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Dorothea, who was only twelve years old, seemed clearly at a disadvantage.
Ethan quietly rolled his eyes and looked at the seat in front of him.
Unlike him, who barely sat in the back seat because he was the youngest, the Bronte was sitting there.
The duke and duchess didn’t seem interested in the swordsmanship contest.
Although the name ‘Duke’s Bronte’ was borrowed, this festival was only a proper event to unite the local people and to gather firmly under the duke.
Therefore, rather than paying attention to who will be in the match and what kind of game will be played, they have been busy chatting with other people sitting in the spectator seats.
Ethan quietly rolled his tongue.
‘Besides, from the beginning the opponent…It’s that guy.’
Ethan saw Alex, a contestant who was standing confidently with his muscles showing off.
Dorothy and Alex were almost twice the size.
Ethan knew Alex.
He had bumped into Jonathan a few times and had quite a few accidents, so he was well-known in the Duke family.
Alex used to do bad things among the kids around here, acting as a boss.
Taking money from children or showing off his power by beating someone weaker than him until they die.
Due to the poor quality, Ethan was like a piece of garbage that didn’t even do business with him.
After quietly counting, Ethan parted his lips.
“Duke.”
“What’s the matter, Ethan?”
When Ethan called the Duke of Bronte by his honorific title rather than his usual ‘father’, the Duke looked back at him affectionately.
The Duke was ready to listen to whatever his pretty son had to say.
“Looking at that, I think it’s disadvantageous for those who have too much difference in size.”
Ethan pointed to the contestants.
“It is important that the people who will make it to the finals do not compete in the first place, but safety is also important. It will be fair to each other.”
The duke flicked his chin and looked at the contestants. There were definitely people who were noticeably different in size.
“And if you do that, people will see the results and find it boring. I want more people to see the contest in the name of the Bronte family.”
A smile appeared on the Duke of Bronte’s lips as Ethan spoke softly with a pretty face.
Well, the contest for the duke’s name shouldn’t be boring.
“It’s wonderful, Ethan. It’s kind of nice that you even care about kids like that.”
The Duke of Bronte stroked Ethan’s silky silver hair and raised his finger backward.
Then the servant behind him ran and listened to the duke.
Ethan’s words borrowed the Duke’s mouth and changed the competition.
* * *
I was quietly preparing for the match. Since I participated without revealing that I was a princess, everyone was interested in the appearance of a pretty, small, unfamiliar girl.
At that time, there was a buzz around the preparation for the game.
“You want to change the match?”
“Why did you change everything after announcing it?”
I also listened carefully and heard that the difference in weight class would be rectified.
At the same time, the eyes of the participants turned to me.
Because they pointed to me without having to say the difference in weight.
“Oh, I must have been too scared of my opponent. Haha, I was embarrassed to fight with a kid like that, but it was okay.”
Alex, who was on the other side, smiled and relaxed his shoulders.
Then a calm voice struck him in the back of the head.
“Don’t be afraid, I didn’t eat it.”
When Alex turned around, his cheeky, raised eyes were glaring at me.
“Baby, weren’t you begging to change the match list? If not, why would the list change before the match starts?”
Alex looked at me because it was funny to see the little girl teasing him, and he poked out his chin.
But I shrugged and grinned.
“I don’t know. Perhaps the organizers wanted to keep you alive for a long time.”
“What?”
“You’re big, but it’s a little embarrassing if you lose the first game. So, I guess you’re paying attention to make it to the round of 8 at least. Since this is also a show, they seem to take that into account.”
I clasped my hands casually and stretched them out, and a blood clot appeared on Alex’s forehead.
“Little crab! Do you know who I am?”
“In this area, is it customary to ask someone to introduce themselves?”
Like Jonathan Bronte last time, why is everyone asking who he is?
They were in urgent need of self-exploration and reflection.
Angry at my word, Alex reached out to grab me by the neck, and I swung to the side as if to avoid dirty things.
“Yakk!”
“If you want to fight, go to the arena. If you fight in a place like this, you are a bad child.”
I looked at Alex with calm and soft eyes.
Alex gnashed his teeth.
“don’t change the match list!”
“You won’t regret it? It would be embarrassing if you lost and were eliminated from the first game.”
I cared for Alex with a kind heart. Caring for Alex is a good deed of the day.
“What?! You like the size of a mouse drop! You will die!”
Alex groaned and ran to the match list. He loudly urged the servant of the duke, who was changing the match, to keep it as it is.
I intervened while he was arguing with a servant.
“Please leave my list of matches as it is.”
I pointed to the nameplate that said, Dory.
“But, dear, you and your partner are different ages…”
“Please proceed. He wants to go to the grave early and rest.”
“What?”
“If possible, it would be less embarrassing to lose in my hand, who is the winner.”
I shook my head slightly and turned over my hair.
The servant narrowed his eyes as if there was no absurdity at the little girl’s bold words.
“Look! Don’t change the match list!”
Alex was so angry that everyone could hear it.
In the end, at the request of me and Alex, the match went largely unchanged.
Meanwhile, Ray swallowed his saliva when he saw that his name was on it.
“I am the first. Dorothea is the last. By the way, Dori’s pseudonym is so cute.”
Ray picked up the sword and said.
It was his first game, so he had to go straight to the arena.
“Go ahead, Ray.”
“of course.”
Ray clasped his nervous hands and smiled.
He entered the arena with a somewhat stiff step.
As soon as Ray got into the arena, he looked for Dorothea in the stands before his opponent.
He waved to Dorothea, but Dorothea saw his greeting and refused to accept it.
“If you said hello once, it would relieve my tension.”
While Ray was muttering alone, the opponent called ‘Frank’ swung his sword.
Ray also held the sword properly at the sound of a fake sword stirring the air. He wants to show Dorothea what a great brother he is.
The sound of the trumpet signaling the start was heard. With the sound of the trumpet, Dorothea saw Ray’s eyes change.
Time for a puppy to become a lion. The blue eyes that had been clear and clear suddenly changed as cold and sharp as ice.
‘ I still hate it.’
Ray’s eyes change suddenly when he’s focused.
I had never liked those eyes.
Ray with those eyes always made me nervous.
I’d have been able to ignore it if Ray had been just a dumbass and incompetent idiot, but at critical times, Ray had the eyes of an adversary that seemed to bite me
At that time, I had no choice but to recognize Ray as a competitor I wanted to beat and a wall I wanted to break.
That’s why I couldn’t take my eyes off Ray’s game.
Ray didn’t make a single sound after the match.
He found his weakness perfectly, keeping his eyes on his opponent with his tightly closed mouth.
The feet, which had been moving without threads, with a smirk, stepped firmly on the ground and pointed out the right place.
The difference between his skills and the neighborhood kids was as stark as the difference in his status.
His body moves smoothly following the uninterrupted breath. Each gesture of his, and each of his feet, was like art, and I bit my lip.
Ray’s sword didn’t allow a single crack and brought his opponent to his knees.
With the sound of the trumpet announcing the end of the match, Ray’s face was loosened and returned to his usual stupid face.
“I won!”
Ray was excited and ran towards me.
“Dorothea! I won!”
Ray’s bright smile turned towards me.
I turned to look at his puppy-like eyes, wishing for praise.
‘Stupid.’
If you call me Dorothea, you and I will be exposed.
“Dorothea, am I strong enough to protect you?”
“I never asked you to protect me.”
I walked away from the noisy Ray.
As always, I really wanted to beat Ray.
‘It’s not bad to want to win.’
I clenched the sword around my waist.
* * *
As Dorothea’s match began to prepare, people’s reactions were more irritating than ever.
Some spectators left their seats to go to the toilet, went on their way, or were absorbed in gossip, presuming that the result was already a determined fight.
But Ethan Bronte was different.
‘At the most, I changed the match list.’
But Dorothea’s opponent was the same.
Ethan knew that Dorothea was good with swords. Dorothea, wielding a sword, was as beautiful as a butterfly and stronger than a sword.
When he looked at it, he could only see Dorothea without thinking of anything else.
‘Maybe Dorothea will beat Alex.’
On the other hand, it was also certain that even if Alex hit Dorothy once, a part of Dorothea’s body would be broken.
Where the hell is a game that puts a 12-year-old and an 18-year-old together?
‘You said you weren’t feeling well…!’