Two boys were standing at the entrance of the training facility. Both were wearing the student uniforms of Clover Academy and looked very noble and refined.

The one who had just complimented Lisa was a youth with long brown hair and bright blue eyes. Underneath the olive-colored cloak, he was wearing luxurious garments. At a single glance, one could tell that the youth came from an affluent background.

His name was Kevin Gracie, heir to the overlord Magus Family of the Faber Province!

And the other youth who was standing behind Kevin was none other than Jeffrey Palmer! It seemed that after entering the academy, Jeffrey was able to somehow join the friend circle of Kevin, who was a second-year student and also one with an A-grade aptitude.

Lisa approached the two with a bright smile adorning her lips. She then stood in front of Kevin and politely greeted him, "It is such a pleasure to see you, Lord Kevin."

Kevin took two steps forward and gently caressed Lisa's cheeks. "You're as beautiful as the day I first met you, Lisa."

This sudden gesture caused Lisa to indiscernibly tremble out of sheer disgust. However, she hid it and continued to display the same bright smile as she replied, "I'm flattered, my lord."

"Hmm." Kevin nodded as he slowly looked at Lisa from head to toe, his eyes oozing with lust.

After taking his time to lasciviously ogle Lisa, he mumbled, "I was right to choose you that night after all. Only you are worthy of becoming my wife."

When Lisa heard Kevin mention 'that night', her eyes involuntarily reddened. Kevin noticed this and smiled coldly. He didn't care about Lisa's feelings at all.

All he cared about was having her in his possession.

"Anyway." Kevin's grip around Lisa's cheeks tightened a little as he came closer and whispered in her ears, "I'll be watching your upcoming duel with that farm boy. Make sure to put up a good performance for me, okay?"

Lisa nodded as tears threatened to fall down her cheeks.

Jeffrey chimed in with a cruel smile. "If you can, make sure to cripple that bastard."

However, Lisa completely ignored him as she stood there in a daze. The two boys coldly chuckled at Lisa's unresponsive behavior and then left the training facility.

After the two of them had departed, Lisa's legs buckled and she knelt on the ground listlessly. Tears fell down her cheeks uncontrollably as she began sobbing.

She tightly clutched at the grass and mud beside her and spat through gritted teeth, "WHY?!"

As she continued to cry loudly, she raised her fists and punched the ground beneath her in anger and frustration.

"WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY?!"

In the end, she buried her face in her hands and continued to sob miserably, her shoulders heaving up and down.

Years ago, her family had been attacked by the Gracie Family over a resource dispute. She had to personally witness her father being killed by the head of the Grace Family.

That night her whole family would have been slaughtered had it not been for her accepting the sudden marriage proposal to the heir of the Gracie Family, Kevin Gracie. The two were to marry each other when they were of age.

And as if that wasn't enough, the Gracie Family kept constant watch over her remaining family members. They even went so far as to threaten the life of her younger brother. This was to ensure that Lisa and the De Claire Family didn't dare to pull any tricks.

Thinking of her dear younger brother, Lisa couldn't help but cry even more intensely. "Little Jamie…"

She was helpless.

She was powerless.

Lisa lay on the ground and cried for a long time. She soon wiped her tears and got to her feet. Thinking of her family, her eyes shone with resolve as she muttered to herself, "I'll become strong so that I have to never bow down my head again. I'll make sure to protect you all."

She had no hopes of avenging her father. The Gracie Family was a powerful magus family, and the head of the family was a Rank 2 Magus!

All she ever hoped for was protecting her own family. But deep down in her heart, she yearned for freedom. She yearned for power. She wanted strength to exact revenge.

That was why she constantly pushed herself to work hard. Harder than anyone else. She challenged Adam for the very same reason, hoping that she would learn something from him and come out stronger after the duel.

Despite her suffering, she continued to move forward.

She got to her feet, her facial expression returned to her usual cold and aloof self. Only a few days remained till the duel, and she didn't plan on wasting her time crying and complaining. Just like Adam, she would make use of every second available to her.

Lisa exited the training facility and made her way to her dorm. As she was walking through the lush and beautiful campus grounds, lost in thought, she was suddenly taken aback. Because in the distance she could see a clown chasing after a boar.

And currently, there was only one person in the entire Clover Academy whose face was painted like that of a joker.

"Adam!" Lisa exclaimed.

She hurriedly stomped in his direction. It turned out that Adam was still chasing after Edward.

After a few minutes, she finally managed to catch up to them. She put her hands on her hips in an intimidating pose and blocked their way. She stared at Adam's clown-like face with narrowed eyes, trying her best to contain her laughter.

"You better give it your all in the upcoming duel. Don't disappoint me. Hmph!" She then turned around and walked away, afraid that if she stayed any longer, her intimidating facade would crumble down.

Adam deeply looked at her departing back and mumbled, "She seems… sad."

Although Lisa seemed fine and dandy on the surface, with his strengthened perception Adam could instantly tell how gloomy she really was.

Suddenly…

BAM!

"Hah! Eat that, sucker!" Edward kicked Adam in the butt, causing him to fall tragically. He then ran away while taunting. "Hahaha! Catch me if you can, you joker!"

"You!" Adam got to his feet while rubbing his bum. "You're dead meat, fatty!"

He then continued chasing Edward. The game of cat and mouse continued throughout the campus.

Lisa, who was standing under the shade of a tall tree in the distance and looking at the two friends playing with each other, smiled bitterly. She held her fists close to her heart and mumbled in sorrow,

"I wish I could be so happy and carefree…"