Chapter 80: The Finals

Someone blocked Princess Jasmin’s path as she walked to watch the final match.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

She looked at Princess Jenesha. Perhaps because they hadn’t seen each other since the gathering ended, standing face to face with her now felt uncomfortable.

“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

“To you? Have you forgotten to call me sister after not seeing me for so long?”

“Sister? Ha, what sister when we were born just days apart?”

Princess Jenesha snorted. Her eyes, twisted somehow and full of mockery, looked fierce enough to cut Princess Jasmin to pieces right there.

“I didn’t like you from the start.”

Not knowing why she was suddenly bringing up something they both knew, Princess Jasmin kept quiet.

“Two women became queens around the same time and gave birth to daughters around the same time.”

It wasn’t hard to realize the two women Princess Jenesha mentioned were their mothers.

“Father even gave us similar names, so we grew up being constantly compared since childhood. I hated that. I wanted to stand out alone, but you were always in the way.”

“I know that too, so you don’t need to explain further.”

Princess Jasmin waved her hand. She wasn’t free from comparisons any more than Princess Jenesha. Even the emperor often called for Princess Jasmin together with Princess Jenesha.

“What do you know? You think you’ve won against me.”

“Me? When did we ever fight?”

“It doesn’t have to be a fight. You acted like you won by receiving Father’s favor.”

“When did I ever…”

Princess Jasmin started to retort but let her words trail off as she looked at Princess Jenesha’s face. The emperor’s favor was an undeniable fact, and if Princess Jenesha felt jealous because of it, it was enough of a situation for her to think she had won.

“So why are you telling me this? Do you want Father’s attention? Are you asking me to tell you how?”

Princess Jasmin spoke as if telling her to get to the point. She felt tired of the repetitive conversations with Princess Jenesha.

“After taking Father’s attention… what more could you possibly want?”

“Jenesha, what exactly do you mean…”

“Karhen!”

“…”

Princess Jasmin’s lips parted, showing her surprise. So this was why she came to find me.

“Why are you coveting Karhen too?”

“Jenesha, I’m sorry but it’s not that I coveted him. It just happened somehow…”

“Do you think I don’t know?”

Princess Jenesha’s scream-like shout cut off Princess Jasmin’s words.

“Do you think anyone in this palace doesn’t know how your meetings became frequent after you two were found alone in a secret place? You did it on purpose, knowing I was interested in Karhen.”

“I understand what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that. It’s true I’ve become close with Karhen, but it’s not for the reason you think.”

“How pathetic that you’re trying to make excuses.”

Princess Jenesha glared at Jasmin.

“I won’t let you have Karhen.”

“Jenesha, let’s go somewhere to talk. It’s better to clear up any misunderstandings.”

As more people began passing by, Princess Jasmin grabbed Princess Jenesha to avoid drawing more attention, but got hit on the back of her hand and stepped back.

Holding her stinging hand while looking at Princess Jenesha, she saw her grinding her teeth as she spoke.

“Watch me take him away.”

Princess Jasmin sighed and shook her head at her blatant determination to make Karhen hers.

“That won’t happen.”

“Now you show your true colors.”

“I never denied my relationship with him from the start. I honestly knew you had feelings for Karhen, but I was trying to say that wasn’t what brought us together.”

“What if I tell you to break up?”

“I told you I can’t do that. Jenesha, as you said, I valued objects more than people. But he’s someone I met after pushing aside all my collections, so I don’t want to let him go.”

“A token.”

“What?”

She muttered something with her head down, but it was too quiet to hear clearly. As Princess Jasmin stood still, not understanding, Princess Jenesha slowly raised her head.

“Let’s have him choose whoever’s token he accepts. If he takes mine, it means you have to stay away from him.”

Princess Jasmin frowned. Princess Jenesha was being unreasonably stubborn now. Karhen had made it into the top 8 and would have to request someone’s token, and Princess Jenesha was bringing that up. She didn’t know what gave her such confidence.

“Don’t regret it when the time comes.”

Princess Jenesha looked at Princess Jasmin with disapproval before turning and leaving.

“What is she thinking?”

If she knew how well Karhen got along with her, she surely couldn’t say such things, yet she was overflowing with confidence. Not knowing what she was thinking, Princess Jasmin stood there pondering for a long time.

***

The finals raised the excitement that had been building steadily to its peak. People chattered about topics like who would be crowned champion of this knight tournament, who would become the strongest in the empire, and so on.

The finals were the last stage. The top 8 had been decided, and except for first and second place, all matches had been fought and rankings determined.

The knights who had participated in the tournament also gathered to watch the finals, and with news that the emperor himself would come to watch, the atmosphere surrounding the finals was heated.

Bliss secured a spot close enough to make eye contact with Caelan. Though it was a position generally avoided due to the risk of stray swords, Bliss regretted not being able to get even closer.

“Why not watch from right below the stage?”

“If I could, I definitely would.”

Bliss watched Caelan while resting her hands on the fence blocking her way.

In the end, Leonard, bearing Duke Blast’s emblem, had made it to the finals. Many things would be decided by this one match. The owner of the dagger, the champion, and even the feelings of two men toward Bliss couldn’t be ignored.

However, Bliss didn’t care about any of that. She just hoped Caelan wouldn’t get hurt by Leonard’s sword, and it would be fine if he forfeited willingly when he felt he couldn’t fight anymore.

His wounds were already healing slowly after fighting several matches with an injured body. Though she tried to suppress her worry that was rising to her throat several times, it wasn’t easy.

“It’s starting.”

With Echo’s words, the two men drew their swords.

It was the start of the finals.

“So we end up watching like this.”

Leonard spoke in a dry voice, showing none of his previous courteous attitude.

“Think you can make me kneel?”

Even at Leonard’s provocation, Caelan responded with the same calm face as before.

“If you’re going to keep running your mouth, forfeit now. I have no intention of fighting with words.”

“Tch.”

Leonard glared at Caelan. That he hadn’t attacked first even after drawing his sword felt like he was being dismissed.

“You arrogant bastard, let’s see how long you can stay so proud.”

He had received a letter from Duke Blast. It said the ambush had succeeded and Caelan had received a serious wound to his side. Explaining that his quick victories subduing opponents in one breath were all because of the wound, it told him to target that area.

‘If they say it’s a weakness, I’ll have to stab it.’

Pain is greater when reopening an unhealed wound than just cutting skin. Leonard’s eyes grew cruel as he looked at Caelan’s side.

“Hyah!”

Leonard struck first. He charged in with his sword held diagonally downward. As Caelan, who had been prepared, raised his sword, a sharp sound of clashing metal rang out. Leonard, who hadn’t expected his first attack to work, immediately followed up with another attack, and their exchange continued without a moment to breathe.

The sound of swords clashing revealed how fiercely they were fighting. Leonard’s sword, which had been consistently making small cuts on his opponents’ skin, couldn’t quite reach Caelan’s body, creating more tension than any other match, impossible to look away from.

‘There are no openings.’

Leonard kept attacking while Caelan wielded his sword mainly defensively. Like a battle between spear and shield, neither could easily gain the upper hand, and because of this, Leonard began to grow increasingly anxious.

‘If I lose like this…’

He would lose Bliss. His plan to win this knight tournament fair and square and demand her token would all come to nothing. His hope of publicly confessing to another man’s wife and bringing her to him was wavering.

‘I need to find a way somehow.’

While attacking with everything he had and trying to create an opening somehow, Leonard caught his breath during a brief pause in their exchange and broke into a wide smile at what he discovered.

Blood was seeping through Caelan’s side. The wound had opened from forcing his body too much. The calm expression he had maintained throughout was revealed to have been just for show to hide his condition from Leonard, who raised his sword upon realizing this.

“I won’t let this go.”

He had found the weakness.