The Duke's Passion

823  Cousins

"Now!"

Boom!

Everyone was caught off guard at the sudden crash near Claude and the warrior's vantage point. They were frozen on their spot, seeing that the smoke crawled in their direction until it stopped right beside Claude. Everyone's eyes were wide, unknowingly holding their breaths, watching the thick smoke rise in the air. Silence followed the crash, hearing some soft noises from debris falling on the ground. All eyes were still on the thick smoke that enveloped Claude in an instant. When the smoke thinned out, the warriors caught two silhouettes: one was standing while the other one was slumped on the ground. "Oy, young warrior…" called a warrior to Claude, making Claude look back at them.

"I'm fine." Claude looked back, flashing them a reassuring smile. The smoke was already thin enough for them to see him smiling. "Did anyone get hurt?"

"Uhh…" the warriors looked at each other, and upon confirming none of them got hurt, they looked back at him. They shook their heads before an old warrior spoke. "No one got hurt, fortunately." Since it took them a moment to follow Claude's instructions, they were certain they wouldn't get hurt. The person came flying to them — crashing into the ground and stopped beside Claude. Only when everything appeared clear did the warriors catch the sword that was plunged into the ground. Claude was resting his palm on the sword impaled on the ground. The other person beside Claude was on his knees. His heel, however, was pressed on the sword. That was how Claude stopped the person from ramming through them. Amazing. But who was this person?

Curiosity soon hovered in the warriors' minds as their eyes lingered on the other man's back. The latter had broad shoulders and back, and despite just seeing his back, one could tell his physique resulted from regular training. "Sir Knight, just what the hell are you doing?" Ignoring the curious eyes of the warriors, Claude set his eyes on the person kneeling beside him. "You nearly killed them."

The smoke where Claude was standing cleared up, revealing Rufus's stern countenance. Rufus snapped his eyes up at Claude before rising to his feet.

"Apologies," said Rufus, turning around to face the warrior. "I didn't mean to startle you."

The moment the warriors caught Rufus's face, their eyes slowly dilated. As the warriors in the Colosseum, they had grown used to getting familiar with faces. One particular face everyone remembered was this man, who entered the Colosseum at the same time as Claude. Ironically, although Claude was known as someone who appeared to enjoy the fights in the arena the most, Rufus was more popular among the warriors. The reason for that was because not only Rufus was strong but also, he was mysterious. Rufus never mingled with other warriors, always with himself. Most of the time, he would spend his day and even night training himself. Even in his own cell, there was not a moment anyone had seen him sit still. He would always either meditate or work out, doing thousands of push-ups without taking a break. His dedication somehow made him stand out. Hence, warriors were wary of him. What was this guy doing here? The warriors darted their eyes between Rufus and Claude, and then it clicked. Rufus and Claude entered the Colosseum around the same time. It wasn't new for new warriors entering the Colosseum, so no one suspected that these two actually knew each other. "You two…" a warrior mumbled, raising a finger at Rufus and then at Claude.

"Ahh…" Claude laughed and clapped. "Right. Sir Knight, our colleagues, hadn't known that we're actually cousins!"

"Colleague?" Rufus furrowed his brows, casting Claude a side-eye. Did Claude think battling in the Colosseum was just nothing but legal work? Also, Rufus didn't recall having such a cousin.

"My uncle is his dad." Claude pointed at Rufus with his thumb, casually explaining to the warriors about their relationship. "You know my uncle? The one we left in the Colosseum. That's his dad! So, don't worry about him. He can be trusted."

Rufus maintained his stoic countenance, even though he had a strong sense of correcting him. Or at least, give enlightenment to these people. However, it was pointless. Whether they knew him as someone else's child or slave didn't matter. There was a more important thing at hand. "I see…" the warrior heaved a sigh of relief, assuming Rufus was also at their side. Another capable person was on their side, which was better. "But why… how did Rookie come flying here?"

Claude's lips parted before realization struck him. "That's right." He turned his head in Rufus's direction. "Sir Knight cousin, who are you fighting against? It seemed you were sent flying from far away."

BOOM!

The moment Claude's inquiry rolled out of his tongue, another bam erupted behind them unannounced. The knights flinched, and some of them ducked in surprise. Meanwhile, Rufus's expression turned firm while Claude raised a brow. Both Rufus and Claude slowly turned around, facing ahead. Their eyes settled on the thick smoke descending and ascending.

"Someone troublesome," answered Rufus after some time. "I was five towns before the east border before Acheron Roseberg sent me flying." n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Sir knight cousin… that's new." Claude was rather in awe at the brief explanation. "Who would have thought this guy will manage to send you flying?"

Rufus didn't explain how and why; he didn't have time to tell Claude that Acheron was already dead, but came back to life. Or rather, Acheron had already lost consciousness, just going berserk.

"Acheron…?" the knight closest to the two heard Acheron's name. Acheron Roseberg. The king's hellhound. And also, the person who arrested most of them. Acheron was the head of the Colosseum, the warden. Only recently, Acheron had to let his people take charge because he was needed in the royal palace. In other words, Acheron's name was something every single warrior knew. His face was also something they would never forget. When the warrior whispered Acheron's name, all the warriors waited for the smoke to thin out with bated breaths. Minutes later, when they caught of glimpse of the other person that came into the scene, everyone's heart stopped for a moment. Acheron Roseberg. That was him. No doubt. The strongest war hero in the land of Spade was here.