Just then, Alia stepped through the door.
Her lips were curved up in a satisfied smile as she looked at him.
’’You did a great job,’’ she said. ’’I can see why Westridge wanted you there.’’
Theo nodded once.
’’Thank you.’’
She opened the door, gesturing for him to follow.
Theo did so without another thought.
As the two walked up the sa stairs again, Alia turned to him.
’’So, the water affinity, huh,’’ she said, her voice soft. ’’Having Elise as your ntor also makes sense.’’
Theo tilted his head slightly.
’’You know her well?’’
Alia smiled and nodded.
’’We used to be in the sa class.’’
She chuckled slightly.
’’That cold bi— princess used to be quite the handful.’’
Theo raised an eyebrow, having clearly heard the slip in her tongue.
Now... he couldn’t help but be curious.
’’What did she do?’’ he asked, climbing the stairs.
Clearing her throat, an awkward smile appeared on Alia’s face.
’’That’s a little embarrassing,’’ she said, scratching her chin. ’’It’s better if you ask her about that yourself.’’
Just a second later, she paused.
’Huh,’ Theo thought, shaking his head. ’We’re already here?’
Only now did he realize she had been keeping him distracted the entire ti.
The tension from the fight had completely faded.
Alia turned to him again, smiling lightly.
’’Now you just need a signed contract from Victor, right?’’ she asked.
Theo glanced up, before quickly nodding.
’’Alright,’’ she continued, raising her fist. ’’We’ll take care of that.’’
With that, she pushed open the backdoor to the VIP section.
As they stepped inside, the surroundings grew quiet.
Those who noticed them imdiately turned.
Each of them knew a show was about to unfold, and none wanted to miss it.
Alia didn’t care for it, though.
She walked straight to one of the central tables.
Victor had already stood up.
His expression was cold as his eyes t theirs.
Alia stopped only a few feet in front of him.
Without hesitation, she pulled out a docunt.
’When did she even make that?’ he thought, raising an eyebrow.
Even though he wasn’t quite sure what was on it.
Nothing in his mind made him believe Alia would try sothing that would hurt him.
’’As agreed beforehand,’’ she said simply. ’’You can sign here to cancel all involvent with their family.’’
Victor didn’t even look at it.
Instead, his gaze shifted to Theo.
A flicker of sothing ugly passed through his eyes.
"...No," he said flatly.
Alia opened her mouth.
Before she could speak again, another voice cut in.
"Careful."
Leoric stepped forward from the side, his presence instantly drawing attention.
His gaze rested calmly on Victor.
"Everyone heard the agreent," he continued. "If you refuse now, I’ll have to step in."
Victor’s jaw tightened.
For a mont, he remained silent.
Then his eyes shifted back to Theo.
"Just you wait," he said quietly. "Even if you leave this city, I’ll make sure you never live a single peaceful day in your life."
Leoric raised an eyebrow.
This ti, Alia stepped in before he could respond.
"You?" she asked, amused. "That’s funny. Even for you."
Victor’s face flushed slightly, his fist tightening.
Then Alia tilted her head toward Theo.
"Not only is he a student at Westridge," she said, a faint smile forming, "his instructor is the Water Princess from the Netherlands."
Victor froze.
For a split second, the anger in his eyes shifted to recognition, followed by shock and finally calculation.
His gaze snapped back to Theo.
"You..." he muttered. "You tricked us."
Theo’s eyes narrowed for a mont.
It almost sounded funny coming from the person who’d made his father sign a slave contract.
Finally, he just shrugged.
"You could’ve known," he said calmly. "If you’d investigated properly."
Alia let out a soft chuckle.
Then she raised the paper again and tapped it once.
"Co on," she said. "Sign."
Victor stared at it for a mont longer.
Then he snatched it out of her hand.
The pen scratched harshly across the surface as he signed.
"Done," he said, his voice filled with restrained fury.
He pushed the paper back without looking at them.
With that, he turned and walked away again.
His wife and attendants hurried after him without saying another word.
Alia watched them leave, a satisfied smile lingering on her face.
Finally, she lowered the paper.
"Well," she said lightly, glancing at Theo. "That went smoother than expected."
She turned the docunt toward him and held it out.
"Here."
Theo took it without hesitation, his eyes briefly scanning across the paper.
’All active contracts with Theo Lane’s family are to be dissolved.’
His eyes widened imdiately.
’All future interference with the family is to be nonexistent.’
Those were the only two conditions on the paper.
Yet, that was already far better than what he’d asked for.
Theo let out a deep sigh, lowering the docunt.
’Just like that...’ he thought. ’It’s finally all over.’
His grip tightened slightly around the paper before he looked up again.
His gaze shifted to Leoric.
"Thank you," he said calmly.
Leoric waved it off without even looking at him.
’’He made a promise,’’ he replied. ’’And those are ant to be kept. Nothing more.’’
Theo nodded once, a wide smile on his face.
Then Alia clapped her hands lightly, drawing his attention back.
"Well," she said, tilting her head, "after that little performance, I don’t think anyone’s going to question your strength."
Theo glanced over at her, a slight frown appearing on his face.
"What do you an?"
"You’re done for today," she explained calmly. "You can directly participate in the top 64 tomorrow."
Theo’s eyes widened slightly.
"Really?"
Alia simply smiled.
"Really."
For a brief mont, he just stood there.
Then he gave a small nod.
"Thank you."
Alia waved it off too.
"Don’t ntion it," she said. "You gave a bit of much-needed revenge anyway."
She turned away slightly, already shifting back into her role.
"But you should go join your friends," she continued, her voice firm. "I still have a tournant to run after all."
Theo nodded imdiately.
With the docunt in hand, he turned and walked off.
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