Who Stole The Empress

“If you’re tired, we can go home.”

Roselyn had barely seen half of the festival, and the sky was somehow covered in complete darkness.

There was so much to see that she had to stop after three steps, walk four steps, and stop again.

It had been a long time since she had walked and stood for such a long time.

But her legs felt much better than she thought they would.

Originally, her feet would throb after an hour of walking and she had to take painkillers.

“I’m still fine.”

She said indifferently as if she wasn’t disappointed, but Tamon, who observed her expression, clearly saw the lingering regret.

“Really?”

The late time didn’t reduce the number of people. Rather, there were far more than before. The laughter of the people sitting in the street cafes having tea time and the children running and playing all over the city was vivacious.

“You can come out again tomorrow. You don’t have to be so disappointed.”

“Tomorrow? I can come out again tomorrow?”

“Yes, you can. With Arsene.”

Roselyn’s eyes brightened at the mention of Arsene’s name.

She was concerned about the children, and she was surprised that Tamon had brought up the children’s subject first.

“You’re right, we can come again tomorrow.”

Tamon laughed at her immediate change in attitude.

His hand, which was behind her back, fell slowly, as if it was regrettable.

“It’s true that you have some regrets.” (Tamon)

“Don’t nitpick at me like that.” (Roselyn)

Roselyn glared at him as she hid her flushed cheeks.

“Why don’t you think that I’m listening to everything you say?” (Tamon)

‘You’re really good at talking anyway.’

Roselyn chuckled.

They had to walk a little further to get to where the carriage parked.

She tried to appease today’s disappointment with those ten minutes.

They walked about halfway there.

The center of the square was shining brightly, signaling the start of the Flower Festival.

Dozens of lights and torches surrounded the square, and there were more than seven platforms and targets hanging in the center.

What caught her attention more than anything else was the sight of beautifully dressed men and women holding up ornate jewelry boxes with their hands.

“Hello, everyone!”

A man dressed as handsome as he was ran up to the top of the platform with a loudspeaker in his hand.

He seemed to be a man who was accustomed to exaggerating every action.

The crowd was immediately drawn to the man on the stage.

“An event that involved arrows made out of the laxicon given to you by Her Royal Highness the King, and covering them with silver and gold treasures made by the royal weaponsmith, Master Turtz!”

Loud voices echoed through the square.

“The royal family will be hosting an archery match!”

Exclamations resonated everywhere.

Matches that were held for the sake of watching always arouse people’s excitement.

The people who had been buzzing about gathered around the square.

“….. It’s an archery match.”

Tamon mumbled and looked at Roselyn.

To the word archery, Roselyn also raised her head as if involuntarily reacting.

Tamon murmured with a playful smile at the sight of her.

“Come to think of it, did the Empress of Tanatos say she was good with a bow?”

Roselyn stared at the gathered crowd, pretending not to hear Tamon’s words.

It seemed that the women’s and men’s sections were being recruited separately and on the spot.

‘The prize is very high-end for an impromptu event…’

Laxicon was an ore that could threaten the monsters, like silver deer antlers.

Although it was in much greater supply than silver deer or demeter, the demand for it was so high that it was traded at a high price.

Also, the technology to handle it itself was extremely valuable.

Compared to other minerals, it was less hard and more difficult to smelt.

It was almost impossible to make the mineral itself hard, so it was made into a powder through several processes, and then coated or mixed into the surface of weapons.

A “bow” was just what was needed.

Roselyn thought hard.

As he said, archery was Roselyn’s speciality. 

She had practiced swordsmanship steadily to some extent, but she couldn’t do that after her leg got injured.

She couldn’t even think about it, because even the doctors insisted that she should never use her leg for sword fighting or any difficult physical activities. 

So she didn’t look at the bow anymore. As her position became higher, it was essential for her to learn at least one or two martial arts to defend herself. 

She had hardly practiced lately, so she was a little worried about her stiff fingers… 

She looked back at Tamon, who was still staring at her. 

“My specialty…Do you want me to show you?”

His eyes opened wide as if he was surprised.

Seeing Tamon’s surprised face strangely always put her in a good mood.

With a little smile, Roselyn walked towards the host.

****

The archery match was divided into men and women.

Basically, the matches were played by those who could handle a bow, and the tournament format made for fast progress.

Bows could only be shot three times, and the one who scored higher in three times advanced to the next game.

Then, when it came to the semifinals, it turned into hitting something that was not a normal target.

 Roselyn, who hadn’t touched a bow in a while and was worried about it, fortunately made it to the semifinals without any difficulty.

There were four people left in the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively.

Originally, the men’s division had to play the semifinals before the women’s division, but suddenly the two candidates who made it to the semifinals withdrew themselves.

“That man is Count Bach Kania, full of money, desire to win, and desire to show off.”

Tamon said secretly, and she could guess it without difficulty.

Roselyn looked at the women who had come up to the stage. The three women’s eyes glittered as they competed with each other. Two of the women looked like noblewomen at a glance, while the other was a foreigner.

‘I can’t believe nobles are hanging out with commoners……’

It was a fascinating sight even when she saw it with her own eyes.

It was a figure that could be seen because Amor was not strong in aristocracy.

This was especially true at this time of year, when the port was close by and tourists from all walks of life were visiting.

Even the high aristocrats, who placed importance on their physical appearance, went out in great numbers to enjoy the festivities outside, hiding their faces or dressing up shabbily.

The people on the stage now were probably such people.

Since archery was basically a high-class sport that aristocrats could learn, the fact that they were so skilled meant that they were bourgeois or aristocrats of the wealthy class.

Perhaps that was the reason why they were going to give a high class prize.

“Wow! So many different people made it to the semifinals! They’re all better than I expected, so Baron Gustav is surprised!”

The host made a humorous and surprised look, livening up the atmosphere leisurely.

It must have been a position bought with money rather than a real baron.

Or had he temporarily allowed himself the status of a nobleman for today?

“Then! For the sake of these wonderfully talented people, let’s target something interesting in the semifinals!

The host laughed coyly and placed three fruits on the spot where the target was placed.

There was an apple, a strawberry, and a grape.

“This is too much! Who would guess such a thing?”

“Hahahaha! But you can guess the apple, can’t you? Look at how plump it is.”

The presenter threw an extra prepared apple at the person and replied mischievously.

“Okay! I’ll give the apple 10 points, the strawberry 20 points, and finally this lovely grape 30 points.”

Actually, it wasn’t such an unreasonable goal, if only to apologize.

First of all, the distance to the target was not very far, and apples were often used in archery matches.

Knowing this, the first candidate also drew his bow in a suitably angry manner.

The posture of holding the bow was very good. Roselyn could tell that he had taken long lessons from a good master. 

He shot the target with a confident look, unlike the person who was huffing and angry.

swoosh!

With a light sound, the first arrow pierced the center of the apple.

“Wow!”

“That’s amazing!”

There were shouts of admiration all around.

The woman aimed the next arrow at the strawberry, but missed it, and the last arrow was safely aimed at the apple.

She clenched her fists in disappointment, but smiled at the solid voice somewhere cheering her on.

“Ronald!”

She was amused as she threw a kiss at the man who appeared to be her boyfriend.

The next candidate began with the apple as the first woman.

However, perhaps she couldn’t control the quiver, and the second arrow went completely off.

After standing there for a while with a dismayed look on her face, the woman lowered her bow without even shooting the third arrow.

“I give up,” she said. “I’m going to lose anyway, and I don’t want to sell my face on the stage.”

She smiled brightly and turned around without any regrets.

“Ronald! Maybe I’ll come in first place!”

The first candidate whispered, wrapping her arms around her lover’s neck.

Seeing that she was making a lot of noise to be heard, it was definitely a shallow ploy to try to sway the next candidate.

However, unlike the first candidate’s idea, the third candidate was not one to be swayed by such things at all.