BBYW Vol. 3 Interlude Part 23 (WN)
Interlude – Royal Martial Tournament
Part 23 – The Winner of the Tournament
“The winner is…Dyngir Maxwell!!!”
“WOOOOOOHHH!!!”
The arena was engulfed in cheers. Basking in the shower of praise, I slowly raised my right hand, still holding the sword.
A few days had passed since I rescued the woman abducted by House Saverne. After that, I fought in the semifinals and finals, ultimately claiming the title of champion.
As it turned out, the Saverne abduction plot was not made public.
I had some men take Valon’s fiancée back to the Sphinx manor, then headed to the restaurant used as base by the Fangs of Steel.
I was discussing with Kisaragi, leader of the Fangs of Steel, about retaliatory measures to take against House Saverne, when the subordinate watching over the Saverne residence brought back a “gift” from Benamis Saverne himself.
The gift included a written apology for the events, monetary compensation, and the head of Seifern Saverne, the current Marquis.
I wanted to avoid an open confrontation with House Saverne, as it was the leader of the capital’s militaristic faction, so I was considering having only the head of the house assassinated: I thus had no more reason to antagonize them.
House Sphinx did not seem to be aware of the abduction in the first place. The man I knocked out on my way to the cabin turned out to be the messenger in charge of informing House Sphinx of the abduction and demands; for some reason, the abducted woman apparently kept quiet about it all, so there was no commotion at all from that end.
In the end, Valon defeated Benamis Saverne in the semifinals, and we faced each other in the finals.
Our duel was pretty heated, and turned out to be the most exciting match of the tournament. I was the winner, but Valon received a fair amount of praise and applause too. On the other hand, he was so frustrated and humiliated that he did not even pay heed to the applause.
“…congratulations on your victory, Dyngir Maxwell.”
“…thank you, Valon Sphinx.”
After the ceremony, I returned to my changing room, and Valon congratulated me — with a seething tone of voice.
Normally, he was the picture of a handsome prince, delicate features and all, but his face was now burning red.
“I admit defeat this time…but I am going to win in the next tournament!! I will never forget today’s humiliation!! Remember it!!”
“I certainly will. By the way…would you mind introducing me to the lady with you?”
Valon was accompanied by a young woman. Golden hair cut at shoulder length, tanned complexion — the typical look of the western regions.
She was quite the beauty and had a pleasant, bright expression on her face. The type of healthy beauty that would make the eyes of many turn.
“Ah, she is my fiancée. She came to the capital to cheer for me in the tournament.”
“Pleased to meet you, my name is Mist Cairo.”
“Eh?”
I couldn’t help but react with surprise.
Valon’s fiancée was supposed to be the abducted woman, with the beauty of an exotic dancer and childlike innocence. That was not her, though?
“I have heard much about you, Dyngir Maxwell. Congratulations on your victory.”
“Ah…yes…thank you…very much?”
So I awkwardly replied, still confused.
I had apparently made a tremendous misunderstanding.
If that tanned woman wasn’t Valon’s fiancée, I could have seduced her without reserve.
After rescuing her, I could have taken her to an inn somewhere, and received the proper gratitude, without a problem!
(What a waste! What a damn waste!!! How could I lose an opportunity like that!? Anyway, if she wasn’t Valon’s fiancée, then who the hell was she!? She must be from House Sphinx, right!?)
Struck by a violent pang of regret, I barely managed to keep a smile on my face.
The rage tensed up my face, causing Valon and his fiancée to look at me with some suspicion.
“Aaah…hm? Who is the little girl…?”
Unable to keep a proper face, I looked away from them, and noticed a small silhouette hiding behind Mist.
“Oh, I suppose I should introduce her too. She is my little sister, Naam Sphinx. She will turn 10 this year.”