CPSMBD Chapter 49

Chapter 49  

Competition

Muscular knights were gathered there, warming up their bodies. Even their casual sword swings were powerful enough to gouge the earth and split rocks.

"How can we possibly beat a team made up of such monsters, even if His Highness is with us?"

Brahe could see it clearly - our team was destined for last place. In truth, except for the Crown Prince, the rest of us were practically the weakest of the weak.

​While Brahe seemed somewhat confident in his abilities, I had spent my entire life behind a desk and was terrible at physical activities. General Chief Aide Kuan was likewise someone I'd never seen move unless absolutely necessary.

'Even with Head Butler Dominic and Secretary Derek joining us, our team lacks any real fighting power.' Brahe's shoulders slumped. He finally grasped the reality of our situation.

After being lost in thought for a moment, Brahe burst out with complaints. "This isn't fair! Of course we can't compete against knights. Shouldn't they hold events with more balanced competitions?"

"Well, the knight teams do have a penalty - they have to enter the competition grounds later than other teams."

"Oh really? Then maybe we have a chance?"

"No. Even with the penalty, the outcome doesn't change. The Knights Division won first place in the last team-building competition too."

Just then, a tremendous battle cry erupted from among the knights.

"HYAAAAH!"

Looking over, I saw the Third Knights Division led by Lord Brooke. He stood at the front, directing his knights who moved in perfect unison to his commands. They were like a single organism, physically embodying the very virtues this team-building competition sought to promote.

At that moment, Lord Brooke's eyes met mine. After giving some instructions to his knights, he ran over to where I was standing.

"Miss Violetta, it's been a while."

"Hello, Lord Brooke!"

He roughly wiped his training-soaked forehead with his forearm. Raw masculinity radiated from him. Was this what they called that "dirty sexy" appeal that only real men could pull off? I'd heard some palace employees talking about men with such charm - supposedly making them want to personally wipe away every drop of their sweat.

'Hmm. But I don't feel that way at all.'

Seeing it up close made it very clear - I had absolutely zero desire to wipe Lord Brooke's sweat. Though I certainly couldn't deny he was handsome enough to catch any woman's eye.

"Have you been well?"

"Yes, of course. And you, Lord Brooke?"

"I've been well too."

After responding with knightly precision, he asked me in a somewhat tense voice, "Miss Violetta, when might I hear your answer regarding my proposal?"

Ah, right. This man had proposed to me. I'd been so busy with work that I'd completely forgotten about it.

'Violetta Estrisen, you're out of your mind. How could you forget about receiving a marriage proposal?'

But what should I do? I still hadn't made up my mind.

When Lord Brooke first proposed, I thought I should naturally accept. Marriage was my goal, and his proposal had brought that dream within reach.

'But is it really okay? Marrying Lord Brooke?'

Now that I actually thought about marrying him, accepting his proposal felt difficult. Lord Brooke was handsome, had a stable career, and was highly skilled - he should have been exactly the marriage partner I'd dreamed of. So why couldn't I imagine a married life with him at all?

'I don't even understand my own feelings.'

Just as I was about to speak after much hesitation, Lord Brooke waved his hands and hurriedly said.

"No, I won't hear it now. Please tell me after this team-building competition ends. I'll claim first place and dedicate the victory to you, Miss Violetta. I'll hear your answer to my proposal after that."

What a relief. Thanks to Lord Brooke changing his mind, I'd gained some time.

"Yes, alright. I'll tell you my feelings after the competition then."

"I'll be waiting for a positive response."

Lord Brooke smiled - a bright, healthy smile that showed his white teeth.

That's when someone interrupted our conversation. It was the Crown Prince.

"That won't be necessary."

The Crown Prince was standing behind me - I hadn't noticed when he'd come out of the tent.

"Third Division Commander, Alex Brooke, paying his respects."

The Crown Prince acknowledged Lord Brooke's greeting with a perfunctory nod.

"It's an honor to compete against Your Highness in this team-building competition."

"I'm looking forward to it as well. You haven't forgotten our promise, have you? If you lose to me, you'll give up on Chief Aide Violetta."

"Don't worry. That will absolutely never happen."

"I wish you luck."

His Highness gave a cold smile with half-lidded eyes.

After Lord Brooke withdrew with the Third Division, I opened my mouth to ask what I'd been curious about throughout their entire conversation.

"Your Highness, did you... enter the team-building competition just to defeat Lord Brooke?"

"That's right."

"Why would you... choose to fight a battle you can't win?"

The Crown Prince's brow furrowed slightly.

"You think I can't beat Lord Brooke?"

If he asked like that, I had only one answer.

"Yes."

At my firm response, the Crown Prince narrowed his eyes and smirked.

"So the Chief Aide trusts that knight's abilities more than mine, after working together for six years?"

"It's not about trust, it's just reality. A team-building competition isn't something you can win by yourself."

"You never know. You have to try something to know if it's possible."

Try indeed.

It was clearly an impossible fight. Unlike the ragtag group from the Aide’s Office that couldn't even be called a proper team, Lord Brooke and the Third Knights Division were all broad-shouldered, physically fit knights.

Seeing the Crown Prince's clouded judgment, it seemed Lord Brooke had successfully provoked his competitive spirit.

***

The event for this team-building competition was 'Orb Popping.'

The goal was to score points by popping orbs that moved around throughout the hunting grounds. The orbs came in four colors - black, red, blue, and yellow - with different point values for each.

Black orbs were worth 100 points, red orbs 50 points, blue orbs 20 points, and yellow orbs just 5 points. However, the higher the points, the harder the orbs were designed to pop.

Black orbs moved at high speeds and were extremely small. They were also difficult to spot as they moved along grass, leaves, and stems that made them blend in with their surroundings.

But the biggest variable in this competition was... the golden orb.

Popping the golden orb would earn a whopping 5000 points. However, only one golden orb would be used in this competition.

'In other words, whichever department pops the golden orb has the highest chance of winning first place.'

Surely all the other departments participating in the competition would be desperate to find this golden orb.

I gathered the equipment needed for popping orbs from the armory prepared by the organizing committee. I chose a long-handled net with fine mesh and a small dagger.

There were many weapons that could hit orbs from a distance, like guns and bows, but I didn't even glance in their direction.

'There's no way I could shoot a gun or arrow.'

But most people chose guns and bows. I was the only one carrying a net.

People snickered when they saw me with the net, but that only made me hold my head higher.

'It's better to choose something I can actually use, even a little, than a weapon I can't handle at all.'

This was a lesson I'd learned when I went to the Epola Mountains with His Highness to find the fairy folk.

I put the teleportation magic stone given by the organizing committee into my pocket in case of emergencies. If you found yourself in danger or got injured, using the teleportation stone would instantly return you to operation headquarters.

However, this would result in disqualification from the competition.

Before entering the hunting grounds, General Chief  Aide Kuan offered the stone meant for the Crown Prince, but His Highness refused it with a shake of his head.

"No forfeiting. I won't be leaving the hunting grounds voluntarily."

"As expected of Your Highness! I believe in you completely. You must win first place. Those three days of special vacation belong to our team!"

Brahe shouted with clenched fists. Every word brimmed with hope and dreams.

At the mention of special vacation, General Chief  Aide  Kuan's eyes lit up.

"Oh! Three whole days of special vacation! Wonderful!"

Where had the person gone who had been whining about wanting to skip the hunting competition just moments ago?

It seemed even movement-averse Chief Kuan couldn't resist the appeal of special vacation.

After much back and forth, our team - consisting of the Crown Prince, myself, Brahe, Chief Kuan, Secretary Derek, and Head Butler Dominic - entered the competition grounds.

But after just a few steps, Secretary Derek started breathing heavily and stopped walking.

"Huff, huff... Too... too hard..."

"What? It's hard? What's wrong?"

Responding to my worried voice, Secretary Derek caught his breath and answered:

"Haven't we walked too far?"

Too far? We'd barely started! We could still see the entrance we'd come through from where we were standing.