Unable to refuse the emperor's favor, Mikhail took the flower.
"This is how you control the dire wolf," the emperor explained. "Just by having it, the beast will stay away from you."
An unexpected harvest. Mikhail smiled. Then, he bowed. "I will surely repay Your Majesty’s kindness."
"Very good!" the emperor said, satisfied.
Mikhail slowly raised his head. He still had some unanswered questions. "About the crown prince..."
The emperor nodded. "Ah, the beast—I’m planning to let it run wild once Maximilian returns to base,” he explained.
"Pardon? But if that's the case, others will see and try to cooperate..."
"Maximilian is one of the few first-class swordsmen here, yet I still believe it would be unreasonable for him to defeat a dire wolf by himself."
Even if someone trained their swordsmanship their entire life, whether or not they could use mana wasn’t up to the effort they put into it. Therefore, the number of people in the empire who could use mana was limited. There were only about 20 people who could utilize mana, including first-class swordsmen like Marquis Hessen, Count Pyrex, and the crown prince. Some of them weren’t even participating in the competition.
The emperor grinned ear to ear. "I’m planning to release a wild animal near the place where the crown prince will be. He’ll arrive just in time to witness the spectacle. Just imagine! What man wouldn't go mad if they saw that someone else has already rescued their damsel in distress?"
It took a while for Mikhail to comprehend the emperor's idea. One thing still bothered him, however. "Still, Duke Floyen might be able to hunt the dire wolf himself."
Fiddling with the ring on his left hand, the emperor laughed. "Don't worry about the duke. I plan on giving him a special assignment. So, leave everything else to me and focus on killing the beast.”
Slightly taken aback by the mention of a ‘special assignment,’ Mikhail glanced at the flower in his hand. If he give this flower to Jubelian, would she be safe? But... if he did so, it would make it difficult for him to hunt the magical beast and put him at a disadvantage.
Mikhail clenched his fists. She might just throw the flower away if he gave it to her. Therefore, it would be better for him to save her from danger. Then, she might finally realize...
He knew this was an underhanded tactic, but Mikhail wanted to impress the frightened lady and engrave into her mind that he was her only savior.
As he stared blankly into space with these thoughts, the emperor placed his hand on his shoulder. "The event will begin soon, so go get ready,” he said.
Once Bea and I returned to our seats, the ladies greeted us.
"Lady Jubelian, we've been waiting for you!"
Rose and everyone else made a great fuss about our return. Slightly puzzled, I simply watched them as they tittered.
Smiling, Veronica came forward. "Lady Jubelian, I saw what happened,” she said.
"What do you mean?"
"You were speaking to Lord Elios!"
"Oh, that's..."
Before I could say anything, I caught myself and zipped my mouth shut. I didn't want to disappoint them because they all had positive opinions about him. I couldn't tell them that I had just challenged him to a duel. However, my continued silence only helped me look more suspicious in my friends’ eyes.
"The two of you looked pretty close... Is there something we don't know about?"
Close? We were just having a conversation. They must have misunderstood because I was so far away from them.
"There's nothing between us,” I said firmly.
Catherine pouted. "I don't believe it! This is the first time I've ever seen him show so much interest in someone—"
Cutting her off, Rose shouted, "Ah, it looks like the tournament’s about to begin! We should all sit down!"
I turned my attention to the field to watch the knights line up. It looked like they were finally going to start the opening ceremony. Gazing at Max and his knights in the distance, I smiled and prayed that he would achieve victory.
Just then, Rose piped up. "Lady Jubelian, you're not planning on watching it all while standing, are you?"
Belatedly realizing that I still hadn’t sat down yet, I blushed. I had been so focused on Max that I didn't realize I was even standing.
Fanning myself, I turned to Bea. "Your Highness, please sit,” I offered.
"Of course."
I sat in the seat next to Dad and Bea sat next to me. The chair was comfortable—maybe because they were special ones designated for our family? Just by looking at them, I could tell they were of a higher quality than the regular ones. Ah, the sweet taste of power.
Then, I realized Dad was looking at me.
"Dad? Is something the matter?" I asked.
He sighed. "No one here meets my standards."
His comment felt somewhat random, so I tried to guess what he meant. Assuming he was talking about the knights, I smiled at him.
"That's because there’s no one as skilled as you are in swordsmanship,” I replied.
It was a given since my dad was the only transcendent being even throughout this vast empire.
"Do you really think so?" he asked, his expression brightening.
Grinning, I nodded. "Of course! You're the best, Daddy."
Feeling better, he gave me a radiant smile. He patted my head over the bonnet.
"I'm glad you think that way,” he said.
Did my obvious compliment mean that much to him? Seeing him so content, I realized I had been rather indifferent to him until now. I pledged to praise him more from now on.
Just then, the fanfare sounded. "His Majesty will now enter!"
Once in the field, the emperor climbed up to a circular platform located at its center. Worried, I gazed at Max. Was he going to be okay?
The novel described the magical beast as being really strong. So strong, in fact, that it would be impossible for one man to defeat it alone unless he were a transcendent being or he had become a sword master. If the person who brought the beast in was who I was speculating they were, the emperor, I wasn't sure who the beast was going to attack. Maybe he was going to get rid of the nobles who disagreed with his opinions, including Max. If so, it would have been a clever plan. If the beast attacked someone while they were busy hunting, the victim would stand no chance.
My anxiety heightened. I gently stroked the silver flower hidden in my coat pocket. Strangely enough, it felt cool to the touch.