One thing, despite being short on money, he could cover it well enough to be seen as a decent man.
Jay vowed to show his worth to the public at this moment.
Armed with blunt swords, the four found their most comfortable stances as they gripped their weapons.
“Let the match begin!”
Owen’s personal knight shouted, raising both hands.
Jay, having freshly grasped the sword, attacked Artia first.
Kasus reached out to protect Artia beside him.
However, as if she didn’t need such protection, Artia slipped out of his arms.
?
Kasus glanced fleetingly at Artia.
In a low voice, Artia spoke to Kasus.
“I’m fine, so focus on the other side.”
While Jay was marking Artia, Owen also initiated an attack towards Kasus.
Kasus slightly turned his body to evade Owen’s attack.
Due to both having excellent sword skills, the attacks continued crisply.
“Ooh.”
“Wow.”
Cheers erupted among the spectators.
Soon, Jay and Owen simultaneously attacked Artia and Kasus.
Artia, worried that Kasus might get distracted and hurt, decided she needed to deal with Jay quickly.
“Heh… Full of flaws.”
In Artia’s view, Jay had many issues. Although his form looked decent, his breathing wasn’t steady, and his agility was significantly lacking.
While his expression seemed to convey superiority, it was evident that such pretense would soon crumble.
“Have I been beaten up by such a weak opponent until now? Ugh.”
Artia felt deeply sorry for the original owner of this body, who had lived being beaten up by someone so insignificant.
“Let me show you how lacking your skills truly are.”
Artia lightly dodged, lowering her body to expose her vulnerabilities.
When Jay came to his senses, Artia’s sword was already at his throat.
“…Huh?”
The palace knight raised his hand towards Artia, declaring her victory.
“The victory goes to this side.”
Jay was bewildered.
Was he too nervous because the Crown Prince was nearby?
The match seemed not to have started yet, but the outcome was already decided.
Against the seemingly inferior Artia, who didn’t even know how to hold or use a sword.
“This can’t be. Did I lose? Was I too tense?”
Jay’s mind went dark.
The match had ended so quickly that others also seemed baffled.
Artia stepped back to watch Kasus and Owen’s confrontation.
Clang!
Kasus blocked Owen’s attack, gradually retreating.
“The match on that side is already over. Now, it’s our turn.”
Owen sneered.
…
Kasus expected Artia to win, but he didn’t anticipate the match ending this quickly.
It was undoubtedly due to her innate athletic abilities.
Although her talents were delayed due to growing up in unfavorable circumstances.
Clang! Clang!
The two men’s swords clashed.
In Kasus’s eyes, Owen’s skills were somewhat unsatisfactory.
“I had about this level of skill when I was fifteen, probably.”
Perhaps it was the effect of drinking.
Owen seemed less skilled than his actual abilities.
“I should give it a try when he’s sober.”
However, winning too blatantly would damage the Crown Prince’s pride.
It seemed best to lose gracefully, pretending to have moderate skills.
“Dare to choose a partner as you please.”
From the moment Owen set conditions, Kasus had no intention of yielding.
Knowing that he intended to dance with Artia, it was a man’s instinct.
Clang! Clang!
After several exchanges, Kasus threw Owen’s sword far away.
Tinggrururu.
Silence fell as the sword landed on the ground.
A sense of astonishment spread among the nobles who were watching.
At the moment the sword fell to the ground, silence enveloped the surroundings. Soon, amidst the nobles who were watching, a sense of excitement could be felt. “…….” The palace knight, upon catching Owen’s gaze, hesitated to continue speaking. It was a flawless victory for the Wellington estate. Owen twisted his face slightly in recollection.
“Drinking sure messes with your head. Sir, isn’t that right? To win against me…” Owen made the excuse of alcohol and chuckled. “It seems more appropriate to fight after sobering up.” Cassus responded in a humble tone. While someone might claim to have won without hesitation, Cassus couldn’t tolerate Artia dancing with another man. ‘Maybe for others, but not for me.’ Cassus nodded politely at Owen.
Although he spoke modestly, Owen perceived it as a somewhat uncomfortable confrontation. What was clear was the significant skill difference felt when their swords clashed. Owen, influenced by the belatedly rising intoxication, shook his head. He had thought of talking and dancing with Artia, but Cassus’s victory made that impossible. Yet forcibly taking a partner would ruin the atmosphere and turn him into a hypocrite who couldn’t stand by his words. Thus, Owen reluctantly had to give up dancing with Artia.
Owen shook his head in response to the belatedly rising tipsy feeling. He had considered dancing and chatting with Artia, but due to Cassus’s victory, that became impossible. However, forcibly snatching a partner would not only ruin the atmosphere of the banquet but also turn him into a hypocrite unable to stand by his words. Therefore, Owen had no choice but to give up dancing with Artia.
“Well, I’ve lost.”
Owen, slightly slurring his words as if his intoxication had increased, shouted towards the nobles in the banquet hall.
“Our handsome Duke from the North has won. And also, congratulations to the Duchess of Wellington. Both of you, congratulations.”
The nobles, after exchanging glances, started applauding one by one.
The atmosphere was not too bad.
Artia looked at Owen.
‘He seems a bit strange when drunk.’
Nevertheless, since he readily admitted defeat, it was quite different from the original work. In the book, Owen mentioned that if he didn’t like something, he couldn’t hide it from his expression.
‘I’m lucky his expression doesn’t look too bad.’
Due to Cassus easily defeating him, Owen’s pride had suffered a blow. However, to make the remaining palace life more comfortable, it seemed better not to disturb Owen’s mood.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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