At that moment, Calix and Odelia's gaze met again. Calix's gaze seemed to whisper silently, "Excellent, well done."
The second opponent was a tall spearman. He charged at high speed, kicking up sand.
A long spear, reflecting the sunlight and shining brightly, quickly penetrated, but Odelia did not retreat.
Instead, she lowered her body and followed the spear's trajectory in reverse with a smooth movement. The timing was perfect. Her wrist grazed the spearhead. And with the back of her sword, she struck her opponent's wrist tendon precisely.
"Ugh!"
The spearman let go with a scream. It rolled back onto the sand with a clank. At the same time, Odelia's sword stopped at the nape of his neck.
With the order of superiority clearly obscured, the knight raised both hands and declared surrender.
A chorus of suppressed gasps erupted from the audience. Fans trembled here and there, as if the tension had broken.
Emperor Liam's lips twitched at Odelia's continued victories. He tapped his armrest, seemingly losing interest. He glanced at the captain of the imperial guard standing nearby.
A cold sweat formed on the captain's forehead. He cleared his throat, his face flushed with embarrassment. Then, his expressionless face returned, and he turned to face the other side.
During the brief break given to everyone, Odelia took advantage of the opportunity to take a shallow breath and retreat to one side of the stadium.
But the captain of the guard was standing close to the last remaining knight, quietly whispering something, and the faces of both of them were stiff.
Then a soft shadow appeared before her.
"Drink, it's only for a moment, but it'll hold your throat."
Calix handed Odelia a small bottle of water.
As Odelia took the water, Calix glanced behind her.
"Odelia, it seems the Captain of the Guard has given some orders, so don't let your guard down until the very end."
"Yes."
Odelia looked straight into his eyes and nodded slowly.
The last to enter was the captain of the guard. With each step he took, a dull thud shook the arena floor. He clutched a heavy sword in both hands, and the tendons on his shoulders and arms were clearly visible.
As the captain swung his sword with a sharp shout, the sword fell straight down from above his head like a hammer.
Odelia didn't confront him head-on. She pushed back on her toes, twisting her body to the side as if burying the impact in the sand.
Puck! Sand flew into the air, obscuring the two people's vision.
The attacks continued. Odelia defended, carefully adjusting her angle. The sharp tip of the blade, almost slicing through her skin, passed under her chin, sending a chill down her spine.
The moment her opponent's foot struck the air, Odelia instantly twisted her toes and changed the line.
The captain's balance was disturbed, his waist was exposed, and Odelia's scabbard cut through the center of his chest tightly!
"Whoa...!"
At the action aimed squarely at the target, the captain of guard curled up in a ball, his breath caught in his throat.
Odelia thrust the tip of her sword hard against his jaw, as if to sever his jaw. The tip finally came to a cold stop at the side of his neck.
The referee's hand rose high, and a third victory was declared.
It was at that moment that Odelia slowly sheathed her sword and turned to leave. The captain's eyes flashed coldly. At his feet lay the spear the second knight had wielded earlier. Without hesitation, the captain grabbed it.
Neither the breath-holding officials, the judges, nor Odelia noticed.
Whew! A sharp, wind-rending sound tore through the stadium.
Odelia instinctively twisted her body, but it was too close. There was no escape. The pain was blocked in her throat.
She moved her body with the intention of avoiding only the vital points.
“Odelia!”
Calix's voice seemed to come from the bottom of the abyss, and a strong friction sound scratched her ears.
"...!"
In an instant, Calix, who had dug between her and the window, wrapped his strong arms tightly around her waist. It was suffocatingly strong, yet so fiercely tender that it seemed as if she would break.
The world became quiet for a moment, as if it had stopped.
Calix's other hand caught the spear that flew through the air with his bare hand. But he felt no pain, and without even a breath, he spun around violently.
The spear swung with the force of his arm, completely changing direction. Crap! Immediately, the spear sank deep into the thick stone wall opposite the auditorium like a bolt of lightning.
A whirlwind of stone dust rained down on the nobles' heads. The auditorium erupted in chaos, and the nobles screamed and retreated.
Odelia was still in Calix's arms, her breathing coming and going rapidly. Completely wrapped in his strong arms, she felt his warmth and heartbeat vividly through them.
Calix's heart was pounding wildly, as if he were facing a great fear.
"Your Highness Calix..."
When Odelia called him in a trembling voice, Calix very slowly lowered his head.
"I told you not to let your guard down."
Those short, firm words were a warning, a mixture of rebuke and yearning. Odelia's heart pounded.
“The Imperial Guard..."
From the high podium, Emperor Liam's voice rang out. Unlike the leisurely tone of the famous speaker, it was a cold, cracked note.
"I never thought you'd be this incompetent and even this despicable."
Those words were an insult to the entire imperial guard. The nobles held their breath.
As the Emperor's gaze turned coldly towards the captain, the captain, who had insulted the Emperor's face, turned pale.
But Liam forced the corners of his mouth up and waved his hand at Odelia, pretending to be calm.
"You surprised and delighted me in many ways today."
There was not a single bit of sincerity in his eyes as he spoke.
"This is enough to pay for the broken stick."
The Emperor scoffed and leaped to his feet, his red cloak billowing in the wind. The captain of the imperial guard followed him with a pensive expression.
Only the remaining ministers and nobles were left murmuring in confusion.
"How did this get stuck on the wall..."
"Is this really something humans can do?"
Their gaze was still fixed on the spearheads embedded deep in the stone wall. They all knew that even the strongest knights could not penetrate such a thick stone wall.
Odelia looked down at Calix's hand, which was dripping with blood. The wound from his grip on the spear was still bleeding.
Odelia's heart sank, and she grabbed Calix's hand without hesitation.
"I will treat your hands..."
Odelia's hand covered Calix's palm.
The moment her body's warmth reached him, Calix looked down at her for a moment. Without saying a word, he simply let her hold his hand still.
***
As the sparring ended, the heavy doors slowly opened on both sides, and the ministers came out in droves.
"...Doesn't her form look exactly like that of a Count during his prime?"
A moment of eerie silence passed. A few faces stiffened subtly. Then, among them, the Duke of Devon turned his head like a lightning bolt.
"A changeling? Are you sure you're talking about Rubis? How dare you speak of a traitorous family!"
"Ah. No, that's not it... I'm just saying that because your demeanor is so similar. I was just reminded of the Margrave known as the King of the Battlefield. I have no other intention."
"That's right, look at that woman, Odelia. If she had been a man and not a woman, I wouldn't have believed that she was really his successor. That movement, that momentum."
"Ugh, I understand what you're saying, but be careful what you say, Rubis... If you bring up the name of an unlucky family so carelessly, you'll be in trouble."
His voice was laced with blatant sarcasm and contempt. The ministers kept their mouths shut, observed the situation, and urged their youth to return.
The soft murmur that flowed from among them continued to the end of the hallway, like an afterglow announcing the end of a banquet.
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