“Are you entering the contest?”
The Master of Ceremonies recognized him as the Prince of Nolanstia.
He saw the Duchess confirm the Prince’s intent with a slightly surprised look, and the Prince nodded in response.
“Well… since you wish to participate, we have no reason to refuse. Master of Ceremonies, please lead His Royal Highness onto the stage.”
The Duchess made her decision after a brief moment of contemplation.
So, the Master of Ceremonies led the Prince onto the field and announced his identity to all the spectators: “This is the Prince of Nolan, His Royal Highness Julian Nolanstia, who will be filling the vacant slot in the tournament! Everyone, please cheer for him!”
“The Prince of Nolan…”
“Isn’t he the son of the ‘Berserker’? This is going to be good!”
“But weren’t there rumors before saying they were in league with the Demon Race…?”
Unlike the nobles who were worried about the current political climate after hearing whispers from the Duke’s Household meetings, the majority of the common people were more focused on the Prince’s identity and lineage.
They cheered together for the Prince as he appeared, with a momentum only slightly less than when Milin had taken the stage earlier.
As descendants of members of the Brave’s Party, who would be superior in strength?
This topic had been a matter of endless debate in recent years among those who enjoyed the legends of the Brave’s Party.
Now that they had the chance to witness them settle the score with their own eyes and put an end to the argument, the people were naturally generous with their enthusiasm and support.
The Prince bowed slightly in four directions with a solemn posture.
He also smiled at the people… and the grace he displayed earned him another round of applause from the audience.
Milin watched him from the side with squinted eyes.
She didn’t know much about this guy, but she knew very well that the persona he was displaying now was definitely not his true self.
However, rules were rules. After filling the last vacancy, the drawing ceremony proceeded quickly.
Milin’s match was the first to begin — her first-round opponent was a young captain from the Seles City Guard.
He appeared exceptionally excited when he took the stage… because being able to compete on the same stage as the beloved Princess was a great honor for him.
Amidst cheers that shook the heavens, the match soon began.
The weapon she chose this time was still the sword she had used previously during her duel with the Prince.
Her choice of weapon disappointed some of the spectators — because they actually wanted to see the Hero’s Daughter use a two-handed sword like the Holy Sword of Blazing Flames in battle.
And that was exactly why Milin deliberately avoided using a two-handed sword.
Her Teacher, who held the title of Sword Saint, had taught her the usage of almost every kind of sword, but the one she disliked most was the two-handed sword.
Because every time she used that kind of sword in front of others, those people would shout that title she hated most at her: Hero’s Daughter.
Therefore, her swordsmanship followed the swift and agile style of the Elansia Royal Swordsmanship.
Even though her opponent also used military swordsmanship known for its speed, her figure was like a butterfly moving through a garden, completely avoiding all of her opponent’s sharp thrusts and slashes.
She sparred with the captain with ease for a while before finally striking his sword-wielding wrist with her blade.
The captain only felt a numbness in his wrist, and the sword in his hand flew out.
He stared blankly at the Princess, who was giving him a playful smile, then knelt on one knee and admitted his defeat with heartfelt admiration.
In fact, he had realized halfway through that the Princess’s attainments in swordsmanship were far superior to his…
She could have defeated him in an instant, but she had waited for him to display all his moves before ending the duel.
The entire process appeared particularly exciting in the eyes of the audience.
They shouted the Princess’s name and her beautiful titles… and of course, they couldn’t avoid the title that Milin didn’t like so much.
But she was, after all, a 16-year-old girl, and the people’s love and praise brightened her expression considerably.
After sending her opponent off the stage, her gaze instinctively drifted toward the VIP seats.
She saw her Mother looking at her with an approving gaze.
She almost couldn’t suppress the urge for the corners of her mouth to turn upward.
She waved to her Mother and then left the stage to return to the resting area.
Feiyin immediately came forward, handing over a water cup and a clean towel.
She maintained her calm expression as usual, her azure eyes reflecting only her master’s silhouette.
This made Milin feel as if the conversation below the stage just now had never happened, and that moment of abnormality was just her hallucination.
“Well done, Lady. You fought beautifully. To consider your opponent’s pride in a match with such a wide gap in strength and give him a full opportunity to show his abilities… your approach is the embodiment of a superior’s grace.”
“Yeah… thank you, Feiyin. You really understand.” Milin responded.
Feiyin’s unchanging thoughtfulness and gentleness made her squint her eyes, revealing a very happy expression.
‘As expected, nothing has changed… Everything will surely continue to go smoothly like this. Even if that person isn’t here, I’ll be fine.’
……
In the next two rounds of matches, Milin’s performance did not exceed the spectators’ expectations.
She defeated her next two opponents with near-overwhelming dominance and entered the Finals.
She sat in the resting area, waiting for the start of this semi-final.
She knew this was the scene the audience wanted to see most… because standing in the center of the field were that arrogant Prince and her Brother Bert.
“Go for it, Brother Bert! Crush him!”
She naturally hoped Bert would win… although based on her own experience fighting the Prince, the possibility wasn’t high.
To cheer him on, she shouted toward Bert from the resting area.
“Got it, my Princess.”
Looking at the red lotus pinned to Milin’s chest, Bert elegantly made his signature gesture.
As if receiving a signal, his lackeys in the attendants’ area also began shouting and throwing coins… the other attendants accepted this windfall with complicated expressions.
“Feel honored.” Bert turned back and pointed the rapier in his hand at the Prince in front of him.
“This young master is Bert von Walstroom. I will defeat you and then offer the victory to my beautiful Crimsonflame Princess.”
Bert’s voice was very loud, drawing many well-meaning laughs and whispers from noble girls.
Hearing him provoke so arrogantly, even Milin’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“She’s cheering for you. She called you ‘brother’… are you a distant relative of hers?”
The Prince’s expression did not change. He glanced at the girl with hair as bright red as fire by the side of the field and then stared at Bert as he asked.
“Regrettably, no. This young master only has the opportunity to be called such by her due to business cooperation between our families. But I have been working hard to become a man worthy of being called that by her. You’re the son of the ‘Berserker,’ right? I really want to learn a few things from you.”
“Oh… you said you want to offer her the victory. Then do you think you can win against me?”
“I believe so.”
“That’s a pity.” Facing Bert’s declaration full of confidence, the Prince whispered in a low voice.
He stood casually with a relaxed posture. He didn’t even have a weapon in his hand.
Seeing him like this, the Master of Ceremonies couldn’t help but confirm with him again:
“Prince Julian, are you sure you want to fight this round empty-handed as well?”
In the previous two rounds of matches, he had already seen this Prince display exquisite martial arts.
The two opponents he fought were not weak, but even though they used weapons, they couldn’t gain any advantage against the Prince.
But Bert was not someone to be trifled with either.
In the eyes of the Master of Ceremonies, although this tall blonde young man had flamboyant and frivolous manners, he possessed swordsmanship that was superb for his age and was also very good at mixing martial arts techniques into his swordplay.
He had also easily defeated his first two opponents… based on this, the Master of Ceremonies judged that his strength and the Prince’s should be about equal.
And in a duel of similar strength, the difference of whether or not one used a weapon was very large.
“Yes. I’m not good at using weapons. Just start like this.”
“Alright. Then let the match begin!”
Hearing him respond like this, the Master of Ceremonies had no choice but to announce the start of the Duel.
Just as he stepped back, Bert’s swift thrust, carrying the sound of the wind, brushed past his coat and went straight for the Prince’s neck.
The speed of this strike was quite terrifying, so much so that the people in the audience seats hadn’t even reacted enough to let out a cry of surprise when it was unleashed.
Bert revealed a smile, certain of his victory.
He knew this Prince looked down on him, so he seized this psychological opening and used his full strength from the start.
According to his judgment, no matter what, this Prince would not be able to avoid a sword strike that he had given his all to without reservation.
Thus, when his sword tip was only 2 inches away from the Prince’s throat, he shifted the trajectory of the thrust to the side —
“Huh?!”
But he failed. He wasn’t able to shift his sword blade. His sword tip seemed to have hit an invisible wall of air and was deeply embedded in it.
His movements also became stiff and unbalanced for a moment.
“You used Magic Power —”
Before Bert’s puzzled words could leave his mouth, the Prince’s right fist hit his chest.
He clearly heard the muffled sound of his ribs shattering… and then he was flung back like a ragged sack by the massive impact.
“Brother Bert?!”
Milin, who had been closely watching the match, reacted to what had happened even faster than the Master of Ceremonies, who was closer.
She sprinted toward Bert’s direction, pushing off the ground, and finally managed to catch his body before he fell off the Martial Arts Arena.
The force that sent him flying even made Milin, who caught him, unable to stay on her feet, and she fell to the ground.
She quickly helped Bert up… but his face had already turned as sallow as wax.
Then Milin saw his mouth tremble, and blood sprayed out wildly, splashing onto her cheek.
“Aah —!” Only then did the entire audience react. They let out screams of terror, and even the nobles in the VIP seats stood up in unison.
“Good heavens! Save him!”
“Where is the doctor?! Call a doctor quickly!”
Attendants and guards shouted as they rushed to the side of the two.
Those people anxiously took the heavily injured Bert from Milin’s arms and moved him onto a stretcher.
Their movements accidentally brushed against the red lotus pinned to Milin’s lapel, causing it to fall to the ground.
But Milin didn’t care about it… because she clearly saw that the clothes on Bert’s chest had a scorched black circle that looked like it had been burned by lightning.
She looked at the blood dripping on the ground… the piercing red expanded rapidly in her eyes.
She tilted her face up and, for the first time, looked at that Prince still standing in the center of the Martial Arts Arena with lightning wrapped around his fist, her eyes filled with killing intent:
“…It was you!”