May Every Wound Be Fatal - Chapter 29.1
At that moment, as if by magic, all sound vanished.
Tense, Elizer did not notice it. He stubbornly kept his gaze forward, pretending not to notice the dozens of eyes upon him.
No lady would throw a handkerchief of luck to the king’s illegitimate son. He only wished for this moment to end soon.
Then, among the young ladies who had been watching him with sparkling eyes, someone suddenly stood.
Elizer’s gaze reflexively followed the movement.
The deep green silk of the dress and the curling red hair caught his attention first. As he lifted his eyes slightly, he saw transparent green eyes staring straight at him.
It was the maid from the rear garden.
‘No, that cannot be. She surely…’
Elizer blinked once, twice, unable to believe it.
Then she let out a soft, clear laugh, her signature sound. It rang unusually loudly in his ears.
He could not fail to recognize her. Elizer felt heat rise to the back of his neck and his earlobes.
She descended the stairs, clutching her skirt, leaning over the railing with her long hair flowing down toward him.
Elizer could not take his eyes off the young lady looking down at him in her fine attire. In that instant, he could barely recall where he was or why he was standing there.
“Hello.”
“……”
“We meet again.”
One thing was certain. This young lady in elegant dress was the same maid from the rear garden he had been searching for.
Elizer’s blue eyes reflected her quietly, rippling with calm intensity.
At that time, he had nearly given up hope. Soon he would leave Elmaril with his lord, and it seemed unlikely he would find her until then.
‘To run into her here… really, not even a little expected…’
As if reading his thoughts, she gave a faintly triumphant expression and whispered,
“I was right, wasn’t I? I’m rather lucky, you know.”
Then she extended a slender hand and offered him a handkerchief.
“For your victory.”
The crowd stirred with sighs and exclamations of astonishment.
But at that moment, Elizer saw only her. He heard only her.
“My name is Reyna. Reyna Dazbel.”
Her name was Reyna.
Reyna. It seemed a name that fit her perfectly.
A sudden blast from a horn forced distance between them.
Elizer hastily put on his helmet and turned his horse to return to his position, glancing back several times. Reyna still clung to the railing, watching him.
‘…What just happened? This cannot be.’
His heart raced with unmistakable joy. His mind overflowed with thoughts of the handkerchief she had given him and her radiant smile.
There was no time to dwell on the fact that she was Reyna, daughter of the Duke of Dazbel, nor what that implied.
Elizer gripped the handkerchief, embroidered with golden thread like sunlight, and faced Prince Tiberian’s rider.
The roaring cheers resumed, and his breaths were harsh inside the helmet.
Under the blazing sun, glinting armor and the sharply pointed spear reflected the light.
At the signal horn and the judge’s flag snapping down, both riders lowered their lances and charged at full speed.
Contrary to the prearranged plan, Prince Tiberian’s rider aimed his lance at Elizer’s torso. Of course, Elizer could easily defend himself against such an attack, and, as Noel had advised, he could finish the match in a draw.
The two lances collided.
The cheers of the crowd and the pounding of hooves filled the air and shook his entire body.
Yet stronger than all that was her voice.
“For your victory.”
At that moment, the lances clashed like lightning.
Elizer’s spear glanced off the opponent’s shield, slicing through the gaps in the armor.
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