Chapter 1 - Part 1
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100 billion…
100 billion?!
Lelia was so bewildered and dumbfounded that she just blinked.
Please hand it over to Alchemy when the necessary compensation is ready.(☏•̀ᴗ•̀) * Your wish will come true soon!
“……”
Lelia hung limply on the sofa.
100 billion?
[From where do I get 100 billion shillings? It’s not even a billion… It’s…]
Until just a moment ago, she was so happy that she almost felt like flying in the sky. And now, she felt very heavy.
“No, this is not the time.”
She didn’t have time to be depressed. Lelia immediately wondered what to do.
The only way to get that amount of money is to start a business again.
To do so, she must return to her home country, the Superion Territory.
She had to come here because she had to get the other half of the holy relic and the medicine to cure her grandmother’s illness.
“Because Griffith said he was coming soon…” Oscar will also arrive by the appointed date.
“Well, when they come, I’ll go back to my home just by looking at their faces.”
She will give Kalix a lot of painkillers and sedatives, deal with the matter in Superion territory and come back to see him again.
After receiving the final compensation and curing Kalix’s eyes, she will save money by gaining other people’s favorability.
“Ah…”
All these things were so far from happening that she was at a loss and sighed.
But on second thought, it was a blessing.
She can solve everything just by taking her time.
Lelia was seized with anxiety and uneasiness. She felt like a candle swaying in the wind, but her core was strong.
***
The next day
[Let’s raise the favorability of Romeo and Kalix by the time the other friends arrive.]
That’s why she went to see them, but their rooms were empty.
“Where have they gone?”
She asked the soldiers who guarded the area, but they answered, “I don’t know.”
There were no servants who passed by, so there was no one else to ask about them directly.
[I’ll go for a walk, then.]
Lelia would rather go out for fear that Ruth might come again.
She was about to change her clothes and go out whenshe heard a knock.
No way.
Lelia opened the door with anxiety, thinking it was Ruth again.
But there was a knight standing outside instead.
“What’s the matter?”
“Prince Cedric is in a hurry to find Sir Raymond.”
Prince Cedric? What the hell is going on?
Lelia asked with a wrinkle between her eyebrows.
“What is he calling me for?”
“I don’t know that either. I’ve only been told to bring you to him in a hurry. Let’s go right away.”
The knight was wary of Lelia escaping and responded in a coercive tone.
[Wait a minute, please.]
Lelia closed the door and took the medicine out of the item window just in case. It’s a medicine she had used in front of the Emperor.
She followed the knight towards the residence of the princes. As she got closer, she saw a group of people in the large expansive garden of the Imperial Palace. Judging by their outfits, they all looked like nobles. The strange thing was that they are all men.
[Is this a gathering between male nobles?]
Lelia tilted her head, thinking that it was a good idea she brought her medicine.
Romeo and Kalix would probably be there.
The knight took Lelia in front of Prince Cedric.
“You are here.”
Cedric glanced at Lelia and took a sip from his champagne glass.
Lelia bowed to him and looked around.
Desserts, drinks and alcohol were lined up in the garden so that they could eat freely.
All the male nobles stood in groups of twos and threes talking.
What was unusual was that two male nobles competed in swordsmanship atop a spacious circular stage in the center of the garden. Several aristocrats surrounded the stage, cheering and shouting. It didn’t seem like a duel seeing them laughing like that.
Anyway, it seemed like a gathering of male aristocrats.
But everywhere she looked, she could not see Romeo or Kalix.
“Why did you call me? I heard you were looking for me all of a sudden.”
“That’s right. They found you in a hurry.”
Cedric smiled bitterly and pointed to one side.
A male aristocrat approached me as he beckoned him to come.
“……”
He made no secret of his hostile gaze at Lelia. To the point where Lelia was confused.
“I don’t know if you know who he is, Sir Raymond. This is Sir Namp.”
“… Nice to meet you.”
“……”
Lelia said hello first, but he was still staring at her.
Suddenly, she looked around , and strangely they were all looking at Lelia. Before she knew it, there was silence.
“Please excuse Sir Namp if he doesn’t seem pleased. He is Miss Grace’s fiance.”
“……”
Lelia’s forehead narrowed.
[You’re Grace’s fiance?]
At Cedric’s words, he raised his chin and glared proudly at Lelia.
[What do you want me to do?]
“Do you have any complaints?” Sir Namp suddenly asked.
“… No, I don’t,”
“Huh!”
At Lelia’s reply, Sir Namp smirked as if it was ridiculous. Cedric said ‘woah, woah,’ calming him down.
[What are you going to do?]
She didn’t cheat with Grace. Why did he get so angry?
[I can’t cheat with her in the first place.]
[Is it because I danced with her at the ballroom?]
[I wasn’t able to stand it, so I went right next to Grace.]
When she glared back at Lord Namp in a wild and equivalent way, he finally said impatiently.
“Now keep your word, Your Highness. If the man doesn’t apologize, we can fight.”
“Yes…”
[A duel?]
Cedric spoke to Lelia, stroking his chin.
“Actually, Sir Raymond, I called you here because Sir Namp wanted a duel with you. If you had apologized right away, Sir Namp would have forgiven you…”
“……”
“If it’s like that, I can’t help it. Will you accept the duel? Ah, duels with swords are illegal in our empire.” Cedric said.
At that, Sir Namp grinned and clashed his fists and palms.
“Instead, you will fight with fists. It’s not against the law unless your life is cut off, so rest assured.” Cedric patted Lelia on the shoulder with a gentle face.
“Oh, by the way, there’s the next one.”
“What?”
As soon as the words fell, something flew from one side into Lelia’s side face.
After she got hit in the face, she felt surprised and found out that it was a pair of brown gloves.
From the direction where the gloves flew, Prince Damien stood in a crooked posture.
“I heard that Sir insulted my sister. I will wash the honor of Princess Julianna in a duel with you!”
“……”
Lelia felt dizzy.
“What the hell is going on here?”
At that time, all the male aristocrats gathered around the circular stage cheering.
Sir Namp took off his cravat and rolled up his sleeves and moved to the center of the circular stage.
At this point, it was inevitable.
She thought about what excuse to use to run away, but she couldn’t find the time or the way.
Sir Namp was taller and larger than Lelia. If she gets hit by his fist, she will faint all at once.
“You’re not running away, are you?” Cedric said with laughter. He looked at Lelia and pressed her shoulder as if she were doing something else instead of going to the center.
His persistent hands eventually pushed her toward the center of the stage.
[What should I do?]
It’s not swordsmanship, it’s boxing.
Even so, she learned swordsmanship from her grandfather, uncle and aunt. However, she had never done a bare fist fight before.
The common people who were the spectators cheered watching the game.
“Sir Namp, crush that face!”
“As long as you don’t kill him!”
“Break his leg!”
“I think you’ll win even if you hit him with a thud!”
Hearing the voices, Lelia quickly checked the item window.
If she fainted after being beaten and transferred to a lawmaker, she could be found out as a woman if she was taken to a senator. She had to hold out any way possible.
She found one drug in her inventory and she quickly pulled it out. A small pill was held in her palm. She swallowed the pill, pretending to touch her mouth, and slowly rolled up her sleeves as well.
At the same time, the help mode popped up a message window.
You took a medicine that made your whole body as hard as steel! ٩(๑•̀o•́๑)و Item lasts 5 minutes!
At that moment, a whistle was heard signaling the start.
At the same time, his large fist flew right next to her face.
“Whoosh……”
Sir Namp glared at Lelia with a look of, ‘You dare dodge my fists?’
She managed to avoid him just now, but the next one was impossible.
Immediately, his opposite fist flew.
Thud!
[Oh, my gosh!]
“Ahhhhhh!!”
However, Sir Namp, who was about to hit her, screamed.
He clenched his fists and blinked in disbelief.
Lelia was also perplexed. She thought her body wouldn’t hurt when it was steel. Being sick was one thing, but her cheeks were tingling and her bones were numb.
“This person! Die!”
Sir Namp seemed more angry than she thought, so he ran back towards her with a lively look and threw his fist.
Lelia likewise posed with her battle stance, after which she evaded his constantly flying fists.
On the round stage, as Lelia ran away, the onlookers booed.
“Coward!”
“You’re still a man!”
“Sir Namp! Smash that b*****d’s bottom!”
Sir Namp had completely lost his eyes.
[It can’t be like this.]
Lelia was able to hold her breath, so she could dodge his frantically flying fists, as she made up her mind. She told herself this would only end when she herself took down Sir Namp.
It was with that in mind that she suddenly clenched her fist.
Thud!
With a loud sound, Sir Namp fell down.
Should have punched him on the cheek, but she punched him on the chin instead as she had never fought before and was out of her mind.
“Uhhhh…”
Sir Namp fell to the floor and passed out.
5 minutes elapsed. The item’s continuous effect disappears.(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
Lelia, too, gasped for breath.
It was then…
Damien, who came up to the stage, pushed Sir Namp and ordered him to clean up.
He looked very angry.
“This time it’s my turn, Sir Raymond. I demand you pay the price for the crime that damaged the princess’s honor.”
[Nonsense…]
Lelia wrinkled her brow.
In fact, if the princess’s honor had been damaged, a trial would have taken place rather than a duel like this.
Damien knew it too, and that’s why it’s not going to go to trial.
Then, another prince standing on one side of the stage, Cedric, suggested.
“Sir Raymond. It is quite a feat to knock down Sir Namp at once, why don’t you face both of us at once?”
***
[T/N: I swear these twins are too much!]
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