BXBX NOVEL Chapter 269
“Hey, miss, you’re also here today?”
When she got close to the stable, Lin Malong came out and grinned at her.
“You’re really giving it your all, aren’t you? I think you’ve been here more often than even the princes.”
“Oh, come on. No, that’s not true,” she said as she looked at face of her horse friends, which were becoming more and more familiar to her.
About twenty horses lived in Saint-Noel’s stable. Mia’s favourite was a white one that was friendly and calm. It was a good horse that even people with less experience could ride well, and she liked its beautiful hair the most.
“I mean, I can’t blame you for wanting to practise more, but… Hey, miss, is this about that thing that’s coming up—”
“Excuse me.”
The other girl cut Malong off with her strong voice.
“Ah, so that’s…”
Mia knew that voice. She turned around to face it.
“Good morning, Your Majesty.”
Ruby Etoile Redmoon bowed her head in a respectful way, and her short red hair fluttered softly as she did so.
“Oh, Ruby… Why are you here?
Mia gave her a curious look. They knew each other, that’s for sure. As princess, she had many chances to visit the Four Dukes at their homes. Even though Ruby was always a nice host when she did show up…
We haven’t talked much… At least not as friends. I don’t think we are that close.
So, Mia didn’t think much of Ruby, neither good nor bad. She didn’t think much of the girl at all, to be honest.
As for the Redmoons as a whole, the fact that they didn’t help with the military in the previous timeline definitely made her think less of them.
Back then, it was true that it was kind of “every noble for himself.” Everyone was trying very hard to defend their own territory.
Still, the Redmoons are known to have a strong army of their own. If those soldiers had been sent to fight, the war might have ended differently… Oh, but the enemy already had Sion and the killing machine Dion on their side by that time. I don’t see how more troops from Redmoon would help much against people like them…
She was thinking so hard that she almost didn’t hear what Ruby said next.
“Actually, I’m here to challenge Your Highness to a duel.”
“…A duel? What?”
Ruby walked toward the horse stalls with a smile on her face.
“I’ve heard that you’ve been practising riding with a lot of energy lately,” she said as she stroked the nose of a horse. The movement was smooth and practised, which showed that the person knew the creatures very well.
Mia remembered hearing that the House of Redmoon made their daughters learn how to use swords and ride horses.
In response to the question, she gave a nod.
“Well, you could say that, I guess. What do you think?”
“I guess that means you’re going to enter the Horsemanship Tournament in the fall?”
“Wait, what?”
Mia’s head tilted. “Horsemanship Tournament” did not sound like a very familiar phrase. She thought that Abel and Sion might have mentioned such an event and said that they wanted to take part at some point.
That’s probably why they’ve been coming here so often lately. She had a lot on her mind, so it makes sense that she hadn’t thought about it and didn’t plan to take part.
“Oh! I was right! “I figured that was why you’ve been practising so much lately!” exclaimed a happy Malong.
Okay, people, hold on. So far, I haven’t said yes to anything.
Before she could say it, Ruby said, “I formally challenge Your Highness to a duel in the tournament’s speedriding event.”
Her calm face lit up with a fiery smile before she got down on one knee.
“Will you accept?”
And with that, the challenge was made.
Mia looked at Ruby, who was on her knees.
There isn’t a single reason for me to accept this “duel,” is there?
She had a strong urge to say no and send the girl away so she could get back to work. Mia didn’t have to fight just because someone challenged her.
Even though she liked Ruby’s honesty, which was much better than Esmeralda’s talk behind her back, she didn’t want to deal with another problem. She already had a lot on her plate.
Also, it’s clear that this is about more than just a challenge…
Ruby could enter the Horsemanship Tournament if she only wanted to see who was better at riding horses. She thought that Mia was also going to compete, so she thought that they would have to race each other.
Instead, she would have come here and asked Mia to fight in a formal way. She wrinkled her nose at the word “duel.” Something didn’t seem right about that word.
Mia’s guess was right on the spot.
“I’d like to ask that if I win this duel, I can have one of your soldiers as my own.”
“Oh, yes. You Redmoons and your headhunting. You always keep an eye out for good soldiers…” Mia muttered, feeling like a question that had been bothering her had been answered.
With close ties to the military-run Ebony Moon Ministry, the House of Redmoon was always working to improve its own army. They spent a lot of time and money to find good soldiers from all over the country and the world. They did this so often that it became well-known and was even given a name: “Redmoon Headhunting.”
But that’s too bad. I have no reason to accept your challenge –
“Well, miss? What are you waiting for? This is a fair and honourable duel. When someone respectfully challenges you in this way, no good leader could say no, right?”
“…Eh?”
She looked at Malong, who was grinning like he knew she’d say yes.
“Uh… But… Huh?”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Your back is covered by the Horsemanship Club. Abel will probably be there to cheer you on, too.”
His smile got wider, and Mia felt helpless in a way she had felt before.
I… I recognise this!
She just stood there dumbfounded, feeling like an invisible wave was rushing toward her and about to carry her away.
This is one of those moments! Where I can’t say “no.” We’re back at it again…
She was always analysing the people she thought were important to her because she kept thinking about the mistakes she had made in the past.
From what she knew, her senior classmate Lin Malong had a serious soft spot for people who liked horses. Which made him very easy to control.
She had also noticed that he looked at Ruby with affection when she stroked the horse’s nose. That affected him deeply because he loved horses. He was also honest and a little bit chivalrous, so things like honourable duels and formal challenges made his eyes light up.
So, if Mia quits Ruby’s challenge right now, it would definitely hurt his opinion of her. His advice about riding horses was always good, which made it a great way for her to get better. Even more important than that, if her practise works, it could mean the difference between living and dying.
She would rather stay on good terms with him as much as possible. He was also like Abel’s older brother. If she wanted to flirt with Abel as much as she wanted, she needed Malong’s unconditional approval.
She then took some time to think in silence, during which she carefully weighed the risks and benefits.
Let’s figure out what to do. If I say no to the challenge, I won’t have to worry about losing my soldiers, but this will hurt my friendship with Malong. I’d rather not do that if I can. What will happen if I say yes?
If she won the duel, she would keep her soldiers, of course. Plus, as her part of the deal, she would probably get a reward that hasn’t been decided yet.
For example, she could ask Redmoon’s private army to send her some soldiers for her own use. What if she lost, though?
Most likely, Dion is the soldier Ruby has her eye on. I think it’s pretty clear…
She had a quick mental picture of a knight with a mean smile and then of him cutting through a steel spear with ease. The man called himself “The Empire’s Finest,” and he was really good at what he did. It wasn’t a big surprise that the Redmoons wanted him to join their army.
She thought about how she felt about the knight and said, “Hmm… You know, if it’s Dion, I think I might actually…”
He did chop off her head after all. She wasn’t sure if he would let Redmoon steal him away, but even if he did, she didn’t think she would lose much sleep over it.
Even so, she was still upset about something. Even though her reasoning made sense, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was forgetting something, as if losing this particular knight would be a terrible loss.
I guess, now that I think about it, he did save my life a few times… If saving a life makes up for chopping off someone’s head, then he has more than his fair share of redemption… Now that I think about it, he might actually be…a pretty loyal subject? But I can’t stand it when he stands next to me with a sword… I feel like he could cut off my head at any time. So stressful…
Ruby frowned as she kept muttering her thoughts under her breath as she thought about what to do.
“Huh? Dion? Who is that?”
She put her arms across her chest and pursed her lips for a second. Then she lightly hit her hand with her fist when she finally remembered the name.
“Oh, yes, I remember a guy with that name. I heard that he was a good knight… Something about the best in the empire? I guess he’s pretty well-known. But…”
She gave Mia a hard look.
“Unfortunately, I’m not after that person.”
She looked at Mia with the fierceness of a seasoned warrior in the ring and said, “I mean, he’s…”
Without a hint of shame, said…
“He’s not too tall, is he?”
“Uh…”
Mia made a picture of Dion appear in her mind.
“Not…really? I’m pretty sure he’s taller than most men.”
“Tsk tsk tsk. Oh, Your Highness, you don’t seem to get it. You see, knights have to be bigger. Big and strong. More muscle means a bigger heart. Their soul is the same size as their body. Being strong isn’t enough. They must be large!”
Ruby Etoile Redmoon declared thus.
The beautiful daughter of the Duke of Redmoon, who had a lot of power over the army of the empire, said, “They have to be big!”…
…was known to be crazy about big men and to love them more than anyone else.
Author’s Note:
For those who are saying that the daughter of the Redmoon family is aiming for Mr. Dion… That is wrong…
As a result, the children of the four great dukes were endowed with the Mia attribute…
- Sapphias Etoile Bluemoon
→coward(chicken heart)
- Esmeralda Etoile Greenmoon
→No catch (Wait until the person you like talks to you)
*Refer to fishing field cover tactics.
- Ruby Etoile Redmoon
→ big man lover (muscle mania)
- Citrina Etoile Yellowmoon
→ Mushroom fellow. She also know a lot about herbs and medicinal plants.
TN Notes:
I didn’t even realize those attributes before. Anyway… big man lover, huh… hmmm…