One-Eyed Monster

The moment Bigas’s mask slipped off, the entire martial contest arena erupted in uproar.

You see, Bigas’s mask was a significant symbol. Her family had strict rules that unmarried women should not easily reveal their faces to outsiders.

On the martial contest platform, Xiso had sent Bigas’s mask flying with a gust of wind generated from his sheer presence. To Bigas, this was an insult.

All those present thought Xiso was done for. Anyone who offended this young woman never met a good end. No Scholar, no matter how powerful, could stand against a Wizard, let alone one as proud and unrestrained as her.

However, there was one thing many people couldn’t understand. The usually willful and headstrong Miss Bigas actually stood calmly in place.

Perhaps it was Xiso’s imposing aura, or perhaps some other reason; regardless, the usually merciless Bigas didn’t make a move.

She observed Xiso carefully and then asked, ”Are you the popular young Scholar many girls admire?” Her attitude was exceptionally arrogant; it seemed she didn’t even deem His Majesty the King worthy of her attention.

Xiso didn’t know how to respond; answering such questions wasn’t his forte.

”Do you know how many times you’ve offended me already?” the domineering Bigas pressed, giving Xiso no room to think.

”If I have offended you, please...” Xiso began.

”I don’t want to hear your pointless talk!” Bigas cut in. ”Listen carefully. In a short time, you’ve offended me three times. I’ve put these three offenses on your tab, and I’ll settle the score with you another day.”

Xiso didn’t understand these things. He wore an innocent expression, but he didn’t take it to heart, as his purpose there had been to prevent a tragedy. Now that he had helped the wounded League Guard to his feet, what he had feared did not come to pass.

”Save your strength for the battlefield; don’t waste it here!” Xiso said, reassuring the injured League Guard. This was also his reason for jumping onto the martial contest platform in the first place.

The martial contest was originally intended to be a brief spectacle, but now its very nature had changed. In Xiso’s opinion, these people gave no thought to the feelings of the warriors who had fought and bled on the battlefield.

After all their bloody battles, all those warriors wanted was peace. To witness such a contest again was unbearable for them.

But no one dared to defy the king’s decree. To the Guardian Army, this martial contest was meaningless.

But as long as the king was happy, that was all that mattered. King Kayne was quite pleased with the tournament, particularly appreciating Xiso jumping onto the stage.

Thus, Xiso’s name once again became renowned throughout the entire Empire.

While he still had many admirers, Xiso no longer cared about such things, for new troubles had found him after the martial arts tournament.

Bigas belonged to the Kangen Family, a family that had fought alongside King Kayne to conquer the lands. After the tournament, members of the Kangen Family began to seek Xiso out every few days, regardless of whether he was at the Guardian Army’s staff camp or his residence in Imperial Capital Xinbal.

The Kangen family members’ demand was simple: they wanted Xiso to repay his ’debt’ to their Young Miss Bigas.

Xiso didn’t understand why he had to repay any debt.

”Because you offended our Young Miss, and not just once,” those Kangen family members would say. ”We’re here to seek justice on her behalf.”

But though they said this, none of them laid a finger on Xiso. Their harassment seemed to have only one purpose: to test Xiso’s character.

Xiso was an orphan, having been abandoned at the Empire’s orphanage as a baby. It wasn’t until a military counselor came to the orphanage to select recruits that he was chosen for his sharp intellect.

Thus, Xiso became a military counselor trained by the Guardian Army. He came from humble origins, with no particularly special background.

It was precisely this ordinary background that made him such a heartthrob.

With his handsome features, keen intelligence, brilliant military achievements, and being young and promising, he naturally attracted droves of female admirers.

But Xiso’s heart was still untouched by love then; he didn’t pay much attention to such matters at that time.

However, just because he paid no mind didn’t mean such matters wouldn’t find him. His encounter at the martial arts tournament brought him into contact with Bigas, and from then on, his peaceful days were over.

The three offenses against Bigas made Xiso ponder for a long, long time. He never understood how he had offended the Young Miss, leading to her family’s retainers harassing him day in and day out.

Xiso couldn’t figure it out; his usually sharp mind seemed unusually dull at this moment.

In the end, even those harassing him couldn’t stand his cluelessness any longer and directly told him about the three incidents where he had offended their Young Miss.

Firstly, during the martial arts tournament, his interference had disrupted the Young Miss’s spellcasting, causing her Frost Spell to become disjointed and lose all its aesthetic beauty.

Secondly, he caused the Young Miss’s mask to fall off. This was a very serious matter.

Lastly, when the Young Miss questioned him, he showed no reaction, which was seen as contempt for her.

These three reasons left Xiso both amused and exasperated. How could such trifling matters be deemed so serious!

But now that this unreasonable young lady was so persistent, he had no choice but to play along.

In fact, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Miss Bigas had taken a liking to Xiso. The dense fellow, however, remained oblivious, still thinking the Young Miss was merely trying to make things difficult for him.

Bigas always acted as she pleased. Having set her sights on Xiso, she naturally proceeded to pester him endlessly.

This was a kind of fate—an entangled destiny.

And so, the story of Bigas and Xiso began at that time.

Xiso, constantly pestered by Bigas, could never comprehend the young woman’s intentions. It wasn’t until onlookers in the military pointed things out that Xiso finally had a revelation, and his heart naturally began to open to love.

Once his heart opened, everything else fell into place naturally.

The pestering was no longer mere pestering; it gradually transformed into a tender, lingering affection.

Over time, the two of them actually got together.

It should have been a beautiful story: a noble young lady falling in love with a simple-hearted young man—a romance for the ages.

However, things did not unfold as people imagined.

The Kangen Family’s rules were exceedingly strict, and Bigas’s romance faced collective opposition from her family. Those family members who had assisted Bigas in ’harassing’ Xiso were all placed in confinement.

The Kangen Family held a meeting regarding this matter and forbade Bigas from associating with this military counselor of unknown lineage.

Their reasoning was simple: such a relationship would compromise the purity of their bloodline’s heritage. As guardians of the Kayne Empire, the Kangen Family had to ensure the purity of their lineage through the generations and could not allow an unknown upstart to break this tradition.

Bigas, naturally, protested fiercely, but Xiso chose to remain silent.

Xiso felt he wasn’t worthy. He was just a minor military counselor, incapable of directly confronting the Kangen Family. Yet, he loved Bigas, and it was precisely for this reason that he chose silence.

And this... is the crux of Bigas and Xiso’s story.