The next thought that came to her mind was, Why did she call her just to say such things? From then on, her heart started pounding loudly. She felt uneasy. The pocket of anxiety grew bigger and bigger.
‘I want to know exactly what his level is.’
It grew, and grew, and grew…….
‘Send him to the Roel Gladiatorial Tournament.’
Finally, it burst. In the worst possible way.
“Was it for this that he allowed it so easily back then…”
She felt disappointed. Her regret was beyond measure.
She shouldn’t have let Sion learn swordsmanship. She shouldn’t have.
Why was she so focused on the outcome that she didn’t consider the side effects, which were just one step away?
She should have seen it coming. She should have thought of it.
She should have known that if Sion revealed his talent for swordsmanship, the villain would take an interest in him before anyone else.
And that interest would never radiate in the right direction…….
There was no denying it. She was stupid. She hadn’t thought it through, and this was the result.
The Roel Gladiatorial Tournament.
There was another name for it. The Roel Slaughterhouse.
The tournament earned the moniker “the slaughterhouse” for a straightforward reason. Because there were fatalities in almost every match of the tournament.
Typically, a gladiatorial contest ends when two things happen.
First, when one of the participants admitted defeat,
Second, when one of the participants was too severely injured or dead to continue the fight,
The first case did not exist in a Roel gladiatorial contest.
This was due to the participants’ inability to declare defeat during the match.
It was the contestant’s sponsor who had that right.
Sponsors were the ones who sent participants to the tournament and wagered substantial sums of money on each match. They gained money if the match ended in victory and lost money if it ended in defeat.
No sponsor wanted a high-stakes match to end anticlimactically. Therefore, every sponsor of a contestant in the Roel Gladiatorial Tournament would never declare defeat in the middle of a fight.
Instead, they chose to watch their sponsored participants fight until death on the stage.
As a result, the Roel Tournament became known as the Roel Slaughterhouse, resulting in numerous fatalities each time it took place.
…… And Marquis Hildegarde ordered Sion to be sent to such a place.
To Laila’s ears, the command sounded like this:
Kill Sion.
And in the most miserable way.
‘It’s over.’
She couldn’t help but think it was over.
Will Sion be able to survive in that tournament? It’s going to be difficult.
The men who competed in the Roel Gladiatorial Tournament were mercenaries and criminals, and all of them were skilled.
They were participants who had to be sent into matches where huge sums of money changed hands. The sponsors would never carelessly select just anyone.
These skilled individuals, accustomed to murder, flocked in from all directions. She imagined Sion being caught in the middle of that.
No matter how optimistic she tried to be, only horrific outcomes came to mind, one after another.
If Sion were to enter the Roel Gladiatorial Tournament arena,
Should he engage in combat and meet his demise there,
If that happened…
Crackle.
The sound of footsteps on dry grass was loud enough to stop her thoughts.
Laila reflexively turned her head towards the noise. Her eyes widened immediately.
“Sion?”
……Maybe it was just her imagination. After thinking about Sion for hours, her mind might be playing tricks on her.
Laila blinked and looked ahead again.
Still, there he was, in the same spot.
“Uh…….”
As Laila was perplexed by Sion’s persistent presence, he approached a little closer.
He stopped when there was about a step of distance between him and Laila.
He stood still, silently gazing at Laila’s face, before speaking.
“…Marie’s looking for you.”
“Huh? Marie?”
Laila softly sighed, realizing. ‘Oh, she must have come to bring tea.’
Marie still often brings Laila a cup of her energizing and terrible-tasting tea these days. Usually before bedtime.
Today, it seemed Marie had visited her bedroom to deliver tea.
Since the bedroom owner wasn’t there, she probably asked Sion to look for her. No; she must have demanded it. Given the fact that Sion is now standing in front of her,
Laila smiled apologetically.
“Did Marie send you to find me?”
Sion didn’t answer, but Laila somehow interpreted the silence as an affirmation.
“I’m sorry. Did you have to search for me for a long time?”
“No.”
“Really? That’s good.”
Laila glanced at Sion briefly before lowering her gaze. Maintaining a smiling face was harder than she thought.
Although this was a task that Marie had asked of him, now that Sion has come all the way here, should she just go back? But she didn’t want to go to her bedroom just yet.
Since she wasn’t sleepy at all, going to the bedroom now would only result in her being unable to sleep.
So, wouldn’t it be preferable to stay here rather than in the stuffy bedroom if she had to spend time immersed in various thoughts anyway?
“Hey, Sion. I-“
“What’s going on?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you out here like this?”
Laila blinked.
‘I didn’t expect him to ask…’
Was it really that strange for her to be sitting here in the courtyard at this time? Well, now that she thought about it, it was probably quite odd.
Laila was conflicted. Should she be honest?
In fact, it wasn’t something she could hide forever. Unfortunately, the Roel Tournament was just a week away…
After hesitating, Laila finally began to explain.
“Well, actually, I was called by my father…… today.”
“Yeah.”
“He wants me to……send you to the Roel Gladiatorial Tournament.”
“But…”
“But, you see, most of the people who participate in that tournament end up fighting to the death.”
As she felt her throat strangely constricting, something fell out of her eyes.
……Ah.
She didn’t want to cry. Crying wouldn’t solve anything.
Laila tried to wipe away her tears, but stopped, sensing that they would just keep flowing.
“Because they die, so…”
The words didn’t come out. It wasn’t just because of the tears.
What else could she say?
Should she apologize?
Say that she didn’t know it would turn out this way?
That she didn’t intend for him to end up in this disastrous result when she had him learn the sword?
…What good would those words do?
Laila imagined Sion at the gladiatorial tournament again.
What would he be thinking while forcibly fighting to the death in front of countless people?
He would probably blame her after all.
He would think it was because she unnecessarily had him learn the sword, because of her, he ended up tragically dying here as a spectacle.
Then she would again become the target of his resentment.
One of the targets for his revenge.
And 10 years later, once again…
Laila closed her mouth and lowered her head. It was then.
Something cold brushed against her under her eye and then fell away.
Startled, Laila raised her head again. Then she saw Sion, who had suddenly come closer.
Sion had a stern expression. He was looking down at his own fingers with a face that seemed shocked by something.
Laila absentmindedly followed Sion’s gaze and realized.
What had briefly touched the area under her eye just now was Sion’s finger.
It felt cold because her eyes must have warmed up from crying.
But why did his finger touch her…?
Her thoughts were tangled. She tried to think of a good reason, but it didn’t make sense. No, that couldn’t be.
At that moment, Sion sighed. It was a long sigh. Like a sign of resignation or acceptance.
After exhaling, Sion looked at Laila with a softer expression than before.
Then he reached under Laila’s eyes again.
