The brutish man roughly jammed his elbow onto the table with enough force to shake it and grasped Sir Leonhart’s hand. The judge, prompted by Sir Leonhart’s glance, snapped out of his stupefied daze.
“Ready... Go!”
Less than a second after the signal, a thunderous slam resounded through the air. The large man had collapsed sideways, crushed so thoroughly that he didn’t even know what had happened. The audience and I were in the same boat. What...happened? Everything had gone down so fast that my thoughts had been left in the dust.
A different breed of silence blanketed the venue.
Sir Leonhart’s brows were lowered in dismay as he looked at the judge. “You lose if a part of your forearm touches the table, correct?”
Forget about a part of his forearm—that giant’s entire arm is stuck to the table! It’s obvious to everyone who the victor is!
“Th-The winner is Sir Leonhart!” declared the judge.
A beat later, the venue erupted with the shrill screams of women and deep cheers of men. The large man finally realized he’d been steamrolled, and his face turned bright red.
“I-It’s not over yet! I just let my guard down— Whoa?!” The howling man had tried to grab Sir Leonhart, but before he could reach his collar, Sir Leonhart easily knocked him off his feet with one fluid sweep of a leg. The large man had no time to break his fall and tumbled to the ground.
“I’ll listen to your disgraceful excuses in the guardroom. You, take him away.” Sir Leonhart finished restraining the man’s arms and handed him over to one of his subordinates. He then turned to the horde of spectators who’d been watching with bated breath and flashed them a refreshing smile. “Apologies for the interruption. Enjoy the rest of the contest.”
Once again, cheers erupted from everywhere. He had handled the situation so smoothly that I was positively spellbound. Yeah, my husband is the best in the world!
“See? It was fine.” I proudly beamed at Lord Franz as though I had been the one to solve things.
“Sir Leonhart! Please shake my hand!”
“Me too!”
Sir Leonhart was about to make a dashing exit, but the crowd wouldn’t let him go so easily. He was surrounded by starry-eyed children begging him for handshakes, just like they would ask of a hero. Unable to refuse their affectionate gazes, he shook their hands with a wry smile and was rapidly buried in people.
Seeing him in such a bind warmed my heart. I broke into a smile. If they were nobles trying to suck up to him, he’d fend them off without hesitation, but he can’t dodge children fawning over him. I find that part of Sir Leonhart so adorable.
I want to help him, but things will get more complicated if I go. I have a feeling it’d only cause more hooting. I’m sure one of the knights will back him up eventually. Besides, I still have things left to do.
“Lord Franz, any sign of the...” I looked up at Lord Franz beside me, and our eyes locked. Surprised by the intensity of his gaze, I couldn’t seem to say the words stuck in my throat. The way he watched me... It was like he refused to miss even a single minuscule motion I made. I felt like he was going to stare a hole straight through me. It frankly made me uncomfortable.
“Um... Is something the matter?” I asked, puzzled.
After a long stretch of silence, he exhaled and smiled. “No, it’s nothing.” His gaze softened, and he finally relaxed.
What was that about? Is there something on my face? I tilted my head and rubbed my cheeks, but there didn’t seem to be anything there. Lord Franz simply regarded me with a tender smile, his eyes somewhat lonely.
I was hesitant to inquire about what that smile meant, and while I fumbled for what to say, he had already moved on, his expression tightening.
“I didn’t spot any of my suspects in the area,” Lord Franz answered, correctly guessing what I was about to ask.
“Then they may be in a different place. I doubt this issue is resolved, considering the commotion they’ve already caused,” I said.
Duke Schletter wouldn’t be satisfied with a ruffian causing a minor brouhaha at the contest of strength. Sure, the festival mood soured for a moment, but one large man acting violently isn’t enough to spoil the entire thing. Even if Sir Leonhart hadn’t been around, the knights on guard would have arrested him, and that would’ve been the end of it.
Even Duke Schletter should know that much. That was a slipshod sabotage attempt that couldn’t even be called a plan, not to mention that it was just one man. It would make more sense if their goal was something else, and that was just a distraction. Were they trying to gather the security here to do something elsewhere? What if they’re scheming something more malicious? Chills ran down my spine.
“Lord Franz. Let’s entrust this location to the knights stationed here and head toward the cooking contest,” I said.
He nodded, his expression hard. “Yes.” He’d likely reached the same conclusion I had.
The cooking contest venue was already bustling with people too. The contestants’ families and friends were shouting encouragement, and there were many young men taking advantage of that to cheer for the women they had set their sights on. It was more like an idol concert than marriage hunting.
Although they didn’t carry the same fervor as the contest of strength’s challenges, things were getting heated up in a different sense. In the simple kitchen area that was partitioned off with a rope, six young women were moving around without any rush. One was stirring a pot on top of a stove, one was shaking a frying pan, one was cutting vegetables into pretty shapes, and so on—each entrant was undertaking a different task.
The clumsy girl who almost knocked over her plates looks a little like Zaara... Must’ve been a trick of the light. I was extremely curious about what they were cooking, but I peeled my eyes away and scanned the audience.