Chapter 27
Despite Ariella’s inner scream, there was no hesitation in Austin’s movements.
It was only natural that men’s curiosity and women’s envious glances poured down upon them.
Ariella straightened her neck to maintain her dignity.
Her red hair gleamed brighter under the sunlight, and her sapphire eyes sparkled as if searching for a new amusement.
When he tugged on the reins to slow the horse, the beast neighed loudly and struck its hooves against the ground several times.
He stopped directly in front of Ariella.
Unable to ignore the visit of a prince, she rose from her seat.
“Your Highness.”
Austin bowed his head first in courtesy.
Ariella inclined her chin slightly to receive his greeting.
Everyone believed him to be the gentlest soul alive, but Ariella’s thoughts were different.
She could not quite define why, but she could not shake off the uneasy feeling.
Even now, this very situation was proof.
What reason could he possibly have to approach her like this?
“You have grown even more beautiful.”
Such empty words, delivered so smoothly.
“Thank you. You too, Marquis, look more gallant today than on other days.”
She answered as plainly as possible, yet the commotion had already spread.
The murmurs of the crowd reached the platform where Ariella sat.
Though she could not make out the exact words, it was obvious what kinds of tales they were weaving.
Perhaps a dreadful courtly romance between sister-in-law and brother-in-law was already being spun.
Ariella quietly sighed, masking it with a composed smile.
“I hear you have fought bravely.”
“Yes, I have.”
Though she maintained the utmost formality, Austin instantly blurred the line by leaning closer.
To others, it would surely look like they were having an intimate conversation not meant to be overheard.
“But I fear this is as far as I can go.”
Ariella stepped back the same distance he had advanced.
“For what reason…?”
“Isn’t it obvious? If I so much as swing a spear poorly here, I’ll be suspected of treason.”
Austin smiled with a composure unbefitting his seventeen years.
“So, I’ve come to dedicate my defeat to you, sister-in-law.”
Not a victory, but a defeat.
Ariella let out a short, involuntary scoff.
She cared little for his true intentions.
What mattered was that she knew what she should say.
That such words were unnecessary, that no one doubted his loyalty—those predictable lines.
But Ariella chose otherwise.
“Do you mean that sincerely?”
“…Of course.”
“Then I shall gladly accept the honour of your defeat.”
For a fleeting moment, surprise flickered across Austin’s face.
Ariella turned her gaze away.
Beyond his shoulder, she saw Dmitri standing in the distance.
In that instant, she understood why Austin had pressed so insistently toward her.
He wanted to unsettle Dmitri.
Why he thought spouting useless words to her would shake him, she did not know.
But if her guess was right, then it was time to steel herself.
Anything that harmed Dmitri’s state of mind was dangerous.
“If you’ve said all you wished, would you kindly step aside? My husband will soon be taking the field.”
Ariella spoke not to Austin, but to Dmitri, fixing her gaze on him.
Even at her clear dismissal, Austin held his ground.
After a silent pause, he smiled faintly.
Then, just as he had at first, he bowed his head.
“As you wish. Then may the goddess of victory be with you.”
“His Highness needs no goddess’s blessing to claim victory. So you, merely…”
Ariella slowly turned her head.
Her neck straight, her eyes lowered sharply upon him.
“Restrain yourself.”
Not long after Austin withdrew, Dmitri took his place.
His tall frame, clad in armour tailored perfectly to him, glinted beneath the sun.
The flag signalling the start unfurled with a snap.
With a kick to his horse’s side, his cloak fluttered gracefully from his shoulder.
Ariella fixed her eyes on the dragon crest that seemed ready to soar into the heavens.
She still could not agree that Dmitri was the living incarnation of a dragon said to appear once in a millennium.
Yet somehow, in this moment, that belief brought her great comfort.
***
When Dmitri stepped out of the tent, half a dozen squires rushed to him.
He accepted the helmet offered by one of them.
Three matches remained until victory.
His next opponent was already entering the arena.
A man of large build, experienced in jousting.
They had not faced each other last year, but Dmitri knew of him by reputation.
He was famed for using the weight of his body to crush his opponents.
Dmitri gave a dry laugh.
His opponent was a knight from a provincial estate who trained only for this annual joust.
He had earned a fair name for himself, yet he had never been to war.
The battlefield was nothing like this.
It offered no time for an opponent to prepare, no courtesy of helping a fallen man to his feet.
In a place where you either killed or were killed, rules had no meaning.
There was only malice and bloodlust, a hell overflowing with them.
So this staged contest was, to Dmitri, nothing more than a game.
He stood at the edge of the arena, helmet in hand, his eyes drifting naturally to where Ariella sat.
As always, she was there.
For three days she had not missed a single match.
Even though she surely hated seeing him hunt so ruthlessly, fight so meaninglessly.
What expression was she wearing today?
Was she, as ever, holding her head high to hide her unease?
Or perhaps pressing her hands tightly together, eyes squeezed shut?
Just the thought of her made his lips twitch in a smile.
Lately, it has always been this way.
His emotions still plunged endlessly without warning.
But when he thought of her, he could take at least one deep breath.
Then he saw it—cursed Austin approaching her.
Dmitri’s eyes narrowed.
As Austin drew near, Ariella rose to meet him.
She spoke a few words to him.
In that short instant, a storm of expressions crossed her face before vanishing.
His breath did not falter, but for a moment Dmitri found himself staring at the struggling man before him.
