Chapter 83: Don’t count on it

A minute or so passed with Delia’s eyes staring into Caius’ face, and it felt like more time had passed to her because after her short rant, with her chest heaving and upheaving, she waited for him to say something, and he just... didn’t.????????????????????????????????????????????????.???????????? And then he let out a sigh and looked away. "You’re right." He said. "What?" Delia retorted in a voice that carried so much, many necks cranked in their direction, but all turned away quickly enough. Caius chuckled a bit then, "Were you expecting me to argue? To tell you that you’re wrong? How stupid would that make me look to argue with someone about their own feelings and thoughts? If you say you don’t need friends, that’s valid." "Oh," Delia said and her arms loosened beneath her breasts but she didn’t let them drop yet and just looked confused about how she was supposed to respond now. She had been expecting this to go on for a bit longer. "Alright then," she eventually said. Caius nodded and went silent. Delia glanced to the side at him a few times and likely only stopped because a Portal Gate appeared against the wall and Professor Raoul Raoul arrived. "Good day students," he announced as he stepped onto the stage to address the class seated in a straight line in front of him. His eyes fell on Caius quickly and he smiled lightly. His eyes looked kind but amused as well. "Von Helsing," he said gently, "Are you alright? "Yes, Professor," Caius answered and his lips twitched a bit, knowing the concern was due to him getting knocked out in the last class, "It’s been a week. I’ve healed." "That’s good to hear. And you returned!" Raoul said and he sounded relieved as he clenched a fist in front of his face to say with intense eyes, "That’s good. As a Mage-Knight, you must be prepared to be knocked down. What matters is how you get back up." "Right, Professor," Caius said, "Thank you." Raoul nodded encouragingly and then got right into his Lectures. Caius wondered if he had been filled in on the details of the Drill during Combat Magic class earlier today. Surely, if the Mage-Knight Professor had learned about how he had fought during that drill, he wouldn’t be talking to him like this. The only conclusion Caius could arrive at was that Cynthia hadn’t offered that information to the ’Staff Room’, very likely because she was still pissed that Caius and her sister Delia had fought like Mage Knights. Further supporting this, was the fact that the details Cynthia had offered to the ’Staff Room’ last week were all about how Caius and Aurelius had defeated her in the Two-Ring Drill, and back then, they had both acted like actual Mages and not Mage-Knights. Caius had to endure many pitying looks from the Mage-Knight Training Professor and sometimes, it was even words and actions; For example, when the class was called up to the stage to get down and exercise their muscles, Professor Raoul kept telling Caius to take it easy, allowing him to go through less strenuous exercise regimens. Caius had to smile to himself at how counter-productive this was. After all, if he had been so pathetic to watch last week, then he should be getting worked even harder now to overcome that deficit. He even pointed this out but Raoul sighed, "If the great Lucian Von Helsing couldn’t make progress with your scrawny, weak— I mean, your underdeveloped body, then what hope do I have?" ’What the fuck?!’ Caius yelled in his head at how much that sounded like nonsense. His face turned slightly red like he was about to explode but then, he let it out in a heavy breath. "That’s it," Raoul said, misunderstanding why Caius was letting out a breath and thinking it was because the weak exercise was having an effect or was getting too much, "You must endure it. Push through it." Caius rolled his eyes at the ground but said nothing. At the end of the day, no matter how hard the exercises he was given were, they’d not affect him anyway. These exercises were meant to build one’s muscles to the peak they were allowed in their Circle. Which, for the whole class was the Third Circle. As a True Vampire, Caius was already at that peak. Only the Von Helsing Regimen which was meant to frustrate his body as no ordinary exercise could, would be able to have an effect. And that effect was not even about making his muscles stronger but was instead about getting him accustomed to them so he could pick them out and draw out their true potential. All in all, as annoying as it was to be singled out as the weakest in the class, Caius decided he didn’t care enough to be bothered. Also, it amused him that whenever he was being made to look weak, Baler would look like he was struggling and his expression came off as though he were constipated. It was hilarious. Baler had been on the receiving end of Caius’s strength and knew better than anyone else here that it was anything but weak. But that made him conflicted; On one hand, he was happy to see Caius essentially humiliated and talked down to. On the other hand, what did it say about him that he lost in what was basically a Mage-Knight fight against the supposed ’worst in the class’? It got to the point where Professor Raoul made another backhanded comment about how ’weak’ Caius was and the look on Baler’s face made him just have to crack a smile before he let out a little laugh. "He really needs to quit that," Delia said, frowning with her eyes on the Professor. "What?" Caius asked in surprise. "He needs to stop making you out as weak," Delia said. "Oh, my stars," Caius said in jest, "You care." Delia caught the joke and rolled her eyes. "It’s not about you. It’s about me. Calling you weak over and over again is making me look bad," Delia said, "Last week I defeated a Von Helsing in a Mage-Knight spar and this week, it’s all getting downplayed. It’s pissing me off!" Caius chuckled. "Stop it, I’m serious," Delia snapped at him, "And you’re not weak anyway. Not anymore. Not after today." "Thanks," Caius said still chuckling, "I guess." "Let’s go at it again," Delia said now with excitement and she looked to the side while making her eyes as imploring as possible. "Alright," Caius said. "Finally!" Delia said with a grin that brightened her beautiful face and with her grey eyes looking very intense, "Thought you were going to duck me forever." "Really? You just barely got me to agree and you’ll blow all that with that big mouth of yours?" Caius asked with a raised brow. Delia rolled her eyes, "Please, you’re not going to cancel," she said. "I could," Caius insisted. "Why would you? There’ll be no pressure," Delia said, "We’ll do it after school. Just us. We’ll use this classroom. The stage is perfect for a spar after all and seems appropriate that you get your ass beat on the same concrete as last week." "You’re pushing it," Caius said with a sigh but he was smiling. Delia caught that and she held her tongue out at him in the first show of whimsy Caius had ever seen on her. "I can see it on your face. You’re excited for it," she said. "Maybe I am. Just a little," Caius agreed. "What a masochist," Delia laughed. "I’m not going to lose a second time," Caius said, confidently. "We’ll see," Delia said, still laughing, "So we hang back after school for it?" "Not today," Caius said shaking his head. "Alright. Tomorrow then, after school," Delia amended. "That works," Caius said with a nod. "We should probably set some rules," Delia said. "Rules?" Caius asked in surprise. "Yeah," Delia answered, "Well, just one rule; No Magic." Caius’ brows furrowed now, "Why not? It’s a Mage-Knight spar. And to quote our ever-insulting Professor, what’s a ’Mage-Knight’ without Magic?" "We can do without and we will," Delia insisted, "I don’t trust you not to slip into the Mage mentality. So no magic, just fists. Deal?" Caius shook his head and chuckled. "Deal," he agreed. Delia grinned. "Nice," She said, "Get ready then. Tomorrow you get knocked out a second time." Caius smiled. "Don’t count on it."