his hand in order to help his uncle stand up.
Soren reluctantly accepted Ethan’s gesture and propped himself up from the ground.
“We’ll talk again later,” Soren said. “I still have many things to ask you.”
Ethan could tell that his Uncle wanted to ask him a few things. But since they had company, this wasn’t the right time to talk about these things.
“Understood.” Ethan nodded. “Let’s talk again later, Uncle.”
“Mmm.” Soren nodded before giving his wife a meaningful glance.
A moment later, he walked toward the house.
Ethan, on the other hand, walked toward the peanut gallery, where the others had watched the battle from a distance.
When he was only a few meters away from him, Emma took a step forward and wiped Ethan’s forehead with her handkerchief.
‘This b*tch,’ Chloe thought.
She was already holding a handkerchief in her hand, but Emma still beat her to it.
However, to her surprise, Luna walked towards Ethan and also wiped his cheeks, and neck with her own handkerchief, making Chloe feel left out.
A moment later, he joined the two ladies and wiped Ethan’s other cheek, making the corner of her mother’s lips twitch.
Agnes, on the other hand, looked at this scene with a big smile on her face.
Clearly, she was very happy at the attention that her grandson was getting.
Her husband, Benjamin, who was standing right beside her, smiled at his grandson.
‘That’s right, Ethan,’ Benjamin thought. ‘Live the dream.’
Jessica could only shake her head helplessly as she looked at this scene. She didn’t like what she was seeing.
But since her daughter wasn’t saying anything, she decided to have a private talk with Ethan later and ask him what his relationship with Luna and Emma was.
If she disliked the reply she'd hear, then she would make sure to have a long talk with her daughter and dissuade her from pursuing the handsome young man, whom she had loved for several years.
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