121. Preliminary (4)

Arsene Bern did not go down from the podium for a long time even after the winner was declared, looking at the fallen opponent. Like someone trying to find something, Arsene stared at the knight.

“Your brother’s knight seems to have a hobby of humiliating defeated opponents. It’s really embarrassing, bro.”

Feigning composure and reproach, Kyle cleared his bubbling stomach. It was a humiliation. A humiliation he couldn’t bear. I thought defeat was something I could suffer, but I didn’t think of such an overwhelming and humiliating defeat. To Daniel Wigan, who was defeated by that knight today, there is no next word. He was well-received within the 3rd Guards for his sharp swordsmanship, and he would be expelled from the Knights within a week.

Arsene was still looking at Daniel Wigan. Daniel Wigan was also confined to his seat, unable to move, as if overwhelmed by Arsene’s momentum. The second prince, who had been watching the scene, raised his voice sharply as if he could not stand it any longer.

“How long are you going to stand there stupidly? Once the win or loss is decided, you don’t have to move on to the next game quickly! Referee!”

At the cry of the 2nd prince, the referee cautiously approached Arsene, sweating profusely. But before the referee could speak, Arsene voluntarily turned his back and walked down the podium where the contest was taking place. The speculation that had radiated from the moment we entered had subsided before we knew it.

“Alright… , that damn black hair!”

The 2nd prince couldn’t contain his anger and trembled as he clenched his fists tightly. On the other hand, Lewis had no time to pay attention to other circumstances around him as he organized the series of events that had just occurred in his head.

‘Arsene participated as my knight in this martial arts competition.’

It would have been perfect if it had been a resource of his pure free will, but Lewis could easily infer that the king’s instructions would have followed.

‘At that time, Arsene was vague about whether or not to participate, was it to prevent information leakage?’

Due to a series of incidents, Arsene’s name must have been recognized by Leon Benning as well. If the fact that he was participating in the martial arts competition as a member of the first prince had reached Leon Benning’s ears, he would have tried to interfere somehow.

‘Fortunately out of misfortune… is it.’

Louis felt disgust at himself for thinking that unconsciously. Even though the four knights who were willing to come for him died, he was confident in finding and filling the gaps that would arise from their deaths rather than mourning their deaths.

You must always remember that the weight of those placed under you is equal to the weight of the burden that will soon be placed on your shoulders.

These were the words the king once said on the queen’s anniversary. Louis replayed the words in his mind and gritted his teeth. It shouldn’t collapse. Their deaths were to be mourned not with the worthless tears of the first prince, but with the downfall of their enemy, the Beninga.

“Hyung-nim, it seems you have a very good article.”

Kyle was sarcastic, as always. Lewis didn’t look at him, and looked at Arsene preparing for the next competition, and answered as if muttering.

“Good article. Unbelievably.”

Kyle clicked his tongue hard as if he didn’t like it. As if he had no intention of making more sarcastic comments about Arsene, he leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. The next players were coming up onto the podium. At that time, the gymnasium started to stir up loudly. The eyes of the knights were fixed on one of the knights walking towards the central podium.

“Who is that person?”

“The hero of no man’s land… You are also participating in this martial arts competition.”

“Isn’t this too unfair? That person is already a knight who will make his name known throughout the kingdom, no, even in other countries, but he dares to participate in this martial arts competition… .”

Kyle looked at Theodora as she walked towards the podium. The leader of the Jackdaw Knights. The knight who was once a hero in the north has become a shining star in the east. With a cold expression on his face, wearing a black uniform, he was walking near the podium with overwhelming momentum.

“Brother, can you see? That is the knight closest to the current strongest in the kingdom.”

Louis looked at Theodora, who had stepped onto the podium. Her platinum blonde hair, cut short, was shining beautifully. I felt an eerie aura from the lightly gripped sword in one hand. Over the past hour, Arsene’s intuition trained as a warrior has been sending warnings. Theodora Benning is strong. Louis’ five senses were telling him that.

“Yang players, get ready!”

The referee’s voice is heard. Theodora caught her breath and stared at her opponent. The opponent was a member of the Red Wolf Knights, famous in the west. The knight, who had a clear look of nervousness, was showing his anxiety from the jockeying ceremony. Theodora slowly drew her sword forward and finished her preparations.

“… Behemoth in no man’s land.”

“… I heard you cut down hundreds of monsters. He must be called a hero for a reason.”

“As rumored, it is really beautiful. If only I hadn’t said that I would live with the sword as my companion for the rest of my life.”

“A man can become such a hero with just one battle. I got a lot out of it.”

A story about himself was heard over and over again. There were many inflated rumors. It is true that he dealt with the Behemoth, but in the end it was Maxim, not himself, who cut off its head. He didn’t perform well enough to be called a hero, and he lost much more than he gained in that war.

Theodora began to erase it all from her mind. what i can do Theodora remembered her father’s face. It reminds me of the emotionless voice that spoke of winning as if it were natural.

‘Be sure to win the tournament, Theodora.’

Championship?

Theodora gripped her sword tightly. He had no way of knowing if his father really wanted it. It might just be something you said to stimulate yourself. Or it could have been just a casual, casual comment, but if Leon Benning really wanted to win his title,

“The match begins!”

I didn’t want to let that wish come true.

At the same time as the referee’s cry, the opponent screamed and swung his sword. It was calculated that even Theodora would have no choice but to let go of her momentum if she dug in with a strong attack from the start.

“aaa!!”

Kang-!

Contrary to that spirit, the sound made by clashing swords against each other was mind-bogglingly draining. Theodora stood still and took the strong attack of the knight intact, but her expression and breath did not change. The knight tried to continue the momentum by pressing down on his sword, but this turned out to be the worst option. It was because Theodora had no intention of continuing the power struggle.

“uh?”

Theodora slipped away. The knight, who had been putting his center of gravity all the way forward, flinched with bewildered eyes. Just like the power that had been loaded into the center of gravity, the knight bounced off and landed precariously on the edge of the podium. At the end of that line of sight, the sharp blue tip of Theodora’s knife.

“Ugh-!”

With a short scream, the knight quickly pulled back. Completely forgetting that that place was the end of the platform. His foot stepped on the edge of the podium and slipped. The knight fell with a face that did not even know why he was falling backwards.

“Outside-! The winner, Theodora Benning of the Knights of the Ravens!”

Just like that, the match ended in vain. Leaving behind the knight with a puzzled look on his face, still not knowing that the match was over, Theodora slowly walked down the podium. The whispers toward him were still audible.

“Did you see it? It was over so quickly I didn’t even have time to blink.”

“The disengagement of the body happened so naturally without any change of momentum. It’s no wonder that the opposing knight couldn’t do anything and left.”

Then, a word caught Theodora’s feet.

“Even so, the match just now wasn’t the fastest one.”

“Is this person saying that even after seeing the match with his own two eyes?”

“You have to have seen it before to say you saw it with your own two eyes. I couldn’t see it in the first place, so how can I say I saw it?”

“Did you say Arsene Bern of the 2nd Guards? 1 His Highness the Prince also has a very scary knight.”

It was a catchy name. Theodora turned her head slightly to search the gymnasium. When I looked towards where I could feel the gaze watching me carefully, I saw a knight with dark hair and black eyes staring at me. It was a face I had seen before. Was it the knight you met while walking through the palace one day?

It was a strange feeling. It’s definitely the face of someone I’ve never seen before, but my heart flutters for no reason. It was like a sense of tension in front of a strong unmanned person, or like a feeling of having someone in front of you that you haven’t seen in a very long time.

Their eyes met from a distance. Even though they recognized each other’s gaze, no one turned their head, and their gazes met in the air for a long time. The feeling that time slows down and everything around you loses its sound and color. In a space full of knights and aristocrats, only Theodora and Arsene maintained their colors and existed.

“The 1st qualifying round is over! We’re ready for game 2! All the knights who won the first match, please stand by!”

The referee’s loud voice was heard. Even though the number of participating knights dropped by half, the heat of the gymnasium did not cool down at all. Rather, as they got closer to the finals, their fighting spirit and speculation seemed to heat up even more. Theodora tried to focus her attention on the game again, but the dark-haired swordsman’s eyes kept lingering in her head and she couldn’t forget it.

“Game 2 starts! Ralph Baines of the 2nd Guards, Alice Bear of the Ash Tree Knights, forward!”

The referee’s voice rang out announcing the start of the second match. Theodora turned her head again and tried to look at the place where Arsene Bern was, but the knight had already gone somewhere. It must be a coincidence. Theodora squeezed the hilt of the sword, suppressing her ever-quivering heart.

—

The news that the knights from the no-man’s land were killed not only angered the king and the first prince, but also Maxim. The knights who were said to have been killed were knights that Maxim was familiar with. They didn’t welcome him that much in the no-man’s-land, but in the end, they were comrades who went back to back and slashed the beast together.

‘… Perhaps, the knights who belonged to the same unit as me did it.’

Adeline, who was delivering the news, had a sad expression on her face. Maxim bit his teeth, unable to give an answer.

‘I don’t know the connection, but they were all strong enough to be called tax-free knights. They are probably the only knights who can defeat the knights of No Man’s Land like that.’

Adeline’s expression seemed to be afraid of something. Maxim was able to infer the source of that fear without difficulty. If Benning’s curse had remained on Adeline as it was, she would have known that the one who killed the knights of the no-man’s land could have been herself, not anyone else.

‘I am… .’

Maxim put his hand on Adeline’s head. Adeline trembled at the moment she felt the touch, but when Maxim slowly stroked her head, her body relaxed.

‘Thank you for your effort.’

Maxim’s voice, though, was still locked in deep anger. Adeline spoke to Maxim in an anxious voice.

‘Maxim, please don’t overdo it. I know it’s selfish, but considering you’re in any danger this time around, I… .’

‘The danger has already started moving with Count Benning when he started moving, Adeline.’

Adeline lowered her head vaguely, as if she half understood Maxim’s words, but half did not. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand the anger, so Adeline had no choice but to quietly accept Maxim’s hand stroking her to reassure herself.

When the preliminary match began, Maxim swung his sword with cold rage. As far as martial arts competitions go, Benning will never be able to achieve the results he wants.

‘Leon Benning.’

Maxim’s face, watching Theodora’s match, was still cold. Even if the opponent in the finals is Theodora. No, the possibility of being Theodora is too great. Moreover, he had to win the martial arts competition.

get her back I didn’t think so. Maxim wanted to unravel the thread between himself and Theodora, which had been frantically entangled from the beginning. After releasing it, I wanted to face her in the state where I went back to the beginning.

His eyes met with Theodora, who noticed that he was staring at her.

That simple fact shook Maxim’s heart. Those eyes that still had dark clouds, the short platinum hair that hadn’t changed, and the cold expression were holding on to Maxim.

Maxim, are you there?

Theodora did not speak, but the words echoed in Maxim’s mind in Theodora’s voice. Maxim chewed on his lips and swallowed the fishy blood flowing in his mouth with saliva. After taking a deep breath, he shook his head. It’s still a preliminary round. Now is the time to focus on the match in front of you.

“Next match! Arsene Bern of the 2nd Guards!”

Maxim got up from his seat when his name was called.

“-Rione Becker of the Raven Knights!”

I never thought I would meet someone I knew again.