Chapter 45 — Contest Winner

A sunny day for everyone because today, the sun shines brightly, illuminating the earth. Everyone is busy with their activities. They looked excited about the day. But that wasn't the case for Laura. Currently, she is in a room with her parents and older brother. Early in the morning, she had been called to come into the room, and she knew very well what her parents would talk about.

"Laura, how are you? Have you made your choice yet? You promised to give your answer today, right?" asked the king, who was her father. Laura sat in silence, her head bowed and her ten fingers squeezing each other in her lap.

"I don't know, Father," she replied, nervous and agitated.

"What do you mean don't know? You promised to make your choice today. You can't break your promise. We never taught you to be a liar." Laura was shocked to hear her father's words. She realized that her answer had made her father very disappointed in her. However, on the other hand, she did not know who to choose. She had been too busy thinking about Cliff to ignore the other men who had come to ask for her hand.

"Laura!" called the king, looking emotional. The queen had to stroke her husband's back to calm him down.

"I don't know, Dad. I don't know who to choose," Laura said, lowering her eyes. Her father's face was red, and his fists were clenched with anger.

"You can't act like this, Laura. The kings and princes are waiting for your answer. You've been asking Father to give you time to think, and Father has granted your wish. Now it's your turn to keep your promise to Father." Laura was crying silently. She didn't know what else to say to her father. And her cry did not escape the attention of Laurent, her older brother. He felt pity to see his little sister crying.

"Father, I think I have a suggestion to solve this problem," said Laurent to break the tension.

"What suggestion?" said the king.

"Since several people are proposing to Laura, how about we hold a contest? The winner of the contest will be chosen as Laura's future husband. Isn't this fair? Besides that, we will also find a man who can look after and protect Laura later." The king nodded while the queen smiled contentedly at her son's suggestion. As for Laura herself, her ten fingers squeezed tighter together.

"Nice suggestion. I agree with your suggestion, Laurent. How about you, Laura? You also agree, right, with your brother's suggestion?" Laura looked up, daring to look at her father.

"I will agree if even commoners are allowed to participate in the contest. I want to marry a man who can truly look after and protect me in the future, whether from a noble family or just a commoner." The king was stunned. He closed his eyes and seemed to be thinking about his daughter's request.

"All right, Father, grant this request of yours. Various groups can participate in this competition with the condition that all participants do not have wives. Laurent, Father entrusts you with this contest, prepare as best you can," said the king, instantly making everyone in the room breathe a sigh of relief, including Laura.

"Fine, Father."

The family negotiations were over, and Laura could breathe a sigh of relief for now. She had to plead again in her heart that the man who won the contest was good.

***

One week has passed since the announcement of the contest to determine the princess's future husband. Many men are enthusiastic about taking part in the competition. Of course, for them, this competition is a rare opportunity that should not be wasted. Marrying a beautiful girl with all her charms, a brilliant and kind girl, she is a princess, of course only a stupid man who is not interested in taking her as his wife.

Today the contest was officially held in the vast and magnificent Palace Hall. Many residents who lived around the Palace came in droves to watch the contest, so the Hall was filled with many spectators.

The number of participants in the competition was equal, so the competition committee was surprised and unsure that the competition would be completed in one day.

The exams that were contested in the competition also consisted of two stages. In the first stage, all examinees will be challenged to release arrows on a target board that the committee has prepared. All participants are allowed to release five arrows. However, the obstacle for all participants was that they had to shoot while riding a horse. Of course, the exam is challenging, especially for participants who need to improve at archery. Meanwhile, the purpose of this exam is to find a man who is strict in using weapons because Laura's husband will become a prince who, of course, must be ready if he is appointed to be the leader of the royal army in the event of war.

The second stage of the exam is a one-on-one battle which will only leave one winner. The winner in this second test will later be crowned the winner of the contest and will automatically become Princess Laura's future husband.

When the first exam started, the contestants began to take the test individually, but several participants have failed so far. The requirement to pass this first test must be at least successfully releasing three arrows on target.

Of the many participants who had tried to take the first test, it was seen that only four people had passed.

Laura looked worried during the first exam. She glanced at the four participants who had passed. None of the four men caught her eye. They were just ordinary men, utterly incomparable to a Cliff. As for Laura's hope, she hoped that of the many men who took part in this competition, there would at least be one like Cliff. You don't need to be as handsome as Cliff because Laura knows that Cliff is a vampire, so it's only natural that he has a charming face. Laura hopes to find a man who can interest her like Cliff.

"Hey, Little sister, take a look at that guy. Isn't he extraordinary? On this hot day, he wore all-black clothes and a robe with a head covering his head. He also wears a mask, lest his face is hideous." Laura immediately broke her trance and turned to Laurent sitting beside her.

She followed the direction her older brother was looking and glanced at the man her older brother was talking about just now. It was true what her brother said. In the center of the Hall was a man preparing to take the first exam. The man was wearing all black with a robe. His head was covered with the skullcap of the robe, and his eyes and nose were covered with a mask.

Laura couldn't see the man's face, but somehow she felt an interest when she saw the man. Laura's gaze never left the mysterious man.

When the man walked closer to the horse, he would ride. Suddenly the horse became hysterical, as if he was scared. Even a competition organizer holding the horse seemed overwhelmed to calm him down. However, the mysterious man seemed not to care about the horse that was jumping wildly. The man stared intently at the horse, and instantly the horse calmed down again. Before boarding his horse, he took the time to stroke the horse's head.

He received a bow and arrows that one of the committee gave him. He also began to spur his horse to run. At the same time, he released arrows one by one. All pairs of eyes that filled the Hall seemed amazed when they witnessed the five arrows the man released hit their targets. Not a single one missed, making the audience applaud in unison. Laura was no exception. She was also amazed to witness the mysterious man's shrewdness in archery. So far, he is the only one who has been able to release his five arrows on target.

The first exam was finished leaving only a few participants who passed. If counted, there are only seven people who pass the first test.

The second exam was also held that day. One by one, the seven participants who passed started being summoned and did one-on-one combat. During the fight, they are allowed to use whatever weapon they have. Each participant is allowed to injure but not to kill.

Laura always said a prayer every time it was the mysterious man's turn to appear. The man fought with his bare hands. He always refused whenever the committee offered him to use weapons. While the opponent, of course, fought using weapons, most of whom chose to use swords.

The mysterious man had gone through two matches, and he always came out victorious, making Laura squeal in her seat.

"Hey, it seems you support the mysterious man?" asked Laurent, surprised to see his sister's behavior, which was always exciting whenever the man won a fight.

"That's it, Bro," Laura said enthusiastically.

"But, isn't he weird? His face just can not be seen. Aren't you afraid he's ugly? Don't let his face get crushed like a monster," Laurent teased.

"I don't care what his face looks like. I also don't understand why I got interested when I saw him."

"You're so weird."

"I also find myself strange, Bro," Laura said, shrugging her shoulders indifferently.

Battle after the fight is over. The final battle will bring together a mysterious man and a prince named Prince Bara. The Prince was tall and big with solid biceps. His face looked grim and vicious. He uses a giant sword as a weapon. A sword that looks very heavy but seems light in his hands.

"Hey, sir. Why are you covering your face with a mask? I'm so curious to see your face. It would help if you were so ugly that you didn't have the confidence to show your face in public. Right?" asked or instead mocked Prince Bara at the mysterious man.

"Maybe it is," said the man. Laura, who heard the mysterious man's deep and cold voice, was startled because the sound was familiar to her ears.

"Why don't you remove your hood and mask so we can see your ugly face? Please don't be shy. We won't laugh at you. Hahaha." The mysterious man only smiled at Prince Bara's ridicule.

"No need to worry. After this battle is over and I come out victorious, I will show my face to you and all of you," said the man arrogantly as he threw his hands together.

"Y-You're so confident you can beat me. You don't know who I am, do you? I am Prince Bara of the Bree Kingdom. I don't know the word lose. I always win every fight. All of my opponents are frightened at the mere hearing of my name, and you, how dare you belittle me!!" shouted Prince Bara looking angry.

"As far as I know, people who talk a lot are usually weak. He talks a lot to cover up his weaknesses," said the man who succeeded in inviting laughter from the audience, including Laura.

Prince Bara was furious. He ran at the man while drawing his great sword. However, the man swiftly blocked the blade of Prince Bara's sword that almost hit him. He gripped the sword's blade so tightly that the blade cracked and broke. Suddenly this made the entire audience widen in disbelief.

"Sorry, I accidentally broke your sword," said the man as he cleaned the hands covered in black gloves from the sword fragments.

"Damn, you!" Now Prince Bara was about to punch the man in the face, but again with enthusiasm, the man managed to avoid it. He bent down, and he managed to hold Prince Bara by the shoulders in one fell swoop. Then with one slam, he succeeded in slamming Prince Bara's large and sturdy body so that now he was lying on the floor in a supine position.

"You should be patient, Prince. Even the referee hasn't given the signal for the fight to start," said the mysterious man, smiling mockingly.

Some of the contest committee helped Prince Bara get up until he was back on his feet.

One of the committees handed over several sword models for Prince Bara to choose from. He also chose a sword with a blade that was slender but very long for the size of a sword.

"No, thank you. Like the previous fight, I will fight empty-handed," said the man when the contest committee offered him to take one of the swords he offered, precisely like what the committee had done to Prince Bara earlier.

"Oh yes. Mister referee, shall we begin the fight? I'm sure this esteemed prince is also looking forward to fighting soon," added the mysterious man as he moved his head to the right and left so that the sound of his neck bones relaxing was heard. Prince Bara lost confidence when he heard that voice and all his courage when he saw that his opponent was grinning at him.

He felt terrified after seeing his opponent's strength. His opponent was adamant, and he was sure he would lose if the fight continued. Prince Bara dropped the sword in his hand before the referee gave the signal for the fight to begin.

"I give up! I withdraw from this contest!!" he shouted hysterically, successfully inviting ridicule from the entire audience. They shouted shouts of disappointment. Prince Bara himself chose to ignore it and left the fighting arena.

"Prince Bara withdraws from this contest, that way..." The middle-aged man assigned as the referee in the second exam paused his words. He glanced at the man he should have announced as the contest winner.

"Eheem… sorry sir, what's your name? Are you a prince? And could you remove your mask so everyone can see your face?" said the referee. Without saying anything else, the man complied with the middle-aged man beside him whom he knew to be the referee.

He removed the skullcap that covered his head, revealing jet-black hair that was slightly messy. All pairs of eyes seemed to have forgotten how to blink because they were too curious to see the man's face right away when he was preparing to take off the mask covering his eyes and nose. Joy and hysterical screams seemed to come from the women who were onlookers when the man removed his mask.

The man's face was flawlessly sculpted, with a firm jawline, a tall and sturdy nose, and lips that were slightly thick but looked sexy: porcelain white skin and red irises like fresh blood. Remember the sharp gaze that is like the gaze of an eagle ready to pounce on its prey, which has succeeded in hypnotizing all women who see it.

"My name is Cliff ... Cliff Dawson. I'm just a traveler," said the man while looking straight at Laura, sitting in her royal chair adjacent to the king's and queen's chairs. Of course, it made Laura blush on the seat. No wonder she was so interested in seeing the man. He was Cliff. The man she had been waiting for.

"Wow, you're so lucky, Laura. The man turned out to be very handsome. Haah, damn, it seems I'm not going to be the most handsome man in this Palace anymore," said Laurent with a sigh of resignation, while Laura just giggled at that.

"This contest has ended, and Mr. Cliff won!!" shouted the referee, who spontaneously made the audience applaud. There were whispers from the audience saying how lucky Princess Laura was to be married to a man as rugged and handsome as Cliff. The women still looked at him lustfully as if they had forgotten how to blink.

The king got down from the throne and stood staring at Cliff momentarily before turning his face to his only daughter.

"This contest is over, and we have got the winner. But we also have to listen to the opinion of Princess Laura, who will undergo this marriage," said the king, then paused momentarily.

"Laura, how are you? Are you willing to marry Mr. Cliff?" asked the king, whom Laura immediately nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, Father. I am willing to marry him," Laura said with a blush on her pretty face.

"Good, Mr. Cliff will officially become my daughter's future husband. In one week, their wedding will be held, as well as the coronation of Mr. Cliff as Prince of the Kingdom of Reaghlobe," the king exclaimed, which was filled with applause from everyone in the vast, magnificent hall.

Laura looked at Cliff, and so did Cliff, who was now looking back at her. Cliff smiled at Laura, and just by seeing that smile, Laura knew that the Cliff standing in front of her was no longer the Cliff she had known one year ago. I don't know what happened to that man, but now he has become much better than he used to be.