[Bonus chapter]Final Day of the Tournament

At Cordon Castle

Dawn came, and Xenia prepared herself for her final battle. Of course, it wasn't final by the sense of the word, but it would be the last time she would ever fight for her position as Cordon's Queen. After this, she would be the undisputed winner of the Trial by Combat, which would then cement her spot as Darius's Queen.

She couldn't help but scoff at such a thought. She was already her husband's queen, and she was only fighting for the sake of optics and formality. After all, it wouldn't hurt for her to have some legitimacy to her rule, and it would only help Darius in the long run if she garnered the respect of every Cordonian that would watch her fight. 

She was sure that there were still a few of her detractors out there, and she would make sure to silence them by making sure that she won this event without even breaking too much of a sweat.