Chapter 7：The Haunting Competition: Part 1

"Are you nervous?" Edward asked.

"Yeah ...." I replied to him. My hands and my legs were shaking, and I felt nauseous. I could not relax at all since it is my first time going to a place outside the mansion.

"Relax. Take a deep breath." He puts his hands on my shoulder and tried to calm me.

I did what he told me, but I was still nervous.

He removed his hands off of my shoulder and then hold my hand and said "There is nothing to worry about. This this not your first time to show up in front of many people. You can do this."

I lift my head to look at him and I saw him looking at me without blinking. I realized that we were very close from each other. My heartbeat started to rise, and without notice, I impulsively removed my hand from his and looked away toward the window. I kept saying to myself "What happened just now?! Why my heartbeat is rising?! Why Edward is too close to me? Did he was close to me that whole time that I just did not notice it before?"

Edward moved away from me, like he was reading what I was thinking just now. He said "I am sorry .. I make you uncomfortable."

"N .. No. That's fine!" I said to him shyly and nervously while shaking my head.

I lied to him actually. This was not comfortable. I felt like suffocating from this closed place and I, eventually, started to sweat.

Edward saw me and said "Your face is red. Do you have fever?" He reached his hand to touch my head, but I avoided it and said "No I am not sick."

"Are you sure?" Edward asked.

"Yes." I replied.

I moved my right hand to reach the window and once I touched the window to open it, Edward noticed what I am about to do.

He impulsively shouted "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

I flinched and instantaneously became motionless.

He realized that what he did was inappropriate, so he apologized.

I said after I tried to calm down "Why did you do that?"

"As your tutor, I am not only responsible for helping you with the work, but also for your protection. I noticed that you were trying to open the window. I understand that this carriage is small and I assume you are sweating right now, but please bear with it until we reach our destination."

My face became more redder than before as I hear him say the word 'sweating'. Did he notice that I am sweating? Uhhhh I am so shy now. What should I do?

"How does opening the window consider a threat to me?" I said to him in a tense voice.

"It is considering a threat to you because, considering any possibility that might happen, someone will try to attack you with an arrow far away." He paused for a moment and pointed out ahead. "If you can notice, there are knights protecting us."

I saw where he pointed at. There were really knight ahead of us and they were riding horses.

"There are knight from the sides and from behind as well."

"I did not notice that." I said

"They were guarding us once we entered the carriage. Some of them are far away that you even can't see."

"Mmmm ...."

He looked at me wondering at what I am about to say.

"Yes?" He said questionably.

"We are only going to the forest, so why they are so many knights protecting us?." I asked.

"I did mention to you before. It is for your protection. The knights are required to guard you anywhere, even at the mansion."

"But I did not see any knight closer to me while I am in the mansion."

"Most of them are guarding at the mansion's main gate."

"I see."

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We finally reached our destination. The carriage's door open, so I went outside and looked at the area around me. As far as I can see, the forest is so large. The trees are big and huge that even the sun can not penetrate it. I walked through the forest and saw the gate to the entrance. At the gate, there was a huge white poster above it. 'Welcome to the haunting competition' that was the sentence written in the poster. I looked inside the gate and saw people were already came before us and they were inside the tents preparing for the competition. From the right side, I can see the huge platform that is elevated just slightly above the ground. At the platform, I saw the main seat and a small one behind it, so I asked Edward "Why there are two seats at the platform?"

"One seat is for you and the other one is for your father."

"So Father is coming to this event."

As we passed through the gate, they were two knights standing in each side. One of them shouted "The Crown Prince has arrived."

At an instant, people gathered toward me to greet me.

"Welcome, Crown Prince. It is a pleasure to meet you." One person said.

"Long live the Crown Prince. It is an honor to meet you today." Other person said.

"Good morning, Crown Prince. Please enjoy today's event." Another person said.

I could not focus anymore since people kept coming and I was more tense that I could not bear the crowd.

"Please step aside. You can greet the prince at the platform one by one." I looked at the Knight who said that. He was ahead of me extending his hand to protect me.

"We can go now to the platform." Edward said.

"Okay. Lets go." I said.

I felt relieved once we walked away from the crowd and reached the platform. Later, people, or I should say nobles, kept coming one by one to greet me and I did greet them back.

"Thank you. I will enjoy today's event." I said to one of the nobles and then he went away.

I was waiting for the next noble to come and greet me. I looked at him walking toward me, then he bowed and said "Good morning, prince. It is an honor to be here with you today and to be able to see the haunting competition."

I saw him carefully. He has a white hair and a grey eyes. His forehead, after he stand up, has wrinkles. He was wearing a blue cloak that has silver embroidery on it. I saw his sword on one of his sides. I think he has a high rank as a noble, but I did not know who he is.

"Sorry for not greeting myself properly. I am Marquess Austin. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." I replied.

I kept looking at him once he walked away until I could not see him properly. His presence was unique for me for some reasons. So, he is indeed a high rank just I assumed.

I was greeting the nobles until my father came. "The king has come." One of knight shouted.

I saw my father enter through the gate and he was surrounded with knights around him. I saw him wearing robe made with silk and had a fur on top. His crown is more detailed than mine. From what I can see, his crown consists of hoops rising up from the crown ring. It is joined in the middle under an orb with gold stars as well as pearls. A large diamond rested at the top of his crown. At the front, a large, green tourmaline is located. Small pearls were decorated at the sides of the crown.

Father moved straight away to the platform and saw me. He said "Welcome son, I finally got to see you."

I stood up and replied to him "Welcome Father."

My father then faced straight toward the attendance and said "Lets begin the competition."