The Challenge

Naomi was very much willing to accept the proposal. She glanced quickly at her enemy in the distance. Isabelle's company just for today, although unacceptable, amounted to little in the grand scheme of things.

"You will vote for me again and-"

"I will vote for you. Do you even have to ask? Even if I had a million votes, all would go to you," Arnacia quickly said.

Naomi nodded, and as Arnacia turned to walk towards Isabelle, a wicked thought popped in her mind. She glanced at the maids standing beside Isabelle. That one was more familiar than the rest - wasn't she the one who was eliminated by Arnacia in last year's tournament?

"Isabelle, my love. Join us for a walk," Arnacia said after she reached close to the group. And just as expected, the maiden's expression bloomed like a flower. It was as if the heavens had smiled themselves.

"Emma will also join."

"Ester too."

"Sometime later, but not right now," Arnacia gave them a meaningful look and led Isabelle away.

Ester, Emma, and Eleanor had different thoughts after they saw Arnacia's face. Breakup with one? Planning on managing a triple relationship? A walk to mend their relationship? They looked in that direction until the three maids left their vision.

The trio walked towards the bathhouse. Naomi linked her arms with Arnacia and didn't give Isabelle another look.

Examining closely, Isabelle was half a step behind. She only looked at the linked arms. It diluted her feelings with a stinging pain. But last night and the thought of that day gave her a pinch of confidence. She took a quick step to hold Arnacia's hand.

'She did this when we were following the Silver Knight. Arnacia sighed at the thought of the past. 'Girls holding hands, linking arms feels normal here but in Lanceworth Castle?' She sighed again. Doing it would get you arrested for potential Sapphism.

Arnacia had a deep impression about the love between two girls being a crime. It was the theme of the novel for some time and the backstory of one queen.

The illustrious queens married King Nicolas, who only felt like the undisputed star because of his harem. This was how many female fans criticized the novel. All the queens were remarkable enough to be the main characters of their own story. Why was a guy taking all the glory just because he had a royal bloodline?

'Would the story be different somehow if love between girls wasn't a crime?' Arnacia thought of the queens the King had yet to marry. The novel was pretty far ahead than her present time.

'Life is difficult without adapting.' Surrounded by two girls didn't give her much joy. Her heart was calm and accepted the company.

Naomi rubbed her head on Arnacia's shoulder. This sudden action made Isabelle stop. Arnacia also stopped as a chain reaction, and so did Naomi.

"What does she want now?" Naomi asked in an annoyed tone. The group was almost out of the camp's sight. She pulled Arnacia, but experienced an opposing force. As a result, Arnacia did not budge.

'Leave me alone!' Arnacia helplessly watched herself being pulled from both sides. She had resisted Naomi's pull in the beginning, but now Isabelle was enough to do the job.

"It hurts," Arnacia said.

The two maids let go as soon as those words were out. They saw the Arnacia in each other's eyes and knew the severity of the situation and naturally wanted to face it head on.

"Isabelle you duckling. I challenge you for a duel!" Naomi let out her anger. "The loser will always stay a meter away from Arnacia."

"This is too much," Arnacia interrupted.

"We will enter the maid battle contest," Naomi smugly said. "We took self-defense classes and the rules of battle say that you have to stop if the other person gives up. And I will make sure our battle will be first. You don't have to worry, Arnacia. We won't meet in the contest.

"Accept my challenge if you love Arnacia!" Naomi turned towards Isabelle.

"Isabelle, this is unnecessary. Don't mind her," Arnacia said.

"I accept…" Isabelle said in a low voice.

"What did you say?" Naomi snorted and looked away.

"I accept." Isabelle's response was louder than before.

The two rivals stared at each other. Naomi was a little smug about it. On the other hand Isabelle's face was splattered with nervousness but her eyes wished to tell a different story.

"She accepts the challenge," Arnacia interrupted the staring contest. "Let's go back now or else we will be late for breakfast."

"Don't worry my Arnacia. Other camps would be eating right now. You still have some time."

"What about you?" Arnacia asked.

"Me?"

"I have time, but you? Are you skipping breakfast?" Arnacia jumped on to express concern. She saw Naomi smile gently and step forward for a kiss. Taking a step backward wasn't an option since Naomi could follow up, so she swiftly closed in for a deep hug.

"It's not good for your health to skip breakfast," she hugged Naomi tightly.

Naomi was unable to push Arnacia away for a kiss, thus settled on a hug. She waved goodbye and hastened towards the camp.

"We should also go now," Arnacia turned back and let out a breath of relief.

Isabell's eyes moved to see Arnacia multiple times. It was as if she was asking for something. The request with her fairy like face was alluring.

Arnacia secretly sighed and hugged Isabelle. She wanted to keep it short, but the maiden did not let go. Gladly, Naomi was out of their vision.

"How do I win?" Isabelle slowly said.

"Don't push yourself and you know I won't mind at all if you don't enter this stupid bet. Naomi is crazy. You really, really don't have to accept her challenge."

"But-" Isabelle stopped as Arnacia held her hand. Then she was pulled closer and hugged in a way that seemed weird and unsettling yet somehow familiar. Her mind went blank for a moment as she placed her hand on Arnacia's shoulder.

Arnacia raised an eyebrow, as their position was just perfect. She was holding Isabelle's right hand with her left hand and resting her other hand on Isabelle's back. They were standing close but their bodies were slightly left of each other, making it so that their right foot was in between the other person's feet.

"You remind me of someone," Isabelle slowly said.

After a few blank looks at Isabelle, their ballroom dance began in between the trees. Arnacia wanted both of them to spin around gently, and so they did. She surveyed the surroundings, then put her lips beside Isabelle's ears.

"You don't know much about this world, so it would be better to restrict your actions and stick to what you know. That way, you will be safe and no one will suspect anything. Even if you know how to fight, Naomi will be a tough opponent, since people in this world are different. Do you remember the battle in the Women's Court of Justice? Even if you really want to accept Naomi's challenge, then ask her to change the contest. Maybe you both can enter the cooking contest!"