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HAROLD’S team handily defeated the opponents in the final match and won the tournament.
The next morning, Jahal entered the exhibition competition on a whim, and he made the stadium erupt in thunderous applause with his stunning sword dance. The final day of the tournament came to a close with the whole tournament being a great success.
That night, a celebration would be held at the royal palace for the tournament winners and the event staff to celebrate their achievements and hard work.
Although Amy had taken part in the tournament as a healing magician, she still hadn’t come of age or debuted in society yet, so she’d only planned on going for a short while, accompanied by her father.
But those plans were all thrown out when she collapsed from magic exhaustion the day before.
As Amy was a central figure in the treatment room, the civil officials were disappointed by her decision not to come to the party, but because so many people had seen her faint and be carried away, they couldn’t exactly suspect her of faking an illness.
When Amy thought back to that day, she was troubled by the heat that rushed to her face, the creeping feeling on her back, and the restless feeling she couldn’t shake.
The sun slowly set. If things had gone according to plan, Amy would probably be right in the middle of getting ready to go out. But instead of changing into party clothes, she was sitting in the living room drinking tea, relaxing for the first time in a long time.
“Weren’t you excited about going, Amy?” Isabelle asked quietly, sneaking a quick look at Joshua, who was sitting across the room.
“No. I’m pretty relieved, actually,” Amy responded with a puzzled look.
Amy had always been nervous about crowded places, so she didn’t think the party sounded particularly fun.
It was a little disappointing that she couldn’t properly thank the people she had worked with and all the guards that had been on duty, but she had asked Sir Dion to pass along the message for her, and she would be sending them all thank-you letters later.
Amy was wearing a relaxed, flowy, light-cream-colored day dress as she rested. Her long, black hair was also relaxed, only pinned up at the sides as it flowed down her back.
She was nestled on a wide sofa, a cup of tea in her hand, and Tigger, dozing off on her lap. Her half-read book lay on the table, along with plenty of snacks. She was fully enjoying her time relaxing as much as she wanted and eating as much as she pleased.
“Really? I was so sure there was a person there you wanted to see… Like maybe a guy who’s decided to officially make you his fiancée…”
“Mom…”
Amy wanted a break from the teasing, but she knew that even if she glared at her mother, who was giggling away, her blushing face would negate the glare’s intended effect.
But there was something Amy had been totally unaware of until recently…
Amy had been the only reason why Edward had kept her his fiancée candidate all this time.
I just can’t believe I heard that conversation between Dad and Ed… That must have been about me, right?
Edward didn’t want an engagement in name alone—he wanted Amy’s heart. And Joshua wanted his daughter’s freedom, happiness, and more time to be her father.
Neither would budge until Amy herself showed her intentions toward Edward.
Although it would have been nice to have known something about their agreement, Amy didn’t blame either of them. It was clear that they both respected her feelings.
Amy bristled at her mother’s laughter and looked away from her, sipping grumpily at her tea. Suddenly a noise came from the hallway and Tigger, who had dozed off, twitched his ears.
A half-second after they heard a perfunctory knock, the door opened, and an unexpected figure stepped into the room.
“Hey, Amy. I heard you collapsed. You feeling better? You look like you’re doing okay.”
“Harold!” Amy shouted. “What?! I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow! Also…why are you wearing that?”
Harold had slept at the guild house for his entire stay, and Amy had been so busy, they hadn’t been in the same room the whole tournament. He’d said they would have a nice meal together once the tournament had ended.
As the winners of the team competition, Harold’s team would surely be going to the party tonight. And yet, Harold was dressed head-to-toe in traveling gear.
But that wasn’t the only surprise.
“Um…I’m sorry…to intrude like this.”
A face suddenly popped out from behind Harold. It was the heroine—Yasmine.
“Oh, welcome!” cried Isabelle.
Amy, who had nearly dropped her teacup in surprise, hastily returned it to the table and stood up, blinking rapidly.
Joshua welcomed Yasmine as warmly as his wife had done and then looked at his son suspiciously.
“Harold… Surely you aren’t going to the royal palace dressed like that?”
“I’m not! The guild got word that a pretty massive magical beast appeared near Salaiza. We’re going there, not the palace.”
“What?”
“Gil and Nick said palace parties are a pain anyway, so it’s fine. Sorry to say, but you’ll have to go in my place, Pops.”
“Pardon?”
“It’ll be okay—just say a few words to His Majesty. And make sure to get the prize money! Then you can send it to me through the guild.”
Joshua’s mouth popped open.
“Harold… Come with me for a moment.”
Then, with a deep scowl, Joshua grabbed Harold’s arm none too gently and pulled him out of the room.
Amy watched them leave, her mouth open in shock. Yasmine looked panicked. Isabelle stood up and smiled apologetically.
“I suppose I have no choice, do I? I’m going out there, too. Your father can get long-winded when his blood’s boiling. Amy, why don’t you fix Yasmine some tea?”
“Oh! S-Sure.”
“Make yourself at home, Yasmine.”
Then Isabelle left the room, too, leaving only Amy, Tigger, and Yasmine behind.
“Um… Please, take a seat.”
“S-Sure! Thank you very much!”
As soon as Yasmine sat on the sofa, she twitched into a perfect, upright sitting posture and froze.
When the Northlands spent time together as a family in the living room, they didn’t have any servants stationed there. As Amy tilted the teapot over the cups with clumsy hands, she surreptitiously glanced at Yasmine.
Yasmine was wearing adventurers’ traveling clothes just like Harold. She took off her hooded robe, the same one she wore during the tournament, and set it aside. Today her beautiful pink blonde hair was not in a ponytail but braided to the side.