Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress' Knights Tournament

Chapter 44

Morning came. The sun rose from behind the mountains, slowly ascending into the sky. With the light came the people. As they awakened from their slumber, those living in Axium, or those who'd taken up temporary residence via an inn, began their day.

The last day of the tournament.

Julius was just like everyone else that day. He woke up, showered, dressed, and began his day. Unlike most people, who cheerfully chattered on about all of the exciting things that were happening, he could not enjoy the day. He hated it, this day, just as he'd hated every day since his humiliating defeat at the hands of that blasted peasant.

Ever since that moment, Julius's life had been a living hell. He'd become a laughing stock. People whispered about him as he passed, they laughed at him when they thought he wasn't looking, and some even insulted to his face. They'd say, "How sad is it that you were defeated by a peasant. I guess you just couldn't live up to your noble lineage!"

Damn them! Damn them all! They were all a bunch of cowards! They were too cowardly to face the strong head on, so they hung in the background, yet they still boasted about their own strength, laying claims like, "If it had been me fighting..." or "I would have never been beaten by..." He hated them. Everyone of them. He hated them all.

"You seem to be awfully angry," a female voice spoke in his ear.

Julius spun around to see a woman—a very short woman. She stood before him, her figure draped in a dark cloak, her eyes cast in the shadow of her hood. Even though he could see nothing of her appearance, even though he didn't know her name, he knew who this was.

"You!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her. "Everything that's happened to me is your fault!"

The woman tilted her head. Her lips, the only part of her that was visible, quirked in a smile, as if she was amused by what he had said. "Oh? I fail to see how any of what's happened to you is my fault."

"You're the one who told me that Sol would be so weak I'd be able to win easily!" Julius raged. "You told me that he wouldn't be able to put up a fight!"

"I did, and he couldn't," the woman's reply was mild. "In case you hadn't noticed, Caspian Ignis del Sol had been greatly weakened during his battle with you. Victory should have come to you easily. It's not my fault that you're so weak you can't defeat someone who's been poisoned."

"Why you...!"

"But worry not, young man, for I have a way of getting back at the one who defeated you," the woman said.

Julius paused. He stared suspiciously at the woman. "Get back at him how?"

Smiling, the woman turned around and gestured for him to follow. "Come with me if you'd like to find out."

Watching the woman walk away, Julius quickly debated with himself before deciding to follow her. While he didn't trust this woman, the opportunity to crush Sol was too good to pass up.

Just wait, Sol, I'll destroy you for the recent string of humiliation that I've suffered, Julius promised.

***

It was the last day of the tournament. As Caspian sat with his friends, eating breakfast, he listened to Adesh as the boy lamented his unstylish loss.

"To think that I would lose just before reaching the finish line. Ah, I am so disappointed in my unstylish performance."

Even now, it still felt weird to consider any of these people friends. He didn't know Adesh that well, and while he'd known Christo for years, the idea that they were friends felt foreign to him. Caspian had spent so much time avoiding others that he didn't feel comfortable spending time with people like this—certainly he didn't feel secure spending time with nobles like these two.