The Doctor Cured the Villainess and Ran Away

37 – 37. Martial Arts Competition (3)

“I will begin the knights’ individual competition! Please welcome the best knights of the imperial knights with applause!”

The imperial people in the Colosseum’s seats cheer and create an electrifying atmosphere.

Imperial knights, nobles from outside, and some other nobles have also gathered.

Asella, along with other princes and princesses, sits in the middle-tier VIP seats.

I stand a little behind like a shadow.

When I lift my head and look at the upper caste, even the emperor is eagerly watching the arena.

Representative knights from the eight participating factions come forward and engage in one-on-one matches in the spacious arena.

For the emperor, it is entertaining and enjoyable to watch, but for the participants who are contending for the right to succeed, it is a combat that entails shedding blood.

“The first opponent is from the first prince’s faction, the knight of the Ilseong Palace. He is famous as a sword expert and a young rising star.”

The instructor explained to me.

The game began with a signal. Tanya and the opposing knight clashed their swords, emitting sparks.

The spectators are captivated by the vivid excitement that reaches even the stands, unable to take their eyes off.

No matter how many knights there may be, skilled swordsmen are rare.

In the Empire, there are only two swordmasters, so a duel between experts is undoubtedly a rare sight.

“Ohh…!”

The emperor opened his eyes wide, surprised by the unexpected spectacular match.

The swords narrowly pass each other’s bodies, and attacks and defenses occur simultaneously.

-Clang!

Tanya’s sword strikes sharply, overpowering the opposing knight and landing a hit.

The knight who had expected to easily defeat Tanya gradually fell behind and gritted his teeth.

It’s time to use some tricks.

He took something out of his pocket and threw it to the ground.

-Kwang!

Artificially created smoke envelops the two.

It’s a smoke bomb.

In addition to swords, all items that can be used are allowed in the duel, including artifacts.

It is the Empire’s way of combat.

Silhouettes moving busily in the smoke.

While the opposing knight obscured Tanya’s vision, he quickly turned around and hit her back.

“Chit…!”

The sound of Asela licking her lips reached my ears. It seemed that Tanya was cornered.

Chaeng!

The sound of swords clashing fiercely echoed, and at the same time, a plume of smoke cleared.

“And the result is!”

“What happened!”

The audience’s attention was focused.

Tanya confidently defeated her opponent, the sword pressed against his neck.

“Ohh! The Moonlight Bow has won against the Sun Star Bow!”

“Who is that knight?”

“How did he react in the darkness?!”

The spectators marveled and turned their attention to Tanya.

The Emperor, too, became interested and stroked his fully-bearded chin.

“Smoke bombs are the basic tactics of the Imperial Army, so naturally, I had prepared countermeasures.”

He took out a small glass bottle containing orange potion from his pocket.

From Noble mtl dot com

——————

Visual Enhancement Potion [Enhanced]

Effects when consumed: Night vision improves. You can see clearly even in the dark!

——————

It became a potion that was created while producing various vitamin supplements.

After grinding two hundred high-quality carrots for the Imperial Palace and extracting vitamin A, only a strange effect remained, completing the potion.

Asela looked back at me.

“Hmph.”

I decided to interpret her snort as a sentence of praise.

Tanya easily subdued her opponent in the quarterfinals and advanced to the finals.

Stamina is also a measure of battle prowess. Individual matches proceed continuously without any breaks.

“So the finalist is Tojin Gung.”

“Yes. He is a knight from Prince Georg 2’s faction. He’s an expert.”

Even if they are members of the Royal Knights, if they are at an expert level, they would be in charge of commanding or directly guarding the Emperor. Yet, all the participants seem to be experts.

This part allows us to see just how serious the faction representatives are about this tournament.

“hahahaha, so you’re up against Acela’s knight. That’s strange. Acela, did you have a sword expert?”

It was a casual tone of voice.

He was a man in his mid-20s with flashy accessories and messy skin.

He was Prince Georg II.

Without taking her eyes off the arena, Acela swatted away an annoying fly as if it were a bother.

“You wouldn’t know, Georg.”

“Oh my, how scary. Don’t act so recklessly. You should call me ‘Oppa’.”

Acela didn’t even respond, showcasing a look of disdain that resembled an executioner’s.

Wow, this is a bit intimidating.

Unknowingly, I gulp down my saliva.

Georg doesn’t know how Acela’s actions will come back to haunt him later.

Instead, he laughs loudly, enjoying Acela’s reaction.

Enjoy it while you can.

Her brother, Princess Lauga, tapped Georg’s shoulder and scolded him.

“Oppa, why do you keep bothering Acela like this?”

“Because when we see Acela, she’s impressive. She tries her best as a member of the royal family.”

“Don’t use condescending expressions.”

Acela, who was trying to stay quiet, retorted to Georg.

Being treated as the youngest cutie instead of the heir apparent touched on her pride.

“Condescension, Acela.”

Swish.

Georg also frowned and leaned over his large frame towards Acela.

Even though he had a frivolous demeanor, he was born with the blood of the emperor. He carried an aura of domination.

“The most important thing for people is to stand firm in their own position. It’s about knowing one’s place.”

Even Acela’s older sister, Lauga, is only twenty years old.

In their eyes, it must seem like Acela is playing a child’s game.

“Behave yourself and try to be more obedient in this kind of setting. If you stop fooling around, I might even pat your head and call you ‘little sister.'”

“Georg.”

Acela picked up the golden goblet placed in front of her.

“Flame.”

Whoosh!

In an instant, a magic circle was engraved and the golden cup was engulfed in flames.

Thump, Thump.

The golden statue with elaborate patterns melted, losing its shape and flowing down to the floor.

Upon seeing this, Asella warned Geork reverently.

“If you touch my head, you’ll end up like that.”

“Tsk, it’s tedious how your pride gets in the way because of your magical weapons.”

Geork shook his head and rested his back on the chair.

Geork grinned again, pretending to be relaxed.

“Our Asella prepared diligently. hahahaha, we can’t let our guard down. That knight seems to have quite a bit of skill, doesn’t he? Right, Hyungnim?”

“Huh? What, oh, yes.”

Geork called out to the man with a small build who responded calmly.

It was Kwonter, the First Prince who fell in a flash in the first round against Tanya.

It was a timid attitude that didn’t suit him as a possible successor to the throne.

“No matter what, there’s a difference in rank even for sword experts. Losing against Asella’s knights would be so shameful.”

Geork grumbled and raised his voice.

Asella showed no reaction, so he changed his target from attacking the First Prince to continuing the psychological warfare.

“hahahaha, our Hyuk is said to be the next Sword Master. Watch carefully, Hyungnim. If you’re the Emperor’s child, you should know how to handle knights at this level.”

Geork shrugged and showed a relaxed attitude while exerting force on his shoulders.

Rauka tapped his shoulder.

“Oppa, Oppa’s knight just collapsed now.”

“What?!”

Geork jumped up in surprise from his seat.

In the arena, a sandstorm was already raging, signalling the end of the final match.

In the middle, Geork’s knight turned over with their butt exposed to the sky, and only Tanya stood tall.

“What…what the hell…!”

Geork couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but it was too late.

Whether he had underestimated Tanya or had been too boastful about his own knight, the outcome was already determined.

“Hyuk wouldn’t lose that easily. What kind of trick did you play, Asella?”

Ashella did not give Georg the answer he wanted, but instead glanced at him and lifted the corner of her mouth.

“You’re amusing.”

“Brother, you handle knights of that level? Well done on the show.”

Lauga chuckled and provoked Georg’s anger.

“What kind of incident is this in front of His Majesty’s presence? Falkenhain! Was there any problem with the knight’s condition?”

Falkenhain, Georg’s personal physician, took a step forward near me and answered.

“Your Highness, I assure you that Knight Huk’s health was perfectly fine. The infection was treated in my infirmary…”

“Then why?”

Georg looked up.

The emperor, apparently pleased with the final match, laughed heartily and leaned back in his chair.

The announcer approached Tania and spoke.

“We would like to hear some words from the victorious knight. Please introduce yourself.”

Through amplified magic, the voice resounded throughout the Colosseum.

Tania cleared her throat a few times before answering in a low tone.

“I am a knight of the Moonlight Palace, Tania.”

Why is her tone like that?

Did Tania have stage fright?

“You didn’t seem particularly outstanding as a knight, but when did you join the imperial knights?”

“A month ago. I am serving as Princess Ashella’s personal physician’s escort.”

“Ah, so you are the escort knight for the personal physician. You must be the newly appointed physician then.”

“Yes, that’s correct. I came with Professor Götberg from the northern region.”

“The northern region! Did you win with your trained swordsmanship from the north?”

Tania nodded her head.

“Of course, I fought with all my might, but it would have been impossible without the support of the professor. He prepared tactics to face the knights and provided medical remedies.”

“He is the professor who made the masks popular in the palace. I understand. Then did you originally serve as the personal physician?”

It was a slightly sensitive question.

Why would the announcer ask such a question like that?

He must belong to a different faction.

However, Tania, being unfamiliar with politics, unknowingly answered calmly.

“While I am loyal to the personal physician, it was Princess Ashella who appointed Professor Götberg as the personal physician. We received her grace together. I represent the Moonlight Palace as a knight.”

– Indeed. Please give a big applause to the winner, the sword expert Tanya Knight of Moonlight Palace!

Cheers and applause echo through the walls of the colosseum.

It was an impeccable response.

“hehehe, so Asella’s knight won.”

The emperor chuckled with delight.

The competition among his children served as good entertainment.

“Hmph…!”

Georg grumbled, slamming down the armrest of his chair.

“Coincidences only happen once. The final victory will be determined by overall scores, so it’s okay to be in second place for once. There won’t be any misfortune like this in the next match.”

Georg glanced at Asella for a moment.

Ignoring his gaze, Asella turned her head towards me.

“Juchi Gotheberg.”

Why all of a sudden?

The gazes of other princes and princesses who heard my name now turn towards me.

“Gotheberg, hello!”

Lauka greeted me without hesitation, demonstrating proper etiquette.

“Is he Juchi Gotheberg?”

Georg looked at me, raising his eyebrows.

I stepped out of the crowd and stood in front of Asella.

“For what reason have you called me, Your Highness?”

“Tell me what the next match is.”

Asella should know the schedule of the martial arts tournament best.

Was she trying to showcase me in front of the other contenders?

“Following that, there will be a collective mock battle among the knights.”

Asella raised the corners of her mouth enough to show that she was pleased.