Chapter 149 The King's Guard Tournament
The maid lost her balance and the ink bottle in her hand went flying.
Everyone thought the ink would surely splash onto Cressida or the scriptures she had copied.
No one expected Cressida to move with such surprising speed!
She stepped back half a pace and lightly hooked her foot, causing the desk to shift backwards .
The bright blue skirt of Cressida's gown traced a graceful arc through the air. As Madeline's maid crashed heavily to the ground, and all the ink splashed onto Emily's back.
The scene fell instantly silent, with only Jada's sharp gasp clearly audible.
Ink dripped continuously from Emily's hair. Her expensive, gorgeous gown was covered in dirty ink stains,it was acomplete mess.
Looking at Cressida, she was not only unharmed, but even the language scriptures she had copied on the desk remained perfectly intact.
Cressida's eyes lowered slightly as she looked at Madeline, her tone calm yet weighted: "Your maid dared to assault Prince Marshall's fiancée?"
Madeline was completely stunned.
She had meant to teach Cressida a lesson, she didn't expect Cressida to be so agile!
Several lady officials rushed over, frantically wiping Emily's hair and dress.
Everyone's faces were grave—Emily was the fiancée Sophie herself had chosen for Marshall. Offending Emily meant offending Sophie, and the consequences would be dire!
Jada looked at Madeline, her eyes full of displeasure: "Ms. Lopez, your maid was far too reckless!"
The maid knelt on the ground trembling, constantly protesting: "I was tripped by Ms. Hamilton's maid Emma. Please forgive me, Ms. Gomez! Please forgive me, lady officials!"
Madeline shot to her feet, pointing at Cressida and shouting angrily: "Did you hear that? It's your own lack of manners, and the maid you brought into the castle is just as crude and rude!"
Emma immediately stepped forward to deny it: "I was five steps away from her,there's no way I could have tripped her!"
Cressida's expression remained calm, her composure unshaken.
"Everyone here saw what happened, Madeline. Your maid was carrying an ink bottle. Instead of properly serving you while copying scriptures, she was walking back and forth around the desks. Now that she'd fallen, she is blaming other people . Is this how the Lopez family's noble etiquette works—twisting facts and shirking responsibility?"
Madeline's eyes turned cold, then filled with rage: "Who are you to judge the Lopez family's etiquette and rules?"
Just as the two were about to argue further, Emily slowly turned around. Despite her disheveled state, the jeweled hairpin on her head remained perfectly in place, it didn't at all.
She wore a half-smile on her face, her deep gaze slowly sweeping over both of them.
Madeline had meant to make things difficult for Cressida, but she had dragged her into it instead. Emily suppressed her anger and spoke slowly: "Madeline, this matter is indeed your maid's fault. Copying scriptures requires a calm and focused mind. How can she serve you properly being so reckless? Take her away."
With Emily having spoken, Madeline, though deeply unwilling, had nothing to say and could only swallow her anger.
Madeline stared hard at Cressida and threatened: "After we finish copying the Holy Scripture, I'll settle this with you!"
Her maid was dragged away by the lady officials. After a few cries, there was no more sound,most likely she'd been locked up by the officials.
Emily calmly said to Jada: "My dress is dirty. I'll go change and return to copy the scriptures later."
With that, she left, supported by her own maid's hand.
Without a maid to serve her, Madeline made repeated mistakes while copying.Either she mixed up the papers or accidentally stained the scriptures with ink.
She fumbled about, constantly calling the lady officials for help. She didn't have time to target Cressida.
Cressida quietly copied the scriptures, but her mind was thinking: Marshall and Yosef's rivalry was intensifying, yet their future wives were so vastly different.
Emily was restrained and controlled, deep in thought and scheming; while Madeline wore all her emotions on her face, rash and shallow.
After copying scriptures all day, when Cressida returned to her quarters, Emma quickly came forward to massage her wrists, easing the fatigue from writing.
"We've never offended Ms. Lopez. I really don't know why she insists on targeting you everywhere," Emma said, puzzled.
Cressida's gaze fell on the nearby table—where items Odette had sent yesterday were placed: several exquisite gowns, a set of pearl jewelry, and two jeweled hairpins.
Odette's head maid had specifically explained that the craftsmanship on these two hairpins was unique to Yosef's territory.
The implication was clear.
"She sees me as a rival, so naturally she's displeased. It doesn't matter. If she won't be friendly to me, I don't need to be particularly tolerant of her either."
Cressida had no time to clear up this misunderstanding.
Never explaining anything to enemies was a principle she'd developed over years in the border military camps.
When she traveled, she never stopped for rabbits by the roadside.
Her only goal in entering the castle to copy the Holy Scripture was to establish herself in Emerald City's noble circles and make a name for herself.
After three consecutive days of copying the Holy Scripture, all the noble ladies were gradually growing tired.
Jada knew these noble ladies all had powerful backgrounds and couldn't be offended, so on the fourth day she said: "Ladies, you may arrange your own time today. As long as you can finish copying the Holy Scripture within seven days, we won't restrict your movements."
The noble ladies gained their freedom and could wander around the castle. Aside for the outer palace's court area, they could visit anywhere else.
In the afternoon, while Cressida was copying the Holy Scripture in her room, Madeline suddenly walked in cheerfully.
She addressed all the noble ladies present: "The weather's gloomy today, the light will be too dim for copying scriptures this afternoon. Using lamps would hurt our eyes. Why don't you all come with me to the royal arena to watch the royal guard's martial practice? Consider it a break, what do you say?"
Several noble ladies immediately put down their quills and agreed enthusiastically, calling it a great idea.
The royal arena was located at the boundary between the outer and inner palaces. The grounds were spacious, suitable for watching martial contests and horseback riding.
Neither Emily nor Cressida immediately responded.
Elysia frowned, saying hesitantly: "The arena is full of men. As noble ladies, wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to go watch?"
Madeline glanced at her dismissively: "What's inappropriate about it? Don't all your brothers hold positions in the royal guard? We're just going to see our own brothers' skills. What's there to avoid?"
"Emily's cousin, and Elysia, your brother—aren't they both serving in the royal guard?"
That was true enough.
Noble ladies who could enter the castle to copy scriptures—if their brothers didn't like studying or didn't want to become civil officials, they would usually take the military exam and then serve in the royal guard. After all, it was one of the closest paths to the royal center of power.
Emily put down her quill, turned around, and said with a smile: "I could go watch, but what's worth seeing about the royal guard's martial practice?"
Madeline looked at Cressida, deliberately speaking loud enough for her to hear clearly: "My brother drew lots for a match and got Ethan. Don't you all want to see just how capable the Hamilton family's Ethan really is?"
Ethan!
Emma looked sharply at Cressida, but saw her expression remain calm as she slowly put down her quill.
The other noble ladies also instinctively glanced at Cressida, observing her reaction.
Emily said with feigned concern: "Madeline, your brother became famous at a young age and is known as the strongman of the royal guard's elite squad. Ethan is a year younger than him, and if I remember correctly, Ethan still serves in the regular squad. Isn't this match a bit too unfair?"
Madeline raised her chin proudly: "What's unfair about it? He agreed to the match willingly. Once you're on the arena platform, fists and feet have no eyes—let real skill do the talking."
With that, Madeline walked straight up to Cressida, looking down at her.
"Cressida, the Hamilton family produced a border general with distinguished military service. We're all very curious to see how Ethan performs. Do you dare come with us to watch?"
Cressida slowly stood up. Elysia quickly moved to her side and gently tugged at her sleeve.
Elysia lowered her voice, urgently reminding her: "Go quickly and talk Ethan out of fighting Madeline's brother Flynn. Flynn is naturally very strong. Last year during the royal guard's martial competition, he accidentally killed an official's son. Only because the Lopez family is so powerful was the matter hushed up! Going up against the Lopez family will only bring trouble and suffering."
Cressida glanced at Elysia, her tone flat but with a hint of a smile: "It's fine, don't worry."
Then Cressida looked up at Madeline, her deep eyes very calm, showing no ripples.
Cressida's voice was cool and pleasant, yet carried undeniable confidence: "When it comes to martial contests, the Hamilton family doesn't dare claim to be first, but we've never been afraid to accept a challenge. What's wrong with going to watch?"
A triumphant smile appeared on Madeline's face: "Good! Those are your words."
A shadow of malice flashed in her eyes,she'd heard that recently, Cressida's own brother Michael had died. Well then, today I'll make Cressida watch with her own eyes as her cousin Ethan gets beaten to the extent of having a serious injury that can lead to permanent disability!
Who told her to provoke the Lopez family? To ruin my plans? This is what Cressida gets!