Return of the Female Knight

With a loud cry, Wickley thrust his spear violently towards Elena.

At that instant, she leveraged her feet against the horse’s torso, and somersaulted in the air like a sleek cat. What Wickley planned to be the final blow only passed through empty space. His heavy momentum caused him to lurch forward, and left him open for a counterattack.

‘Damn it!’

Weekly turned quickly toward Elena with widened eyes. But it was too late.

Elena landed on her feet on the horse’s saddle, and struck Wickley with a powerful blow from the lance in her hand.

Kuuung!

The weapon struck Wickley’s body directly, and his heavy mass was thrown off the horse.

Kwadang tang tang.

Clouds of dust rose as his body rolled on the ground, and when he stopped, he looked up at Elena with disbelieving eyes. She was looking at him from above and pointing the tip of her lance at him. Any foolish move would mean that he would stop breathing immediately. Wickley spoke in a trembling voice.

“Y-you forced me off my horse?”

During the match, Elena had avoided the head-to-head confrontation he initiated, and any hits that she took shook her body.

Then out of nowhere, Elena had exquisitely executed her counterattack, as if she had been waiting for that exact moment. What was more, the strength and power behind her weapon was no less than his. How on earth…

Elena looked at him in the eye and spoke in a deepened voice.

“You fell for my trick.”

It was true that she feared Wickley’s brute strength, but that was not to say that she didn’t know how to handle him from the start. By appearing weaker, it only made Wickley even more eager and reckless to attack her.

Elena could hear the sound of Wickley grinding his teeth. She lifted her mouth into a smile behind the metal helmet.

“It’ll be a hundred years before you can defeat me.”

With the outcome of the match decided, the spectators at the grand stadium all leapt to their feet and roared with excitement.

“Wow!”

“Derek! Derek! Derek! Derek! Derek!”

Derek’s name filled the massive stadium. From this day on, he would become a celebrity in the Ruford Empire. The host shouted with excitement.

“Your champion is Derek Blaise!”

Thousands of people cheered and applauded. However, Elena’s eyes turned towards Carlisle. A smile was evident on his face, but she could see the frown set between his eyes. Elena glanced at his handkerchief, tied to the end of her weapon, and soon smiled back at him. She was about to run towards Carlisle, when—

“Son!”

A familiar voice shouted from the audience stands. Elena turned her head and saw Alphord and Mirabelle looking at her with flushed faces. Although they hadn’t called out to her during the battle for fear of hindering her, they kept their eyes glued on every single move more than anyone else.

Alphord called out to her again, visibly moved.

“Well done, my son.”

For a moment, Elena felt a tugging sensation to run and see her family. However, she held herself back. Alphord and Mirabelle would easily see up close that it was not Derek behind the helmet.

Elena stiffened at the praise. It was meant for her brother, not her—but then her heart started to pound, and before she knew it her foot lifted in start of a mad dash towards her father. She just wanted to be recognized by him just once.

‘…Father.’

Her family suddenly looked wide-eyed, and then Elena felt someone grab her hand. She turned around and saw Carlisle right beside her. He lifted her hand into the air and shouted loudly amid the cheers.

“Congratulations on today’s victory, Lord Derek.”

“Your Highness…”

“Let’s go in and have a toast.”

Carlisle placed his hand on Elena’s shoulder and led her off the field. The Crown Prince’s congratulatory attitude towards her made the audience and her family cheer louder.

Elena whispered to Carlisle, grateful that he had saved her from her mistake.

“…Thank you.”

Carlisle smiled and complimented her back.

“Good work.”

But he continued.

“But don’t ever think about doing this again next time.”

He surreptitiously pulled back his right sleeve, and Elena’s eyes widened as she noticed a smattering of black scales on his arm. However, his gaze was soft as he spoke.

“I nearly turned the tournament into a bloodbath.”

Elena froze momentarily, then burst into laughter. She could see how worried he looked, and she smiled softly behind the visor.

“That’s terrible. I’m so happy that you were worried about me.”

*

*

*

The private box where the imperial family members sat was sharply divided. Sullivan was overjoyed to see the winner of the tournament come from the Blaise Family, while Ophelia’s expression was too foul to hide.

Cassana, who was standing behind Ophelia, looked embarrassed and unsure of what to do. Conscious of the crowd around her, Ophelia tried to project outward calm, but it was clear that the moment she returned to the palace that she would explode.

Paveluc stared at the arena closely with his arms folded. The outcome of the tournament had been very interesting, and Derek Blaise’s skills in particular were beyond his expectations.

‘The Crown Princess’ older brother…’

Paveluc was thinking hard, when a servant appeared silently beside him.

“My Lord.”

Paveluc glanced to the side, and the servant leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“I have a message from Batori. He says he needs to report something urgent.”

“Is that so?”

A curious expression crossed Paveluc’s face. It was the first time Batori contacted him unexpectedly.