The arena had barely settled down after the previous exchange.
The second-year professor quietly returned to his seat, his face burning with humiliation as he lowered his head in silence. Yet before anyone could speak again, another second-year professor slowly rose from her seat.
"Excuse me, Student Knox Aznable."
The female professor met Knox's gaze without backing away.
"Although what I'm about to say may also be considered a violation of your conditions... do you really have to sever Student Andre's hand? Don't you think that was going too far?"
The moment those words left her mouth, countless students instinctively turned toward her.
After watching Jean, Tenerife, and Jane publicly shut down the previous professor only moments ago, no one had expected another professor to stand up and question Knox. Several students couldn't help but 'admire' her courage.
Knox let out a quiet sigh.
"So..." he said calmly. "Would you have preferred that I accepted his stab with a smile on my face?"
The female professor instinctively parted her lips, only for Knox to continue before she could answer.
"Somehow, I doubt you're concerned about whether it can be reattached. So... are you actually worried about the people standing behind him?"
Without waiting for a response, Knox continued.
"First, this is Kizen. As a professor, you should understand what those words mean. Whether someone is royalty, nobility, or a commoner is meaningless here. Under the name of Kizen, the only identity any of us has... is that of a student."
A number of professors nodded in agreement.
Several wore faint smiles of approval, while others silently praised Knox's words. Among them, Jane's eyes revealed the most obvious satisfaction.
"Second."
Knox looked directly at the female professor.
"He attempted to stab me in the back after the referee had already declared the duel over, right in front of everyone. If today's events spread beyond Kizen, who do you think people will support? Me... or him, Professor?"
The female professor immediately fell silent.
A faint flush crept across her face as she finally realized how far she had overstepped. More importantly, she could clearly feel two chilling killing intents directed at her from nearby.
She didn't even need to turn around to know who they belonged to.
At that moment, genuine regret finally surfaced in her heart.
She had only wanted to preserve what little dignity Andre still had left. After all, the noble faction supporting the Dresden royal family had been backing her for years. Yet acting on that impulse had only pushed her into a situation with no way out.
Knox paid no attention to the despair gradually filling her face.
"And lastly..."
His gaze slowly shifted toward the VIP seats. More precisely, toward Molly Dresden.
"Huh?"
Caught completely off guard, Molly blinked in surprise when she realized Knox was looking directly at her. One after another, the surrounding spectators followed his line of sight until countless eyes eventually gathered on the Princess of Dresden as well.
"Princess Molly," Knox said politely, "I believe this duel was also broadcast live to the Dresden Royal Palace. If that's the case, I assume His Majesty and Her Majesty witnessed everything that happened here today?"
Molly composed herself with a small cough.
"...Indeed. What you said is correct."
Knox gave a slight nod. "Then, with all due respect, Princess Molly..."
He paused briefly before asking, "May I ask for your opinion regarding this duel?"
In fact, even before the referee had announced the result of the duel, Molly and several nobles from the Kingdom of Dresden had already begun discussing its potential consequences.
At first, a few nobles who were still eager to flatter the royal family insisted that Prince Andre would undoubtedly emerge victorious. But somehow, they also repeatedly advised against escalating the conflict any further, arguing that Knox Aznable's influence had already grown far beyond that of an ordinary first-year student.
Others, however, saw the conflict as an opportunity. Knox Aznable had accumulated far too much influence for someone his age, and there were naturally those who weren't pleased with it. If Prince Andre could humiliate him in this duel, they would be more than happy to use the result to weaken Knox's growing reputation.
The moment those words left their mouths, Molly glanced at them as though they were nothing more than pieces of trash.
She said nothing. Ignoring them entirely, she simply allowed the discussion to continue.
"Even if Prince Andre loses, we still can't afford to antagonize Knox Aznable, especially when it comes to his novels," one noble said with a troubled expression.
"I heard Prince Andre even threatened to suppress Knox Aznable's novels throughout the Kingdom of Dresden." Another noble rubbed his temples before letting out a weary sigh. "Just thinking about that possibility is already giving me a headache."
"Indeed," another noble agreed. "If we mishandle this situation, the Kingdom of Dresden could easily become an international laughingstock. At that point, I wouldn't even be surprised if riots broke out."
"And if word gets out that the royal family retaliated simply because a prince lost a duel," another added, "the reputation of the Dresden royal family bullying a mere student would spread across the continent."
"So what are you suggesting?" another noble interjected with a frown. "That we simply sit back and do nothing?"
Judging from his tone alone, it was obvious he belonged to the Queen's faction.
"Do you have a better alternative?" another noble replied. "Prince Andre's opponent isn't just a first-year student. He's already as famous as veteran necromancers, and on top of that, he's also a renowned genius novelist. If we act recklessly against him, we may end up hurting ourselves instead."
"Hm..." Another noble narrowed his eyes. "Even if direct retaliation is out of the question, there are still indirect methods. We could, for example, spread damaging rumors about him."
"But is it really necessary to go that far?" another noble asked. "Prince Andre losing a duel isn't exactly a national crisis to begin with."
In the end, most of the nobles present chose not to intervene on Andre's behalf.
From the very beginning, Prince Andre had already fallen behind his younger sister, Princess Molly, in the line of succession. Today's defeat had only pushed him even further down.
Now that word had spread that his opponent was Knox Aznable, the White Devil, the rising young star, and the pioneer of literature, nearly everyone believed that siding with Andre would bring far more losses than benefits.
Even the nobles who openly supported Prince Andre ultimately concluded that there was little to gain from stepping in. Although many of them were visibly frustrated, they could only swallow their dissatisfaction and remain silent.
At that moment, Molly Dresden, who had been quietly observing the discussion from the VIP seats, finally opened her mouth.
"Alright."
Molly's calm voice immediately drew everyone's attention.
"In my opinion, allowing the relationship between our kingdom and Kizen to deteriorate over nothing more than this duel would only bring unnecessary harm to both sides. Therefore, I sincerely hope no one allows anger or personal resentment to cloud their judgment."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"And if possible... I believe we should strive to build a good relationship with Sir Knox Aznable."
The moment those words fell, the surrounding nobles immediately understood what she truly meant.
As for which 'side' Princess Molly hoped Knox would stand on...
Everyone silently chose to feign ignorance.
"Yes, Princess."
The surrounding nobles lowered their heads in unison.
***
Back to the present.
After hearing Knox's question, Molly gracefully rose from her seat before addressing the arena.
"Greetings, everyone. My name is Molly Dresden, Princess of the Kingdom of Dresden."
She offered an elegant smile.
"It is an honor to witness such a magnificent duel today. As for the question from Sen... ahem..."
A faint cough escaped her lips.
"...I mean, from Sir Aznable."
"I personally don't believe there will be any issue whatsoever."
The moment those words left Molly's mouth, Andre's expression immediately darkened.
"Thank you for your understanding, Princess Molly," Knox replied with a slight nod. "It is truly an honor to have your assurance."
"The honor is mine." Molly returned the smile without the slightest hesitation.
Only after that did Knox slowly shift his gaze back toward the female professor.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Yet for some reason...
It didn't feel like a smile at all.
"Now then..."
"Did you hear that, Professor?"
"Or..."
His smile widened ever so slightly.
"...do you still have another opinion?"
The female professor's shoulders immediately slumped.
"...No."
She lowered her head.
"Thank you... Student Knox Aznable."
Without another word, she quietly returned to her seat, accepting the inevitable fate awaiting her.
Not far from her, three women silently watched everything unfold.
Each of them was already contemplating how they intended to deal with the professor after today's incident.
One of them had even begun thinking of more than a hundred different ways to convince Nefthis to personally remove her from Kizen.