For the Princess’s Hand (2)

The arena was completely full as I expected.

Nobles and commoners of all kinds were seated on the stands, looking towards the arena with excited expressions.

Loud cheers, shouts of excitement, and cries of encouragement could be heard from each corner of the arena, directed towards the participants.

It looks like a lot of people came to observe the tournament.

Mm… It was probably something Lilia and Alan arranged as well. This way, Dina will find it harder to reject the winner.

Well, she was never planning to reject him in the first place. How can she reject her handsome and lovable little brother?

I looked around the arena at the young men participating. And to my surprise, more than two hundred young men were already here.

Each one of them seemed like someone outstanding, and most of them were young nobles belonging to different families.

Even so, there were around eighty or so commoners.

I could not help but shake my head seeing that.

These guys, sigh…

They probably came here with just the thought of testing their luck, without knowing they are putting their lives in danger.

Perhaps these young nobles will have reservations about injuring gravely other young nobles. But what about these commoners?

I'm sure most of them will leave this place with severe injuries, some of them even dead.

Such a pity...

Well, I don't need to care about them. It was their own choice. They musty be responsible for their actions

While I was observing my surroundings, Louis entered the arena.

He shot me a glare filled with killing intent as soon as he entered, but when he saw I did not react, he looked away.

Little boy, are you trying to trickle me with that pitiful killing intent?

I mean, you should fight around one million life and death battles more before trying to use your killing intent against me.

… Although thinking about it, it's a good idea he intimidated all these commoners. Otherwise, this battle would have been much more of a hassle.

At that moment, the arena suddenly quieted down.

Then, both the spectators as the participants looked in the same direction as though they would have agreed to it beforehand.

Towards a private booth in the highest part of the arena.

That was the booth exclusive to the Imperial Family.

And at that moment, the emperor was entering the booth, followed by empress Lilia, Alan, Dina, and Lena.

The emperor sat down in the main seat, with the empress at his right and Alan at his left. Dina and Lena sat down behind him.

I could see the empress and Dina looking towards the arena as though searching for something. They were looking at the participants searching for my figure.

And as soon as their gazes met mine, I smiled.

Dina smiled back, but the empress kept a stoic expression. However, I noticed she seemed slightly pleased.

Before coming here, I told Dina everything about my Clark identity (Surprising her a lot). Thus, she was not surprised when she saw my different hair color and eyes.

Plus, the truth was that my face as Clark was exactly the same as my face as Claus. The only reason nobody could link the two identities together was due to the [Recognition Interference] spell I'm using.

As I explained before, it's like that superhero using red underwear. Nobody can recognize him when he wears his glasses.

Once the emperor sat down, he looked down at the spectators and the contestants before nodding satisfied.

"I'm pleased that a lot of outstanding young men are here today.

"As you know, today's tournament is to choose a husband for my daughter. As a father, I obviously want the best for my beloved daughter, thus, I will only choose the most outstanding among you. Only that person will be worthy of marrying her."

I could not help but roll my eyes after hearing that.

Even Dina was looking at my father stunned.

Your beloved daughter? To think you can be so shameless to say that in public.

I must admit, though, that these words were very effective.

All the young men around me stood straighter when they heard the emperor's words, as though they were trying to show off how outstanding they were.

The commoners on the stands, on the other hand, were praising the emperor for his love towards his daughter and how responsible he was as a father.

To be honest, I wanted nothing more than punch him in the face when I heard these words.

Unfortunately, that is not possible right now.

"Now, although I'm sure each one of you is very outstanding, I can only choose one." The emperor continued with his speech. "Thus, you will have to fight among yourself for that position.

"The rules are simple. All of you will fight in a battle royale until only sixteen of you remain. These sixteen will then face each other in individual duels, with the loser being eliminated, until only one remains.

"That person will be the one worthy of marrying my daughter!"

Cheers sounded in the arena as the commoners shouted in excitement. Simultaneously, the young men participating in the tournament looked at each other with fighting intent glowing in their eyes.

Some of them were even looking towards my sister with hot eyes, as though they could already see themselves marrying her.

I shook my head silently. God, these guys seem like dogs in heat.

… And you, the ones looking at my sister like that. Don't worry, I'll take special care of you.

Once the cheers ended, the emperor continued talking.

"Now that you heard the rules. Get ready!"

All the young men nodded and took out their weapons, ready to start the battle.

Seeing that, the emperor's booming voice resounded through the arena once more.

"Start!"