Iris Day started normal. Or that so she thought it would be.
You see, it's been a hectic day for everyone since today was the day the hunting event would commence, and at the same time, today is the day Iris will have to duel Lady Catherine.
Echeron explained the Duel last night. At first, Iris thought it was lame, but it was the Duel she accepted accidentally, and she won't back down either way.
This will be the first time Iris will experience how the world works from the outside. The only bad thing was how she would win with the bit of knowledge she had, but on the bright side, she had someone who was willing to help her.
Echeron meets with Iris in her room to prepare for the first challenge.
"Good morning," echeron said.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"I am ready," Iris said as she grabbed the bow and arrow echeron had prepared for her last night.
"Good to hear," echeron said
"Let's go," as he opened the door for Iris, and they went to the training ground where the first round of the Duel will be held.
Most of the nobles are already there to watch, and most of them are young nobles who support Lady Catherine.
They gather toward her, complementing everything about her, from her hair to her toes.
Lady Catherine noticed that Iris was walking towards the training ground with the Duke. She met them halfway.
"good morning, Duke Echeron." Lady Catherine greeted the Duke and bowed down gracefully for him.
The Duke just nodded in response that, made Lady Catherine annoyed. She faced iris and looked at her from head to toe.
"Looks like you didn't surrender," Lady Catherine said
"of course, I won't," Iris answered back.
Echeron steps in the middle of them to prevent them from having unnecessary confrontations.
"Lady Catherine," Echeron inserted, "refrained from doing something you might regret later." as he glared at Lady Catherine.
"What do you see in her, Duke Echeron?" Lady Catherin asked; she sounded pissed
"None of your business," the Duke said, ignoring her question.
"If you say so, Duke." Lady Catherine forced a smile on the Duke and turned her back at them.
"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice from the centre announced to everyone.
"The duel will start in a minute," he informed. He was the butler from the mansion of Marquis Bellona.
Everybody started to sit in the side tent that was prepared for them to watch the Duel.
Also, each challenger has a separate tent. Iris and Duke echeron were guided to their spot.
Meanwhile, Lady Catherine was guided to her side, but she was somewhat troubled that what if Iris was not just the girl she thought she should be. She keeps on biting her fingernails and going back and forth at her tent.
"What wrong, Lady Catherine?" Ugly girl number one asked
"Shut up, Vanessa, don't you see she is troubled by that lowly girl?" ugly girl number two.
"Shut up, both of you," Lady Catherine snarled.
"I'm trying to think here!" she added.
Both of her followers shut their mouths since they didn't want to offend their Lady once more. They just looked at each other like they were arguing with their eyes.
"I know" she shrieked.
"Vanessa, Clair, you have to do something for me," she said, smiling evilly.
Vanessa and Clair just looked at each other and just shrugged their shoulders, not knowing what made her smile like that.
The stage was now prepared after a few minutes, and everybody was sitting at the side, ready to watch the show. Marquis Bellona climbed onto the stage to give a speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Marquis Bellona," he said in an opening speech.
"As you know, last night, my beautiful daughter challenged a young lady who was a companion of Duke Echeron," as he pointed in the direction of Iris and Duke Echeron, who is now sitting on the side.
"And as a father, I won't miss this chance to see my daughter Duel," he continued.
Marquise Bellona went to the part where her lovely daughter was sitting, and he invited her to climb onto the platform like he was showing off her beauty to everyone.
He is not wrong since all of the nobles cheered for her like she was a goddess descended from heaven.
She was actually pretty, the most beautiful girl in town. Fair blonde hair with clear blue eyes, lips red as a rose and a body shape like a goddess. Who would not fall in love with this figure?
But even if she is pretty, it doesn't catch the Duke's attention. That is why she is really pissed at Iris.
"My dear, what was the wager?" Marquise Asked her daughter
"If I win, I want her to kneel down and kiss my toes and apologize to me," Lady Catherine said in a sweet voice.
"and if you lose?" Iris asked
"I'll apologize to you," she smirked.
Iris didnt argue since she really doesn't mind at all. She just wants this to be over.
The butler explained how the game would be scored: the one who could hit the bull's eye would get ten points, and the other points will be based on the arrow's distance from the center.
Lady Catherine was the first one to shoot the target. She grabs her fancy bow and arrow. She shot at the first target and got bullseyes.
She moved to the next target and got nine points, which made her lose focus, not hitting the bullseye. As she moved to the last mark, she felt nervous and got distracted. She let go of the arrow and just got a score of nine.
With a total of twenty-eight, everybody cheered for her, but Lady Catherine was not happy at all.
Lady Catherine was so mad that she threw her bow at Vanessa and Clair as soon as she went down the platform.
"did you do what I told you to do?" Lady Catherine asked them
"yes," Vanessa answered happily.
"We successfully tempered her bow", Clair confirmed
"Good," Lady Catherine said in relief as she sat down.
It was now Iris's turn. She approached the platform and walked towards the table where her weapon was placed.
Iris was nervous and hesitated to hold her weapon. She looked at Duke Echoron like pleading for help, but the Duke just nodded as if cheering her up.
She grabs the bow and arrow and walks toward the circle at the center. Iris took a deep breath, raised the bow, and loaded it with one arrow. She extended her arm and stretched the string backwards. She felt a throb in her arms and stomach.
She took a deep breath and released the first arrow. She got nine points. That made Lady Catherine smile.
Iris looked at Duke echeron in disappointment. Duke echeron mouther her, "It's okay, there's two more."
Iris was relieved that the Duke was not disappointed in her. She got another arrow and aimed for the second target. She took a deep breath and let go.
"bullseye", the referee announced.
Iris was so happy she got bullseye this time.
Then, she proceeds to the next target.
Iris breathed deeply as she raised the bow and arrow. And stretch was so hard, and she released the arrow, but a snap sound of the bowstring could be heard, her bow was broken, and the arrow flew out, not hitting the target.