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Valeria didn\'t answer immediately. Her mind was still occupied with thoughts of the tournament, her plan, and her decision to leave her knights behind. But she knew Lucavion wasn\'t going to drop the subject until she gave him something.

"It\'s… lively," she admitted, her voice neutral. "Much busier than I expected."

Lucavion chuckled. "That\'s one way to put it. But you\'ve been around enough cities, right? Anything here catch your eye? Seen anything worth talking about?"

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Valeria shrugged, trying not to let him see her curiosity. "Not much. Just the usual chaos that comes with a big event like this. It\'s all the same—people running around, trying to make a name for themselves. It\'s nothing new."

Lucavion grinned. "Spoken like someone who\'s been through this before. But surely there\'s more to it than that. You must\'ve run into something interesting by now."

Valeria thought back to the previous night—the confrontation at the inn, the tension between the Cloud Heavens Sect and Silver Flame Sect. It had been quite the spectacle, though she hadn\'t expected to be dragged into it, even indirectly. But she wasn\'t about to share that with Lucavion.

"Nothing worth mentioning," she replied, keeping her tone cool. "Just some noisy sects causing a scene. I didn\'t get involved."

Lucavion\'s eyes twinkled with amusement. "Ah, really? Considering your temperament that doesn\'t seem to be the case."

"Hah? What does that supposed to mean?"

Lucavion gave her that familiar, smug smile—the kind that said he thought he had her all figured out. It was infuriating, especially because they barely knew each other. Who did he think he was, acting like he could read her so easily?

"You\'ve got that fire in you," he said, shrugging as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The kind that doesn\'t sit back and watch while chaos unfolds. It was clear from the first moment we met."

Valeria\'s eyes narrowed, trying to keep her frustration in check. "And what moment was that?" she shot back, knowing full well he was referring to their first duel—the one she lost. She could feel a slight flush creeping up her neck at the memory, but she masked it with a sharp glare. She wasn\'t about to let him see that small embarrassment resurface.

Lucavion\'s grin only widened as if he could see right through her act. "Oh, you know, when you challenged me and got all worked up because I didn\'t take you seriously. That moment."

Her fists clenched instinctively, and she quickly turned her head to hide her embarrassment. "I wasn\'t worked up," she muttered, doing her best to sound indifferent, though the memory of that defeat still stung.

"Sure, sure," Lucavion replied, the teasing lilt never leaving his voice. He paused for a moment before glancing at her with a mischievous glint in his eye. "So, what happened at the inn last night? I\'m guessing there was some action, and you couldn\'t resist getting involved."

Valeria rolled her eyes, feeling cornered. He was relentless with his teasing, and she knew that if she didn\'t share what had happened, he\'d keep prodding her all day. Besides, she had already let a bit of her frustration slip, so she might as well explain the situation. Taking a deep breath, she began.

"It wasn\'t anything I intended to be part of," she started, her voice measured, "but there was an altercation between two sects—Cloud Heavens and Silver Flame."

Lucavion\'s eyebrows rose slightly in interest. "Oh, those two. Quite the rivalry." His eyes maintained a clear interest different from the many times that she had seen him. This time his focus felt more real.

\'Is there something?\'

Valeria thought to herself. Could he know someone from those sects, or maybe he encountered? She felt intrigued, but knowing this bastard he would not reveal it directly and could even possibly use it as a teasing argument.

That is why she just decided to talk about what happened to see his reaction.

She nodded. "Yes, and it\'s only gotten worse after last night. It was mostly just petty insults at first, but then it got personal." She paused, remembering the cutting words Varen had thrown at Lira, how the atmosphere in the inn had shifted so sharply.

"One of the leaders from Silver Flame—Varen, I think—started attacking the \'Senior Sister\' from Cloud Heavens, Lira. He accused her of… well, something personal and unforgivable. Things escalated quickly from there, and they almost came to blows."

Lucavion\'s eyes sparkled with curiosity as he leaned in, clearly eager to hear the rest. "Personal and unforgivable, you say? Come on, don\'t leave me hanging. What exactly did he accuse her of?"

Valeria felt a rare sense of satisfaction, seeing Lucavion genuinely intrigued for once. She folded her arms and gave a small, smug smile. "Oh? Now you\'re curious? Well, maybe I\'ll tell you... or maybe I won\'t." She turned her head with an exaggerated humph, feeling like she finally had the upper hand in their never-ending verbal sparring.

Lucavion raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "Playing hard to get with information, are we? That\'s cute, but you do realize I can just go back to that inn and ask around, right? I\'m sure the locals would love to spill all the juicy details for me."

Valeria\'s triumphant smile faltered slightly as she realized he wasn\'t bluffing. Knowing Lucavion, he absolutely would do that just to irritate her further.

She glared at him, her pride refusing to back down. "You\'re impossible," she muttered, her satisfaction quickly fading. "Fine. If you\'re that determined to know—Varen accused Lira of having an affair with someone from her sect. Apparently, they were engaged to settle the feud between their sects, and Varen found out she was involved with another man."

Lucavion\'s smile didn\'t waver, but something in his eyes shifted—just a brief flicker of thoughtfulness that Valeria caught before he masked it with his usual nonchalance. "Well, that\'s one way to break an engagement," he said with a low chuckle. "Can\'t say I blame him for being angry, then."

Valeria couldn\'t help but notice the way he had quickly brushed off the seriousness of the situation. Something about the way he reacted made her wonder if he had more personal experience with these kinds of situations than he was letting on.

"Anyway," she said, trying to steer the conversation back on track, "their fight nearly wrecked the inn, but the owner stepped in before it could get any worse."

"Hmm…..For someone who could even make the Senior Sisters and Senior Brothers of these two sects, the owner of the inn must be someone who is strong."

"Yeah….She was really strong."

Valeria\'s mind wandered back to the events at the inn, recalling the powerful presence of the innkeeper—the Iron Matron. The way she had stepped in, easily commanding respect and authority, had left an impression on Valeria, especially once she had learned the innkeeper\'s title. She had been no ordinary woman, and Valeria knew it."

"The Iron Matron." She mumbled the title of the inn owner unconsciously. And since she was busy remembering the past, she couldn\'t see a small change in Lucavion\'s face.

\'She really was strong. I wouldn\'t even last 2 moves against her.\'

The fact that such a strong person was managing an inn was weird to her but it was not her job to intervene.

"Hmm…..hmm…hmm….."

Just then she heard a small humming sound. Turning her gaze she saw Lucavion humming to himself, a knowing smile tugging at his lips.

Valeria narrowed her eyes, her curiosity piqued. "What\'s that smile for?"

Lucavion chuckled softly, glancing at her with that ever-present mischievous glint in his eyes. "I just remembered something. Nothing too important."

Valeria crossed her arms, not buying his casual dismissal. "Spill it. What is it you remembered?"

Lucavion sighed dramatically as if he were burdened with the weight of too many secrets. "Oh, nothing much. Just that I wouldn\'t mind seeing this infamous inn and meeting the legendary Iron Matron myself. Sounds like a fascinating place, wouldn\'t you say?"

"You just want to see where the fight took place," Valeria shot back, rolling her eyes. "Don\'t pretend you\'re interested in anything else."

He grinned, not even bothering to deny it. "You got me there. But come on, you can\'t blame me for wanting to see the scene of such a grand spectacle. Think of it as gathering information."

Valeria frowned, but there was no use arguing with him. "Fine. I\'ll show you where it is. But don\'t expect anything exciting to happen this time."

Lucavion clapped his hands together, clearly pleased. "Lead the way, Lady Olarion.

Valeria sighed inwardly, wondering why she kept getting dragged into Lucavion\'s whims. Yet, as they walked, a small part of her couldn\'t help but be curious about how the Iron Matron would react to someone like Lucavion. Perhaps, just this once, it would be entertaining to watch him get caught in his own mischief.