Chapter 194: Exploiting The Matriarch’s Secret Weakness In A Sacred Duel

"Vivian, I hope you understand that challengers also have conditions to meet in the Crucible?" said Roselyn.

Lord Prescott interjected, "Perhaps she doesn’t know." If you lose—just like you will lose—you must do or submit to any demands your aunt makes, which will put you in a more difficult situation than when you came in here."

"Yes, I know that both sides of the Crucible are susceptible to the victor’s conditions. So, Auntie, what are your conditions?" Vivian asked.

Lord Whitmore of the Whitmore family.

(The Whitmore family is the paternal family of Roselyn and Penelope, before marrying into the Kingsley family).

Lord Whitmore said, "Do you really think the Duchess of this city would bother with such trivial matters, giving you, a mere girl... ’conditions’?"

"No, just that a Duchess wouldn’t, but a stepmother? A stepmother willing to protect her own child at all costs? Yes."

Vivian looked into Roselyn’s eyes, speaking confidently. Everyone in the room, not to mention Roselyn herself, had no choice but to accept her challenge.

But all the elders felt that Roselyn would take this matter lightly and would not give Vivian any conditions, because not imposing conditions on someone weaker than you is considered a sign of self-respect and a demonstration of hierarchy.

Because, as expected, the powerful summoner would easily win.

If you know you will win so easily—thereby humiliating the challenger—then why further humiliate them by making them meet your conditions?

Their obvious failure is humiliating enough.

However, Roselyn is the same in setting her own conditions for Vivian.

This is not just about forcing the girl to understand what respect is. It’s to teach her niece a lesson.

"Vivian, I respect your anger and your decision to challenge me. Whatever your grievances, that is your right—I accept your challenge. However, what pains me most is that my niece, whom I regard as my own daughter, treats me this way, demanding that I sever ties with the Kingsley family."

Vivian gritted her teeth and remained silent, knowing that her aunt was trying to create doubt in her decision, but Vivian did not let her succeed.

Roselyn, realizing her niece was unyielding, also clenched her teeth and sat upright on her throne.

"But since I see no trace of affection from you, I have no choice but to give you my own terms."

Vivian replied, "Auntie, I’d love to hear them. What are they? Banish me? Strip me of my Kingsley bloodline? Marry me off?"

"No, you must stay here no matter what. Do you think I’m foolish enough not to know that taking you away from this family would do more harm than good?" Roselyn said. "My only condition is that you become my... ward."

Roselyn saw the confusion on Vivian’s face and continued, "If you don’t understand, a ward is someone who is placed under the jurisdiction of another. The person whom you are placed under is called your guardian. If you are my ward, and I am your guardian, then everything concerning you will be decided by me.

"Of course, you are still a member of the Kingsley family, but you must be accountable to me.

"You can no longer disregard my decisions or challenge my authority as you have before.

"You will live under my authority, you will exist under my authority, you will breathe air under my authority."

In other words, turning Vivian into her property?

Vivian’s unwavering stance came as a surprise.

She understands what Rosalind wants to turn her into, because becoming her ward means losing independence.

Roselyn would decide her affairs, control her actions, and have power over almost every aspect of her life.

She remains a member of the Kingsley family, but without Roselyn’s permission, she cannot live like a member of the Kingsley family, so this effectively turns her into a prisoner in her own home.

But Vivian’s resolve did not change; she said, "I accept."

She spoke so firmly, with not a hint of hesitation in her voice.

Roselyn’s eyebrows twitched slightly because she expected Vivian to back down or show some fear upon hearing the terms, but the girl accepted the terms as if she were ready to face even worse situations.

For the first time since Vivian entered the throne hall, Roselyn felt a hint of concern.

The eleven elders exchanged glances, as they had expected the young lady to throw a tantrum, make foolish statements, and back down when faced with the consequences, but she accepted the terms without hesitation.

The atmosphere in the throne room grew serious.

The atmosphere in the room grew solemn.

Lord Prescott, who mocked Vivian, could no longer laugh.

This was because a Crucible is not an ordinary dispute that can be resolved after emotions cool down.

A Crucible is a sacred tradition of the Silver Order, and once both sides accept the terms, the consequences are irreversible.

An elder stood up and said, "The Crucible between Roselyn Kingsley and Vivian Kingsley is hereby acknowledged.

"Both sides have stated their conditions and accepted each other’s conditions. Before we continue this meeting, I must ask both of you again: Is either side willing to surrender? A Crucible may end in death."

Vivian said, "I will not yield." Roselyn said, "Neither will I."

The elder said, "Very well. The trial will take place tomorrow night. According to tradition, the duel must be concluded within 24 hours of the challenge, so neither party has time to overly strengthen themselves. The purpose of the crucible is swift justice, not prolonged preparation."

"Then I thank the council for acknowledging my right to challenge my aunt. At least, tonight you did one fair thing," Vivian said, hiding her sarcasm behind polite words.

"How arrogant! You speak as if you’ve already won," said Lord Robinson. "Little girl, do you know the gap between you and an Ancient-grade summoner? Tomorrow, you’ll understand just how insignificant your courage is!"

Meanwhile, Roselyn raised a hand and stopped Lord Robinson, saying, "Vivian, I’m giving you one last chance to leave. I will pretend that nothing happened tonight, and I won’t hold a grudge against you. You can still withdraw this challenge and return to the life of my beloved niece."

"That’s the difference between us, Auntie," Vivian said. "You think that because you’re willing to forgive me, I should be grateful and forget everything you’ve done. But you never considered whether I have anything to forgive you for. Good night, Aunt. Elders."

Later, Vivian left the throne room without waiting for a response from her elders.

Silence fell after her departure, you may hear some elders gritting their teeth.

A young girl dared to treat the council with such contempt!

Lord Whitmore, Roselyn’s uncle, said, "Roselyn, you don’t have to take it too seriously. She’s just a young girl acting out of grief. We can find other ways to deal with this without letting it escalate."

"No."

According to Roselyn, she is a good woman because she gave Vivian a way out.

But Vivian rejected it.

So, if Roselyn lets such provocation go unchecked, what authority would she have in her home?

"Prepare the fighting field," she said, rising from the throne. "And prepare mine sword. Tomorrow, I will teach my niece what it means to challenge me."

********

Meanwhile, Vivian returned to her room, and as soon as she closed the door, she leans against it, panting.

She had challenged her aunt to a duel, an opponent being Roselyn Kingsley, an Ancient-grade summoner.

It took Vivian a while to calm her racing heart and catch her breath.

Was she afraid? Of course she’s scared, because not being afraid of an opponent who can be taken down with one mistake would be foolish.

But Vivian doesn’t mistake her fear for doubt; it’s just the first time she’s stood up for herself so decisively, because usually she’s the one who stands up to support and protect Luke when her family opposes him.

But she failed to protect Luke, so now she must protect herself.

She went to the wardrobe and took out the magical armor Luke had forged for her, armor imbued with the aspect of conquest.

Roselyn didn’t have magical armor like this, so Vivian thought she has an advantage, but merely having an advantage wasn’t enough to defeat an Ancient-grade summoner.

Therefore, Vivian considered more things like...

Suspecting Roselyn was pregnant, and her suspicion was correct.

Pregnancy is a disadvantage for summoners in battle because a pregnant summoner is also nurturing the formation of another soul, which will house a beast of its own later.

This 9-month-long process requires the mother’s energy to nourish the child’s spirit.

So, all the mother’s resources are divided between her and the child.

High-level summoners usually give birth to high-level summoners. Low-level summoners give birth to low-level summoners, and those without summoning talent usually give birth to children without summoning talent.

So Roselyn cannot risk this process just to fight Vivian.

It may endanger the child’s life

Or it may tamper with the child’s summoning potential.

This was Vivian’s consideration.

Her own beast is far inferior to Roselyn’s, but with Luke’s armor and her aunt’s pregnancy restricting her freedom of combat, Vivian had a chance.