Chapter 35
An unprecedented situation had occurred.
Only one person had passed the preliminaries!
“What do we do about this? Everyone else got eliminated in the preliminaries. Then what about the finals?”
“How can we even hold the finals? They’ve all been eliminated!”
“Then how will we decide the rankings?”
“What’s there to decide for first place? Obviously, it’s Ariel Clasta.”
“Then second place…”
“How about deciding it based on who held onto their tiles the longest?”
“That wouldn’t be fair to the people who were on the same team.”
“Then maybe just let everyone into the finals, or hold the preliminaries again?”
“What… Come on now. Does money rain from the sky?!”
“Then what about ranking by who was closest to the finish line?”
“That would be based on luck, so it wouldn’t be fair either…”
“Still, you need at least a third place for the awards ceremony…”
The emperor, who had been listening to the nobles’ chatter, thought for a while before finally speaking.
“Must we pick three places? The winner has already been decided—Ariel Clasta. Let’s just proceed as it is.”
And so, an award ceremony with only a first-place winner was held.
“This time, my daughter won. That girl really doesn’t know when to stop—how could she win all by herself? I’ve won my fair share of tournaments, but I’ve never seen all the other competitors get eliminated in the preliminaries before.”
Though his words sounded like scolding, the Duke of Clasta’s face was beaming.
His expression practically screamed, My daughter is amazing!
Sensing the mood, several quick-witted nobles opened their mouths.
“Congratulations. I saw it myself—she was truly impressive. Outsmarting everyone else, coming up with strategies, and having the skill to carry them out… I couldn’t stop admiring her.”
“Well, it’s not because she’s my daughter, but she’s always been exceptionally talented. I never even had to tell her to train; she just works hard on her own.”
“I’m honestly jealous.”
“Duke Clasta, I suppose you won’t have to worry about your child’s upbringing anymore.”
With every word of praise, the duke’s smile stretched even higher.
Some nobles exchanged glances.
What’s this? Wasn’t Duke Clasta supposed to be uninterested in his daughter?
Good thing I told my son not to provoke his son.
Meanwhile, Duke Vianeb was sitting in stony silence, his displeasure written all over his face.
His daughter, Inev, who had never once failed to win, hadn’t even passed the preliminaries!
Such humiliation was a first.
The Duke of Clasta, still smiling, approached him.
“Come to think of it, Duke Vianeb, should I teach you how to raise children?”
“No need.”
“Don’t be so modest. From where I’m standing, the bloodline you boast about is finished. If you want the Vianeb family to have a future, you’d better start educating her properly.”
“You won by using dirty tricks…! Throwing sand in her face! If not for that, Inev would’ve won!”
“Isn’t that a technique from chapter one of the fencing manual? You didn’t teach her even that? Does blaming it on that make losing feel any better?”
Duke Vianeb glared at him, his face red.
But in the face of Inev’s loss, there was little more he could say.
“Oh, by the way, how’s your daughter doing?”
“Hah! And what business is it of yours?”
Despite his sharp tone, the Duke of Clasta’s face stayed relaxed.
“Our daughters had a little wager, remember? My daughter’s been looking for Lady Vianeb to collect on it.”
“Grr…”
Patting Vianeb’s shoulder, he added,
“You must be feeling pretty upset, but as her father, you should comfort her. Here, sweets are good for calming the nerves—why don’t you take this to her?”
It was a cake with the words Congratulations on Ariel’s Victory written in big letters.
“I don’t need it!”
Inev’s face was flushed red, her whole body trembling.
In contrast, Ariel tilted her head with a calm, innocent look.
“What’s the matter, Lady Inev? Are you feeling unwell?”
Inev bit her lip, unable to say a word.
If she moved even a finger, she felt she might scream and run away like a lunatic.
“Well, we should settle our bet, right? If I didn’t win, I’d have my wrist broken. But if I won, you’d kneel and apologize to me—those were the terms, correct?”
Ariel shook the gold medal hanging around her neck.
“So here I am. I won.”
Inev couldn’t believe what was happening.
How could that low-born girl have beaten her?
And how had she been eliminated in the preliminaries?!
It made no sense.
Father had made sure all her teammates were our people!
But Ariel had simply eliminated all her teammates and gone on to win alone.
“So hurry up and apologize.”
Inev clenched her teeth.
She was of the noble Vianeb bloodline.
She would never bow her head to some lucky commoner.
“Why should I?”
“Because I won the bet.”
“Don’t make me laugh! You used dirty tricks! You were in on it with Duke Clasta!”
“Wasn’t it you who used dirty tricks?”
“I can’t! I’d never bow to someone like you—ugh!”
A heavy force suddenly pressed down on Inev.
She tried to resist with all her strength, but it was useless.
“Urgh…”
Her knees buckled against her will, and her body bent toward Ariel.
“Release me right now…”
“Keep your promises. Apologize, and I’ll let you go.”
She could feel the eyes of passersby on her.
“Fine! I’ll do it! I’m sorry, all right? I was wrong! There, happy?!”
“Good.”
The pressure vanished, and Inev sprang to her feet.
Casting a sharp glance around, she fled in a hurry.
I hadn’t expected the Duke of Clasta to be this happy about my win.
He had cakes made and handed them out to the nobles, even tossed gold to the family’s servants.
Thanks to that, every servant I met these days greeted me with a big smile and warm congratulations.
“Congratulations on your victory, my lady!”
“Truly, congratulations!”
Swell even had a brand-new sword now.
It was clearly a luxurious, high-quality weapon.
“Did you buy that yourself?” I asked.
“No, my lady. The master bought it for me to celebrate your win.”
“I got something too, my lady!”
No wonder Mary had been wearing a necklace I hadn’t seen before.
As if that wasn’t enough, the duke even put up a billboard in the capital.
The massive ad on the city’s largest shop wall featured my face, front and center.
“So that’s her…”
“Oh, the Duke of Clasta’s daughter! She’s even prettier in person.”
The embarrassment when strangers recognized me was unbearable.
“But didn’t you say you’d won plenty of tournaments yourself, Your Grace?” I grumbled.
“Well, this is the young lady’s first win. Worth commemorating,” Orwell replied.
“Really? And what’s that?”
I pointed to the papers in his hand.
I could swear I’d seen my name on them…
“Oh, this? The master says you’ll be winning a lot from now on, so he’s planning to build a museum to store your medals.”
I gave up trying to understand him.
A few days later, the Third Prince, Saren, visited the estate.
“Hey, congratulations! Thanks to you, I made a small fortune!”
He dropped a heavy pouch on the table.
It was so heavy it took both arms to lift.
When I opened it, gold coins and jewels spilled out.
Saren took out the ring he’d bet and pocketed it.
“I just need this. The rest is yours.”
“Really?”
“Yup. Gotta score some points with you, after all.”
He cupped his chin in his hands and beamed.
“…Just take half.”
“Nah, no way. I only made the bet to get on your good side anyway.”
“I don’t like you, Your Highness.”
“I know. So tell me—what is your type?”
“I like older men.”
I didn’t have a preference, but I said it to brush off someone my age.
But Saren wasn’t easy to shake.
“My birth was registered late, but I was actually born in December—so I’m a year older.”
“Oh, wait, no. I like younger men.”
“Nuna♡”
His sugary tone made my skin crawl.
“Actually, I guess people my age are best.”
No matter how crazy Saren was, the money had done nothing wrong.
I quietly pocketed what he’d given me.
“By the way, I’ll be leaving the Imperial Palace for a while.”
“Where to?”
“The eastern border.”
“What? To the war zone?”
The eastern border was right against enemy territory, constantly under attack by monsters. Battles happened there daily.
“But you can’t even use a sword.”
“Yeah, but after meeting you, I wanted to live differently. Staying safe is nice, but… I want to be the kind of person you’d like more.”
“I never told you to go get yourself killed.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“I just don’t want to watch you die.”
“Then I’ll have to make it back alive, so I can see you again.”
He slipped a ring with a blue gemstone onto my finger.
“Wasn’t this your mother’s keepsake?”
“Yeah. So when I come back safe, give it back to me then.”
“Stop saying things that sound like a last will.”
I took the loose ring off my finger and handed it back to him.
“Bring it yourself when you return alive.”
