Fights, and watching them, were not exactly the most sophisticated of past times - they were certainly nothing in comparison to Rafail's more usual distractions of hunting or riding or finding the most vulnerable noble girls to share his bed - but there was an appeal that he didn't exactly understand. He had never been a fan of anything that might lead to getting filthy and yet he had no bother with watching the combat, even when they had no weaponry on them that might have served to make things a little more interesting. Then again, perhaps Rafail should have been glad for the lack of weapons, lest he end up injured himself. He had no idea whether or not he could trust these people not to spontaneously turn on him. It was the very reason he made a habit of keeping Barnabas and Deucalion around at all times, in the eventuality that something did go wrong.

The two boys hadn't wasted their time getting started, with one of them delivering a sudden and clearly unforeseen blow to the back of the other's head. The unexpected movement had clearly surprised Elissa, who had almost jumped up in her seat as she grabbed onto Rafail, nails digging into his arm. He would have complained at her actions - he had sensitive skin, after all, he could hardly let it be ruined with nail marks - were it not for the sheer reason that he considered it a good sign. Make the woman feel as excitable as that, she would always associate the feeling of such an intense emotion with you and simply be easier to manipulate into bed. It was a tactic Rafail had been using for a long time now, and one which rarely failed. In fact, outside of the airs of power and wealth it gave him, both of which were traits that proved exceptionally attractive to women, it was another of the reasons that had led him to call for a private fight to take place in his own home.

The fight seemed close to finishing, although Rafail was only making an uneducated guess based on the sheer fact that one of them had been thrown to the ground and the other had tossed a glance in his direction. As far as he was concerned, the only reason anyone would ever be on the ground was that they had been forced there unwillingly, which, to him, meant that the combat was over. Or, at the very least, the bulk of it was over and he was permitted to interrupt (not that being forbidden would have stopped him). Rafail tended to do whatever it was he wanted. He shifted slightly in his seat, allowing the pair of his girls to rest their heads on his shoulders.

"I assume the pair of you are quite near done," he commented, raising a hand to gesture for Barnabas to go and fetch the prize money he'd had set aside for the victor in his own personal study, a room that was designed just as extravagantly as the rest of the home and yet so rarely visited. "You." He pointed at the gladiators' handler, snapping his fingers for attention. "I wish to speak with the winner alone. The other two of you may wait outside."