19 Declaring the Winner

It has been three hours since the tournament began. Ramier watched as the tournament progressed before his eyes. They were already in the final round. The round which will decide who the victor of the tournament will be.

He sat calmly and commanded his servant to lower the umbrella more to cover his pale-white face. The sun seems too extreme today. It was getting quite unbearable since he was a vampire.

Vampires in Altria were used to the cold that's why they have pale-white complexions and have sensitive eyes especially when exposed to sunlight. Since it was rare for them to experience this year's weather.

Ramier then turned his gaze to the man beside him, Cadmun, who was attentively watching the contest.

'He's too stiff.' Ramier thought.

Ramier and Cadmun were completely different rulers. Though they didn't differ far in age, Cadmun who was slightly younger than him, was far more strict and formal. He was the embodiment of a serious ruler and Ramier was more of a laid back type.

Even though they were at the same age when they took over their Fathers' thrones, Cadmun took ruling his kingdom too seriously. To the point where he was over competitive and wanted to match up with Altria's prominence which was hard considering how extreme it is in Ladell and how Altria has been more advanced in economy.

Ramier was clever but he wasn't as serious as Cadmun, who didn't even want to have a friendly relationship with him. Cadmun only talked to him when it came to matters regarding their kingdom's alliance. It was his only priority. One can say, he wasn't the sociable type. 

Ramier sighed. This was too boring. It's been a hundred years since he started ruling Altria. Each day was the same. Each year was repetitive. He was always busy with kingdom matters, he didn't even have time to have fun anymore. And knowing his mischievous nature, this was close to impossible for him.

He suddenly missed his days before becoming the Emperor. He remembered those times when all he cared about was to fool around with girls and fool around with his friends. He wasn't called the Royal Playboy for no reason. He was constantly scolded by his royal mentors because of this. They always reminded him that he must always uphold his honor as the future Emperor of Altria but he wouldn't listen and continued to do what he wanted with his friends.

But years have passed, a century has passed and they have their own lives. Now they have become adults, married and have their own families. He was the only one left who was single and didn't have his own family.

He was woken up from his reminiscing when the crowd shook with excitement. He revealed a small smile as he looked at the scene below.

'It seems like we have a winner.' he thought and looked at Cadmun once more. Cadmun was now frowning from his disappointment. The crowd whistled and screamed with the thrill of the battle. 

It was because Altria's contestant was clearly gaining the upper hand. It meant that they might be the one taking home this year's legacy. Ramier wasn't surprised. He picked the representative himself. He was one of the top students of the Academy since knights weren't allowed to partake in the competition. 

The youth's name was Sir Johan, he was a rising rookie. Probably gonna be one of the elite knights these coming years. He was very young and capable. Just a hundred years in age, very young.

He narrowed his eyes and the corner of his mouth rose up again. The youth was performing very well, he might consider him to be part of the royal knights if he kept up. Not that their kingdom was in danger but it was better for the safety of their citizens. No one knows what the future might hold. 

He gazed at the other kingdom's representative. He seems to be in a bad shape. 

The battle between the two contestants became heated and the crowd grew wild with excitement. They knew that the battle would soon be nearing its end and the winner will now be recognized. The battle was heading in that direction. 

*Boom! 

The wolf howled as he took the vampires punches.  He tried his best to avoid it. The vampire smashed the ground with his fist and the wolf immediately pounced on him. His big claws were ready to tear off the vampire to pieces. 

Just when things were about to get exciting, and the werewolf contestant was about to do his last attack—Click.

The golden box in front of the two Kings opened. Ramier and Cadmun who were busy watching the contest, were alerted with this sound.

Ramier commanded his servant, who was holding the umbrella, to move away. He looked at Cadmun to confirm if he also heard the clicking sound. Cadmun nodded as a response. He seems to be aware of the situation too. 

He then relaxed. It meant that they could present the legacy to the public earlier as they expected, since the winner would be decided soon anyway. They should just wait before opening the box. He was quite calm about the progress so far but he didn't expect what happened next.

*Bam!

The box opened wide. The lid was shaking as if something was trying to get out. Ramier raised his brow from his confusion. He chose to observe what would happen next. It was his first time seeing the box open, after all. The servants were alerted as well but he commanded them to step back. It was better to not interfere. The item must be big or heavy for the box to shake like that. Seconds later, the shaking stopped. 

Just then, a small dirty hand came out. It grabbed to the edge of the chest as if it was pulling the chest.

Ramier widened his eyes in shock. He turned to Cadmun who was also looking at the box with a puzzled expression. They were both witnessing something out of the ordinary. They didn't have the chance to move. 

Slowly, a body came out. The body was struggling as it pulled itself upward. They were surprised to see that it was a woman. She somewhat had a dirty appearance. She was busy getting herself out of the box. She proceeded to raise her head to face the sky and then started looking at her feet. The two rulers only continued to observe her.

The two wondered who this person could be. Her appearance was utterly odd. Her clothing was unusual and it was a mess, as it was covered with dirt. Her black hair was tangled everywhere and some dirt was stuck on it. It looked like an animal nested on it. They couldn't see her face since it was covered with her hand. It seemed that she was blinded by the sun's intense rays for she shifted her head elsewhere. It was towards the heated battle. 

The crowd was engrossed with the battle between two contestants that they failed to notice what happened. Only when the battle was over were they able to see the disheveled woman who came out of the box.

It was as if time stopped, the woman and the crowd were both shocked to see each other. Even the contestants were equally baffled. That awkward moment lasted for seconds till the  woman panicked and instantly turned around.

Ramier saw how she stood frozen at the sight of both of them. She was shaking with fear and confusion.

Now he was able to see her face. She was covered with bruises and her face was swollen. She seemed like she was abused. Butchered to be exact. He suddenly grew curious of what could have happened to her for her to end up like that. She looked like she'd been through a lot. The woman looked into his eyes with horror. 

'What did I do? '

Why was she so afraid, especially to him? 

He felt that there was something wrong when he saw the woman losing her balance and immediately collapsing. On impulse, he dashed forward. He immediately held the woman in his embrace to prevent her from falling to the floor. He carried her and positioned her comfortably in his arms. He called out his servants to assist him to the Palace. They needed to bring her to the clinic. She was clearly injured. They left hastily. Cadmun and his subject followed him as well. 

This left the spectators speechless. It took them seconds to digest what happened to their divine box. They couldn't figure how someone—

The crowd suddenly blew in uproar. They were all confused by the sudden appearance of the filthy looking woman. Most importantly, she came from inside the box, Amilia's box!

It was hard to believe that she was Amilia's legacy. This was the first time a living being came out from Amilia's box. It was truly unbelievable.

In addition, she had black hair. It is known that nobody had black hair. Not a single vampire or werewolf had one. It meant that she was different. Was she a vampire? A werewolf?.... Or something else? 

Just who was she?