Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 92 - 91 - Villain Trope.

Ilzara’s voice still rang in the air. "You must leave the Magic Tower before dawn!"

Silence answered her.

Raven, half-seated on his bed with sleep still clinging to his expression, yawned.

Then, he turned toward Ilzara, his expression tired. "Can I not have one day without someone trying to give me more work or trouble?"

Ilzara, still breathing hard, as if she had come to him running, didn’t know what to say to those words, making Raven shake his head.

"So? What is it?"

"It’s Galeon," Ilzara replied with urgency in her eyes.

But what followed was silence again.

"Hello?" Jessy tilted her head. "Can we get the rest of the context?"

"Yeah," Rufus stood up, rubbing his eyes. "I don’t think ’It’s Galeon’ was all you wanted to say."

Jake also nodded while Lia and Alex stared at Ilzara.

"Ah, yes!" Ilzara quickly recovered, her breathing stabilizing. "Galeon—he’s going to challenge you to a duel at dawn. You have to leave before that."

Hearing her words, everyone exchanged a glance.

They weren’t panicked glances, nor were they filled with urgency.

It was an expression that said, ’Was that it?’

She came here, huffing like a dog who ran a marathon, all to tell them this—that a sixth-circle mage was going to challenge Raven to a duel?

It was Raven they were talking about!

The guy who had defeated a layer six knight within seconds—! freёweɓnovel_com

But then, something clicked in their heads.

’Ah, she doesn’t know.’

Looking at Ilzara’s expression, genuinely worried about Raven, they understood that the news of Raven defeating a layer six knight hadn’t reached the magic tower.

But it was understandable.

The one Raven had defeated was a Royal Knight—the pride of the Royal family.

To not get the image of the Royal Knights lowered, the Royal Family had probably kept that news under wraps.

’Hm, the classic third-rate villain trope, huh?’

He knew this was bound to happen, but he didn’t think it would be this soon.

But then, a new idea formed in his head, and he grinned.

It wasn’t a friendly grin, nor was it a grin of a man enjoying something.

It was the grin of a man who’d just decided to turn a death sentence into a stage.

"No," he said, stretching lazily as he stood up. "I’m not going anywhere."

Ilzara’s brows furrowed. "What?"

Raven stepped past her and moved toward the center of the room, dragging a chair forward and slumping into it like a bored war general. "Galeon wants to duel me? Fine. I’ll accept."

Lia blinked. "Raven?"

What was Raven planning? She couldn’t understand.

Ilzara took a step forward, her voice rising. "You don’t understand. Unlike before, when you had the advantage in close range, this time, it would be different. His father even gave him a relic. This isn’t about ego anymore—it’s a trap to crush your reputation or your life!"

She was worried, yes.

But she was worried for no reason.

"Exactly." Raven stood, eyes sharp now. "And I plan to crush him in return. But not just with fists."

He turned toward Ilzara, his tone shifting into something that rang with theatrical nobility.

"If Galeon becomes the next Tower Master, this entire institution will be ruled by corruption, arrogance, and nepotism. So, I’ll make him stake more than just his pride."

"What do you mean?" Ilzara asked cautiously.

"I’ll issue a counter-condition," Raven said, pacing now. "If he loses, he steps down from being a Tower Master candidate entirely. For good."

Jessy leaned back, muttering, "Oh, he’s doing that voice again. The ’Righteous Anime Protagonist’ voice."

Jake crossed his arms, watching silently but nodding slightly.

Ilzara looked shocked. "You can’t—he’d never agree!"

"He will," Raven said confidently. "Because he’ll think it’s my way of avoiding the duel. He wants to teach me a lesson, so he’ll accept whatever conditions I put forward. It will be his confidence in his victory that will make him accept that condition."

Inwardly, however, he chuckled. ’There’s no way a villain would back down merely because of some condition.’

Ilzara opened her mouth to protest again but paused. She studied Raven’s face.

It was calm.

Too calm.

’Maybe he has a plan...’

She exhaled. "...Alright. I’ll make the arrangements. I’ll submit the duel request on your behalf and add the conditions. But if anything happens—"

"I’ll take responsibility," Raven said, voice cool. "Now go. Before someone suspects you warned me."

Ilzara hesitated for a moment longer, then nodded and rushed out, her robes fluttering behind her.

The room was silent for a moment after she left.

Then Raven’s entire expression shifted.

His smile faded.

His eyes sharpened.

His posture straightened.

"Now that the unrelated party’s gone," he muttered, "let’s talk about the real reason."

Jessy raised a brow. "You’re not doing this because you want to ’save the tower,’ are you?"

"Of course not," Raven said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I couldn’t care less who becomes the next tower master. But this duel? It’s our best shot at confirming something."

Jake’s eyes narrowed. "The demons."

Raven nodded.

"We still don’t know who the demon is or who’s helping them. But if anyone is watching us—any worshipper, contractor, spy, or the demon themselves—they’ll know about this duel."

Rufus grunted. "You think they’ll use it?"

"They’d be fools not to." Raven sat back down, finally serious. "This is the perfect chance to eliminate me with plausible deniability. A public duel, no rules, a gifted relic, and half the tower cheering it on. If I die, it’s ’official business.’ No questions asked."

"And even if you win?" Jessy asked.

Raven’s lips curled. "They’ll still act. Maybe sabotage. Maybe attack someone in our group. Maybe try to corrupt the duel itself. All we need to do is bait them into action."

Lia, who had been silently listening to everything, frowned, her expression serious now. "Okay, but how do we find them? It’s a big tower. We don’t even know where they’ll strike."

Raven didn’t answer immediately.

He simply turned his gaze to Alex’s head.

There, sitting perfectly balanced on Alex’s hair, was a familiar tiny silhouette, who suddenly had a cape on his back, fluttering in the breeze.

It was Nibbles.

The squirrel gave a subtle nod.

Raven mirrored it.

Alex, however, tilted his head.

"It’s me? Am I finally playing an important role? Will I get my protagonist moment?"

Those words made Raven deadpan, and Nibbles slapped his head, but they didn’t say anything.

Raven, ignoring Alex, turned to the group. "I have someone already in the tower. Someone no one would ever suspect. Someone who’s already scouting the entire place while everyone else is focused on this flashy duel."

Jessy’s eyes sharpened as she glanced at Nibbles once. "You mean—?"

Raven didn’t let her finish. "You just focus on what’s in front of you. Leave the shadows to him."

Jessy leaned back with a smirk. "So tomorrow’s not just a duel."

"Nope," Raven replied. "It’s an investigation."

Jake exhaled slowly. "A trap within a trap."

Siris, finally entering the scene, still holding the pillow, yawned, smiling cutely. "Oh, I like traps."

Lia muttered, "This group is insane..."

Nibbles raised a tiny paw in a silent squirrel salute.

Raven narrowed his eyes.

"Tomorrow," he said, voice cold and clear, "we fight fire with fire."

The atmosphere was tense and filled with resolve until—

"Am I really getting to play an important role? Maybe a full Chapter about me?!"

He was the only one in the room who didn’t understand who Raven was talking about, and others didn’t think it was necessary to tell him.

Letting the dumb guy mumble to himself, they all went back, trying to catch some sleep as the next morning was going to be hectic.

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