"Yeah!"
The Knights of Adri, both from the Grand Duke's squad and the knights guarding the fort, are jumping on their seats and cheering loudly to their respective warriors.
"Finish him, Chief!"
Shouted a knight on the opposite side of where Mona sat. She eyed the knight and sent daggers through her deathly glare, but unfortunately, the knight dodged her daggers by not noticing her.
"Slash him up! Open his guts!"
She immediately averted her gaze from the enemy camp and directed it to where the second shout came from.
There, in the front row just a few steps below her, seated Luven, throwing some passionate words to where his bet at enthusiastically.
She laughed at him, thinking how the marquess became undignified and foul-mouthed after tagging along with them. But knowing that his actions were affected because of her, her heart was moved but also felt a bit ashamed.
Shouts came from all over the place. The arena where most of the knights gathered is rambling in chaos.
"Win it, Captain!!"
Another voice dominated the noises. Pierre's overzealous shouts reverberated, lifting the energy of his comrades, the ones who belonged in his circle.
"Make him lose, Chief!"
Another energetic shout went above the noise. It belonged to a knight wearing the same uniform as the Adri Knights, only the color of their cloak brooch was different.
Silver ones belong to the squad that guards the main castle of the Grand Duchy of Adri, and bronze-colored ones to the knights guarding the fort. But the shape is all the same. The insignia of the northern Grand Duke's element, snowflake.
The crowd was divided into two groups, one massive and another smaller. Most are seated on a row on an elevated platform, while few are standing, too engaged in cheering and so engrossed in the sword fight between the captain of the Grand Duke's knights and the head knight of the fort.
Sir Lionel Ferrer and Sir Jezril Hans.
Mona watched the two entitled swordsmen exchange blows and attacks and was constantly amazed at their talent. It seems like the fight will continue until dusk since it is already noon and yet the two knights are not even fazed by the sun or even getting tired.
Still, Mona chose to stay and watch until the battle was finished. Watching a sword fight between veterans may help her to improve her own, and gain more knowledge in terms of sword techniques and strategies.
The surroundings are too loud. Men shouting at one another is making her head throb painfully, but she remained in her seat and just focused her attention on the fight. Sometimes she would stifle a laugh at her brother's worsening vocabulary and would glare at anyone who badmouthed the captain.
Lionel swung his sword upward with an unbelievable speed, yet the head knight, Jezril saw his attack beforehand and jumped backward to dodge the sword. But the captain came on him again with another sword slash, and the head knight defended himself with his sword, before taking the offense.
'Sir Lionel is a bit aggressive in fighting while Sir Jezril is too careful and sharp-eyed.' Mona thought.
She felt proud that her eyes could still catch up with their movements, even when they were fighting with so much ardor and agility.
She thought that the captain's way of fighting might have been adopted from battling monsters, while the head knight being observant was because of his job to scrutinize every person that would pass through the boundary.
Having seen the way they fight, Mona sighed wearily and leaned back on her seat.
When will this fight be over? She wondered.
Her attendance in that battle of pride and integrity was due to Pierre dragging her with him. But since she felt responsible that the fight started solely because of her, she let herself get dragged and watched the fight, which picked her interest eventually.
"They will lose." She turned her head in the direction of the voice and found Lucaz now sitting beside her.
"The wrong never wins." He added nonchalantly.
It made her chuckle. Not that she cares about how those insignificant knights view her as a person, but it seems that simply being with the Grand Duke's knights may tarnish their names and question their principles, she began wanting to settle and clear her name. Again.
"Damn!"
"Yes!!"
True to Lucaz's words, the head knight is disarmed and is kneeling on the ground with Lionel's sword pointed at his neck. His foot seems to be injured, and blood drips on his cheek where a small cut is.
"Good job, captain!" Some of their companions congratulated Lionel and cheered livelier.
Lucaz bumped his shoulder to hers and spoke cheekily, "Slap them with your healing power."
She raised her eyebrows and answered, "And why should I heal him? He went against Lionel."
"Not him. Captain's injured as well." Answered Lucaz and pointed toward their captain.
Mona's head spun quickly to check, and when she saw how Lionel walked with a limp and a bloody arm, she stood and ran immediately toward him.
"Careful, Captain. Miss Shelly will roast us alive if you die." Dien, one of the knights whom Mona got acquainted with through their travel, said jokingly while supporting Lionel.
That comment earned him a smack in the head by another knight named Treser. His eyes caught her, and Mona felt an explicable warmth when Treser's face brightened at her arrival. The situation isn't good at all, but she can't help giving him a gentle smile, a reassuring one.
"My lady!" Dien noticed her and shouted. Like Treser, his face showed a relieved expression.
"This is why I told you to not mind them too much." She was referring to the accusing glare and insult from the knights who still regard her as evil because of her appearance.
Although she claimed to live a new life and cleared her name at the beginning, she didn't intend to have everyone she met understand her. A few people who care is enough. Too many connections can be too bothersome sometimes.
"Don't expect us to do so, Miss Mona. These bastards are really annoying, feeling high and mighty just because they guard the entrance. I want to shove them in a monster's den and let's see if their sharp eyes and eloquent tongues can save them." Lucaz commented.
She gaped at him and responded, ".... that's the longest speech I heard from you."
"I bet they're just going to converse with those beasts not to enter the perimeter," Dien added, which earned a laugh from the listeners.
Luven took her side and glared at the enemy camp, "If Ferrer didn't come forward, I would have fought them and made them eat dust."
She looked at him with amusement and grinned, "I appreciate the thought. But let's treat him, first."
She stepped closer to Lionel and took his arm. The man was surprised at her sudden touch but didn't say anything and let her heal him.
"Shelly will get mad. Surely." She commented when she saw the amount of blood gushing in his left arm.
"Don't mention it to her, Miss. You know she brought her studies with her; she'll only get distracted."
She nodded at the captain's request, recalling how the head mage's room was filled with her tools and equipment brought from a dimensional suitcase she invented herself.
Shelly would no doubt explode the entire fort knights' quarters if she saw her brother in that sorry state. Fortunately, the woman was still snoring on her bed after staying up late completing her newly developed potion.
When her treatment, which was basically just holding the wounded arm and infusing divine mana, was done, Lionel swung his arm vigorously.
The knights of the fort gasped when they witnessed the healing. Even their chief, who seemed unbothered from losing the battle, showed interest and started walking to her. It looked like he wanted to check what just happened properly.
Mona felt infuriated, that she thought of having them get sucked by a black hole if possible. That is when she remembers what the Grand Duke asked her the night they arrived.
'Don't use it no matter what happens.'