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After my victory was declared, Lavinia was led off the stage while I was instructed to stay by the referee. That was when the announcer said, “Now, please welcome to the stage, our king, King Argus IV, to present the champion’s sword to our winner!”

At the Pit’s wall below the balcony where the royals were sitting, the huge stone slab recessed into the wall to make an opening big enough for a large carriage to pass through.

From that opening, marched out two rows of royal guards, forming a passage to the stage. That was when the king and his queen, made their appearance, followed by a royal guard holding an ornate shortsword with both hands.

That was when the referee whispered to me from the side of his mouth, “Kneel.” before walking to the side and joining the corridor of royal guards. So I knelt with my head down and waited for the king to arrive.

Soon, there was a pair of boots in front of me, “Rise Luke Ironcrest, you have won great renown today.” the king said.

Hearing that, I got to my feet, only to see the same mad eyes that Lavinia had during our dual and froze on the spot. Thankfully, it seemed like the queen picked up on my distress and stepped beside the king to put her arm in his and squeezed it while giving me a warm smile.

This snapped the king out of his maddened smile and he waved the sword-bearer forward, he then proceeded to give a short speech, extolling my my martial skill and having high expectations for my batch.

The king then took the ornate sword from the sword-bearer, “To recognize your accomplishments, I present to you, the Champion’s sword.” he said as he presented the sword to me.

The sword looked like it was plated in highly polished silver with inlaid gold words naming the tournament category and year.

When I took the sword, the king leaned in and whispered, “If you ever join the army, I will have a spot waiting for you.” the muscle idiot of a king, unconscious of his own strength, then patted my shoulder, almost making me topple over, turned around and marched off with his entourage in tow.

I was then ushered back to a passage that led to the stands. But just as I thought I could just sit back and watch the rest of the other cohorts’ tournament, I was stopped at the entrance to the stands by two men wearing discrete armor, but on their surcoats that they wore over the armor, they bore the heraldry of house Castilene, that meant that these men were most likely house knights.

All I could do was sigh and ask, “I take it this is in regards to what Lady Castilene publicly said at the end of our dual, and now Duke Castilene wants to see me?”

“That is so, Lord Ironcrest.” one of the men said with a stoic face while the other man let out a small chuckle. And so, I was kidnapped in all but name, and we made our way to the VIP booths, but instead of going to the viewing area, we made a turn in another direction to what I assume are private rooms where the VIPs use to conduct business in private.

I was led to a room that had another two men wearing the Duke’s heraldry guarding the door, and they let us in.

There, sitting on a couch in that room, was Lavinia Castilene, bouncing in her seat while smiling at me, and next to her sat a well-dressed man with an immaculate goatee who had his arms folded and a glare that promised my death, Lavinia’s father, Duke Benedict Castilene.

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He looked me up and down, then huffed dismissively, “He is not that impressive. Why could you not go with Countess Evina’s son? He is a wonderful boy from an old house of good repute.” the Duke said as he almost pleaded with his daughter.

Lavinia huffed back in return, I don't know what it is, but it seems huffing is part of this family's vocabulary, “All that idiot could do is spout flowery poems at me, and when he tried to impress me with his “marital skills”, it was plain to everyone that his opponent was holding back by a lot, it was so obvious that even my maids were holding back their laughter. I could have beaten him in two moves at worst, and I don't need a weak husband like that, that's why I want him!” she said while pointing at me.

“Excuse me, Lady Castilene, but-” I tried to object to the many leaps of logic to how she came to that decision, but I was silenced.

“Silence! I am speaking with my daughter!” Duke Castilene shouted and turned to his daughter, “But of all the young men your age, why him?”

“Because he is not of my age, he is still eight, and yet he beat me when I was not holding back, and mother said that if I find a good man, I should strike first so no other woman can get to him. She said that is how she got you.” Lavinia said while puffing out her chest at the infallible logic passed down from her mother.

At her declaration, the Duke could only pinch the bridge of his nose as he groaned, while the two knights standing behind the Duke’s couch were clearly trying to hold back their mirth, which in my opinion, pretty much confirmed that Duchess Castilene had some strong views on finding a life partner, and the whole household knew about it.

I took this brief pause to interrupt, “Sorry to interrupt, but I will have to turn down this offer of marriage.”

At my declaration, both father and daughter glared at me, “What! Do you think my daughter is not good enough for you just because you won some tournament? You are going to need to earn a lot more merit to be worthy of my daughter’s hand in marriage.”

What the fuck is going on? I thought I was doing him a favor by turning down the marriage on my side, “No! Of course not My Lord, it is just as Lady Castilene mentioned, I am four years younger and she will no doubt have lines of suitors when she comes of marriageable age, I am sure there are many more worthy of her hand than me.”

“I can wait four years.” Lavinia replied as she causally folded her arms.

“No, she will not!” the Duke retorted.

“See, even the Duke agrees, besides, we cannot marry anytime soon because I plan to join the military when I turn sixteen, so I will be a constantly unavailable partner.” I said as a further excuse.

“That does not mean we still cannot be married, there are many married men serving in the army away form their families.” She said, smacking down my weak ass excuse.

“I will not allow some fresh private as your husband! He will need to be an officer at the very least.” the Duke said to his daughter. At this point, I am not sure whose side the Duke is on.

Behind the couch, I could see the two knights elbowing each other to keep each other from laughing at my expense.

“Be that as it may, I am already betrothed to another back home, so I am going to have to turn down your generous offer for marriage.” I said as I thought of Emma back home and pulled the excuse out of my ass. I am going to have a lot of explaining to do to mine and Emma’s parents if the Duke ever checked my betrothal claims.

“That is fine, as long as I am the first wife.” Lavinia said nonchalantly.

“Absolutely not! I will never allow this!” the Duke roared.

“See! As long as I do not have the Duke’s blessing, we cannot proceed with the engagement.” I said triumphantly.

“Fine, I will tell Mother! She will sort this out.” Lavinia said with finality. This left the Duke sputtering for words as he tried to retort what his daughter said, but could not. This makes me think that the Dutchess wears the pants in this relationship.

At this point, the two knights are tearing up while silently going red in the face. At least someone if getting joy out of this, it sure is not me tho.