Leaning against the wall, Lloyd clenched his fist. He gripped it so tightly his hand turned pale white and trembled.

‘Watching Lloyd, I’m sure I can win.’

Aidan’s words from earlier stuck in his ears and wouldn’t leave.

He had followed Aidan intending to demand what tricks he had used or if he had bribed the knights, when he accidentally overheard his conversation with Karina. Aidan didn’t even acknowledge him as a rival. His contemptuous tone and attitude made his blood boil to the top of his head.

How dare… how dare that Aidan…

He barely restrained himself from rushing over to grab Aidan’s collar. They would meet in the match soon anyway — he could crush him miserably then until he regretted it. He tried to cool his anger by telling himself this.

But is it possible? You saw Aidan’s match. Are you confident you can win?

It felt like someone was whispering in his ear.

What if, though it seemed impossible, what if he actually lost? He felt suffocated imagining the Emperor looking down at him in disappointment and the Empress glaring at him in irritation.

‘Losing to Aidan? How ridiculous!’

The Empress’s angry voice already rang in his ears like an auditory hallucination. Not just the Emperor and Empress, but the ministers would surely whisper while looking at him.

After dismissing Aidan so much, they’d say blood will tell, that the throne should go to the prince with legitimate succession rights.

“Impossible. How did I come this far… To be overshadowed by Aidan now… Impossible…”

Lloyd muttered like a madman, unconsciously biting his nails. It was a habit from very young, when his mother would pressure him to do better while comparing him to Aidan. He hadn’t bitten his nails in recent years, but this morning’s incident with Kate Spencer and Aidan’s sudden change he showed at the knights’ tournament had pushed his anxiety to the extreme.

What should he do? How could he show everyone that Aidan was still an incompetent fool who couldn’t do anything?

He bit his nails until they bled, but didn’t feel the pain through his worry. Crack. His nail made a grinding sound between his teeth. After standing there for a while, Lloyd turned around as if having made a decision.

He absolutely could not lose to him. He had to win by any means necessary. Especially against Aidan.

*

When Aidan was called away by Kai, Karina returned to the tournament grounds first. Perhaps because it was break time, the grounds were almost empty. The nobles had all gone to find shade since the spectator seats had no cover from the hot sun.

She wondered if she should have rested somewhere else too, but it seemed bothersome to go back now. At least one side had some shade, so she planned to rest there while watching the situation.

While walking along the walls of the tournament ground looking for shade, Karina’s steps slowed as she spotted a familiar figure ahead. It was Lloyd.

What is he doing there?

The place where he was lingering was on the opposite side from his preparation area — it was where Aidan prepared. Could he be looking to pick a fight with Aidan? Fortunately, Aidan wasn’t there now as he was talking with Kai.

Lloyd, who had been suspiciously looking around, went inside the wall. Thinking about what was there, Karina soon realized it was where the participating knights’ weapons were kept. Since all participants had already been eliminated, only Aidan’s chosen sword remained there.

She had a bad feeling. Walking quickly in that direction, Karina carefully peeked around to see what Lloyd was doing.

Lloyd was holding and examining Aidan’s sword. Was he suspecting some special device on the sword? What nonsense…

Karina’s eyes widened. Lloyd was striking the sword against the wall. He swung with such force she worried it might break.

Why is he doing this?

While she frowned in confusion, Lloyd checked the blade after striking it against the wall several times, then let out an audible sigh. After putting the sword back in its place, he looked around once more. Karina quickly hid behind the wall to avoid being seen. She worried he might come out the way he went in, but fortunately he left through the opposite exit.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Karina carefully entered the weapon storage area and stood before Aidan’s sword.

What did he do?

She couldn’t tell at a glance. Surely he hadn’t just taken out his frustrations on the sword. He couldn’t be that crazy…

Karina’s eyes stopped as she ran them along the blade. A faint crack had formed near the center. She knelt down to examine the blade more closely. She could clearly see a thin crack.

It was fortunate the sword hadn’t shattered completely from being struck against the wall like that. No, this wasn’t fortunate at all. The crack was barely visible at first glance. This meant Aidan would surely take this sword into his match against Lloyd when he returned.

So that’s what Lloyd was aiming for.

If the sword broke during the match, the outcome would be as good as decided.

Ha! She let out a gasp. Did he want to win this badly through such underhanded means? Maybe winning wasn’t even his only goal. If the blade flew off, Aidan could be seriously injured. If Lloyd was targeting Aidan’s life, that would be even worse.

She looked around wondering if she could switch it with another sword, but saw nothing besides Aidan’s sword. Before the tournament began, everyone had chosen their weapons, and those eliminated had taken theirs with them, so there were no spare weapons.

She wondered if she could ask Kai to prepare another sword. But Kai was with Aidan right now. She had just returned after seeing them go somewhere private to discuss something important. By the time they returned, the match would be resuming.

What if she went out and asked any knight to lend a sword? They would surely find it suspicious. It was strange for her, who wasn’t even participating in the tournament, to ask a knight for a sword. Would they believe her if she told the truth about Lloyd damaging Aidan’s sword?

That didn’t seem like a good option either. The moment she brought it up, the ministers would split into Aidan’s and Lloyd’s factions and create chaos accusing each other. Lloyd’s supporters might claim Aidan deliberately damaged his sword to avoid their match and was trying to frame Lloyd. Most would suspect Aidan. Though he was showing unexpectedly good performance today, the image he had built up until now was terrible. Far more people would think Aidan was making excuses to run away than would suspect Lloyd of foul play.

There must be a good solution. While pacing in circles thinking, Karina let out a short “Ah.” Yes, there was a good solution.

She turned quickly and walked faster. Time was tight if she wanted to return before the match resumed.

*

Buuuung. The horn sounded loudly. At that sound, people scattered around began returning to their seats one by one. Aidan and Lloyd also prepared for the finals. Knights at both ends of the tournament grounds helped check their armor and weapons.

When the Emperor and Empress took their seats, the nobles sat as well. Their faces were full of anticipation. In the past, they would have thought the outcome of a match between Aidan and Lloyd was obvious. But Aidan’s performance today had raised their expectations. They thought perhaps there might be a result shocking enough to overturn the current state of the succession struggle.

The expressions of the Empress and ministers supporting Lloyd, who had been relaxed until the start of the tournament, were now relatively tense. They didn’t like even entertaining the possibility that Aidan might win.

“Would both Your Highnesses please come forward.”

The Imperial Knight Commander called out loudly. As Aidan and Lloyd walked to the center from opposite ends holding their weapons, cheers erupted. The knights were excited too, expecting the match wouldn’t be one-sided.

“Where is Her Highness?”

Princess Elena looked around. Karina was nowhere to be seen.

“Shouldn’t Her Highness watch His Highness Aidan’s match?”

At her concern, a knight behind her watched the Empress’s reaction. It was the Empress who had ordered the match to proceed despite knowing Karina hadn’t arrived yet.

“She’ll be here soon. I’ve already sent someone to find the princess consort, so don’t worry.”

The Empress reassured Princess Elena and turned her gaze to the tournament grounds. Though Karina’s absence bothered her, Princess Elena could do nothing but resign herself and focus on the match.

“The final match will now begin. On the left, His Highness Lloyd!”

“Waaaaaah.”

Cheers erupted from Lloyd’s side. With the sound, Lloyd stepped forward a couple of paces.

“On the right, His Highness Aidan!”

“Waaaaaah! Your Highness, you must win!”

Even louder cheers burst forth than for Lloyd. Similarly, Aidan also walked forward a couple of steps.

“If you’re ready…”

“Wait!”

Just before announcing the start of the match, Karina’s voice cut across the tournament grounds.

Everyone looked puzzled when Karina appeared on the tournament grounds rather than in the spectator seats.

“Why is Her Highness here…”

Even the Imperial Knight Commander seemed perplexed and couldn’t continue speaking.

“I’ve come to deliver this sword to His Highness Aidan.”

Karina held out a sword in a white scabbard. Aidan tilted his head, wondering what it was. The watching nobles murmured among themselves.

“This is the sword His Majesty gifted to His Highness on his fifteenth birthday.”

Though Aidan himself didn’t know where the sword was, Karina did. After all, she had lived in the palace as ‘Aidan’s’ consort for three years. She had seen several times in passing how the sword he never used was displayed in his study’s showcase.