Chapter 78
“Ah, Angelina!”
Catherine rushed to the bedside in surprise.
Angelina’s skin, which had been full of foul-smelling discharge, was now clean.
Catherine shed tears of joy seeing Angelina’s rich, glossy golden hair.
“Angelina! Are you, are you conscious?”
Angelina slowly opened her eyes, sat up, and looked at Catherine.
“Mother, what happened?”
Catherine embraced the now-conscious Angelina and wept.
“My daughter! Our Angelina!”
The Duke, having heard the news, rushed into the room.
He too broke down in tears upon seeing the healed Angelina.
Zeke quietly left the room watching Catherine and the Duke.
‘With this, I can consider House Graham secured.’
* * *
Early the next day, Catherine visited Zeke’s room.
“Sir Zeke, I truly don’t know how to repay this debt…”
Catherine’s attitude toward Zeke, who had lifted Angelina’s curse, had completely changed.
Zeke smiled at Catherine.
“Could you help with the upcoming combat tournament?”
Catherine covered her mouth and laughed at his words.
“Is that all, Sir Zeke? We will do anything we can in the name of House Graham.”
Farrell couldn’t believe the sight of Catherine, who ruled over high society with absolute charisma, behaving this way.
After Catherine left, Farrell approached Zeke and asked.
“Did… did you really lift Lady Angelina’s curse?”
Zeke made a faint smile, made the sign of the cross, and said.
“It was all the will of the Sun God.”
The central and eastern regions of the Central Continent were deeply rooted in the influence of the Holy Empire.
Most nobles were followers of the Sun Religion, and Farrell was also a devout believer.
‘Not only exceptional skills but also such devout faith to even drive away curses. Isn’t he a role model for all knights?’
Farrell’s respect for Zeke grew even more.
Later, Zeke’s group was invited to lunch by Catherine.
Farrell and Felix felt their hearts stop at the sight of the beautiful woman they had never seen before.
Golden hair flowing like twilight, porcelain-like white and smooth skin, mysterious purple eyes like embedded stars.
She looked like a beautiful goddess from mythology come to life.
“Oh my God…”
Farrell unconsciously called out to God at her incomparable beauty.
Felix was equally shocked at that moment.
His mind was filled with dozens, hundreds of verses praising her beauty.
‘No, words cannot express such beauty!’
Unlike Felix’s despair, Zeke simply gave a light bow in greeting without any change in expression.
Then she approached Zeke.
“Sir Zeke Draker. Angelina Graham offers you her thanks.”
The stunningly beautiful woman was none other than Angelina.
After completely breaking free from the curse through Zeke’s power, she had regained her original outstanding beauty.
Zeke looked at her and spoke.
“I’m glad to see you’re healthy.”
Farrell and Felix couldn’t believe Zeke’s reaction.
‘To remain so detached before a woman who is like the reincarnation of the goddess of beauty. Sir Zeke is truly a knight among knights.’
Felix had a different thought from Farrell.
‘Master, surely you’re not gay?’
At that moment, the Duke, Catherine, and other members of House Graham all gathered.
They approached Zeke, kissed his hand, and expressed their gratitude.
Zeke’s group received the highest treatment as House Graham’s most honored guests.
After the meal, Angelina asked Zeke to take a walk in the garden together.
He accepted the request without much thought and walked the garden with Angelina.
Though Angelina’s mere presence seemed to brighten the surroundings, Zeke remained indifferent.
‘There don’t seem to be any side effects from the curse.’
He was only concerned about whether any remnants of the curse remained that could cause problems with the deal.
While walking through the garden checking if Angelina showed any signs of discomfort, Angelina spoke to Zeke.
“Sir Zeke, how old are you this year?”
“Seventeen.”
Angelina was pleased to learn that their age difference wasn’t great.
‘A two-year gap can definitely be overcome.’
To her, Zeke now appeared like a prince on a white horse.
A knight among knights who saved her from her curse with holy power.
Moreover, he came from a good family, was the most skilled in the continent, and was handsome too.
Angelina began walking again, trying to calm her fluttering heart as she shyly stayed by Zeke’s side.
At that time, Zeke spoke while looking at Angelina.
“Do you have anyone in mind?”
Angelina made a puzzled expression at the sudden question.
“Pardon?”
Zeke spoke with a cold expression.
“I mean someone who would want to curse you.”
For a moment, Angelina was startled by Zeke’s cold gaze.
Then she misunderstood on her own and didn’t know what to do with her fluttering heart.
‘Could it be… that Sir Zeke is angry at the scoundrel who cursed me.’
Angelina had little worldly experience due to being sickly since childhood.
Her understanding of relationships between men and women was limited to fairy tale stories of knights and princesses.
Because of this, she completely misunderstood Zeke’s intentions, who was focused on finding the person who cast the curse to bring the Graham family completely to his side.
Having completely misinterpreted Zeke’s words, Angelina looked at him and said.
“Sir Zeke, I’m fine. It’s already in the past. Your feelings alone are enough.”
Surprised by those words, Zeke asked:
“What? You’re not going to seek revenge?”
Angelina said with a calm smile:
“Revenge only breeds more revenge.”
She thought she showed a benevolent and beautiful smile, but it actually made her lose points with Zeke.
‘Really now, almost dying from a curse and she says such carefree things.’
While others might see Angelina as the most beautiful person in the world, to Zeke she was nothing more or less than a victim of a curse who had writhed in agony.
Looking at Angelina who seemed completely ignorant of the world, he clicked his tongue internally.
‘Tsk tsk. How will she survive in this harsh world like that? Ah, I guess it doesn’t matter since her family is rich.’
Completely unaware of Zeke’s thoughts, Angelina was dreaming of a rosy future with him.
* * *
“You mean javelin throwing?”
Farrell was surprised by the unexpected event selection when hearing about the tournament preliminaries from Catherine.
Zeke, sitting beside him, asked Farrell.
“Sir Farrell, is it strange that javelin throwing was chosen as a preliminary event?”
Farrell shook his head.
“No. I was just surprised that it’s such an ordinary and plain event.”
While most knights use swords, the spear was actually one of the basic weapons they learned.
Additionally, javelin throwing was one of the sports enjoyed by the central nobles.
However, it was rarely seen in the Draker Tournament precisely because it was a neutral event that didn’t particularly favor anyone.
Hearing Farrell’s words, Catherine nodded and said:
“As Sir Farrell expected, this isn’t simple javelin throwing.”
Farrell asked in surprise:
“If not simple javelin throwing… is it mounted competition?”
Catherine shook her head.
“It is javelin throwing, but the distance is different from usual cases. You have to throw extremely far.”
“Extremely far?”
Catherine nodded and answered:
“Yes. From what I heard, the target will be placed beyond the mountain.”
“Beyond the mountain?”
“Beyond the mountain?”
Farrell and Felix exclaimed simultaneously at the outrageous event.
Zeke nodded upon hearing Catherine’s words.
“Without considerable strength and accuracy, one wouldn’t even reach the target.”
At those words, Farrell’s expression darkened.
He said to Zeke.
“Sir Zeke, just looking at the preliminary event, I can guess which family secured the committee votes.”
“Which family would that be, Sir Farrell?”
He said with a serious expression:
“There’s a high possibility it’s the Jiemens family.”
Zeke nodded at Farrell’s words.
“Jiemens. That’s quite possible. Their family’s main characteristic is aura control after all.”
“Correct. Moreover, Edward Jiemens, the second son of the Jiemens family participating in this tournament, is originally a lance knight who uses spears as his main weapon.”
“Edward Jiemens…”
He was a knight Zeke remembered.
In his past life, he was one of those who dyed the continent red with blood while leading the imperial army alongside Abel Draker, the Knight of Massacre.
Unlike his older brother William Jiemens, Zeke remembered him as someone cruel who liked to take the initiative.
‘So that bastard is entering the tournament.’
Then something crossed Zeke’s mind.
‘Edward Jiemens and javelin throwing…’
Zeke asked Catherine:
“Catherine, could you tell me who provided this information?”
“I heard it from the Bronx family. One of their family elders was apparently selected as a committee member for the tournament preparation committee.”
‘Direct information from a committee member, and it’s the Bronx family.’
Zeke knew about the Bronx family as well.
They had deep connections with the Jiemens family.
Zeke stood up from his seat.
Farrell asked him:
“What’s wrong, Sir Zeke?”
“Now that we know the preliminary event, shouldn’t we practice?”
At Zeke’s words, Catherine immediately ordered her servants to set up spear-throwing targets on the nearby mountains.
As soon as the setup was complete, Zeke, Farrell, and Felix prepared their spears and stood in the clearing, throwing them toward the targets beyond the mountain.
Whoosh!
Felix’s spear didn’t even reach the mountain where the target was, while Farrell’s spear reached the mountain but landed far from the target area.
Finally, Zeke threw his spear.
Whoosh!
The spear soared high into the sky and fell straight toward where the target was.
The spear landed just in front of the target, narrowly missing it.
Farrell spoke to Zeke with an excited expression.
“Sir Zeke! At this rate, I think we can prepare in time for the preliminary round.”
However, Zeke merely examined the spear with a serious expression.
After a moment, he asked Farrell.
“Sir Farrell. Other participants who learned of this preliminary event earlier have started practicing sooner, right?”
Farrell nodded.
“Of course. The other participants have already devoted themselves to spear throwing and have likely finished practicing.”
“Are there any restrictions on weapons?”
“You can use any weapon registered before the preliminary competition.”
“And changing it midway isn’t allowed?”
“Usually not. But why do you ask?”
Zeke looked at the spear and said.
“If this spear were longer, had a shape more suitable for throwing, and could be modified to hit targets more accurately, what would you do, Sir Farrell?”
At Zeke’s words, Farrell looked as if he’d been struck by lightning.
“Good heavens. I hadn’t thought of that. Making a spear specifically designed for throwing in advance. That’s something the Jiemens would think of.”
The outcome of throwing events varied significantly depending on the weapon’s form.
Having a spear specifically designed for throwing would give an advantage in achieving better results than others.
Most knights would likely focus on throwing practice rather than think about modifying the spear’s shape to improve performance.
Zeke examined the spear from various angles and then nodded.
He then approached Catherine, who was sitting in the shade fanning herself.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“Ho ho. If it’s a request from Sir Zeke, I’d be happy to help with anything.”
Zeke showed Catherine the spear and explained how it should be modified.
Catherine tilted her head after hearing Zeke’s explanation.
“Are you really going to modify it that way? Although I don’t know weapons as well as you do, still…”
“Please, I insist.”
At Zeke’s firm words, Catherine reluctantly agreed.
“If that’s what Sir Zeke requests…”
“Thank you.”
Zeke turned to look at the target beyond the mountain.
‘With this, I’ve completed all preparations for the preliminary competition.’
Zeke smiled coldly as he thought of the Jiemens family.
‘No matter how much you struggle, you’re in the palm of my hand.’
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