Who Stole The Empress

The third candidate was a petite oriental woman with pitch black hair and exotic features.

“Wow! This third contestant is a very important guest from a very faraway place! It must be an honor for the match to see the ability of this precious guest. hahaha!”

In the midst of the host’s hustle and bustle, the dark-haired woman kept a calm expression on her face as she stared at the target.

She kept her bow pointed and pulled the string.

She aimed boldly at the strawberry at the first shot.

The moment when the bow was released from the taut bowstring.

‘It’s going in …………….’

Roselyn squinted.

She shot the strawberry correctly from the first shot.

“…!”

Needless to say, she was a solid performer. There was a thumping sound from all over the room.

Everyone buzzed as if they hadn’t expected it. Some of them had stiffened their expressions. It was a crowd worried that foreigners would take their valuables. The whispering voices were not good.

But still the woman pulled the strings without wavering.

She released the second arrow with a calm face, even though the rustling sound was very noisy.

swoosh!

The woman’s arrow hit the middle of the strawberry.

“Oh, my….”

“She’s really good! “

“She seems to be from the East… That’s right. I’ve heard that people from that country are good with bows.”

 ‘’Oh no, that’s troubling. It looks like we’re going to have to give away that treasure to someone from a faraway country.”

The whispering voices got louder.

Some of the other tourists cheered in direct contrast to the local public opinions.

The woman held her last arrow, and the arrowhead was aimed at the small grape.

Roselyn couldn’t help but feel nervous.

It was such a fun moment, she thought, to feel this kind of tension in a mere eventful bow and arrow match at a festival.

Maybe it was because it was the last bow, or maybe the woman was a little nervous, but she took a short deep breath.

During that brief moment of holding the arrow and aiming, everyone’s eyes were focused on the woman’s fingers.

swoosh!

The arrow cut through the wind and pierced the target.

“…!”

“I can’t believe it!”

It wasn’t right in the middle, but her arrow hit the grape!

As if the host did not expect it, he could not say anything with his mouth wide open.

However, it seemed that skill was inevitable, and it was the host who first came to his senses.

“Oh, you got it! You hit the grape! Oh my gosh! What an ability!”

The host, Baron Gustav, raised his voice noisily, unable to hide his excitement.

Even those who were talking about the possibility of losing valuable goods to a traveler from distant eastern countries, not neighboring countries, were excited as if they had become one for that moment.

They whispered that she was sure to win.

“Now! The pressure on the last candidate will be considerable. Let’s use this momentum to see how good the last candidate is.”

It was Roselyn’s turn.

Just before Roselyn stepped onto the stage, Tamon grabbed her hand and spun her around.

“I hope the god of victory will be in this hand…………”

Tamon whispered and kissed the back of her hand.

Roselyn stared at him blankly, then nodded briefly and turned around.

That was it,

But somehow Tamon felt that he gave her confidence.

He looked at her walking up the stairs to the podium.

And her foot, still limping as ever.

‘No, it’s mine. That foot is definitely mine.’

He stared at her back with lustful eyes.

It was the foot that the stern woman had given him a direct right to.

Even wounded, scarred, and limped, it was the most valuable foot he had ever seen.

No matter how sincere he was, he would kiss it without missing a day.

Actually, even that was not enough.

Because whenever he had a little free time, he wanted to touch and feel that thin ankle.

But then daily life itself would be possible, but he had to restrain himself.

His stomach was always hot whenever he thought about her.

His whole body flared up like a boiling fever.

The woman had such a cold attitude, how could he be so hot alone just by looking into her eyes?

Was it because he was too lewd?

Tamon smiled and looked at Roselyn climbing up the platform.

When she stepped up to the platform, several people who had been waiting for her to come up cheered.

Tamon’s narrowed eyes stared coldly at the crowd of vulgar cheers.

“Yay!”

“At last, the goddess is here!”

“I’ve been waiting for you!”

These were the same men who had been giving frivolous cheers since Roselyn played in the preliminary round.

Tamon didn’t like them one bit.

A rather cruel smile, like that of a villain, faintly crept over Tamon’s lips.

“Oh, my…..”

Some who saw the skill of the third woman even clicked their tongues as if they were sorry.

Roselyn wore a dress that showed her ankles, so they could see the white bandages wrapped around her ankles.

“Can an injured person beat that skill?”

“Tsk. This game is already over!”

 “But that beautiful woman also had a good ability when I saw her earlier… …”

“Well, still, it makes me feel weird to see her limping.”

Roselyn walked nonchalantly past the whispering people.

Perhaps it was because they had seen so much skill of the third candidate earlier, the crowd didn’t expect much from Roselyn.

They were busy buzzing and debating the abilities of the dark-haired woman they had just seen.

They seemed to be uniformly unable to concentrate.

Except for one person, Tamon.

He didn’t take his eyes off her for a second. She could feel his gaze on her even if she didn’t look at him.

“Then, please receive the bow and arrow here!”

The host also greeted her in a calmer voice than before.

The way he smiled and handed her a bow and arrow turned out to be his intention to relax and enjoy this last play, which was obvious at the end.

This level of neglect and disregard didn’t even tickle Roselyn.

Of course.

Even Gillotti, who almost succeeded in killing her, Roselyn could endure it all.

Compared to Gillotti, it felt rather kind of the host to click his tongue at the poor thing and smile at her as if he had no expectations.

And then there was Tamon, who, unlike most people, stared at her like she was the only one on the planet.

There was no reason to worry about the eyes of other people when he was looking at her with such a terrifying gaze.

Roselyn glanced at Tamon and couldn’t help but laugh.

Unlike other people who stood to enjoy the festival, he alone was exuding a terrifying aura.

And it was really funny to see he glanced at the men who booed or said vulgar things with those eyes.

Shaking her head slightly, Roselyn pulled the string.

The firm and tight feeling that touched her fingers after a long time was so good that she got goosebumps.

‘Tomorrow I’ll start shooting my bow again.’

She smiled and shot the bow calmly.

With a cool sound that went with the wind, Roselyn’s arrow inserted the center of the bright red strawberry with precision.

“….!”

The mouths of the people who had been buzzing opened in an instant.

Some of them rubbed their eyes, doubting that they might have seen it wrong.

“Wow…………… oh, it’s a strawberry! You have 20 points right away! That’s amazing!”

The host relayed the news in a voice that sounded as if it had wilted at any moment.

The people who had been secretly ignoring her were surprised.

“How can a pretty wounded person shoot a bow properly?”

“It seems that there are a lot of talented people this year. hahaha.”

 “Wow, this is going to be interesting until the end.” 

The buzz of the curious crowd increased.

Roselyn quickly raised her second arrow.

The first arrow was aimed at the strawberry in case the bow and arrow felt unfamiliar, but fortunately, the hand steadily remembered its senses.

She pulled the string without hesitation, and soon the arrow went flying.

“Wow!”

“Wow, that’s outrageous!”

The aim wasn’t even that long.

She just aimed and shot………

“Four, four, thirty points!”

Her arrow pierced right through the middle of the small grain. The voices of the people who had been buzzing became even quieter.

No matter how far away she was, she could hit that accurately? Even in the midst of such a rush, Roselyn didn’t seem to be the least bit perturbed.

She deserved to be a little nervous, but she just calmly picked up the arrow again. Roselyn pulled the last arrow.

The people watched her bow and arrow in a completely different silence. It was so quiet that she wondered how such silence could be possible in such a noisy festival. Someone swallowed hard, unable to bear the tension.

As if from that, Roselyn’s arrow flew through the air.

Wooosh!

Immediately behind the playful rows of fruits, the sound of flesh sticking into the hard wooden board wall spread fiercely. Those who were watching the scene without breathing covered their mouths.

“It can’t be!”

“Oh, you did it! You shot that little grape right through the center!”