I Would Rather Be a Rogue [BL]-Chapter 245: Curving Ball

"51 to 50 for Lyla!" The hostess announced, trying to sound excited...

But it was hard to still feel excited about any points scored, as the game had been dragging on for far too long. If the audience thought that the second game in the match between Felix and Julien had been long and intense, then they changed their minds now. What was currently happening was on another level, so much so that it couldn’t even be compared. Each point either side had scored had been preceded by a very long exchange, when Felix and Lyla were smashing the ball with their paddles, sending it back and forth at a high speed...

And the number of serves in the game had just surpassed one hundred.

At this point, the audience wasn’t so much interested in who would win, but rather the question that they had in their minds was: ’When will it finally end?’

The constant sound of the ball hitting the paddles and the table, and sometimes bouncing off the walls or the floor, was giving everyone serious headaches. Some of the lower-ranking Omegas, who were just neutral observers and whose absence wouldn’t be really noticed, had even sneaked away from the game room, not wanting to endure this torture any longer.

Lyla leaned forward, for a moment, resting her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. Her face was all flushed, and she was in desperate need of a break... But the moment Felix picked up the ball, getting ready to serve, she immediately straightened up, glaring at Felix as she raised her paddle, ready to receive the ball.

She was... a very determined person, Felix had to give her that.

But determination wasn’t enough to win. Neither was having skill and experience, nor was plotting to tire the opponent before the match. Felix had good stamina to begin with, even for a werewolf, and with the help of the potion-infused water, he was still in great condition. The longer the game went on, the larger the gap in strength and speed between him and Lyla became, offsetting what he was lacking in technique. Thanks to that, although it couldn’t be seen from the score on the board, he was slowly gaining an advantage.

Lyla naturally understood it as well. Which is why she put her all into the game, throwing herself almost desperately to receive the ball. After a few exchanges, she hit the ball differently, using her secret technique...

It wasn’t the first time she used it, thought. She had already tried it three times before, so Felix knew what to expect.

...Or so he thought. It turned out that it was a trick. The technique only looked similar, but the ball flew in the opposite direction. Because Felix reacted before he actually saw the trajectory the ball was about to take, he had already made a move to rush to the opposite end of the table. But now he had to abruptly change the direction and lounge back...

He wasn’t going to make it. He stretched out his arm with the paddle, but he could already tell that he was going to be too late, and miss the ball by the inch. And since Lyla was now leading by one point, if he lost this one, the match would be over...

It all happened in just a fraction of a second. The ball, charging his way. His paddle, reaching out toward it, but with a slight delay, that would make it impossible for the two to collide, sending the ball back to Lyla.

And then, a miracle happened. Just as the ball was about to pass the tip of his paddle, its path curved slightly, so that it bounced off his paddle, and flew back towards Lyla.

A split second after that, a gust of breeze brushed past his face. The reason why the ball had curved.

It seemed understandable. The ball had been hit by the wind, so it had changed its trajectory a bit.

Except that they were in the game room in the basement. There should have been no wind. Technically there was the AC, but it didn’t generate a breeze strong enough to curve the ball.

Not to mention, the wind was oddly targeted at the ball. It was just a thin strand of wind, that hit the ball, brushed against Felix’s skin, and disappeared, without anyone noticing it.

And this wind carried a faint scent of jasmine.

"Ahem, ahem... That’s 51 to 51..." The hostess announced, clearing her throat. Although she wasn’t providing much of a commentary aside from reporting on the score, after having to say it out loud so many times, her throat was getting sore.

Felix paid no attention to her, though. He just quickly looked around. Lyla was standing in place, a bit stunned. She had been certain that Felix wouldn’t be able to receive the ball, so she hadn’t been prepared, and when the ball flew her way, she failed to react in time, losing the point... The audience was clapping, but without much enthusiasm. They had ’just get this over with!’ written all over their faces. They just wanted this tournament to finally end, no matter who was going to win.

Felix didn’t care about any of them at the moment, though. What he was searching for was the culprit behind this mysterious gust of wind.

But Remi was nowhere to be seen.

Well, that was to be expected. Whether he was in his fox or human form, Remi had to stay hidden. In his fox form, for obvious reasons. And in his human form... Remi was a tall man. Since most of the people gathered in the game room were Omegas and female Betas, Remi would have stood out with just his height. Then there was his long, shiny, red hair, very eye-catching. And he was also very handsome. If anyone gathered in this room would so much as take a glance at him, he would end up attracting a lot of attention...

And suspicion. There might have been a lot of good-looking people in the Bloodmoon Pack, but there was no way that someone this handsome would go unnoticed, even if his position within the pack was the lowest of the low.

Which meant that since none of the pack members recognized him, he was an outsider.

It wasn’t hard to imagine what a terrible commotion would ensue. And yes, Kade would be able to smooth it out eventually, but it would still be an absolute nightmare to deal with. A fox shifter, living secretly in their pack? It was something that was bound to spark public outrage. And if it were exposed that it was Felix who had ’brought’ him here...

Actually, the consequences to that were hard to predict. If Remi were just a fox shifter, then Felix would naturally face a lot of scrutiny, but since the man was also a witch...

Either way, it was something Felix didn’t want to deal with.

He didn’t have much time to think about it or look for Remi, anyway, because the game was still going on. He and Lyla were now tied 51 to 51, and it was Lyla’s turn to serve...

He managed to score the next point.

But Lyla caught up afterwards, scoring two points in a row.

Only to lose the next ball, bringing the score to a tie again...

In the end, it took over twenty more serves to find the winner.

"And that’s 64 to 62... The second game goes to Felix," the hostess announced without much enthusiasm. Partially it was, of course, because she was Lyla’s close friend and supporter... But partially because she just wanted it to be over. But with Felix winning the second game, they had to play one more game for the match to come to an end...

Lyla trudged to her corner, dropping limply on her chair. She seemed both defeated and determined at the same time. Out of energy, and physically weak from exhaustion, but with her eyes still burning with intense fire.

...Honestly, Felix almost found her admirable at the moment. If she wasn’t trying to constantly go against Felix, scheming to bring him down, and making his life more difficult, they might have even somewhat gotten along...

Might have. But he would never know.

He went to his seat, and took a sip of his water, before wiping the sweat off his face and neck. Although he was doing much, much better than Lyla, he was also slowly getting tired...

The minutes went on, but there were still no signs of the break coming to an end. The hostess even went over to Lyla to discuss it with her, but nothing came out of it. Lyla was in no condition to continue the match any time soon...

And she probably would need more than just a few minutes’ rest. Even an hour wouldn’t be enough.

Felix hesitated for a moment, observing her as he sipped his water. It was convenient for him that Lyla was in a bad shape. This way, she wouldn’t be able to fight back well in the third game.

However... He also knew that she should have already won the match. If it wasn’t for the gust of wind that had curved the trajectory of the ball, the second game would have ended at 52 to 50, and Lyla would have won the match 2 to 0.

She should have won. She might not have known that, but Felix did. Using potions to enhance his condition was one thing, but Remi curving the ball with a spell...

He pressed his lips and slowly stood up, walking over to Lyla and the hostess.

"It’s getting late. Should we finish the match tomorrow?" he suggested.

That was a big sacrifice on his part. If they continued with the match now, Lyla’s chances were slim. But if they postponed it, so that she would have enough time to get proper rest, Felix would be the one at a disadvantage...

He had said it in good faith.

...But Lyla either took it the wrong way, or her pride simply couldn’t take it, because she instantly jumped to her feet.

"No. We’re going to finish it now!"