Meanwhile, Rudbeckia’s possessiveness was gradually growing stronger.

The tip of Caleb’s tongue in her mouth…… the more its density, shape, and pressure were engraved in her mind, the more she wanted something slightly bigger, with stronger pressure.

She was still confused whether it was the thing itself she wanted, or the sensation it gave—perhaps the ticklish feeling close to pleasure—but clearly, a strong desire to possess something that would make her mind go blank, more and more, had arisen.

Rudbeckia pressed Caleb’s head firmly as he persistently devoured only her lips.

He moved as he was pressed, as he was pushed.

He licked her straight neck, her slightly hollow collarbone, as if honey had been spread on them.

There was clearly nothing there, but when he bit slightly, the scent of honey burst forth, and when he licked, it was sweet enough to numb his tongue.

The neck of her supply-issued short-sleeved tunic made a ripping sound as the seams burst. Just as he stretched the neckline to its limit and was about to go lower……

With a hesitation, Caleb suddenly came to his senses.

There was a large scar in the middle of the path down to Rudbeckia’s br*ast.

His gaze stopped at the trace of a lance wound.

— Smooch

He didn’t think the scar was hideous.

It was just that seeing the scar reminded him of weapons, and thinking of weapons reminded him that tomorrow was the day of the lance tournament.

Caleb kissed the scar with a cute sound.

Then, fixing her stretched tunic, he whispered.

“I want to cleanse your scar too.”

Before Rudbeckia could answer, he raised his head and said,

“But first, winning the lance tournament comes first, right?”

It was remarkable self-control, an impressive restraint.

Judging by the hardness touching her lower abdomen, there was no physical issue, but Caleb’s mental strength was truly extraordinary.

He slowly calmed his heated breathing and tapped the bridge of Rudbeckia’s nose.

“I can’t compete in the match after staying up all night.”

Rudbeckia caught his finger before it left her nose.

And just as Caleb had done to her scar, she made a sound as she kissed it, then sensually sucked each of his fingers one by one. After the pinky finger, she sighed longingly and said,

“Don’t get hurt. Make sure you win. One scar on me is enough.”

Caleb’s face burned so red it needed an ice pack, and his heartbeat was loud enough to fill the room.

Even after returning to his room, instead of preparing to sleep early for tomorrow, he just stared blankly at the mirror.

What just happened? What did I do in Rudbeckia’s room? What did I hear?

* * *

The next day, his match was scheduled as the very first among the many matches to be held that day.

“Caleb is first!”

Rudbeckia turned her head following Elfleda’s finger. On the left wall she pointed to, a large tournament bracket was magically drawn. Caleb’s name was glittering alongside his opponent’s name.

The names of the two people about to compete would glitter, and then only the loser’s name would disappear. It was the same magic as the map at the victory banquet.

“Sir Caleb, fighting!”

“Marquis Finis!!”

Following the announcer’s call, two knights emerged from the tent and greeted the audience.

Elfleda, Rudbeckia, Zeno, and even Daniella shouted Caleb’s name with all their might.

“Cal! Don’t get hurt!!”

As soon as the flag dropped, Caleb firmly tucked his lance under his armpit and charged.

Following Rudbeckia’s strict instructions, he had thoroughly wiped the lance with a handkerchief beforehand, whether there was poison or not. The lance was thick with a blunt tip.

— Swoosh!

The opponent, holding his lance at length, used that length to push the tip toward Caleb’s face before Caleb’s lance could reach him. Caleb dodged it effortlessly, without even a hitch in his breathing.

Most participants wore solid plate helmets, but Caleb’s face was completely exposed. He said it was because helmets obstructed his vision.

Therefore, aiming for Caleb’s face was a natural tactic for his opponent, but it missed spectacularly, and Caleb’s lance, which he had flicked like a harpoon, hit the opponent directly.

— BOOM!!!

With the power of his large, sturdy physique plus the flicking force, the opponent lost his shield to the sky. The recoil made his horse rear up, and the opponent, who had completely wrapped his entire body in plate armor without a gap, fell to the ground.

— CRASH BANG!

With the thunderous sound of dismounting, the match ended in a single strike, in the blink of an eye, and Caleb easily claimed victory.

Without shedding a single drop of sweat, Caleb, looking fresh and gallant, untied the ribbon from his wrist and headed toward the stands.

Even those who hadn’t known his name until just before the match stared intently at the ribbon with sparkling eyes.

“Huh? Me?!”

Caleb stretched out his hand and passed Rudbeckia to place the ribbon in Daniella’s hand, who was wearing a ginkgo leaf-like calm yellow dress.

“Thank you for helping with the training.”

With that brief comment, he went back into the tent.

He wanted to give all his ribbons to Rudbeckia, but afraid that his feelings would be too obvious, he decided to give one to each of them. He wasn’t sure how many matches he would have, but he thought he would have at least three matches up to the finals.

Rudbeckia tied the ribbon prettily around Daniella’s wrist.

“……Oh my…… I think I’ve fallen in love…… Even though I barely helped……”

“Oh my, look at her. Hey, what love? It’s just a thank you. Hey, snap out of it. Rud, don’t worry. She’s always like this. She falls in love easily and gets over it just as easily. She will absolutely never become a marchioness, so don’t pay attention to what she says.”

Rudbeckia laughed loudly at Elfleda’s explanation. Daniella was clearly a skilled mage. If she joined them, she would be a great help to the rebellion.

Just as she thought that it would be fine if Daniella became the marchioness if Caleb was okay with it, Rudbeckia felt her chest tighten as if her dress was too tight.

‘Ah, what is this…… I feel uncomfortable inside.’

She grabbed the front of her dress and shook it slightly in all directions. It didn’t seem to be the dress’s fault.

While she was agonizing over the reason for her discomfort, Caleb’s second match began.

‘What? Does he have a big scar or something?’

Rudbeckia was puzzled by the appearance of Caleb’s opponent. The opponent was dressed very lightly, without armor.

However, as if he didn’t want to reveal who he was, he wore a helmet that completely covered his face, which didn’t match his attire. Even though the stands were filled with noble ladies so participants were all desperate to show their faces, he alone chose to stay hidden.

She sensed that this match would flow differently from the first one, and her intuition was not wrong.

He rushed toward Caleb at high speed as soon as the match began. Renault was fast too, but relatively slower due to Caleb’s weight.

“Kyaa! What will happen!”

The opponent used his speed to thrust his lance straight toward Renault’s legs, and Renault raised his front legs into the air.

However, thanks to the special training, Renault and Caleb were not greatly surprised and quickly ran toward the end of the tilt barrier.

“What? Is that kind of attack allowed?”

“There wasn’t a single line about tactics in the rules, so there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Rudbeckia answered with a grin.

Once again, the two knights charged from both ends. The opponent slightly slowed down his horse to pick up the lance he had thrown and was lying flat on the horse’s back. The agitated Renault was fast, and Caleb was precise.

— WHACK!

— CRASH BANG!

A direct hit.

The opponent, who couldn’t find a chance to counterattack, fell straight off his horse. Already lying down, the opponent rolled over and over.

“Sir Caleb! You’re amazing!”

“Well done! Caleb!!”

With beads of sweat forming but a triumphant face, Caleb approached his group. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he gave the ribbon to Rudbeckia.

“Let’s go back. I’m told today’s matches end with this.”

How many matches one fought in a day was an important factor for managing stamina.

However, whether there would be another match or if this was the end was only announced before the last match. Rudbeckia, who was listening nearby, exhaled lightly with a relieved expression, thinking that at least they weren’t playing games with the number of matches.

“Eck. What? Don’t tell me you’re just going to give one to each of us? Tch.”

Daniella looked at the ribbon on Rudbeckia’s hand with a sulky expression. At her reaction, Rudbeckia suddenly felt at ease inside.

‘The ribbon…… I guess I wanted this too.’

Pfft. Laughter escaped her.

She had thought these things were just useless amusements. That’s why she hadn’t even batted an eye when Elfleda asked Caleb with sparkling eyes.

But now that the ribbon was in her hand, she felt better than expected.

“Well then, how about tea at the marquis’s residence to celebrate the victory?”

Daniella nodded repeatedly with sparkling eyes. However, Zeno and Rudbeckia politely declined with apologetic expressions.

“I need to go take care of Caleb. There’s another match tomorrow. You ladies enjoy the tea party.”

“Lady Elfleda, I’m sorry too. I need to go to the Central Palace library because there’s some material I need to find.”

Zeno bowed with his hand on his waist and left with quick steps. Rudbeckia also declined the tea party, expressing her regret.

“Why the library?”

“There’s some information I want to find.”

“What kind of information are you curious about?”

At her question, Rudbeckia hesitated for a moment before smiling briefly and saying that since she was going to the north, wouldn’t it be good to know about its history.

To be more precise, it was about the history of the Glimm Kingdom and the royal treasure called the Heart of Light.

Since there was a limit to the information she could get from Commander Henry Abingdon, she had been searching libraries directly whenever she had time.