Chapter 121: Live to Sienna Pt.121

His voice echoed throughout the stadium. Momentarily, Carl’s words spread from mouth to mouth. The audience chanted Carl’s name even though the emperor had not dropped his word of permission.

Valore had no choice but to accept his request. In fact, he was actually thinking of accepting his opinion from the beginning.

However, as soon as Carl appeared, he saw the cheering citizens and they reminded him that he was not the main character of this show. He said to Carl with a weary smile.

“It would be a virtue of knights to meet the strong and to win a victory. Prince Carl, I understand your desire to fight against Lord Waters. But I think I need Lord Waters’ permission. He’s been playing several games in the last few days.”

Jamie, who was standing next to him, knelt down and said, “I would also like to face the sword with His Highness, if the Emperor allows it. It’s an honor for me to be a match for someone called the god of the battlefield.”

Valore nodded with a doubtful look.

“If that is what Lord Waters wants, Prince Carl, so let’s do that. However, the prince is the only heir to the imperial family. Sir Waters is also the only heir of the Waters family and the hero of today’s battle. I don’t want either of you to get hurt. So let’s just finish the game with the 20th inning.”

Carl and Jamie agreed to Valore’s proposal. If there was a significant difference in skills, it would be finished within 20 rounds, and they were similar in level, it could prevent serious injury while dragging time.

“I’m sorry I took the spotlight from you, the main character of the day.”

“It’s all right. I’ve already done what I wanted to do. And let’s do our best. Even though you are my brother-in-law, I’m not going to let you go.”

“Hahaha!”

Carl burst out laughing. Although the family relationship Jamie said was not wrong, the relation was meaningless to the imperial family. Being odd seemed to be the nature of the Waters family.

“I also don’t want to let you go, so let’s get serious.”

“The Waters are always serious in front of the sword. I think it’s going to be an interesting game.”

Carl and Jamie finished shaking hands and stared at each other, ready with their swords.

The sound of the bugle to signal the beginning sounded as Valore beckoned, while Carl and Jamie’s swords clashed in a large light. Not many people could not follow them because they were moving so fast.

“Oh my!”

At their inhuman speeds, exclamations flowed from the mouths of the crowd.

It wasn’t until after several tremendous clashes that Carl and Jamie stood at the spot where they first started the game and burst into heavy breaths. The dust flying around showed how fierce their battle was.

Carl and Jamie’s swordsmanship was so fast that the 20th inning that Valore outlined ended in a flash.

Everyone sighed in dismay at the game that had ended so quickly. It was because no one watched their game properly and enjoyed it. They just saw the blue and black lights intertwine like crazy and burst into a violent explosion.

“…Wow!”

When the belated shouts came from the stands, the nobles, as well as Valore and Arya, did nothing with their mouths open.

They have heard that Carl was called the god of the battlefield, but they have never seen him actually fight before, so they couldn’t evaluate his skills properly. They dismissed his swordsmanship because they didn’t think he could do much on his own.

Moreover, they have been seeing the Knights of the Imperial Household, whose skills had been leveled down after the imperial standard for the Sword Expert changed, so they were not aware of a true Sword Expert’s skills.

They just realized how much difference in skills between the knights who knew how to handle the sword and those who didn’t were. It was the moment when the Knights Reform, which the emperor was trying to do, gained justification.

Carl and Jamie ended the match in a draw, but Carl asked for a chance to request for a handkerchief. Valore again gave permission with an unwilling look.

Bluebell Ferrer was there, too. It could have been a disaster for a young lady who had not yet had her coming-of-age ceremony to be there, but Earl Ferrer just granted her wishes.

Since she was a child, she believed that Carl’s next seat would be her seat. Ever since she was broken up by political interests and saw Carl marry another woman, she has suffered from severe depression.

Thanks to her father, who felt sorry for her long-time sadness, Bluebell had a chance to sit in the stands and steal a glimpse of Carl.

Her seat was in the front row of seats where Carl and Sienna were sitting, so she frequently turned her head to check the two. They were looking like a happy couple.

“That hypocrite!”

Bluebell gnashed her teeth. It was disgusting to see Sienna sitting next to him shamelessly, as if that seat beside Carl was her own, after taking away Carl whom she had long admired.

Moreover, she said that the reason for her marriage to Carl was not love. It was just agreed on for the position of the princess. She wanted to spit on Sienna’s face.

‘She’s shameless after breaking up the love between me and Carl.’

She couldn’t even see the knights playing. She just wanted to see Carl at least a little bit, but seeing Carl and Sienna smiling happily, she thought she shouldn’t have come.

Watching the match between Carl and Jamie after the Mutu competition, Bluebell wiped away her tears. Already the husband of another woman, he was still shining brilliantly.

After the game, Carl turned his eyes to get a handkerchief. Bluebell’s heart beat like crazy when his eyes met hers.

‘Does he know? The fact that I’m here?’

She grabbed the handkerchief she had brought, just in case, waiting for her name to come out of his mouth.

It was a handkerchief she carefully embroidered for a long time. A red horse symbolizing the Ferrer family and a silver dragon symbolizing Carl at the center of the handkerchief, and the border was embroidered with strawberries and strawberry flowers symbolizing the fruits of love.

Bluebell’s nanny admired her embroidery skills and praised her as the capital’s number one. It was a skill that would not be embarrassing to show to anyone. Bluebell, however, thought that she should say that she worked hard with awkward skills when she handed it over to Carl.

‘I should try not to sound arrogant. Would it be better to make eye contact with him or to lower it slightly when handing over the handkerchief?’

Her father said her blue eyes were like a clear lake, and her nanny said that her eyelashes were flapping as she lowered her eyes and was more desirable than a peacock’s feathers.

But the name that came out of Carl’s mouth was not her name.

“I’d like to get a handkerchief from Princess Sienna.”

Bluebell doubted her ears.

Was that really what Carl said? How could he do that when I’m here?

Bluebell’s tears fell on the handkerchief that lost its owner.

As soon as the name of Sienna came out of Carl’s mouth, the citizens gave a hearty welcome. There were people who cheered while whistling, and there were people who gathered their hands and cried.

She made her name known to many people in the capital for her generosity during the wheat price surge. That’s why there was a greater cheer than when Jamie’s victory was confirmed.

Bluebell, who didn’t like everything about Sienna, didn’t even like the work she did to bail out the citizens by releasing the wheat.

Surely that too must have been an act to establish a political position, not really for the people of the capital. Those foolish citizens must be cheering without knowing that. Bluebell hated both the citizens and the hypocritical Sienna.

At Carl’s call, Sienna rose from her seat and went down to where he was.

Sitting next to the aisle, Bluebell grabbed Sienna’s wrist as she passed by her side. Her face, which was in a mess with tears, was miserable, but if she couldn’t say a word to Sienna, she thought she would go mad.

Looking at Sienna’s surprised face, Bluebell whispered in a very small voice.

“You’re shameless. You don’t love him, you took Carl away from me, and now you’re going to hand him the handkerchief? I’m disgusted by the impudence.”

As Sienna looked at her with a shocked face, Bluebell stared at her with wet eyes and let go of her hand.

There was someone watching Bluebell— their eyes glowed with a shriveled eye like the eyes of a snake capturing its prey.

*

The Mutu competition ended with a lot of stories. Many people got interested in Sienna and Carl, and Jamie Waters the new hero, and Red Cabillion, who failed to win the championship but also competed greatly.

But most of all, it was Valore’s Imperial Knights Reform that caught people’s attention. There was a lot of opposition, but Valore was pushing for this with the emperor’s authority.

Arya tried to change his mind, but he refused to meet her. If Arya forced herself into his palace, Valore advised her to stay in the Panacio family for a while and cool her head. It was a threat that meant if she’s any longer involved in his affairs, he’ll send her to the Panacio family’s estate.

When Arya realized that Valore was not at her disposal anymore, she gave in and began to support him. But she didn’t really support him. She had frequent meetings with the nobles to influence the newly reorganized Imperial Order.

Sienna and Carl were having a quiet time apart from all these political issues.

Although Sienna originally thought that when Valore became the emperor, Arya would threaten Carl more than before, but right now, she could not pay attention to Carl and Sienna because she was bent on confrontation with Valore.