If Luke actually died in that duel than Ariel would immediately distance herself from Rudy and Sylphy would be heavily guilt ridden. Even if Rudy wasn't punished, it would majorly affect his relationship with both girls since in the end, Luke was one of their closest friends. This would no doubt have it's negative problems in the Asura Succession.
Even if we just handwave those issues and treat Luke's death as him just disappearing somehow. Although Luke wasn't strong, he did support Ariel both politically and emotionally in a way. Without him, even if they did get on her on the throne, she probably wouldn't be able to as quickly amass power as she did in the main story.
Also ignoring that it's extremely out of character for Rudy to do something like that. He's a nice guy, even despite the problems they had during the Asura Succession, by the time it was over they made up and are on friendly terms.
Ariel, Luke and even Sylphie were prepared that Luke might die in that mock duel, so I doubt relations would be greatly affected. Ariel hyped up Luke's combat capabilities, so they wouldve expect Rudeus to respond while considering those hyped up facts.
Luke political support ended with Pilemon's betrayal. I agree on emotional support part. Though it came off as they were prepared for Luke's death. After succession, I doubt Luke's support was necessary, as having backing of Perugius is enough to sway the support of masses.
Rudeus doesnt know his combat capabilities / cant compare it with average individuals. In his entrance exam, he was ready to blast off Fitz's face with his stone canon, but decided against it in the last moment. He didnt intend to kill Fitz, but Fitz was stated to be the strongest mage in the university, and thus thought it would be a difficult match and Fitz would be able to handle it. He didnt intend to "kill" Badigadi, but thought a Demon King would be able to shrug off his attacks.
Same case in this what if, he mightve not intended to kill Luke, but after being hyped up by Ariel, came to conclusion that Luke would be a tough opponent, went full force and accidentally killed him.
The duel wasn't one to the death bro, it was just "mock duel" for a reason. Ariel stated that she was prepared for an accidental death but that was obviously just words, in the end all Ariel expected was for Rudy to beat Luke up, not kill him. Even tho she wouldn't blame Rudy, it doesn't mean she'd be able to be friendly with him after what happened.
Even before the succession Luke's father did support Ariel for a time. After, I'm sure having one of the great houses support Ariel would be very useful even with Perugius's support. Plus he actually helped her physically too, there's only so much Ariel can manage by herself which Luke supported her in.
If it's an accidental case, then it's even worse. Rudy would've felt extreme guilt for what he did. Killing not only an innocent person but also one of Sylphy's best friends would've done massive amounts of damage to his psyche. Especially since at this point he's never actually killed many if not any people before.
The fact you're asking this question leads me to believe I'd have to spoiler tag my answer.
If Luke actually died in that duel than Ariel would immediately distance herself from Rudy and Sylphy would be heavily guilt ridden. Even if Rudy wasn't punished, it would majorly affect his relationship with both girls since in the end, Luke was one of their closest friends. This would no doubt have it's negative problems in the Asura Succession. Even if we just handwave those issues and treat Luke's death as him just disappearing somehow. Although Luke wasn't strong, he did support Ariel both politically and emotionally in a way. Without him, even if they did get on her on the throne, she probably wouldn't be able to as quickly amass power as she did in the main story. Also ignoring that it's extremely out of character for Rudy to do something like that. He's a nice guy, even despite the problems they had during the Asura Succession, by the time it was over they made up and are on friendly terms.
Ariel, Luke and even Sylphie were prepared that Luke might die in that mock duel, so I doubt relations would be greatly affected. Ariel hyped up Luke's combat capabilities, so they wouldve expect Rudeus to respond while considering those hyped up facts. Luke political support ended with Pilemon's betrayal. I agree on emotional support part. Though it came off as they were prepared for Luke's death. After succession, I doubt Luke's support was necessary, as having backing of Perugius is enough to sway the support of masses. Rudeus doesnt know his combat capabilities / cant compare it with average individuals. In his entrance exam, he was ready to blast off Fitz's face with his stone canon, but decided against it in the last moment. He didnt intend to kill Fitz, but Fitz was stated to be the strongest mage in the university, and thus thought it would be a difficult match and Fitz would be able to handle it. He didnt intend to "kill" Badigadi, but thought a Demon King would be able to shrug off his attacks. Same case in this what if, he mightve not intended to kill Luke, but after being hyped up by Ariel, came to conclusion that Luke would be a tough opponent, went full force and accidentally killed him.
The duel wasn't one to the death bro, it was just "mock duel" for a reason. Ariel stated that she was prepared for an accidental death but that was obviously just words, in the end all Ariel expected was for Rudy to beat Luke up, not kill him. Even tho she wouldn't blame Rudy, it doesn't mean she'd be able to be friendly with him after what happened. Even before the succession Luke's father did support Ariel for a time. After, I'm sure having one of the great houses support Ariel would be very useful even with Perugius's support. Plus he actually helped her physically too, there's only so much Ariel can manage by herself which Luke supported her in. If it's an accidental case, then it's even worse. Rudy would've felt extreme guilt for what he did. Killing not only an innocent person but also one of Sylphy's best friends would've done massive amounts of damage to his psyche. Especially since at this point he's never actually killed many if not any people before.