Events - 615

At the same time as she walked over, Duke Mel sighed inwardly. He had not wanted to come so far for this event, but his daughter had refused to talk to him until she was brought.

Considering they were now fiances, it was not bad that she was attached to him, but he couldn't help but feel he was losing his daughter.

However, remembering what he had heard about Skymender after entering the Imperial Capital, he felt that perhaps it wasn't so bad. At the very least, his daughter would marry someone who had saved a future Duchess. In fact, perhaps it was an opportunity.

Melly was ecstatic to see Skymender and instantly gave him a hug. Val, standing to the side, frowned. 

Skymender half heartedly gave her a side hug back before she got off. Looking around, she felt embarrassed. She also noticed Val to the side, whose expression was back to a normal one.

Skymender spoke first. "Melly, this is Val, the future Duchess of Vass."

Melly was surprised and gave a slight bow.

"My name is Melly, daughter of Duke Mel."

Val gave a slight bow herself.

"My name is Val, Skymender introduced me already. Are you the fiancee that I've heard about?"

Melly nodded.

Skymender looked off to the side, feeling awkward. After all, Melly was his fiance, but it was no secret that Val had some feelings for him. He could ignore them, but it didn't make this situation any less awkward.

Melly and Val began to speak. Melly was innocently chatting, finding Val pleasing, while Val was secretly upset and inwardly disliked Melly, not because of her personality or actions, but simply because she was Skymender's fiance.

After a moment, they both turned to Skymender, who spoke. 

"Let's continue. Your mother had some people to introduce me to?"

Val nodded. "Yes. Let's go."

Skymender and Val walked forward, with Melly now coming along.

They quickly reached Duchess Vass, who looked at Melly in surprise. "Well hello there."

Melly bowed and introduced herself, though Duchess Vass already knew who she was.

"Skymender, come say hello to Marquess Gutren."

Skymender looked behind her and saw a kind looking middle aged man. Skymender bowed and introduced himself.

"I've heard a lot about you from Duchess Vass. She has a very good impression of you, though that's only natural considering the fact that you saved her daughter."

Skymender smiled and spoke. "I've also heard about you, sir."

Skymender spoke of some of the Marquess's known achievements, information gathered from history books, causing the Marquess to smile.

"I'm glad to be known by at least some of the youth nowadays. If you ever need something, you can always come talk to me."

His words were only said out of politeness, but Skymender thanked him for them nonetheless.

After that, Skymender was introduced to some of the other nobles around. 

From Dukes to Marquess's to Earl's to Count's and even to a Baron or two. 

Skymender exchanged polite words with each of them, and they as well to him.

Melly and Val seemed to become background figures as Skymender momentarily became the center of attention. 

He had planned to excuse himself soon after, but all of them appeared to be interested in him, so he stayed for a while. Before he realized it, the first event was soon to start. Skymender was offered to join all of them at a table, but he politely declined and returned to his aunt's side. Neither Melly nor Val came with him, returning to their family's sides.

The Emperor stood up.

As he did, the remaining chatter fell to absolute silence. He snapped his hand, and hundreds of servants entered the room.

In front of all of the nobles, an arena began to be constructed. Obviously, many parts had been made in advance to speed up its creation, but in the middle of the room, which was still extremely large, an arena slowly appeared. After around 20 minutes, the servants exited the room, leaving behind a well constructed arena.

The Emperor spoke. "Although the most talented among you have already been marked as potential Sword Masters, the talent of those below them, in many categories, may not necessarily be inferior. To showcase these talents to the world, three events will be held today. The first, a competition of technique. The second, a competition of physical strength. The third, a competition of intelligence. Let the first commence."

As the Emperor spoke, Sword Master Deyr stepped onto the arena.

He spoke to the entire room. "Although there are many ways to test technique, in most of the world, swordsmanship is seen as the pinnacle. Therefore, I invite any youth under the age of 18 to spar among each other. Potential Sword Masters not included."

Every year, the first two competitions were the same. A sparring between youths, as well as a lifting competition afterwards.

Usually, people hesitated to get on the arena, but this time, an usually eager participant stepped on the stage.

Skymender's face did not change when he saw him, but he inwardly sighed

Grabbing one of the wooden swords, the young man spoke out. "Skymender of the Sky Barony. I challenge you."

This young man was none other than the person that Skymender had kicked in the stomach.

In the Imperial Capital, besides him saving the daughter of the Duchess, this was the most well known event regarding him.

It was due to this that nobody forgot the arrogance he held inside.

Skymender stood up. There was no chance of him losing. Despite being younger and not having truly practiced the sword, his sister, as always, was a potential Sword Master.

It was hard for others to comprehend the benefits of training with such a person. However, not only had he sparred against a potential Sword Master many times, he had also seen one grow.

Seeing the changes in Skybelle's technique after each sparring session instinctually caused Skymender's Swordsmanship to grow.

Although he was nowhere near the talent of his sister, he was above average, without a doubt.