Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 137

"Interesting spectacle," Kassian began once they were alone in the room. His tone was soft, almost casual, which made it all the more threatening. "Especially the part where a little girl brought you to your knees. Father will be... fascinated when I tell him."

Klein clenched his fists, the bruises from the battle still fresh. "It was just a friendly tournament. In the finals…"

"In the finals there will be no excuses," Kassian cut him off. "You better have followed the cultivation method to the letter and reached bronze rank 1 by then. You and your... companions."

The word 'companions' dripped with contempt from his lips.

"Astor and Feng will also reach bronze 1," Klein assured quickly. "We've been cultivating according to the traditional method and…"

"Oh, and you think that will be enough to get conceited again?" Kassian smiled without humor, his eyes cold as winter frost. "I've already heard the gossip, did you think I wouldn't learn about a boy with a mere spore humiliating you?"

Klein felt blood rush to his face. "That was…"

"A disgrace," Kassian completed the thought. "A stain on the Goldcrest name that will need more than words to cleanse. All caused by stupid overconfidence."

He stepped closer to Klein, his voice dropping to a threatening whisper that seemed to chill the very air.

"Listen well, little brother. If you don't reach bronze rank by the finals, if you lose again even with that advantage..." he made a meaningful pause.

"You'd better forget your place in the family."

Klein paled. "You can't…"

"Can't what?" Kassian arched an eyebrow. "Inform father about your incompetence? Suggest that perhaps the second son isn't as valuable as we thought?"

He stepped back, subtly gesturing toward where Harold watched like a sentinel.

"Our new friend will keep me informed of your... progress. So I suggest you start training harder. Today's humiliation must be erased no matter what."

"It will be," Klein tried to keep his voice from trembling. "I promise that…"

"Don't promise me anything," Kassian cut him off. "Prove it. Or the next time I speak with father, it will be about the possibility of sending you to a different city... where no one knows you."

He turned to leave but paused for a moment.

"Oh, and Klein? Next time you decide to let a girl strike your noble parts..." a cruel smile curved his lips, "at least make sure it's not in front of the entire academy."

Klein remained motionless long after his brother left.

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Five thousand crystals weighed in his pockets, a useless reminder of his failure. The prize didn't matter, the rank didn't matter. All that mattered was reclaiming his honor.

And if that meant training until exhaustion, until he bled...

So be it.

♢♢♢♢

Luna had barely finished changing when her cousins burst into her room, followed by their maid who tried to maintain some semblance of decorum.

"That knee strike was epic!" one cousin exclaimed, throwing herself dramatically onto the bed. "Did you see his face? It was like his brain had to restart!"

"The knee strike was vulgar," Matilda commented while collecting the training clothes, though her lips twitched. "But I must admit it was... satisfying to witness."

"The way the wolf seized the moment to bite the lion!" the other cousin perched on the bed's edge, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "And then with the cobra... it was brilliant!"

"Everything went according to plan," Luna smiled while sitting at her vanity, allowing Mayo to begin brushing her hair with practiced strokes.

"You planned the knee strike too?" María asked with feigned innocence.

"That was... creative improvisation."