Chapter 52

“What kind of bet are we going to make?”

Currently, Rebecca’s expression was quite different from before.

Her cheeks, which had turned red from my earlier words, were still flushed.

But unlike usual, Rebecca, who would normally be too shy to make eye contact, was now doing so without hesitation.

To add more to the conversation, lately, Rebecca had been avoiding eye contact with me.

Of course, not being able to make eye contact didn’t mean she had come to dislike me to the point of avoiding me.

On the contrary, it was the opposite.

In a one-on-one situation with just the princess and me, not being able to make eye contact meant she was conscious of me.

If she hadn’t been paying attention to me, there would be no reason for her to avoid eye contact, which she had been doing just fine before.

As I mentioned last time, Rebecca’s gaze towards me had definitely changed.

I’m not sure what event between us had caused this change in the princess’s gaze.

“I didn’t know the princess wanted to receive a handkerchief from me that much.”

I wasn’t so foolish as to not realize this was a positive sign.

“Stop talking nonsense and just tell me what kind of bet we’re going to make.”

Hearing my words, Rebecca’s cheeks turned even redder as she urged me.

Seeing her adorable appearance, a wicked desire to tease her further gripped me.

“Well, I haven’t decided what kind of bet we should make yet.”

“…”

I hadn’t actually decided how to determine the outcome of this bet.

To preserve Rebecca’s pretty expression, which was already starting to falter, I decided to stop teasing her.

“Hmm…”

Various thoughts passed through my mind.

The first thought that came to mind was to determine the winner through a simple game, as we had always done.

This method was indeed convenient.

We had been doing it for the past three years, and it was something both the princess and I were familiar with.

If we were to determine the winner simply, there was no better method than this.

‘…Is this something that can be decided so simply?’

But in my opinion, this matter wasn’t something that could be decided by a simple game.

This bet involved not only making a handkerchief for the other person but also the loser giving up participating in the hunting competition.

Honestly, I didn’t care much about participating in the hunting competition.

“…”

But my fiancée, who was staring at me from not far away, would think differently.

For Rebecca, such competitions were something she naturally had to participate in and win first place.

It might be due to her pride, but Rebecca actually had the skills to back it up.

Just looking at the original work, [The Crown Prince Wields a Sword]…

“…”

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

Rebecca’s voice, filled with curiosity, reached me as I suddenly froze.

It felt like I could hear her thinking, ‘Why is this guy acting like this again?’

But I didn’t have the energy to pay attention to that voice right now.

‘…What happened in the original work?’

I couldn’t remember what had happened on the day of the first hunting competition the protagonist participated in in the original novel.

It was strange.

I had read the parts where Rebecca appeared several times, yet I couldn’t remember the plot of the hunting competition she must have participated in.

It felt as if someone had erased my memory with an eraser, as if it had disappeared intentionally…

“Hello.”

“…”

“Hello!”

“…Yes?”

What snapped me out of my deep thoughts was Rebecca’s shout.

“What are you thinking about so deeply that you can’t even hear me?”

“…I had something to think about for a moment.”

“So, what is it?”

Rebecca approached me, determined to find out what I was thinking.

She seemed quite annoyed that I was lost in thought in front of her.

In this situation where my mind was in chaos over the forgotten original work, and I couldn’t talk to Rebecca about it, I couldn’t handle my fiancée’s furious expression.

“…Let’s decide with archery.”

“…What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?”

“The handkerchief bet. Let’s decide who’s better at shooting a bow.”

To change the subject, I had no choice but to make a suggestion I absolutely didn’t want to say out loud.

***

It was my second visit to the training hall of the Valencia Duchy.

Unlike last time, when it was filled with knights from the Valencia Duchy who had finished training, this time the training hall was completely empty.

As if foreseeing that the content of this bet was not ordinary.

“…It’s strange. I didn’t expect you to suggest something like this for a bet.”

The princess had changed into comfortable activewear, just like when we had a swordsmanship match.

Although one might think that when shooting an arrow, the body doesn’t move much, archery actually requires a lot of attention to movement.

Rebecca’s choice to change clothes was an excellent one.

“When I suggested deciding with swordsmanship or archery, you stubbornly ignored me. What made you change your mind all of a sudden?”

“…”

The fact that I had no choice but to compete with Rebecca in archery was painful.

The idea of determining the winner through archery was something I had been thinking about since I suggested the ‘handkerchief bet.’

In hunting competitions, where humans hunt animals rather than fighting each other, bows are used more often than swords.

So, I had been thinking about using archery to determine who would be more active in the hunting competition.

The reason I hadn’t mentioned it immediately was simple.

No, it was similar to before.

‘…How am I supposed to win?’

The idea of defeating the overpowered princess in swordsmanship or archery was impossible.

Even in our swordsmanship match, I had only been on the receiving end.

Although I ended up being the final winner.

That was only possible because I had shaken Rebecca’s mind with underhanded tactics, not because I had defeated her with pure skill.

Moreover, judging by the way the princess was treating me now, it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to win using the same method as before.

Rebecca had even said to me earlier, ‘It won’t work this time.’

This time, I definitely wouldn’t be able to win using that method.

…Probably.

“Here you go.”

“…”

Unaware of my troubled thoughts, Rebecca threw me a wooden bow.

“You go first.”

She pointed to a target that looked about 50 meters away and asked me to go first.

If this bet had been suggested by the princess, I might have resisted a little.

“…Alright.”

Since it was a suggestion that came from my own mouth, there was no way to escape.

The only thing I could do was.

“…Hoo.”

Take a deep breath while holding the bow and arrow.

If I didn’t do this, I wouldn’t be able to calm my racing heart due to nervousness.

“How many arrows will you shoot?”

After calming my wildly beating heart with some deep breathing, I asked Rebecca how many arrows we would shoot.

“Hmm… Three? Let’s do three.”

“Alright.”

Three arrows. That wasn’t a bad condition.

If Rebecca had given me the choice of how many arrows to shoot instead of deciding herself, I would have chosen three as well.

Even if I failed with the first arrow, if I managed to get a feel for how to shoot, I could do well with the second and third arrows.

Creak-

I placed the arrow on the bowstring.

Among beginners learning archery, some find it difficult just to draw the bowstring.

I wasn’t at that level.

“Oh…”

A gasp of admiration came from Rebecca, who was watching me from the side.

For some reason, my posture, which was my first time holding a bow, looked quite impressive.

“…”

Ignoring Rebecca’s admiration, I focused again on the distant target.

There was a big difference between hearing about 50 meters and experiencing it firsthand.

Just hearing the word 50 meters, one might think it’s a distance that takes less than 20 seconds to walk, or a distance so short it’s almost embarrassing to call it walking.

But when you’re the one shooting an arrow 50 meters away, aiming at a target, you realize how difficult it is.

Only when you’re in the position of shooting the arrow yourself can you truly understand how hard it is.

After aiming at the target for a while with the bowstring drawn.

“…I’ll shoot.”

With a warning that I was really going to shoot, I released the bowstring in an instant.

Twang-

As soon as I let go, the arrow flew towards the target I had been aiming at.

There was nothing lacking.

The strength with which I drew the bow was appropriate, and the direction I aimed at the target was perfect.

Even the feeling of releasing the bowstring wasn’t bad.

If my prediction was correct, I might not get a perfect 10, but I could at least score a 9.

And a score of 9 would be quite impressive for someone shooting a bow for the first time. That would be enough.

Whoosh-

“…Pfft.”

“…”

It’s just that shooting a bow involves more variables than just aiming and drawing strength.

I hadn’t considered those variables.

My first arrow, filled with great expectations, was proudly stuck in the 5-point zone.

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