The audience was shocked by what they saw. The arena, with its shattered ice and the intense battle taking place, left them speechless. They were also shocked to see the condition of Chloe and Nadine. Chloe lay unconscious on the floor with numerous wounds, while Nadine was also lying on the floor, but still conscious. Nadine had previously lain on the floor, unable to sit, let alone stand. Nadine looked extremely exhausted and weak, gasping for breath. Her body bore numerous wounds from arrows and daggers inflicted by Chloe.

  Miss Nora observed the situation closely. She then discussed the situation with Mr. Alan and Mr. Elgin, the referee for the men's match. After the discussion, Miss Nora went to the arena and announced the results.

  "The womens academy tournament match between Chloe Estella San Fulgen and Nadine Emerald............, Nadine Emerald wins," Miss Nora announced.

  Some of the audience fell silent, while others cheered after the announcement of the results.

  The other staff members began to arrive and immediately carried Chloe and Nadine to the treatment room.

  -

  In the special spectator seats where Her Majesty the Queen was.

  Queen Kayana, Commander Oliver, and the knights escorting the Queen were seen leaving the tournament arena. It seemed they wanted to go to the treatment room to see Chloe.

  -

  The next match was postponed for five minutes because the arena needed to be repaired and restored to its original condition.

  Meanwhile, an adult man was seen getting up from his seat and walking out of the competition area.

  "Would you like to go see your daughter, who is currently being treated?" asked Duke Remy, suddenly approaching the man.

  "Lord Duke of San Quentine," the man said.

  "I'm not surprised you came here, after all, your daughter is still in the tournament and has even advanced to the semifinals. But I'm surprised you didn't greet Her Majesty the Queen first, even though you knew Her Majesty was present. Even though you are a Marquess, isn't that kind of rude, Lord Irwin?" asked Duke Remy.

  The man Duke Remy was speaking to was the Marquess of Armavir, Irwin Emerald, who is also senior Nadine's father.

  "I already greeted Her Majesty the Queen earlier when I met her and when you weren't with her. If you don't believe me, please ask Her Majesty the Queen," said Lord Irwin.

  "Hmm, that's good then. By the way, did you come here alone? Didn't your brother come?" asked Duke Remy.

  "My brother is busy with his duties as Duke. I came here on his behalf to watch Irene's match and report to him. Besides, my brother probably wouldn't come even if he had free time when he learned you were also attending this tournament," said Lord Irwin.

  "Ahahahaha, how cruel. But is he really busy with his work? Or perhaps he's looking for another excuse to hide his involvement in the case of the Elf corpses found in his territory?" asked Duke Remy.

  "What do you mean by that?" asked Lord Irwin.

  "There's no point, I'm just guessing. Besides, because of this matter, the relationship between San Fulgen and Seleria has worsened. Wouldn't it be better if he immediately confessed to his actions?" asked Duke Remy.

  "Isn't it impolite to slander without evidence like that, Lord Duke? How can you jump to such conclusions? Even though the Elf bodies were found in San Lucia, do you think the killers were also from the same region? Furthermore, Her Majesty the Queen has already stated that we won't discuss this matter any further. She has insisted that the four Dukes reconcile immediately," said Lord Irwin.

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  "Reconcile? His Majesty the King has organized a competition to determine Prince Charles's fiance and also to strengthen the Dukes' relationship. But your family's participant, Princess Irene, has chosen to withdraw her participation, deciding to pair up with a commoner. Isn't it your family that has no intention of reconciling with the three of us?" asked Duke Remy.

  "Don't you remember, Lord Duke? That event wasn't mandatory. Also, my brother didn't force Irene to participate. Irene was free to choose her own fiance. Since Irene already has a partner, do you think we have the right to tell her to break up and force her to participate again in that non-mandatory event?" asked Lord Irwin.

  "The event isn't mandatory, but you should at least be aware that it's solely designed to improve the Dukes' relationship. In a sense, it's mandatory," said Duke Remy.

  "Why are you so enthusiastic about holding this event? If this event fails, couldn't His Majesty have held a new one? Or are you actually planning something else? I heard the event wasn't canceled even though Irene was no longer a participant. How is it still not canceled even though there's only one participant, your own daughter?" asked Lord Irwin.

  "It's not good to speculate like that, Mr. Irwin. How could we possibly plan anything? After all, this event was created by His Majesty the King himself, we had no involvement whatsoever in its creation. Perhaps the reason His Majesty hasn't canceled this event is because he still hopes Princess Irene will attend. After all, this event will be held after the prince graduates from the academy. It will be held in about three or four years, and who knows, in those three or four years, Princess Irene will have broken up with her current partner," said Duke Remy.

  "Even if Irene breaks up with her current partner, I doubt she will still participate."

  "Let's end this argument now. I must hurry to visit my daughter, who is currently in the infirmary," said Lord Irwin.

  "I see. I apologize for wasting your time on this pointless argument, Lord Irwin. Please go if you wish to visit your daughter. And again, if you decide to return to San Lucia today, I would like to send my regards to the Lord ?Duke of San Lucia," said Duke Remy.

  Lord Irwin paused for a moment after Duke Remy said that, recalling the argument he and Duke Remy had had earlier. Then Lord Irwin began to speak.

  "Very well, I will convey Lord Duke's regards to my brother. Then if you'll excuse me," said Mr. Irwin.

  "Please," said Duke Remy.

  Lord Irwin then left the competition area. Meanwhile, Duke Remy continued to watch Lord Irwin as he left.

  -

  In the waiting room for the first-year participants, shortly after the announcement of the results of the match between Chloe and senior Nadine ?was made.

  "So Chloe lost, huh, it seems it was difficult to defeat senior Nadine. But Chloe also managed to inflict many injuries on senior Nadine. Their match was very intense," I said.

  Meanwhile, Charles looked sad and anxious.

  "I really want to go straight to the treatment room, but after this is my match," Charles said.

  "There's no need to be so anxious, Charles. Chloe is surely being well cared for by the staff there. You'd better focus on the next match. You could lose if you don't focus, especially since your opponent is quite difficult. Then after the match, you can go straight to visit Chloe," I said.

  "Hmm, you're right, Rid. I have to focus on the next match," Charles said.

  -

  A few minutes later.

  "Since the tournament arena has returned to normal, let's begin the next match. As you can see in the match chart on the projection, the participants in the next tournament are Charles Estella San Fulgen from the first year and Darryl Lachman from the third year. Let's welcome these two," said Mr. Alan.

  The audience began to cheer, as the prince of this kingdom was competing. They cheered Charles' name. Her Majesty the Queen, Commander Oliver, and the knights who were escorting her ?had also returned to the stands. Then Charles and senior Darryl entered the tournament arena. They faced each other.

  "Their cheers for you are so loud, Prince, ah, sorry, I meant Charles," said senior Darryl.

  "Ahahaha, I hope you're not bothered by their cheers, senior," said Charles.

  "I wouldn't be. I'm just worried about whether the crowd will hate me if I beat you," said senior Darryl.

  "End your chatter, are you two ready?" asked Mr. Elgin.

  "Ready!," said Charles and senior Darryl.

  "Then, the match begins," said Mr. Elgin.

  -

  About 20 minutes later, their match was over. The tournament arena had now turned into a sea of ??sand, with several areas of the sand soaked with water. The spectators watching the match were shocked and speechless. They were shocked not by the sight of the arena transformed into a sea of ??sand, but by the sight of Charles unconscious with numerous wounds on his body. Furthermore, Charles's body was partially buried in the sand that covered the arena.

  -To be continued