“……!”
Laila couldn’t gather her thoughts. The hand that touched her face wiped away her tears.
The roughness of the hand made her feel like her soul had been sucked out. Was he wiping away the tears, or was he wiping her face itself…!
Just as Laila was wondering if her face might have been slightly erased, Sion spoke.
“What do I need to do?”
“Uh, huh?”
“What do I need to do to not die in that tournament you mentioned?”
“Well, if you win…”
Laila started to answer but closed her mouth. It felt too absurd to speak. But Sion calmly replied.
“Okay, I’ll do that.”
“……?”
“I’ll win, so get up now. It’s cold here, and it’s late.”
Laila did as she was told and got up.
When she came to her senses, she was already in front of the bedroom.
“Good night.”
Surprisingly, Sion said goodbye first. It was probably the first time. No, it was definitely the first time.
Laila stupidly replied, “Y-You too, goodnight.”
The bedroom door closed. Laila stood still for a moment before crawling into bed first.
She wrapped herself in the soft blanket and lay down, recalling what had just happened.
Sion wiped the tears from her eyes. And then he escorted her to the bedroom, and then he bid her goodnight.
‘…is this a dream?’
Laila poked her cheeks here and there before eventually drifting off to sleep.
Marie’s tea was not in the bedroom.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Laila’s spirits plummeted the day before the Roel Gladiatorial Tournament.
The carriage ride from Hildegarde Estate to the town hosting the trash-like tournament will take a day.
In other words, in order to participate in the tournament, they had to leave now.
With a face full of shadows, Laila climbed into the carriage.
It seemed fitting that the sky matched the gloominess of her mood. What if there was a downpour along the way?
A downpour wouldn’t be enough to stop the carriage, would it? Then, if a lightning bolt struck…
‘It would be great if a lightning bolt hit the competition grounds.’
A bolt so powerful that it would split and incinerate the competition grounds. Then the venue for this abhorrent ‘Roel’ event would be gone.
Laila chuckled, but soon grew gloomier than before.
The situation was so dire that she had to rely on such unrealistic fantasies.
Reluctantly, Laila boarded the carriage, followed by Sion and Taylor.
When Laila noticed Taylor, she narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Why are you riding in this carriage? You usually ride in the one my father uses.”
“I was transferred.”
“On your own accord?”
“I was given permission. Anyway, there are several other guards in that carriage as well…”
Taylor, closing the carriage door, spoke confidently.
“I will protect this carriage.”
Laila suppressed a groan. She wouldn’t be able to have a conversation with Sion throughout the journey.
“Why don’t you get off now?”
“Am I inconveniencing you?”
“Yes.”
“…Why? I thought Miss and I had gotten quite close.”
Laila hesitated. Seeing Taylor’s openly gloomy face made her words falter.
“I’m joking. I’m not uncomfortable.”
In the end, the carriage departed with Taylor inside.
Laila resigned herself easily. Yeah, there wasn’t much to talk about with Sion in the carriage anyway.
As she sat by the window, gazing outside, Laila soon took a deep breath.
She was already starting to feel nervous.
A sense of urgency crept in as her heart raced.
‘Will I be able to save Sion?’
There was only one way. That was for Sion to declare defeat before losing his life in the match.
Although no sponsor had ever done such a thing, it wasn’t impossible.
‘Of course, Father would take on the role of sponsor.’
How could she get the villain to declare defeat during the match?
Kneeling and begging were too basic, so there had to be something more compelling to move the villain’s heart.
Laila stopped thinking. It was because of a strange vibration that she felt.
It was not the usual vibration from the moving carriage. This was…
Laila turned her head toward Taylor.
Thud, thud, thud.
Laila’s eyes locked with Taylor’s, whose legs were shaking frantically.
“……Sir Taylor.”
“Yes.”
“You seem out of it.”
“……I’m sorry.”
But even as he apologized, Taylor couldn’t seem to stop his legs from shaking.
Watching this, Laila let out a light laugh. She hadn’t expected someone else to be even more nervous than herself.
“You must be really worried.”
“Oh, no? I’m just, like, really excited. To see my first student win a gladiatorial tournament.”
His bravado was quite impressive. If only he could match his words with his actions.
Laila glanced at Taylor, who seemed as if they might keel over if they didn’t move their legs for even a moment, before returning her gaze to the window.
Somehow, the fact that someone was more fidgety than her helped calm her nerves a bit.
As Laila looked out the window, she subtly shifted her gaze.
Sion, sitting across from her, had his eyes closed as if he were completely asleep.
He seemed calmer than anyone else in the carriage.
‘Yeah, I’ll do it. I’m going to win…….’
Sion’s voice echoed in her mind like an illusion.
Sion probably didn’t know how fierce the Roel Gladiatorial Tournament was. He didn’t know what kind of skilled combatants would be competing.
That’s probably why he could say that. She shouldn’t take comfort in ignorance. But for now…
Maybe a little hope wouldn’t hurt. Just for now.
Just for this moment, when nothing else could be done.
Recalling Sion’s voice, her tension eased. Laila soon leaned back comfortably in her seat and closed her eyes, just like Sion.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
They arrived at the village hosting the Roel Gladiatorial Tournament around noon the following day.
During the journey, the carriage stopped twice. The first time, they rested in the middle of the road, and the second time, they stayed overnight in a nearby village.
The destination village was much smaller than the one where they had stayed overnight.
It felt more like a hamlet than a village.
“Having a tournament here… of all places.”
Did they deliberately choose such a remote and small location? …That could be. The Roel Gladiatorial Tournament was a competition that was only known among insiders at first.
As they ventured further into the village, a fairly well-built arena emerged.
After registering Sion as a participant, he was given the number 16.
Marquis Hildergarde became the sponsor for participant number 16.
“The sponsor should wear this mask, sir.”
Laila suppressed a chuckle. As expected, they really did have to wear masks.
What a disgusting contest, she thought, then bit her lip. Even more disgusting was the fact that she was sending Sion to this tournament now.
‘I have to somehow declare defeat during the match…’
As Laila pondered, Sion, standing beside her, whispered softly.
“Don’t dwell on useless thoughts.”
Laila’s eyes widened as she turned to Sion. Speaking quietly enough for only Laila to hear, Sion said:
“I’m not lying.”
Leaving those words behind, Sion disappeared with the tournament organizer.
Laila watched Sion walk away, then brushed her ear.
The mere sound of his voice made her ears itch.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Mercenary King Davushir was out of luck.
That was how he ended up in this tournament.
‘If only I hadn’t mistaken the target…’
He received a contract: kill a specific individual for a hefty sum.
Though assassination requests weren’t frequent, they did come in from time to time. He accepted and immediately set out on the mission.
Fortunately, the target was nearby. When the time seemed right, he followed the target stealthily and ambushed him when he entered a deserted area. Without hesitation, he took his life…….
Holy shit. When he saw him again in the light, it was a different guy.
He killed the wrong person who looked like his target!
So far, so good—at least from Davushir’s perspective—but the problem was that the wrong man happened to be the illegitimate son of a nobleman.
Davushir tried to flee, but was caught a few days later and dragged before the nobleman.
