Tangled By Fate

"Then I'll be able to witness a wonderful performance then. Whatever the result is, don't be upset. We will still go on our honeymoon," Arthur tried to encourage her.

"Even if I lose?"

"Even if you lose," he promised.

Veronica rubbed her face against his chest. "You are always so good to me."

Arthur pecked on her forehead. "You are good to me too. Do your best in the competition. If someone tries to give you a hard time, just tell me later. I'll beat the crap out of them."

"There is no way I will tell you after hearing that." Veronica giggled and then tiptoed to touch his lips with hers. After giving him a small peck, she backed away.

Pushing his chest, she stated, "Go now. Wait for my victory."

"Umm, be careful." Arthur's fingertips touched her face one last time before he went out.

Felix waved his hand and mouthed "good luck" to her before following him.

Veronica took a deep breath and patted her chest. "You can do it. This is archey that you practiced many times.. You have to make your masters proud of you."

After giving herself some encouraging words, she headed toward the room where all the archers stayed

The moment she entered the room, all eyes were fixed on her. It made her a bit nervous but she didn't express it.

She found a space in the corner. She quietly sat there and waited for her name to be called.

One of the participants came to her and asked, "Are you an archer?"

Veronica looked at him. He had a similar body structure to Felix. He had a petite figure. His skin was darker. He was wearing a brown worn-out shirt and black pants.

His straight brown hair covered his eyes. His rough hands were covered with bruises. Especially his fingers. It showed how much he practiced archery every day.

"Yes, I am," she replied.

"You… you are a woman?!" The participant exclaimed loudly and stepped back a few steps. He was thunderstruck knowing that there was a woman in the room.

Other participants once again focused on her. That made her uncomfortable. Her heart beat louder as she became nervous.

Despite how anxious she was, she raised her head and inquired, "Is there any problem?"

"It is my first time seeing a woman archer. I didn't mean anything bad. Please forgive my rudeness." The man bowed as he apologized.

"Oh, okay. I forgive you," Veronica responded with a forced smile.

'Now he has done it. I didn't want to bring any attention to myself. Because of him, everyone is now looking at me.' She wanted to cry but she couldn't shed any tears.

The participant sat beside her. Because of his curiosity, he couldn't help but ask, "So, how long are you practicing archery?"

"About a few months." Her reply was short. She tried to express that she didn't wish to chat with him any longer.

"Only a few months?!" The participant was stunned. "I have to admit that you have the guts to participate in the competition when you just practice for several months."

"Is that a problem?" Veronica directly questioned him. "I heard that anyone can join the competition as long as they have some skills."

The participant nodded his head. "Yes, you are right. However, people without learning for several years don't dare to join the competition. Do you know why?

"It's because they would be fighting in front of the whole town. Even the aristocrats come here. They pick up the best soldiers and hire them. Some warriors get scouted to join the imperial army.

"That's why competition is important for everyone. They practice every day without eating or sleeping properly to participate in the competition. For commoners, this is the only chance they have to get recognized by the aristocrats and the imperial family."

Veronica understood that he was mocking her laid-back attitude in a roundabout way. Feeling embarrassed, she straightened her back.

Then, she put on a serious expression and told him, "just because I'm a woman and I practice for a few months doesn't mean I didn't give my all."

She recalled the time when she practiced side by side with the elves. The elves didn't give her an easy time just because she was a woman and they were serving her.

They trained her the exact way they were trained since they were young.

There were times she couldn't eat because they couldn't find anything to eat. There were times when she only had to eat grass. There was a time when she had to drink dirty water and got a stomachache later on.

Even then, the elves made sure she practiced every day. They didn't care about her excuses. When she was sick, they forced her to drink bitter medicine or chew some insects.

No matter how hard the day was. It didn't matter. She had to practice archery and sword fighting. In addition, they had to go from one place to another place every day. They didn't stay another night in one place.

That's why she was confident that she could do something about archery in the competition. For the same reason, she was relaxed. She knew she would not make a fool out of herself.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," the participant was quick to apologize when he realized that she was offended by his comments. "I thoughtlessly provoked you. I didn't mean it. I don't know how much you practiced, but you have my respect as a fellow archer."

"Thank you."

Afterward, the participant couldn't talk to her. He did look like he wanted to say more but Veronica's expression just sealed his mouth. Later, his name was called.

"I'm going then. Wish me luck. And once again, sorry for the inconvenience I caused you." He bowed again and left.

'He was rather polite after I shut him up with my expression. Maybe I shouldn't have been too hard on him. He looked like a good guy,' Veronica lamented inwardly.

She looked outside the window and saw ten archers lined up. The emcee announced the rules for the participants and the audience.

The participants were provided with one bow and three arrows each. They would have to hit the goal in front of them. The winners would be the archers who could heat the bull's eye twice.

Veronica excitedly observed them. The participant who was bothering her moments ago checked his bows and arrows with a serious expression. He didn't look clumsy at all once he was in the field.

"He looks professional," Felix commented from the audience's seat.

"Why do you think so?" Catherine asked who was sitting by his side. "He stumbled on the plain ground the moment he entered the field. He looks rather clumsy."

"It's because of the way he was checking his bows and arrows," Zinnia explained. "Just look at other participants. Others didn't check their bows and arrows. It's not that the products providing them would be broken, but one still needs to check his weapons before he goes on a war."

"Even if it's his weapon?" Catherine inquired.

Zinnia nodded in response. "Even if it's his weapon. Moreover, the participants weren't allowed to bring their own weapons. They were provided with weapons because some participants cheated long before."

"Is that so? Let's just watch if he can hit the bull's eyes." With curious eyes, Catherine looked forward to the game.

The emcee gave them the signal. On his mark, the participants stretched their bows and then pulled their arrows.

Three of them hit the bull's eyes and one of them was the clumsy participant. Two of the participants' arrows hit closer to the main goal. Others barely came closer.

All the participants had two more chances. With the emcee's signal, they shot arrows. Only one of them hit the exact same goal twice more and it was the clumsy participant.

Catherine was amazed. And so was Veronica.

'I couldn't believe that he hit the bull's eyes thrice. He didn't make a single mistake,' Veronica spoke in her mind. 'Was he just acting stupid when he was talking to me? But why would he do that? He already looked down on me so there was no reason for him to agitate me before the competition.'

She could hear the audience applaud from the outside. They were congratulating the winner.

The emcee explained that the winner could go to the second round while others had to leave the premises. The losers wouldn't get another chance to play archery this year.

Next, Veronica and another nine participants were called. Veronica used a pseudonym. She named herself Monalisa.

Upon hearing her name, the audience realized that she was a woman.

Although they had seen female warriors before, it was the first time a woman participated in a competition where they had to compete against skilled male warriors.

Zinnia pleasantly smiled. "Finally, a woman gathered some courage to compete alongside men in the competition. I'm looking forward to this round. Oh, the participants are entering the field."

"Huh? wait, isn't that Ver?!" Catherine was dumbfounded. "Why is she in the archery competition?"