Chapter 97

Chapter 97

She shared the whole details of the situation with Kalcion. While it was a seemingly peaceful chatter, he could read the threats and revelations underneath.

“Should Lirel be left like this?”

“Not yet. There is no conclusive evidence, so we have to be more careful as we are the ones who hold the most things.”

“Then it’s not good to build a real friendship.”

“No way.”

Selina was disgusted and slapped Kalcion’s side with her elbow.

Lirel was the one who was directly involved in the death of one person, though she was forced by Rosalyn who had taken her weakness. Not stopping there, she reached out to Selina, trying to influence the social circle. From start to finish, she wasn’t just a puppet who did what Rosalyn told her to do, she even went out of her way to harass Selina.

Friendship with such a person. Selina wanted to watch it ruin if possible.

As she was going to the tent, she heard cheers of people coming from one side.

“What?”

It was on the side of the arena on a side of the vacant lot.

As she approached, an old woman waved something like a bead with tassels and shouted.

“I’ll bet a prize! I will present this sword ornament to the first place winner! But only for women!”

In the arena, there were all sorts of targets and scarecrows. They can warm up before the start of the hunt, or people who do not participate in the hunt can gather and have a light game.

“Rosalyn, go out.”

“Right, go out.”

Unexpectedly, the first person to come out was Rosalyn. She pretended she couldn’t resist being pushed by the people around her, but her face was full of confidence.

And there were also Fionel and Princess Jerryel.

“There is the Princess too?”

“It’s a royal event, so she can come.”

“The three of them came out too, so I have to go too.”

Selina exclaimed resolutely as she stared at the people taking their position in the arena.

If only the others know that Rosalyn had tormented Kalcion so terribly. Instead of saying much, Kalcion clasped her shoulders and cheered.

“Make sure you win.”

“Of course.”

Having received the bow from the servant, Selina jumped to the podium at the end.

“You have nowhere to come out.”

Fionel, who first spotted Selina, twisted her lips to reveal her teeth.

“The Duke is watching. Shouldn’t you be taking care of your face?”

In an instant, the type of teeth revealed was eight incisors instead of fangs.

“Your Grace! I will do my best!”

Of course, there was no answer from Kalcion. Still, Fionel steadfastly waved her arm toward him. Instead, only a few who appeared to be Fionel’s followers cheered enthusiastically.

“Uwooow! Miss Fionel, the cutest girl in the world! You can do it!”

“It’s okay if you can’t either!”

“I hope you have everything except the Duke’s love.”

“You don’t have it either?”

“He won’t give it to you anyway.”

Selina snorted and glanced at Rosalyn who was on the other side as she tapped the bowstring.

Like a veteran actress showing only her prettiest angles, while being unaware of the camera, Rosalyn stood calmly without even looking at the people below the podium.

Rosalyn was pretty as she wore her suit and tied her hair together. Judging from her posture with the bow, she doesn’t seem to be very bad at shooting. She’s pretty, and she’s good at archery. She had everything but a heart.

“That product looks like a man.”

She looked ahead and muttered as if she was talking to herself. Rosalyn pretended to be indifferent, but Selina could feel the way she was turning her eyes to see Selina.

“I owe something to the Crown Prince… Shall I repay his kindness?”

Rosalyn turned her gaze forward, pretending not to hear it, but Selina saw her hands tightened for a moment.

As expected, she was not mistaken about what she had seen in the forest. The Crown Prince didn’t know, but Rosalyn’s heart was on the Crown Prince.

“The rule is three shots each! Shoot in turns! The person with the highest score on the three-shoot total wins!”

Selina deliberately chose the last turn. Originally, it would be cooler if the victory was decided at the end. It was, of course, a choice assuming her own victory.

The skill of the lady who came first was poor. She didn’t even get close to the target and ran out of arrows.

After that, it was Rosalyn.

Compared to the first lady, her posture while pulling the bowstring was quite on-point. Selina had no choice but to focus on it as well.

Bang!

The arrow, which flew gently, was not right in the center, but hit right next to the center. Surprisingly, Rosalyn’s skills weren’t bad.

‘I don’t think I can do this roughly.’

Selina pulled herself together.

She wondered if everyone else was okay, but Fionel was just as messed up as the first one, and the Princess couldn’t even pull the bowstring at all.

“Why did the Princess come out?”

Selina didn’t really understand.

“I, I need to be able to stand up without trembling wherever I go, so I can grow into a great woman, Mother said!”

She still looked far from growing into a great woman.

“That great woman is right in front of you, so watch and learn.”

Selina giggled and tied the arrow to the bowstring.

Unlike the other ladies before her, Selina’s bowstring drew a much deeper curve.

Whip—!

The moment the arrow flew, a sharp sound cut through the air. The sound was different from that of the other ladies who made a heavy, thumping sound.

Not knowing when it flew, the arrow was stuck in the center of the target.

“Wow!”

People holding their breath and watching Selina’s unusual posture forgot about the ladies they were cheering for and screamed. It was a reaction similar to when she shot her bows in front of the knights.

Selina shrugged, lowered her bow, and waited for her next turn. To be honest, it was twice as close to the target than the training ground. This was nothing more than a child’s play.

The eyes of the ladies watching from the side were not much different from those under the podium. The most intense surprise came from the Princess.

“Gasp…”

She forgot to close her mouth, which was almost drooling, but was saved by Selina raising her chin.

“Uhp.”

The Princess came to her senses a beat later and gathered her expression.

“If it’s cool, you can admire how cool it was.”

“Who is admiring!”

“Someone who almost drooled before.”

“N, no…”

“Really? I can teach you if you want.”

“I can get an archery teacher, too.”

“You don’t know if they will teach you how to shoot as cool and beautiful as me.”

Because the archery that Selina learned was for broadcasting, the movements were bigger and more flashy than normal people. No matter how ignorant she was, it does look cool unlike others.

The Princess’ eyes fluttered.

“…Can you teach me?”

Right now, she’s a little girl with nothing but the title of a Princess, so she’ll want to have her own weapon. Selina viciously placed conditions on the Princess’s urgent greed, which was clearly visible.

“If you give up the Duke.”

“What?! I don’t need it!”

No matter how much talent she wanted, it must have not been enough to give up her heart for Kalcion. The Princess turned her head back to the sound of the wind.

She was a hateful and straight-forward Princess, but she was the most harmless of them all. Selina thought indignantly.

‘Cute.’

Her second turn took place, and this time Selina arrows hit the center. Rosalyn followed her closely, too, but it was closer to the perimeter than to Selina’s center.

When it was their third turn, only formal applause rang out for the previous turn. Rosalyn’s stamina was also running, so she hit way off the center. In the end, when it was Selina’s turn, people focused without even breathing.

The playful bet on one ornament became quite serious.

Bang!

The last arrow pierced the center with a striking sound that was cooler than before.

“Wow!”

People cheered, and the old woman betting the prize handed the prize to Selina, as proud as a king who bestowed a sword on a knight.

“It’s a relic of my husband I wanted to kill, so I couldn’t throw it away or give it as a gift because it was a good thing. But I’m happy to give it to you as a prize.”

“…Thank you.”

If it is the relic of the husband she wanted to kill, is it a good thing or a bad thing?

When Selina received the prize, she could not be overjoyed. But the thing itself looked really good.

When she put it in her hand and rolled it, the beads reflected different light depending on the angle it received sunlight. It was a smooth spherical shape on the outside, but inside, it was a strange gem filled with angular crystals.

The metalwork surrounding the jewels was as delicate as if they were drawn individually with a pen, and the tassels and knots under the jewels were made of colorful threads of shiny material.

After receiving the prize and coming down from the podium, Kalcion was waiting at the landing.

“I won.”

As she triumphantly posed as the winner, Kalcion nodded his head in a dry compliment.

“Well done.”

However, it was evident in Selina’s eyes that he was proud like seeing a grown soldier.

“Where are you going to put that?”

Kalcion gestured at the ornament she was holding in her hand.

She didn’t go to the contest with that in mind. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t usually wear a sword, nor have it hang from her dress. In the end, it was something that had to be given to someone.

Selina looked at Kalcion once more, then looked down at the jewel in her hand once more.

It was beautiful, and it seemed like a good fit for him, but she didn’t want to present the relic of the ‘husband I wanted to kill’ to him.

But, who was she supposed to give it to other than Kalcion…?

The Crown Prince entered Selina’s gaze as she searched for a choice among the people around her. Intrigued by the interesting sights, he too stood at the arena with his attendants from a distance away.

When Selina’s eyes met, the Crown Prince didn’t shy away and smiled at her and said ‘Congratulations’ with only his mouth.

‘Yes, that’s perfect.’

It was good in many ways. Up until now, she has only been running away in embarrassment because of the Crown Prince, but what if it’s the other way around?

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