Yuta shuddered, his shoulders trembling as he felt a sharp, prickling gaze boring into him from somewhere far away.
It was a reaction far too honest to hide.
“You’re doing great. Just keep it up. Even better if you can smile a little wider.”
“…Wider?”
“Yeah. Can you smile a bit more?”
“…Like this?”
Riersha smiled so brightly that the corners of her lips nearly trembled from the effort.
“Yes. Exactly like that.”
Yuta gave her a thumbs-up.
At first, she had been deeply skeptical when Yuta had declared so confidently, Just keep smiling at me. Do that, and the game is over. But Yuta’s plan had been working with astonishing effectiveness from the very start.
There was a moment when Riersha had been about to sneak a sideways glance toward where Isierd was. Yuta shook his head immediately.
“Don’t look over there. Keep your eyes on me, Riersha. If he realizes we’re aware of him, the whole thing falls apart.”
“Mm. But how did you know this would work?”
When Riersha looked at him with genuine curiosity written all over her face, Yuta gave her a disarmingly honest smile.
“Honestly? I think you’re pretty oblivious. That’s part of why this plan works at all.”
“….”
“Smile, Riersha. Pull up those corners.”
Was that a compliment or an insult?
She felt a flicker of indignation, but Riersha pulled her smile back up.
Some time passed.
Yuta, who had been leaning sideways against a tree with his arms crossed, let out a quiet snicker.
“You really are oblivious.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Prince Isierd left a while ago. It’s been quite some time, Riersha.”
“….”
“At this rate, we’re going to be late for the martial arts tournament. Come on, let’s go!”
“….”
“Oh, and the plan has to keep going until it’s over, so don’t forget.”
Yuta’s eyes sparkled with unmistakable mischief.
Riersha’s expression shifted into one of someone who had just been played.
Surely that didn’t mean…
Did she have to keep doing this every time Isierd was within sight?
She cried out in a voice laced with horror.
“You mean I have to do this again?!”
“Obviously. We haven’t succeeded yet.”
Yuta answered with cheerful, unapologetic shamelessness.
⁂
Olivia arrived at the venue where the martial arts tournament was being held and settled into a seat in the very front row.
Anna kept stealing careful glances at Olivia’s face, watching the sour expression she had been wearing the entire way over. She couldn’t think of a good way to lift her mood, and she was afraid of making things worse.
“Olivia…. Don’t let that girl get to you. She’s not worth comparing yourself to, honestly. The Arachrene family is barely better than savages — how could anyone even put the two of you in the same category?”
“Who said anything about letting her get to me? She’s just a little kid.”
“You’re right, she’s just a child.”
Anna nodded quickly in agreement.
We’re also children, technically…
She swallowed that thought before it could escape.
“Anyway, Olivia, I’m so glad you always manage to get us seats in the front row. It’s wonderful every time.”
“Of course. Getting seats like these isn’t even a challenge.”
“…Right.”
Anna replied with a vague, awkward smile and let the conversation drop. Unlike Olivia, who had always been able to get anything she wanted, Anna was far more accustomed to being pushed aside and waiting her turn.
“The first match is sword fighting, they said. That sounds exciting, doesn’t it?”
“I’m not particularly interested in watching a tournament like this. I see our family’s skilled knights training all the time.”
A contest at this level — children playing at swordsmanship — seemed laughable to her.
Even so, Olivia couldn’t help flicking her gaze toward where Prince Isierd was seated.
He’s not bad-looking, I’ll admit.
In fact, his features were considerably more striking than Adrian’s. Enough to capture Olivia’s attention in an instant.
And Father mentioned that he outperforms Prince Adrian in many things.
Yes — when she thought about it carefully, Isierd suited her far better than Adrian ever had.
As Olivia kept glancing toward Isierd’s direction, Anna shifted the conversation.
“By the way, that girl seems to be quite close to Prince Isierd….”
“I know. That’s exactly why I brought Yuta this time.”
It had been Olivia who summoned Yuta from wherever he had been staying away from the capital, specifically for this hunting festival. The two of them weren’t particularly close under normal circumstances, but still — Olivia would certainly mean more to Isierd than some outsider like Riersha ever could.
Besides, Yuta was in a position where he couldn’t afford to refuse her.
Please help me, Yuta. If you do me this favor, I’ll make sure to say wonderful things about you to Father.
What kind of favor?
I need you to help things go smoothly between me and Prince Isierd at the hunting festival.
Olivia, you say strange things sometimes. Isierd’s heart is something you have to win yourself. How exactly am I supposed to help with that?
There’s no way Prince Isierd could dislike me. All I need you to do is keep the nuisances out of the way. Simple enough, isn’t it?
And Yuta had been carrying out that role perfectly.
Just as Olivia had asked.
“Oh? Isn’t that your cousin and Riersha over there?”
Across the aisle, Riersha and Yuta walked in together and sat side by side. And not only that — the two of them seemed to be getting along quite well. In particular, Riersha kept smiling brightly up at Yuta, over and over again.
“Yes. I asked Yuta to keep the nuisance busy.”
“Olivia, you’re amazing!”
Anna’s eyes shone with admiration.
“It’s nothing.”
Olivia shrugged and straightened her posture, sitting up tall with her back perfectly upright.
Good thing Yuta kept his promise.
He was always a bit difficult to read, which left her with an unsettled feeling in the back of her mind most of the time — but today, at least, she was thoroughly pleased with him.
Soon, the emcee stepped onto the stage and greeted the crowd.
“Thank you for your patience, ladies and gentlemen — young ones, all! The moment you’ve been waiting for — the martial arts tournament, the crown jewel of the hunting festival, is about to begin!”
“Waaaaah!”
“Waaaaah!”
At long last, the event Olivia had been anticipating most had finally arrived.
The one who receives Prince Isierd’s hand-kiss will be me.
Olivia felt her cheeks flush as her eyes sparkled with delight.
⁂
Riersha surveyed the grand tournament arena stretching out before her.
The front rows were separated from the stage by a transparent magical shield, a precaution against any accidents that might occur.
The hunting festival really is a lavish affair designed entirely for the nobility.
She reached out and tapped the shield gently. A faint tingling shock ran through her fingertips.
If someone were to try to destroy it deliberately…
Riersha decided she’d rather not imagine what would happen next, and gave a small shudder.
Still, this shield feels oddly similar to my own ability.
She was studying it with curious eyes when Yuta leaned slightly toward her and asked,
“What is it? Something wrong?”
“No, it’s not that… I just think this shield is interesting.”
“Oh, this? Apparently it’s a new design the Mage Tower developed recently. If someone tries to break through it on purpose, the attacker is the one who ends up badly hurt.”
“…Do you happen to know who made it?”
“The Tower Master.”
“….”
“Apparently the Imperial Palace paid a fortune to have shields like this installed across the entire palace grounds. Whoever the Tower Master is, they must be some kind of genius.”
Yuta shook his head in awe.
But the more she heard, the colder Riersha’s expression became.
Someone had taken her ability without a word of warning and was now using it to earn astronomical sums of money.
Absolutely insufferable.
I’m going to ask exactly how much he’s made, later.
And she fully intended to demand a share of it from Sion.
At that moment, the emcee launched into an energetic explanation of the tournament format.
“Now then, this tournament follows a slightly special format! When the first contestant steps onto the stage, anyone who wishes to challenge them simply needs to raise their hand. The winner stays on the stage, and the loser steps down. Simple enough, yes?”
The rules were simple — and all the more exciting for it.
Yuta, who had been listening with his arms folded, leaned over to fill her in.
“Prince Isierd will probably come out last. Either way, he’s unofficially the star of this hunting festival, right? It makes sense to give him the best possible chance to win.”
“That makes sense.”
Riersha nodded and turned her attention back to the emcee.
“Our first contestant is—! The eldest son of Baron Benrud’s house, Aven! And the challenger who will face him is—. The, the first person to raise their hand is… wait, pardon?”
The emcee’s eyes darted rapidly across the crowd, searching for who had raised their hand first.
And then he continued to stumble over his words, visibly flustered.
The artifact placed in front of one of the participants had turned a brilliant red — and it belonged to someone no one had expected at all.
It was an artifact installed specifically to identify who had been the first to declare their intention to participate.
“The, the challenger is—”
To everyone’s astonishment, Isierd — the very person everyone had assumed would be last — was sitting there with a blank expression on his face, his hand raised.
