Crushing flags and claiming the Villainess - Chapter 127

Chapter 127: Chapter 126- Family
Inside the carriage, silence persisted for too long. After all, one of the six lost to Valerie in the trials, and one lost to Austin.

Well, in Valerie’s case, it was expected. However, the humiliation Elara had to face after her defeat against a D-rank warrior was immense.

Although she got selected as an Elite thanks to her other matches, she hasn’t forgotten what she faced back in the arena.

‘Agh…just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt…’ She massaged the spot which was beaten black and blue during their match.

She has yet to understand how someone tracked her teleportation. She was in self-doubt for a very long, thinking that maybe there was some kind of loop that might give away her presence, rendering her skill useless.

It was the biggest horror of her life, that threatened her until she faced her next match—and seamlessly overwhelmed her opponent. Not only that, she even went against an A-rank later and even won that.

Crazy!

That helped her realize that it was only one guy in her whole life who had found a loophole in her Shard’s technique.

Although she was eager to ask him what it was so her future opponents couldn’t exploit it, she was hesitant to talk to him.

‘Guh…look at those creeps.’ A tremor snaked through her spine, seeing Valerie and Austin being all lovely dovey. Get a room or something!

“By the way, Austin. Have you thought of re-evaluation?” The only person Elara genuinely admires in the whole carriage is Junior Rudolph!

“I am not exactly sure if I should…you see, my Shard has yet to evolve.”

The loser spoke….but, since Elara lost to him, isn’t she a bigger loser?

‘Agh…how did I lose to someone who is still at stage zero? I need to train!’

While Elara was going through her inner conflict, Rudolph added, “They don’t ask for your Shard’s stage; they give you a set of trials to determine your rank. Only below B-rank though.”

If one wants to be ranked A or S then their Shard must have gone through evolutions.

“He is right, and as of now, I think you may have reached B-rank?” Rhea added, and that made Austin smile,

“Nope, I haven’t reached B-rank yet—well, not completely. Although I have the speed, without strength and the support of my Shard, I might be just C-rank. So getting a promotion of a single rank doesn’t sound tempting to me.”

Hearing the lack of motivation in his voice made Rhea feel sad and guilty somehow.

Even Valerie had a sad expression, seeing her Lord lacking confidence.

Austin generally doesn’t sound this dejected, however, after his loss against that Minotaur, he feels that he still has some progress to make to become a B-rank.

And then there was the trauma of being nearly killed by the demon too—which had given him a nightmare last night, and Austin ended up waking up late today.

‘I can’t let this feeling drag me down during the competition…’ Deciding to get rid of this clog in his mind, he resolved to dwell in the dungeon today and defeat the mid-boss anyhow.

Since there was a day for the tournament to begin, he would get enough time to rest. So, no problem with that.

°°°°°°

The sky darkened, and the wind was strong, but in the forest, it was bearable.

Since it would take another six hours to reach and they had enough time, Harold told the carriage drivers to stop.

Students slowly began to get out of their carriages, as Harold told them, “Start building the camp. Twenty minutes.”

The students were no longer moving leisurely and instantly began to take out the camp canvas nails and other equipment.

Valerie and Austin stepped out and the first thing Anna told them was, “Go bring wood from the forest. A lot of them.”

Austin and Valerie glanced at each other before they nodded, “Okay.”

Since they had to do something, why not bring wood?

Rudolph and Rhea were given separate tasks; the boy was told to help in holding the tent while the pinkhead was asked to help in preparing the ingredients for dinner.

The forest was too silent, to the point of being eerie.

Austin was holding a small lantern that allowed them to see in the dense forest.

*Krik* *Krik*

The sound of the nocturnal creatures echoed occasionally; however, other than that, there was no sighting of any wild beasts.

Valerie slowly brought her hand to hold the hem of his shirt, before she asked, “Are you okay?”

Hearing her voice, he realized that he indeed made her worried by how he reacted back in the carriage.

“Well…it still haunts me sometimes…what I faced back in Drenovar.” He didn’t hide it from her since she was the only person who wouldn’t use his failures against him under any circumstances.

Valerie bit her lip, feeling frustrated with herself that she wasn’t there when her Lord needed her and something disastrous happened.

She knew the situation he faced would leave lasting damage on his psyche. However, despite having the expectation, seeing him like this, made her feel extremely guilty and sad.

“Val…” Suddenly, Austin pulled Valerie behind a tree, startling the girl.

He even pressed his hand against her lips, preventing her from making a sound.

She looked at him in surprise, before asking him with her brows elevating.

Austin slowly removed his hand from her mouth before pointing in the direction they were heading to.

Valerie slowly turned to look over her shoulder, only to find a small pack of wolves.

There were two big ones and several small ones, making a shelter under a tree and having their family time.

The white wolf was licking the little one’s fur, while the patchy one was playing with the other two kids.

“Doesn’t it look comfortable…and admirable?” Austin softly muttered as he saw the family.

Valerie hummed before she turned to look at him.

The look in his eyes made her feel fuzzy inside as she held his shirt and asked, “Do you like children?”

Austin smilingly nodded.”I do…and I want to make a big family where we won’t need to worry about any kind of danger. Just you and me, and our little ones.” Austin leaned closer and softly tapped his forehead against hers.

Valerie closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of her Lord’s words seeping inside her.

The very thought of building a family with the one she loves made her extremely excited yet calmed her down at the same time.

In the end, the only words that came out were, “I also do.”

°°°°°°°

A/N:- You know a person who doesn’t do anything but relax your mind just being around you? Valerie is like that for him.

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