the match ended unexpectedly, Elias, Liesel, Rainer, and the two parties involved went into the back room to discuss the details of the match.

Fara and Asuna were told to rest in another room until the discussion was over, so they moved from the spectator's seats to another room.

At first, Eltia moved with them, but a soft-spoken, soft-feeling Hua family man stopped only Eltia.

She told him to go ahead, so they went straight to the other room where they were now resting.

They were now resting. In the middle of the room, Fara suddenly muttered worriedly

"I wonder if my brother and Master Rid are all right. ......"

There were no injuries or anything like that, so I think that's okay." It's just a matter of ......"

'....? What's the matter?"

Asuna asked, looking a bit dismayed as she responded to Fara's question.

'Who was the princess rooting for, Prince  or Master Rid? After all, Prince Lacis?"

Fara was surprised by her unexpected question and replied with a slightly red face.

'It is ...... both of them. They are both very important people,......."

" I see. So you already know that Master Rid is also very important to the young lady?"

..".., No, that's not what I meant."

Asuna was laughing happily when she saw Fara's reddened face.

In contrast, Fara is reddening and angrily denying it.

But seeing Fara's ears moving up and down, Asuna was sure that she was right.

Fara has more than a little fondness towards Rid.

Dark elves' ears move sometimes, depending on their emotions.

This varies from person to person, so not everyone can move.

However, Fara was the type of dark elf whose emotions were more likely to show up on her ears.

Of course, if she is aware, she can suppress the movement of her ears, but in other words, if she is not aware, they move.

If the ears move up and down, it means "joy, happiness, favor, love," and so on.

If this were an ordinary dark elf, she would have a reputation for being "cute," but she is royalty and will be living in the underground world from now on.

The fact that her emotions are easily conveyed would be a weakness.

Perhaps that is why Eltia is giving her an unusually strict education.

Asuna was thinking about this while teasing Farah and laughing.

On the other hand, Fara, who was teased, puffed out her cheeks and was in a bad mood.

Then the sliding door was opened quickly and Eltia came into the room.

The two in the room immediately turned to Eltia and bowed.

Eltia, seeing them, said to them coldly as usual

"Go ask His Majesty Elias how long they are going to discuss the matter. If he says anything, tell him you received instructions from me. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Hearing Eltia's words, Fara and Asuna stood up and left the room.

At that moment, Eltia called out to Fara's back.

"Fara. If you have something to say to His Majesty Elias, please say it clearly".

"...? Yes, "

(What is it, Mother? )

This is the first time she was told to express her opinion.

Fara tilted her head, not understanding Eltia's intention, but she was told to go quickly, so she bowed and left.

The two of them then heard talking on their way to the room where Elias was.

Then Asuna stepped forward to cover for Farah. What's going on?

'...... Lady ...... Fara, I don't know what the real reason is, but there is a killing intent directed towards us.

"...... understand."

Asuna, while protecting Fara, looked in the direction of the voice.

There, the dark elf man who had just stopped Eltia was looking at her.

The two seemed to be talking about something.

"What's wrong?"

'...... No, I must have imagined it.

It seemed that the man who was sending the killing intent was the one who was looking at them.

Asuna decided to listen in on the situation.

She also gave Fara a look over to let her know what was going on.

She shook her head at the appear

"So, which side are you on? Master Norris or His Majesty Elias?"

Apparently, the two men were talking about the factional conflict in this marriage.

One "man" looked a little older than the other, and the other was a slender man.

Then, the thin man spoke up, seemingly uninterested.

"Hm. I can't say yet. In any case, there is no change that our princess will marry into the royal family . I honestly don't care whether it's the royal family or a frontier count.'

"Hm. You are shallow."

The narrow-eyed man looked exasperated at being called shallow.

"What do you mean ......?"

You've seen the match, The son of a frontier count, Rid, did you say? Do you not think that, despite the tremendous difference in their abilities, Rid has hurt our princes, and has shamelessly displayed his power to us?"

The narrow-eyed man, who found the words of the "man" somewhat persuasive, thought about it and muttered.

"......I suppose, if you look at it from a different perspective, that may be so."

'That's not all. The son of a frontier count is both arbitrary and cruel. It means he has a diabolical temperament."

The narrow-eyed man became even more thoughtful.

The son of a frontier count was certainly cruel in a way, showing the overwhelming difference in his abilities.

"Isn't ...... too much to ask?"

When he heard the words of the man with the narrow eyes, the "man" explained in a strong and confident voice.

'No, that's not true. The proof is in the match we just had. What if he marries the Princess Fara and succeeds to the title of frontier count on the border with our country? We cannot deny the possibility that the princess would be taken hostage and we would be at his mercy. Wouldn't the royal family be better than the son of a frontier count with a strange temperament?"

The narrow-eyed man thought there was some part of what he was saying that he could agree with.

'Hm. you . might have a point."

'Wouldn't you agree? The reason why Master Norris is trying to promote marriage with the royal family is because he is concerned about the future. It is not a desire for power. I would very much appreciate your help."

"I understand. Let's hear what Master Norris has to say."

That would be a pleasure,. Then, please follow me .......

With that, the two men left.

"I see you've already been   though  so much I am sorry, Princess."

'No, I'm fine,...... more than that, I'm very sorry that Master Rid said that,.............'

Fara lowered her ears, her body trembling, and sadly replied.

She understands her position.

But it was a little sad and heartbreaking to be suddenly told by a third party, albeit accidentally, that she could choose either way regarding her own marriage.

She put her hand on her chest to suppress the pain and took a slow, deep breath to calm herself down.

Then, as she felt calmer, she vividly recalled their conversation.

'...... is Master Norris trying to use my brother and Master Rid to get me to marry into the royal family?'

Fara unintentionally uttered her thoughts.

Asuna, who was looking at Fara with a worried expression, also huffed and thought back to the conversation the men had just had and replied.

I see that. From the conversation, it seems that the princess should be married to a the royal family. From the content of the conversation, it seems that they are blabbing about how Master Rid has hurt Prince Lacis. ......"

As a swordsman, Asuna was disgusted by what Norris was doing.

It is true that Prince Leisis did not immediately admit defeat.

But how much courage do they think it takes to continue to challenge an opponent who is superior to them?

What they are doing is not only humiliating Rid, but also indirectly humiliating Lacis.

The act Norris is committing is nothing but selfish ill will.

As Asuna looked grim, Farah muttered quietly.

'I wonder if we can do something for the honor of my brother and Master Rid ".......'

'Yes. ......"

The two sorted out the situation as they recalled the men's conversation.

"The first thing is that Norris and his men claim that Master Rid hurt Prince Lacis. We need to break this roomer "

Asuna explained to Fara as she organized the conversation.

She nodded at Asuna's words and asked a question.

"Why don't you explain that to my brother? Wouldn't that solve the problem? What do you think?"

Asuna thought about Fara's words and shook her head before answering.

I think it's probably not good enough. I think it would be fine if it was before the story came out, but now that the story has already spread, it leaves a bad impression on the martial arts of Master Rid. Besides, there is a possibility that Norris will say that Prince Lacis is just being told and that he is just looking out for other countries."

In other words, in addition to your brother's attestation, we need to get rid of the bad impression of Master Rid. ......

Asuna nodded at Farah's muttered words.

At that moment, a flash of insight occurred to Fara.

Asuna, do you think you could have a serious public match with Rid-sama?

What?

Asuna was taken aback by Fara's words, but when she heard the reason, she couldn't help but laugh.

The strategy she came up with was a pleasant surprise.

The first thing to do is to have her older brother, Lacis, explain the victory or defeat of the match to the entire Huayan family.

Then, in order to confirm Rid's true ability, she would have him compete with Asuna in a real match.

If Asuna and Rid seriously clashed, they probably would not have hurt Lacis.

It would be proven that the fight was caused by an overwhelming difference in ability.

And if Rid and Asuna were to compete at full strength, Rid's true ability would be recognized and his reputation would be raised.

Deep down inside, Asuna also wanted to have a serious match with Rid, so this was a good thing for her.

"Huh-huh, that's good. Let's go with that."

It's decided. All that was left to do was to convince her father, her brother, and  Rid to go with them.

The girls put together a plan to  counter Norris' plan and headed for the room where Elias was.

At that time, Asuna suddenly remembered about the killing spirit of one of the men from earlier.

(The way his was , it was as if he wanted her to just sit there and listen to him. ...... No way, ....)

T/n Thanks for your activity. That series taking now   7th  place in monthly activity ranking  on novel update ! Also 3 more reviews   on nvel update before challenge will be cleared