The day of the competition has finally arrived.
Three days have passed since Luca and Sage arrived at the estate. Both of them helped me at the mansion. They also joined the knights when dueling and battling in groups.
Life became more lively when both of them decided to stay in the dukedom, though Sage almost beat up Luca to death when he agreed to what Arnold suggested.
I rubbed my temples.
After I heard what Arnold said that day, I realized that it wasn't just my imagination nor just a boundless suspicion of what I had in mind since day one. Arnold really became different since…
I sighed. I didn’t know when it happened.
When did it all start? When did he start changing into a whole different person? What triggered him that made him change like that all of a sudden? Why did he change?
The only thing that stayed the same was the fact that he still let the other people bully him. And their bullying was getting worse day after day.
I once saw Arnold had slits on his wrist. I was worried so I followed him. He was just walking everywhere, with no end. When I finally decided to approach him, he told me he was alright and it was just bruised. It was nothing more serious.
Though I was eager to help him, I let him be.
I shouldn’t be too nosy.
Luca once asked me why I was so good at the first young master while I was lethal and indifferent when it comes to the other young masters, especially to Jaeda.
I couldn’t answer his question. I couldn’t say that except for Arnold, the other sons of the duke would betray His Grace. I couldn’t confess that Jaeda cheated on me.
I couldn’t tell him that in my past life where I waived everything for Jaeda, I was executed by my love’s own hands even though I was most loyal to him.
I couldn’t tell him that Arnold, His Grace, and I were killed by Jaeda.
“Captain, the royal knight, and the other troops from a marquisate at the north and knight from the temple had already assembled at the entrance of the portal. We should get going too,” Bruce declared.
I fixed my suits and tightened my ponytailed hair. I nodded and stood up proudly in front of the knights. On my right side was Bruce, the vice-captain. Arnold was standing on my left side. He was required to join the hunting competition since he was the first son of the duke.
Seeing him in a knight suit made him even more handsome. His broad stance, the visible veins on his hand, and the well-combed hair. His blue eyes shine with the daylight. His laryngeal prominence was moving up and down. He's as lavishly handsome as a god. He's a man of dreams and the most ideal man a girl could ever have.
If only he didn’t act like a damsel in distress girl.
We marched until we reached the medium.
I looked around and saw the people who came to watch the competition.
We were on the ground where the portal way to another dimension would be opened. The seats where people were seated were surrounding us. The seat was arranged like stairs leading from one seat to another. On the uppermost middle of the venue was a floating screen where the audiences and umpires would witness what was going on inside the portal.
There were different stations. As this was the first level of the competition, we were on the susceptible portal. Basic level monsters were in that portal and the rare herbs used to make pills could also be found.
The more herbs and crystals we obtained, the greater the chances of winning. Though, the other portals could still turn the table. As this is the easiest, anybody could win. The troops of knights who would be eliminated will be announced after we finished excavating the second portal.
There are no rules. The other party could attack another party and steal the accumulated herbs and crystals. The knights from the marquisate and the royal knights would most likely resort to such ridiculous and burdensome ways.
I brushed my hair.
The commentator was making his speech. I massaged my head as the audience’s noise and the commentator's voice made such irritating sounds.
I gritted my teeth.
Bruce tapped my shoulders. “I know you hated such noise, Captain Haleya. It won’t take too long for that man to finish talking. Please bear it until then.”
I rolled my eyes.
I knew that the commentator would take time to talk just like in my past life. I grabbed the lance on Bruce’s back. I threw it toward the man.
When the commentator saw the lance, he was taken aback. He was shocked that he could not move. He was just looking at it like he was waiting for someone to save him from it.
However, no one, even the knights from the temple, showed any compassion for him.
Even they were tired of hearing him rumbling.
I sighed and burnt the lance into ashes.
The commentator cleared his throat. “Since our knights are getting impatient, we should start the main event.”
The crowd shouted while others clapped their hands.
The men from the palace of the Emperor started augmenting the portal.
I crossed my arms over my chest as I looked at it closely.
They planted four tablets on the ground below the small portal. Its range was at least one to two meters away from each other. The ray of light coming from the portal connected to the tablet one after another. As I looked at it closely, the light’s color was green.
The color of the portals discerned how dangerous the portal was. Green portals were the safest. They were at least excavated by hunters and knights and soldiers from different Empires. There were also some who decided to live there.
Yellow or orange portals were the second safest though the surrounding behind the portal wasn’t ideal for habitation.
Violet portals were unstable portals. It could be a habitat of a basic and intermediate level monster or it could be owned by demi-demon level or demon monsters. Ending up in a habitual dimension could be deemed as fortuitous. It is a gamble of luck.
Red portals are the habitats for the demon levels. The demi-demon level monsters could also be in the red portals.
The last color was black. Black was the most dangerous portal. The monstrous demon level that no one could ever defeat lives in the dimension inside that portal. Though there were instances that the monstrous demons were excavating from one dimension to another dimension. It could also enter the earth.
Hence, the threat of the monstrous demon monsters could be everywhere.
I looked at the portal again. The ray of light had also connected the four tablets making an impartial silhouette. The light spreads within the spectrum of the silhouette. It only took a few minutes before an elliptic frame hole appeared above the impartial spectrum.
Inside that frame, there were green sceneries.
“They are much faster now than before. Looks like your impatience, Captain Haleya, made them work faster,” Bruce commented.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess they all need to get their life at risk for them to work faster and effectively.”
Bruce chuckled. “Now that I think about it, your temperament doesn’t really sit well with the noble knights. I guess that's why they refused to join this hunting competition. I bet they are just waiting for us to fail this. All of them are also eager to join the royal knights.”
I grinned as I brushed my hair. “They weren’t even qualified to join the Jarvis Knights if it wasn’t for their household who begged His Grace to let them join. Now they are aiming to be a royal knight? What a bunch of twerp.”
“Well, I won’t deny that as it is true in any means. That’s why the last captain quit. Aside from they are talentless, they are all lazy.”
The duke wasn’t someone who could be bribed. What was he thinking when he approved of this?
I tilted my head.
I accidentally bumped my head on Arnold’s shoulder.
“Apologies, Young Master Arnold.” I lowered my head.
“That’s okay.”
Cold. I looked at Arnold’s face. He was frowning so bad. He was clenching his jaw while looking at the portal coldly.
So… what the hell is wrong with him?
I bumped into Bruce’s shoulders. I gestured for him to look at Arnold.
I could see his clueless eyes as he tilted his head. He looked at Arnold before looking at me.
I leaned my head closer to Bruce’s ears and whispered, “What’s wrong with him?”
Bruce shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. You should ask him about it.”
“Do you think I would dare to? I wouldn’t want to get on his nerves today. I want peaceful hunting."
Callisto cleared his throat. “If you want to gossip, please try to lower your voice. Young Master Arnold could hear it, you know?"
I stood up straight. “Oh…"
I pressed my lips and looked at the men again. I looked around. I don’t see the royal knights and the marquisate knights everywhere so I guess they already had entered the portal. The knights from the temple are now entering.
After all of them had entered, I saw Arnold move his hand like he was hesitating to do something. I immediately step back.
Arnold extended his hands and grabbed Bruce’s arms and dragged him inside the portal. My mouth moved open.
What was that?