Chapter 79

During a time when most participants displayed mediocre skills, making the matches lack tension, a few extraordinary individuals stood out sporadically.

A contestant entered the arena, wearing a helmet that completely obscured his face and carrying a single sword. 

As he appeared, the crowd erupted into cheers. 

The way the Contestant 5 lightly raised his sword and faced his opponent exuded confidence, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind about his composure.

All eyes were on the Contestant 5, and expectations for him were high.

From the distance between the arena and the audience, it was hard to see clearly, but the sword sheath at his waist unmistakably belonged to the Imperial Knights. 

Although it couldn’t be confirmed at the moment, the hilt of the sword likely bore the imperial crest.

When the signal to start the match sounded, the opponent charged toward the Contestant 5 with a battle cry. 

However, the Contestant 5, the crowd’s favorite, easily deflected the opponent’s sword with a clean motion.

‘Huh…….’

The Contestant 5’s movements caught the attention of someone in the audience, who had been watching casually but now straightened their posture. 

The way he held his sword and stood felt oddly familiar, as if it was burned into memory. The recent actions were also flawlessly identical.

Eched. Yes, it was her husband, Eched.

Eched had a habit of unconsciously fiddling with the mouth of his sword sheath before putting the sword away, and just now, the Contestant 5 had done the exact same thing.

“Huh…….”

At that moment, Eurell and she exchanged glances. Eurell also seemed to have realized the identity of the Contestant 5 after observing that gesture.

Once she was certain of his identity, she was dumbfounded.

“What on earth is he doing there?”

Why was he participating in this tournament……?

She had never imagined she would see the man who had left home early in the morning, claiming to be busy, in a place like this.

While they were bewildered, the man in question continued to defeat his opponents with ease.

Unlike the other matches, which took a considerable amount of time, the matches involving Eched ended in an instant.

Of course, it was expected. For someone of Eched’s caliber, this tournament was nothing more than child’s play.

It was a massacre, plain and simple.

The prize for this four-event tournament was a whopping 100 gold coins and a golden trophy.

For a festival enjoyed by commoners, it was an extravagant reward, but nobles rarely participated because the autumn festival was perceived as an event exclusively for commoners.

Though this was merely a perception, and technically, anyone could participate regardless of their status.

The only times noble-born knights reluctantly participated in such tournaments were when their families were in financial decline or they urgently needed money.

In other words, Eched had absolutely no reason to participate in this tournament.

So why was he there?

No matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn’t figure out why Eched was competing.

She watched the final stages of the tournament with a complex mix of emotions.

The semifinals were underway. Winning this match would lead to the finals; losing meant second place.

There were no surprises. While the opponent was skilled enough to make it to the semifinals, they were no match for Eched.

The audience cheered, congratulating Eched on his victory as the final champion.

If they knew that this rising star of the tournament was actually a Duke and the leader of the knight order, they would be utterly shocked.

“The prize for this tournament will be awarded by the Saintess herself!”

As if it had been prearranged, Anella removed the robe she was wearing and stepped onto the podium.

The award ceremony proceeded smoothly. Eched, still wearing his helmet, looked oddly out of place.

‘Wait…….’

A sudden sense of foreboding washed over her. 

Surely, Eched wouldn’t take off his helmet here, would he?

No, surely not. He wasn’t that thoughtless…….

But as the saying goes, “the unthinkable often happens.”

Standing on the podium, Eched boldly removed his helmet.

In that moment, the applause ceased. A deafening silence fell over the plaza, so quiet that even breathing could be heard.

The murmurs and whispers that had been buzzing moments ago grew louder, turning the atmosphere into chaos.

Everyone stared at Eched in shock, but his expression remained calm as he brushed aside his hair that had fallen over his eyes.

Eched grabbed the trophy and the pouch containing the prize money, then made his way toward her, sitting in the audience.

‘Don’t come here…….’

For some reason, Eched looked like the Grim Reaper leading the dead today.

If Eched became the talk of the town, she, as his wife, would inevitably be dragged into the gossip as well. She had no desire to get caught up in rumors in this setting.

‘Don’t come here!’

But Eched, oblivious to her silent plea, eventually reached her.

Standing tall, he looked down at her with pride and asked, 

“Was it incredible?”

“……What?”

“I asked if it was incredible.”

Her response of ‘What?’ wasn’t because she hadn’t heard him clearly.

Her ‘What?’ meant, ‘What did you just say?’

Because she had heard those exact words last night in bed.

The fact that he was repeating them today…….

Her mind raced, trying to make sense of the situation.

“……Don’t tell me you did all this just to hear me say you were incredible?”

Even as she asked the question, she found it hard to believe.

But as expected, the unthinkable often happens.

Eched tilted his head slightly, his expression suspicious.

“Does that matter?”

It did. It mattered a lot!

Causing such a scene for something so trivial and then acting innocent about it wasn’t acceptable!

She felt her anger rising and wanted nothing more than to gulp down a glass of ice-cold water.

Eched, seemingly unaware of the trouble he had caused, asked again.

“Wasn’t it incredible?”

“What exactly?”

The damage was already done. So, she decided to play along and see what he had to say.

“I won. Not just one event, but all four.”

Of course, you did. Who else but you could possibly win first place? 

She could have unleashed a torrent of sarcastic remarks, but seeing his slightly excited expression made her hold back.

He looked like a child who had done something good and was eagerly waiting for praise.

She let out a small sigh, softening her sharp emotions.

Though she couldn’t understand why he would go to such lengths just to hear her say he was incredible…….

As long as the only consequence was a slight tarnish to his reputation for participating in a commoner’s tournament, it wasn’t a major issue.

Fortunately, the Astrea Ducal Family didn’t run a merchant guild, so they didn’t have to worry much about their reputation.

Moreover, their image was so solidly built that it wouldn’t crumble over something this trivial.

She saw Anella stepping down from the podium after the award ceremony. Finally, she stood up from her seat, her body stiff from sitting for so long.

“Now that it’s over, let’s head home together…….”

Boom—!

That was when it happened.

A loud explosion echoed, and water shot into the sky.

The large fountain in the plaza had been destroyed, sending water spraying everywhere like rain.

Boom—!

Another explosion followed. A nearby building collapsed, and a thick cloud of dust rose like smoke.

A terrorist attack?

In this era, the only thing capable of causing such an explosion was magic.

Suddenly, she recalled the fleeting gaze she had felt earlier in the streets. A new possibility came to mind.

“Dark sorcery…….”

The formal escort for the Saintess now had a clear justification.

“Protect the Saintess!”

At Eched’s command, the scattered knights gathered, but it was no easy task to protect the Saintess in a plaza turned into chaos by fleeing civilians.

“Shaterian, you should stay with the Saintess…….”

“Rescuing those trapped under the rubble takes priority.”

She shook her head and hurried toward the collapsed building before Eched could stop her.

The exploded five-story building was located right in front of the plaza, in a busy area, and had almost completely collapsed, likely trapping many people.

Rescuing those buried under the debris and treating the injured was of utmost importance.

“I’ll handle the treatment.”

“Thank you, Lady Anella.”

The knights were already rescuing people from the rubble without needing additional instructions.

“Contact the Mage Tower, bring in people capable of healing with divine power, and gather manpower to rescue those trapped under the debris…….”

Good. Eched was calmly giving orders, so she didn’t need to worry about that.

Anella began treating the severely injured, while she went around identifying people who needed divine healing.

That was when it happened.

Whoosh—

An arrow flew through the air. It was the signal for masked individuals to emerge and confront the knights.

The assailants attacked civilians indiscriminately.

The sounds of battle filled the air, making it hard to think straight.

Whoosh— Thud!

An arrow landed right in front of her. If she hadn’t pulled her hand back while picking up a stone, she would have been in danger.

‘D*mn it. What the hell is going on here!’

“Lady Shaterian! Are you alright?!”

“Lady Anella! It seems too dangerous here; we need to retreat!”

She drew the dagger strapped to her thigh.

“But……!”

Anella couldn’t leave the person she was treating.

“We must go now!”

“Just a moment……!”

As a knight grabbed Anella’s arm to pull her away, someone else grabbed her arm.

“P-please save me!”

It was the man she had just informed didn’t need divine healing.

“My legs won’t move!”

The man’s ankle was visibly bruised, but there were no internal injuries. At worst, he had twisted his ankle, and his inability to move was likely due to fear.

“Alright, but let go of this first.”

She couldn’t understand why he had grabbed her weapon-wielding hand instead of the other.

“Please, take me with you! Please save me!”

“I said I would, so let go of this……!”

But the terrified man clung to her arm as if it were a lifeline, his eyes bloodshot.

Why was he so strong? If he had this much strength, he could have run away on his own.

“Ugh, come on……! If you get stabbed by this dagger, it’ll be dangerous……!”

The moment she lifted her arm to shake him off—

Thud!

“Argh!”

That sensation, that scream.

Someone had just been stabbed from behind by her dagger and collapsed with a groan.

“……See? I told you to let go……!”

She swung her arm again, this time downward.

Thud!

“Ahhh!”

“……Oh…….”

Another assailant collapsed.

That made two. She stared at the fallen attackers in disbelief.

“……Could it be that I’m a natural swordsmanship genius……?”

“Is this really the time to be saying that?”