Tournament Day 3 Part 4

In Lady Bodum's room, a one-sided attack was taking place. The room was a mess with glass and other articles covering the floor.

"You imbecile! What happened to the way you normally did things? Why would you go there yourself and so openly?! What the hell were you thinking?!" yelled the Queen.

"Um, w-well, my Queen, you see-"

"Shut up!"

The Queen cut Lady Bodum off before she could finish what she was saying. As the Queen continued to berate Lady Bodum, every now and then she would smash or throw objects within her reach. The veins on the Queen's forehead protruded, her breathing quickened, her face was a blazing red, and she could barely keep herself from attacking Lady Bodum. The Queen resembled a volcano. She was spewing merciless insults without anyone knowing when things would get worse. The Queen needed to get at least some of this burning rage out before it consumed her. She often had to restrain herself but she could not at this time. While those present may have only viewed this as the Queen's reaction to Lady Bodum's mistake, unbeknownst to them, there was much more to it.

Lady Bodum's usual beautiful appearance was currently nowhere to be seen. She still hadn't fully recovered from what happened earlier and now she found herself in a situation where she had no room to fight back. Her weakened state was gradually becoming worse due to the Queen's verbal onslaught.

"What? Hmm, did you think you were some kind of big shot now? That you were untouchable?!

"Well, I-"

"Shut up! Agghh! I can't even stand to hear your voice anymore… There's nothing you could say right now that would lessen my anger or calm my nerves," said the Queen as she composed herself and pushed loose strands of hair back. She was beginning to reel herself back in.

Aside from the Queen and her guard, Lady Baulm and a few of Lady Bodum's followers were also in the room. The doctor had left soon after prescribing some herbs to be brewed and other medicines for Lady Bodum.

As the Queen looked at Lady Bodum's pitiful appearance, she understood that nothing could be done. While the Queen hated to acknowledge it, nothing would change just because she was angry. She left the room with her guard and one after another Lady Bodum's followers left as well. While some would go about getting Lady Bodum's herbs and medicines prepared, others would gather servants to tidy the room and have something prepared for Lady Bodum to eat.

Tasie, who had her head hung low, and hair covering her view, thought she was alone until she heard a grating laugh. She slowly looked up, moving the hair from her face, to see Gretchen. Gretchen had such a disgustingly distorted expression that it was hard for Tasie to believe that she was seeing a person smile and not a monster ready to devour its prey.

"Oh my, how the 'great' Lady Bodum has fallen," said Gretchen mockingly.

Gretchen continued to mock Tasie with vicious quips, all while filing the room with her boisterous laughter. She was having the time of her life at Tasie's expense. Tasie, on the other hand, would not allow someone like Gretchen to feel as though they were superior in any way. While she barely had her usual vigor, it was more than enough to handle Gretchen, naturally she couldn't let Gretchen have the last word. Tasie composed herself and adjusted her hair and clothing as best she could. As Gretchen was wiping her tears and trying to calm herself, Tasie spoke.

"Seeing you laugh so heartily is such a rare sight, almost as rare as the moments when Marquess Snow would willingly speak to you," sneered Tasie as her eyes took on a crescent shape.

Gretchen was immediately silenced and irritated. Tasie was pleased to see the change in mood. Tasie had touched a sore spot and knowing her, she wouldn't stop by just poking at that spot, she would pierce it until it bled. Rather than trying to put on a brave front, Gretchen turned to leave. As she was about to open the door, Tasie stopped her with another remark.

"Have you ever thought of talking about some interesting topics with Stefan, like, I don't know, maybe the 'fun' that you had been having with that servant? I heard she was quite pretty until she met you. Hopefully, you didn't leave any scars or I'm sure Stefan would think even less of you Gret-chen…"

Gretchen gripped the door knob tightly. As much as she wanted to refute Tasie's words, she knew she would only make things worse for herself. She had no choice but to retreat. Gretchen opened the door and angrily slammed it behind her. Tasie snickered as Gretchen left. She then happily plopped back onto the bed and wrapped herself under the covers.

Back at the B.A.D Box, it was finally the Princess's turn. The crowd was bursting with anticipation to see how well the Princess would do in her individual match. Everyone was curious to see how the Princess would defeat her opponent when it was widely known that she was unable to use nature magic. After all, she had been doing well so far without the use of magic.

Princess Cecilia could feel all the eyes on her, now was not the time to falter. As she walked into the ring, she noticed the expression of her opponent. The young man's expression caused Princess Cecilia to feel somewhat uneasy. Her opponent was Ledon Jacks, the son of a Baron. He had yellowish brown hair that was slicked back, causing his hair to look almost greasy, delicate facial features, a medium build and was known for being a brown-noser. He had grasped the politics of noble society and knew who he could cross and who he needed to curry favor with. Earlier, after he was announced as the Princess's opponent, Princess Cecilia noticed that Krissy and Jemma had approached him before the match started. While the Princess was uncertain as to what they discussed, she had a feeling it wouldn't be good for her.

Despite this however, the Princess felt that she was ready and was prepared to do her best to win. Once they were both in the ring, the match was soon commenced by the referee. They both got into a fighting stance and observed each other for a moment. The Princess then charged at Ledon, sending powerful punches and kicks his way. To the Princess's surprise, while Ledon could use nature magic, he did not and instead opted to clumsily block the blows. Whatever his reasons were for doing this however, it mattered very little to the Princess, she instead wanted to showcase her skills. The crowd seemed pleased by the Princess's form. Even without nature magic, she seemed to have the skill to match blows with one of the kingdom's non-magic using soldiers. Things seemed to be going well for the Princess, until the match soon ended.

The Princess had launched a punch to Ledon's gut and while she noticed that the punch didn't land, as he was able to doge it just in time, he pretended as though he had been hurt. He fell to his knees and unconvincingly yelled out in pain.

"I surrender! I admit defeat! The Princess is too powerful! I surrender!" yelled Ledon repeatedly.

Ledon then briefly looked up at the Princess and winked before going back to his yelling. While the referee also appeared confused, he ended the match and announced the Princess's victory. Ledon then hung onto the referee to request his assistance as he apparently could not stand or walk properly due to his injuries.

The atmosphere had now changed drastically. The match hadn't even been going on for ten minutes yet it came to a disappointing end. There was no dramatic K.O, no clear indication that it was the Princess's win, the young man obviously did not give the match his all. Was the young man a coward? Was there something that wasn't seen? Was it because he didn't want to beat the Princess? Various thoughts began to sprout in the minds of those witnessing the scene.

"Oh my, did the Princess threaten him so that she could win?" asked Jemma loudly.

"Oh dear, you mustn't say such things Jemma, people might get the wrong idea of the Princess. She definitely didn't use her status so that she could win," said Krissy just as loudly.

Others started commenting on what was happening as well. Was it possible that the Princess really did manipulate the outcome of the match?

Although Princess Cecilia's back was turned to Krissy and the others, she could still hear their words clearly and imagine the expressions they must've been making behind her back. They had no idea how hard she had worked, all the time she had put in, everything that she had done, just for them to turn it into a joke. Princess Cecilia noticed the change in the audience as well but couldn't utter a word to defend herself. Would it matter? Would they believe her? It's not as though she could request a rematch or demand the young man to fight her. Princess Cecilia could only restrain herself and walk out of the ring. As she did, she could feel the piercing stares. The crowd which was bursting with cheers, was now filled with muffled discussions.

The judges appeared disappointed by what took place. While they knew it was not the Princess's doing, they had no grounds to intervene. The scores they could award were also barely satisfactory. The judges could only maintain their composure as they waited for the next match to begin. In the viewing room, some generals sympathized with the Princess. General Blare raised a fuss but ultimately could not do much as well.

The next match was soon announced and it would be Eulis's turn. The crowd was hyped up once again as Eulis had shown great talent. His opponent had also been performing well so far. Before his opponent got into the ring however, he was also spotted with Krissy and Jemma.

The Princess noticed this and wondered what they may have been plotting this time.

"Don't worry about it. I'll help you send a message," said Eulis before walking into the ring.

The Princess had no clue what he might've been planning but somehow felt comforted by his words.