Chapter 30
At my words, Ines’s face twisted for the first time.
She quickly tried to school her expression, but the way her eyes flared upward showed just how angry she was.
“So this is why they say ignorance makes you bold. You’re saying I won’t even make it past the preliminaries? Spouting off without knowing your place? Fine. If you win, I’ll apologize. But if I win, I’ll break your wrist so you can never hold a sword again.”
It seemed she’d decided to drop the polite speech that didn’t suit her anyway, because a cold smile curved her lips.
“What? Are you scared? Even if you begged now, I wouldn’t feel like forgiving you.”
“Good. I wasn’t planning to beg anyway.”
Ines glared at me with eyes full of menace.
Well, she was someone born of noble blood, blessed with extraordinary talent, and always showered with praise.
It must’ve been her first time being looked down on like this—no wonder she was angry.
Well, I’m just giving her back what she gave me.
“Since it’s come to this, how about we make a wager?”
Bamal suddenly spoke up.
“Let’s all bet on who’s going to win between you two.”
“Hahaha! Is that even a bet? Everyone’s going to bet on Lady Ineb!”
“Still, let’s try it. Could be fun.”
“Alright, then I’ll bet this sword on Lady Ineb.”
Bamal stepped forward and held out the sword he was carrying.
“It’s been enhanced with magic and made from rare materials—it’s worth quite a lot.”
“Wow, Bamal. You’re really betting that? If you lose it, the marquis will be furious.”
“So what? It’s not like Lady Ineb can lose.”
From the way he was looking at me, it seemed he really wanted an apology from me when Ineb won.
“Then I’ll bet this necklace! It was my birthday gift last year, made with top-grade pearls.”
“I’ll join too! This bracelet should be good enough, right?”
One by one, they put down their bracelets, necklaces, swords, and magical trinkets.
A pile of lavish jewels soon formed in front of Ineb.
It was obvious she would win, so they were clearly using the chance to place expensive bets and score points with her.
Seeing this, Ineb gave me a satisfied smile.
As if to say, See? No one thinks you can win.
“What’s the point if everyone only bets on me? Then it’s not really a wager.”
“But Lady Ineb! You’re sure to win—how could anyone bet on someone else?”
“That’s right. No one’s betting on Lady Clasta at all. What now? Should she just bet on herself?”
“Haha, what’s that? If I were her, I’d bet on Lady Ineb too and at least win something!”
Should I even put something up?
If I won, everything on that table would be mine.
These were all kids from powerful noble families—even if they were young, they had plenty of money.
Just the pile on that table looked like it could buy ten houses in the capital.
Then, a pale, elegant hand placed a blue diamond ring on the table.
The deep color and large gem stood out even among the other jewels—it was obvious at a glance that it was priceless.
“Then I’ll bet on Lady Ariel Clasta.”
Golden hair, violet eyes.
A delicate, beautiful face like a boy from a myth.
It was the one who hosted this party and invited me—Third Prince Saren Aleberk.
“Your Highness, really? You’re just going to lose your money.”
“What can I do? I don’t know the first thing about swordsmanship.”
“Well, at least now we can actually have a bet.”
“Though with just this, it’s hardly worth calling it a bet. Hahaha.”
Even though they were speaking to a prince, their tone carried thinly veiled mockery.
Ineb, too, was staring at him with open displeasure.
I knew the Third Prince’s mother was a dancer from a minority tribe and that he was looked down on, but this is worse than I thought.
But Saren just smiled, as if he didn’t notice anything.
“But Lady Clasta did stop a monster on her own, didn’t she? Has anyone here fought a monster alone before?”
“I heard it wasn’t even that strong. I could’ve killed it myself,” Ineb shot back, her voice rising.
“But Lady Vianeb, you’ve never fought one alone, have you?”
“That’s…!”
Ineb seemed ready to retort, but then turned her head as if I wasn’t worth speaking to.
“Whatever. We’ll see who’s right on the day of the tournament. Lady Clasta, you’d better take good care of your wrists.”
Then she swept out of the hall with her followers in tow.
Before long, only the prince and I remained.
“Oh dear, everyone’s gone. I heard the chef put a lot of effort into the food this time.”
He perched on an empty table and picked up a beautifully decorated macaron.
“It was good,” I replied.
Saren’s eyes curved in a smile.
“Right? He’s new, but his skills are great.”
I started toward the exit, but he caught my arm.
“Don’t leave yet. Now that it’s empty, stay and play with me a bit, hmm?”
I couldn’t bring myself to say no—after all, the hall had emptied because of my spat with Ineb.
Brushing crumbs from his fingers, he asked,
“Are you really confident you can win? Ineb might have a nasty personality, but she’s definitely skilled.”
“Yes.”
“Well, you’re strong too. Still, you can speak casually to me.”
“No.”
“Why not? Because I’m a prince? No one else cares—why should you?”
Even at my curt tone, Saren just kept smiling, unbothered.
I couldn’t tell what this boy was thinking.
The empire had three princes: the first born of the empress, the second of an imperial consort, and the third—Saren—born of a dancer from a minority tribe.
The emperor had not named an heir yet, and fierce political battles were raging beneath the surface.
But none of that involved Saren.
He couldn’t wield a sword.
He was said to be born with a body that couldn’t accumulate mana.
At a time when the empire needed a powerful leader to fight monsters, a prince with no backing and no magic could never inherit the throne.
Because of that, he was spared from the deadly succession struggles, and even after his mother died, he was cared for by the empress.
A prince who lived because he couldn’t inherit the throne—that was Saren.
So why was he interested in me?
If he wanted influence, he’d be better off siding with Ineb.
As I studied him, he tilted his head and smiled prettily.
He is handsome.
He was young now, but he’d grow into someone dangerously charming.
He had a good frame, with large hands and feet—he’d probably be well-built.
“I’ll win, so don’t worry about the jewel. If I lose, I’ll repay you later.”
“I don’t care about that. Though… it was my mother’s keepsake, so it’d be a shame to lose.”
“…Your mother’s keepsake?”
“Mm. The emperor gave it to her when they were courting. It’s the most expensive thing I own.”
“Who bets something like that?”
“I wanted to score some points with you. Wouldn’t it look shabby if I just bet this string bracelet?”
He lifted his wrist, showing a gold bracelet engraved with fine patterns—it looked valuable enough.
“You could’ve just bet that.”
“My feelings for you can’t be expressed with something so small.”
“…I’ll win, no matter what.”
Not that I ever planned to lose, but now I had one more reason not to.
“Really, it’s fine if I lose it. If you fail, I’ll just pretend I dropped it in a sewer.”
He said it cheerfully, but I couldn’t accept that.
Still smiling, he looked straight at me.
For some reason, I found it hard to meet his gaze.
I’d had plenty of people glare and curse at me, but never someone who smiled at me from our very first meeting.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
“You can really speak casually to me.”
“I’m fine.”
“Am I hard to deal with?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then what?”
“I can’t trust people who hide things.”
At that, Saren’s eyes changed for a moment.
The innocent, carefree mask slipped, revealing a fleeting sharpness.
That’s probably the real him.
But he quickly smoothed his expression and blushed.
“Ah, you caught me.”
He cupped his flushed cheeks with both hands.
“I wasn’t planning to say this yet…”
His voice lowered, and the sudden shift in mood made me tense, focusing on him.
Was he about to confess some ambition to use my family to seize the throne? Or reveal a scheme to take down Ineb?
“The truth is… I think I fell for you at first sight.”
“…What?”
The completely unexpected words made me lose my composure.
Ignoring my reaction, Saren averted his eyes like a shy boy.
“I fell for you the moment I saw you. I was going to wait until we knew each other better to confess, but since you’ve found out, I guess there’s no helping it.”
Who does he think he’s fooling?
There was no way someone could like me.
I might not have any glaring flaws in appearance, but I’d heard more than once that just seeing my face ruined their appetite.
“What a lie.”
Didn’t he know careless lies could get your head chopped off?
At my cold reply, Saren covered his face with his hands and pretended to cry.
“So mean. I’m being sincere.”
Even his fake sniffles sounded convincing.
I crossed my arms and stared at him until he peeked at me through his fingers.
“Don’t you comfort handsome boys when they cry?”
“You’re not even really crying.”
“My heart’s really hurt, though.”
I only answered with a frown.
“Did that upset you? But now what do I do?”
Lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret, Saren whispered,
“I think I’m falling for you even more.”
Is this guy insane?
