Chapter 226: The Second Uprising of the Cattleya Marquis Family (Part 2)
“Ugh…!”
Marquis Cattleya hastily dodged the fist that was swung at him. It was a sharp punch, delivered without hesitation. He could tell that Yuri was genuinely intent on striking him.
“Wait! Yuri!”
“I’m not waiting!”
“Ugh…!”
Yuri struck the Marquis in the side with her opposite hand. Though her fists were small and her body light, the force behind her blows was unexpectedly heavy and sharp.
(Is this the Oni Disease…?!)
Marquis Cattleya endured the blow with his formidable will and physical strength. Any ordinary warrior or martial artist would have lost consciousness from that hit.
“What’s wrong, Father? Are you just going to stand there and take it?”
“This…!”
The Marquis’s fighting spirit ignited. If he did nothing after being provoked like this, he would lose face as both a father and a warrior.
(I won’t kill you, but I’ll make sure you can’t move for a while…!)
“Hungh!”
The Marquis unleashed a body blow aimed at Yuri. She instinctively raised both hands to absorb the impact.
“Ugh…!”
However, she couldn’t fully withstand the brutal strike and was sent flying backward, crashing against one of the gravestones in the cemetery.
“Truly, the strongest warrior in the kingdom… what a tremendous blow.”
“Yuri… enough already!”
“There’s no reason to hold back now. I’m still standing!”
Yuri waved her arms playfully. Despite taking a hit from her father, there were no bruises on her. Her body was remarkably resilient. In terms of pure physical strength, she might even surpass Marquis Cattleya.
“An Oni… truly a troublesome opponent…”
Taking a deep breath, the Marquis realized he could not capture his daughter without inflicting some harm.
There existed a subhuman race known as the Oni, who, while unable to use magic, possessed physical abilities far beyond those of humans. The Marquis had fought against them countless times in the forests of the northern Aiwood Kingdom, and he was all too familiar with their troublesome nature.
“I’m coming, Father!”
Yuri kicked off the ground and lunged at the Marquis. Her fists flew—left, right, left—like a rain of blows aimed at him.
“Ugh…!”
Marquis Cattleya deflected his daughter’s punches with his arms, moving with minimal effort to block and evade… before launching a counterattack.
“Hungh!”
“Ugh…!”
Amidst the barrage of attacks, a sharp strike landed. The Marquis’s fist sank into Yuri’s abdomen. With even greater force than before, she was sent flying, bouncing off the ground multiple times.
“Oooooooh!”
Yet, the Marquis did not relent in his pursuit. He knew that this wouldn’t stop his daughter. So, he chased after her, grabbing her arm.
“Ugh!”
“This…!”
Yuri attempted to strike her father, but Marquis Cattleya tilted his head to evade the blow. Then, he pulled her arm and hurled her away.
“Waaaaaaah!”
Yuri’s body was sent crashing through several gravestones, eventually becoming buried beneath the rubble, motionless.
“……Hah, hah.”
Marquis Cattleya stood there, his expression twisted, before rushing over to his daughter.
“Yuri, are you alright?!”
It was a foolish question to ask after having done this to her, but he hadn’t acted out of malice. His love for her, though distorted, was genuine, and his concern for her was sincere.
“Hang in there! Yuri…!”
He tried to dig her out from the debris, but just then, a piece of rubble flew toward him.
“Hey!”
“Ugh?!”
Marquis Cattleya hurriedly caught the flying debris.
“Gotcha!”
Yuri burst forth, blood streaming from her head, her right fist drawn back. Realizing another punch was coming, the Marquis instinctively raised both hands to defend himself.
“Yah!”
“Ugh…?!”
However… the anticipated impact never came. Instead, he was struck from a different direction, sending his body flying sideways. Now it was the Marquis’s turn to roll. He crashed through several gravestones, bouncing off the ground before collapsing onto the cobblestones.
“What… is happening…?”
As he spoke, he felt a throbbing pain in his side.
“Ah, thank goodness… it seems to have worked.”
Yuri approached her fallen father, a mischievous smile gracing her beautifully arranged features, reminiscent of a child whose prank had succeeded.
“I was worried about what would happen if I failed! Truly, having strong legs is essential!”
“Strong legs…?”
It was then that Marquis Cattleya realized what had happened. Yuri had feigned a punch to distract him, only to deliver a kick instead. Now that he thought about it, she hadn’t used a kick at all since the fight began. It must have been a strategy to divert his attention from her legs.
“This is my special kick! Even you, Father, won’t be able to stand up again! As promised, I will leave the Marquis family!”
“W-wait…!”
“Well then… I’m off!”
With a beaming smile, Yuri waved goodbye to her fallen father.
“Ah…”
The moment he saw that smile, he halted his attempt to rise.
Truthfully, he hadn’t been defeated yet. His side ached, and he suspected a few ribs were broken. But… he still had the strength to fight. If he wanted to, he could stand up and continue the battle.
“Ah…”
Yet, seeing Yuri’s smile drained him of that resolve.
(When did it happen… that she stopped smiling…?)
Locked away in the mansion, surrounded by overprotective care… amidst those days, Yuri’s smile had gradually faded away.
“…My dear wife, was I wrong?”
More than the pain in his side from her kick, his heart ached fiercely. Marquis Cattleya lay there, powerless, watching his daughter skip away with a lightheartedness that felt like a dagger to his heart.