One Day, My Fiancé Brought His First Love Along - Chapter 57

“Don’t get hurt, all right?”

The Duchess approached Aileen and gently patted her shoulder as she spoke with concern. Aileen gave an awkward smile in return.

“It’s just the preliminaries, Mother. There’s no way I’ll get hurt, so don’t worry. You already said the same thing over dinner.”

“Still, I can’t help but worry. Do your best, sweetheart.”

“I will. Thank you, Mother.”

“Ashite already left. She said as vice-captain, she should go ahead and boost the morale of the other knights.”

“…She’s being unusually responsible.”

The look of disbelief on Aileen’s face only made the Duchess chuckle softly as she gave her daughter a gentle push on the back.

“Go on, then.”

“Yes. I’ll be back soon!”

With her mother’s encouragement behind her, Aileen headed straight for the field where the preliminaries would be held.

When she first heard the news about Carlisle, a part of her had been relieved.

Putting aside all personal feelings, Carlisle was still the most likely candidate to win. If she were to face him, it should be in the finals—not in some throwaway preliminary match.

She wasn’t alone in that thought. Everyone participating in the tournament likely felt the same way. Perhaps that’s why, surprisingly, no one had voiced a single complaint about his sudden withdrawal.

Lost in thought, Aileen arrived at the competition grounds before she knew it. Since the purpose of the preliminaries was merely to filter out those unfit for the main tournament, the matches were being held all at once in a large open field, several teams battling in parallel.

“Oh, Aileen! You’re here early!”

Tanil spotted her from a distance and came running, waving his hand energetically.

“I came to watch your match, Sir Tanil.”

“Oh my, how embarrassing. Haha…”

“Is it about to start?”

“Yes, over there. I’ll try to wrap it up quickly so you can rest before your match, Aileen.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Aileen followed Tanil to his assigned match area.

Normally, preliminaries didn’t allow spectators, but since Aileen was also a tournament participant, her presence was informally tolerated. Of course, if too many like her gathered, the judges would start clearing them out.

“Sir Tanil and Sir Niar, prepare yourselves!”

At the referee’s booming voice, with one arm raised high in the air, the match began.

“Tanil will win this one easily.”

Less than a minute into the match, Aileen murmured confidently.

His opponent was a newly enlisted knight of the Sel Order, leaner in build compared to the powerfully built Tanil. Though she’d been mildly wary at the mention of the Sel Order, the worry had proven unnecessary.

“Give it another minute.”

As if in response to her quiet muttering, Tanil, who had seemed evenly matched just moments before, suddenly exploded with energy.

With a movement like a lightning strike, Tanil’s massive form surged forward. His sweeping blade struck Niar square in the side.

“Victory to Sir Tanil!”

The referee’s voice rang out like a firecracker in the open air. Tanil, sweat streaming down his face, didn’t even bother to wipe it before bounding toward Aileen with a wide grin.

“I did it, Aileen!”

“Congratulations. I knew you’d win. That was overwhelming.”

“Ha ha, thank you.”

The joy of having defeated a Sel Order knight was written all over his face. Understanding how much it meant to him, Aileen praised him more enthusiastically than usual.

Just then—

“Well fought.”

The defeated knight, Niar, quietly approached from behind and offered a sudden, stiff greeting.

“Oh—good match.”

Caught off guard, Tanil scratched the back of his head awkwardly and returned the sentiment. Niar looked between Tanil and Aileen with a calm but unreadable gaze.

He still had a youthful look—likely younger than Tanil—with light brown hair and sharp features. But what stood out most were his striking crimson eyes.

After a moment of quiet appraisal, Niar spoke softly.

“It was a good match. I have no shame in losing to you.”

“Ah… thank you.”

“You’ve proven yourself worthy of being taught by our commander. Carlisle has likely trained you for quite some time—so this level is expected.”

At his final words, both Tanil and Aileen’s expressions stiffened.

“You’ve clearly had more experience than I have and even served directly under our commander, so there’s nothing for me to regret.”

“Well, that’s…”

“I may have lost this time, but there won’t be a second. Goodbye.”

Before Tanil could respond, Niar gave a curt bow and walked away stiffly.

“…What was that, Aileen?”

“Probably one of the many Carlisle loyalists in the Sel Order.”

“I’d heard about them, but never met one in person. That was… a lot.”

“Dramatic.”

Aileen’s dry reply made Tanil chuckle awkwardly as he rubbed his chin.

“This is weird—I feel good about the win, but also kind of irritated and queasy. Hah… oh well.”

“Just ignore him. You won decisively. Now focus on your next match, Sir Tanil.”

“You’re right. Oh—speaking of which, talking with Niar made time fly. Isn’t your match starting soon? Let’s get going.”

“Let’s.”

Her opponent was already waiting.

The moment Aileen arrived, he scanned her up and down with clear disapproval—again and again, as if her very presence offended him.

That unpleasant gaze… Aileen knew it all too well. She had grown used to it long ago—those eyes that judged, those sneers that pierced. She had felt it most recently when Vendy’s group had tormented her.

“Let’s begin.”

Aileen didn’t bother tormenting her lips with retorts. She had made up her mind to speak with her sword instead.

“You really want to taste such a pitiful defeat?”

The knight sneered, pushing his long bangs—framing his sharp cheekbones—behind his ears. A knight of the Lil Order. Perhaps one of Haller’s men.

She didn’t recall Setar ever introducing him. Likely, he wasn’t aligned with Setar or Ashite. In that case, there was no need to hold back.

Aileen cast him a cool, passing glance. Before he could even grumble about her disregard, the match began.

“Begin!”

At the referee’s loud cry, Aileen launched forward like a bolt of lightning.

Her opponent’s lean build was not unlike her own. It would be better—for both their stamina and pride—to end it quickly.

Clang! Clang!

Instead of dodging, the opponent countered her strikes. He was slightly stronger in raw power, but lacked agility. Slower than she’d anticipated.

Aileen grinned.

And finally—

“It’s over.”

With the tip of her blade pointed at his throat, Aileen looked up and cheerfully informed the referee of the outcome.

It had all happened in a flash. So quickly, in fact, that the knight dropped his sword in shock.

Sweat dripped from his tangled bangs, which now covered his forehead, as if he had just survived a brutal clash.

“Victory goes to Aileen Revart!”

The referee’s voice echoed a beat late across the grounds. Aileen lowered her sword.

“You were amazing, Aileen!”

Tanil raised a fist in the air and cheered as she approached.

“It wasn’t even enough to count as a warm-up. Kind of a shame, really.”

She said it openly, not even trying to keep her voice down.

“Ah, I-I see…”

Tanil, slightly embarrassed, stole a glance at the knight who’d just been demolished. He stammered, unable to hide his awkwardness.

Trying not to laugh, Aileen kept her expression composed and patted Tanil lightly on the back. Then she glanced once more at the knight who had tried to sneer at her earlier.

Flinch. Beneath the sweaty bangs plastered to his brow, his eyes shimmered with gloom.

“There are too many knights with no real sense of self-awareness these days. It’s a bit concerning. When we go on actual subjugation missions, I hope only those who understand their own limits join.”

“They will. It’s their lives on the line. Come on—let’s get some rest. We’ll need the energy for the next rounds.”

“Though, to be honest, I didn’t expend enough energy to need rest… but sure, let’s go, Sir Tanil.”

With a shrug, Aileen turned and walked off. The knight she left behind trudged away from the field, replaying the arrogance of his own words over and over in his mind.

The preliminary rounds progressed without incident.

Among the dozens of participants, the one who stood out the most was, without question, Aileen.

Ashite and Siran had also performed well, but as vice-captains, they weren’t directly comparable.

Tanil and Setar had shown solid skill too, but neither could rival the attention Aileen drew.

After all, she was the daughter of a duke. Her return after years of absence made waves on its own. She had once joined the Sel Order as a female knight—no small feat—and now, after a long break, she had reappeared as a member of the Khan Order… backed by the Emperor himself.

Everyone had heard the rumors. But seeing it with their own eyes was an entirely different experience.

“That Aileen woman—she’s better than I thought.”

“She surprised me. Even Gerard got knocked out in three exchanges. That was enough for me.”

“Remember how they said Haller from the Lil Order was humiliated by her? I thought it was just gossip, but now it makes sense.”

Wherever you went, the knights were whispering. Aileen was the talk of the entire field—and all in the best possible way.

Carlisle listened closely, not missing a single mention of her name as he made his way to the Sel Order’s captain’s office.

Click. The door closed behind him. His boots echoed as he walked across the room and settled into his chair.

Just then, a large figure stepped out from the corner and bowed low before him.

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