Chapter 343
Chapter 343
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 343
Chapter Title: Pride and Prejudice (2)
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1.
Three days of secluded training.
Diana threw herself into studying magic and delving into Wizboard to prepare for her rematch.
It wasn't a terribly long life for an apprentice witch, but this was the first time she'd ever dug so deeply into a single thing.
No matter how fun Wizboard was, it was still just a game in the end.
She'd never felt the need to carve out special time just to study it.
But for the first time, she realized something.
That vengeful fury could be a powerful enough motivator to overcome her innate laziness.
Count Yesod had already gone through more than a hundred handkerchiefs wiping away tears as he watched Diana holed up in her room from morning till late at night, absorbed in her studies. One could easily imagine the intensity of her passion.
She analyzed records of famous witches' games and pored over magic books to study dispel techniques, which she'd always felt were her weak point.
And after linking it to Siu's style and analyzing it, Diana uncovered something astonishing.
"What a brazen liar..."
That male witch was absolutely, positively not a beginner.
Absolutely not.
He laid down groundwork in advance and casually nailed dispel angles whenever he needed to.
Flipping through the records, she discovered this was a tactic specialized by a witch from around the 19th century.
Of course, he'd added his own arrangement, but the positioning and methods were nearly identical.
Even the part where he clustered three mana sources into one point to boost penetration power was similar.
The tricky dispel method that a mere male witch couldn't possibly have invented on his own was nothing more than a copycat ploy.
And yet he'd pretended it was his first time trying it.
Pretended he'd never heard or seen it before.
He lulled Diana into complacency and brazenly stole the victory.
Of course, she had no intention of calling him out on it.
As dirty and underhanded as it was, she'd lost the final round not to a dispel but in the all-out brawl. Raking it up now wouldn't change a thing.
"But... I've already prepared my surefire winning strategy...!"
Even so, Diana's growth after diving seriously into her studies was ferocious.
She'd finished reinforcing her strength by about 1.5 times what it was.
With countermeasures now in place for the one wildcard—dispel pins—defeat was impossible.
Diana kicked back her chair and strode toward the host bar with majestic steps.
2.
"Um... Siu is already with a guest right now."
Diana arrived at 7 a.m., her heart brimming with vengeance cold enough to frost the fifth lunar month.
She'd come early for plenty of duel time, but Siu didn't come out to greet her.
Instead, the doorman she'd seen before looked troubled as he gazed at her.
"Can't I just order more expensive drinks?"
"H-Hold on...! P-Please wait a moment...!"
"I don't have time to wait. Take me to him. Now."
The old Diana might have waited or come back tomorrow.
But not now.
She no longer had the luxury. She'd trained so fiercely that nothing short of knocking that man flat would satisfy her.
Diana brushed past the flustered doorman and headed straight for table one, where Siu always sat.
Her footsteps thudded with emotion, and the moment she yanked open the temporary blind—
Three pairs of startled eyes turned toward her sudden appearance.
"...H-Hi there?"
"......"
"......"
Completely unexpected company was with Siu.
A hat larger than her face, a dress as extravagantly expensive-looking as Diana's own.
A delicate black-haired apprentice witch with luxurious curls, purple eyes, and an adorably doll-like face—the very image of cuteness.
"Huh? You?"
The daughter of her mom's friend, who always played supporting role whenever Lucy scolded Diana.
The only twin witches who felt like one person, apprentice witches of the Jemernai earl family—here of all places.
"The lazybones?"
"The apprentice witch who never listens to her mom?"
Diana bristled at the twins' bizarre assessment now that they recognized her.
"Don't call me that."
The Yesod and Jemernai families had dealings, so she knew the twins by sight.
But that was it—no real friendship.
So she had no idea why they were here.
But beyond the twins' sudden presence, another shocking sight caught Diana off guard.
They were plastered right up against Siu, one on each side.
If you judged intimacy by proximity, that was lover-level closeness. One of them was even spearing fruit appetizers on a fork and feeding them into the man's mouth.
"I was going to introduce you, but you already know each other."
"Nah, not really close."
"We just know each other's faces."
Diana gaped, stunned, as Siu casually accepted the fruit and the greeting.
She had no clue what was going on.
But why an apprentice witch from another family looked so chummy with this male witch was none of her business.
The only thing that mattered to Diana right now was revenge and vindication.
So she declared it boldly.
"I'm here for a rematch."
"Rematch?"
"There are other people here, so get out of the way."
Diana planted her hands on her hips and proclaimed it solemnly.
Even as fellow earl family apprentices, there was a gap between them.
Her opponents were still in training, not yet ready to inherit their stigma.
Diana, meanwhile, was an apprentice three years ahead in succession rite education.
Older, and superior in magic skill too.
She figured she could make such a demand with confidence.
"Who the hell are you? Why butt in? You close with our assistant?"
One twin glared daggers at Diana, brows arched sharply.
"Assistant, you said you'd play with us today."
The other tilted her head cutely while clutching Siu's hand tight.
Their reactions differed, but they shared one thing: ignoring Diana's words completely and showing zero intention of budging.
"You're just gonna chat anyway. My reason for coming is way more important, so make room... "
"Oh? Wizboard. Assistant, you know how to play Wizboard?"
"We're pretty good at this. Wanna try with us?"
"Don't ignore me!"
But the twins seemed to lose interest in the intruder and refocused on Siu.
Diana shifted her gaze to him and unleashed a tirade.
Talking to the twins seemed pointless anyway.
"Play me first! You told me to come back, so I did!"
"I figured you wouldn't show up again after disappearing for days..."
Diana nagged relentlessly while Siu looked awkward.
Watching this, Odil piped up sharply in displeasure.
"Hey, we reserved him first. Why cut in line? You closer to the assistant than us?"
"Did you just say 'hey'?"
"That's what guilty people do. Nitpick words."
"I'm not nitpicking...! My business looks more important, so I'm seeing him first...!"
"Important or not, we got here first. Why are you being so pushy?"
"Assistant, why'd she even come here?"
"Let's not fight, everyone. I'll explain."
Siu took time to explain the situation to the twins.
Hearing it, they looked at Diana with a strange glint in their eyes.
The hostility had eased, replaced by relief and a hint of triumph.
"Ah, so you're not a thing at all? Just played a few games?"
"Then she should be the one to leave. As if that could come between us. No chance."
"Diana, I'm thrilled you came back, but as you can see, Odil and Odet booked me first. It'd be awkward to kick them out like you said."
Diana seethed even more at how the three sided together.
She bit her lip hard and plopped down in front of Siu.
"Fine, I won't make you leave separately. Let's just play."
"Odil, Odet. My work wraps up today, and I'll make time this evening. Mind if we all play together?"
The twins exchanged quick glances.
"If the assistant's okay with it, sure. We don't mind!"
"Me too! I wanna see how you play anyway!"
"Thank you."
One sidelong glance at the trio's surprisingly chummy vibe.
Diana activated Wizboard and steadied her mind.
She had plenty she wanted to say and ask, but with the twins watching, it felt awkward to bring it up.
How was she supposed to admit she'd lost to a man at Wizboard—and studied her butt off out of sheer frustration?
"You first. And..."
"Yes."
"...play for real this time. I'm not falling for it anymore."
In the end, her roundabout warning kicked off the game.
Diana took a small deep breath and made her moves calmly.
This wasn't like before, when she rigidly stuck to textbook fundamentals.
To force a clear either-or choice, she needed varied builds to keep the opponent guessing.
Diana steadily claimed runes as usual while pressuring him, ready to charge in and fight at any moment.
Not blindly chasing stability or an early rush, but balancing in the midgame.
"Hmm..."
Maybe it was her imagination, but she could definitely read the flow better now.
Her pragmatic tactics—discard what to discard, seize what to seize—racked up small gains steadily.
When Siu seemed to lay a dispel groundwork, she chased it down and disrupted it, blocking variables thoroughly.
But separately, it was impressive.
Siu's mana source buildup was a one-trick early-game setup that ran out of steam by midgame.
Yet here they were nearing the end of midgame, and it was still neck-and-neck.
Advantage-wise, maybe 5.5 to 4.5 her favor.
Even under endless pressure, he found breakthroughs with pinpoint strikes and clung to the fight.
But no matter how vast the Wizboard, moves were finite.
Even a serpent writhing desperately would burst if squeezed long enough.
Diana read the board calmly, ever wary of dispels to the end.
-Clack!
As Diana placed her stone, the twins' chatter picked up, bored.
More precisely, not advice or anything—just side commentary between themselves.
"Uh, that's not how you do it..."
"Why put it there?"
She ignored them.
Game noobs say stuff like that.
No need to respond.
"Putting it there grabs the big demon."
"She plays so weirdly..."
"But the assistant's really good."
"He's amazing, assistant!"
Just block your ears and ignore.
The big demon flickering in her mind moments ago was a trap.
A dangerous pitfall that would suck her in the instant she moved.
And they didn't even realize—blabbing away even as the board favored her.
Unable to take it, Diana spoke up.
"Hey, could you close your mouths?"
"We're letting you play even though we came first? Can't we even whisper among ourselves?"
"What a nasty attitude."
"Ugh, fine... Talk all you want."
Not entirely wrong, which only pissed her off more.
But whatever.
Results would prove it.
Yet the twins' sporadic mind games scratched at Diana's mentality.
She made a stupid move she'd never normally play—a classic brain fart.
"Ah..."
Realizing her mistake too late, Diana winced inwardly.
And despite her prayers he'd miss it, Siu pounced sharply.
The taut tug-of-war suddenly faltered on her end.
"Urk...!"
Diana scrambled to recover with follow-ups.
Siu pursued tenaciously, ultimately landing the very dispel she'd braced for.
One slip, and the board flipped.
"As expected, no one beats the assistant."
"Assistant! You're the best!"
Diana hung her head, shoulders trembling with rage.
Siu hushed the twins.
No need to pour oil on the fire.
"Odil, Odet, enough. Diana, that was a razor-close match. If not for that one midgame slip..."
"We know!"
Diana ground her teeth and glared at the twins.
"You two so great at Wizboard? Then play me."
Siu had been her rage target until she sat down, but now these interfering pests grated more.
"Oho? Gonna take us on?"
"Gaming's our specialty. You confident?"
Odil arched a brow and scoffed, accepting the sudden challenge.
Odet crossed her arms, rising to the provocation.
"I'm confident, that's why. But let's bet. Loser leaves."
To sweep away these saboteurs and claim one proper duel, Diana flung down the gauntlet spectacularly.