Chapter 123 - The Battle

Abigail pov

Abigail pov contd

"So.. is there a prize the winner will get?" I asked once we took our stance.

He raised a brow at my questions and then chuckled, "and here I thought that I am giving you pointers." he shook his head and then looked back at me.

"Well, a prize makes the competition worth winning." I replied with a smirk and he nodded.

"Very well. I must say you have always been a smart girl. So, what is it that you want as a prize?" He asked me if my family was interested.

"If I win, I want you to hand me the barren land of the south coast." I asked with a smile, I remember that piece was taken as waste and never even one utilized. But later it was found that there was a gold mine. It has increased the prowess of the archduke by twofold.

He frowned as he looked at me, "how do you know about that part of property and that it was under my name?" his eyes turned sharp and his whole relaxed aura turned into suspicious one.

"I have my own ways. I wanted to have a small cottage near the coastline to have some peaceful time there. But when I tried to buy it, I came to know that it is under your name.`` I replied, fluttering my eyes and the smirk on his face returned.

He believed my lie easily since there was no other use of the property in everyone's eyes. Even with the cottage it would be lost when the level of water rises and flood arrives.

"Then it is a small gift I can surely present to you. Not only the land, I will personally make a cottage for you there." he offered and I shook my head.

"I want to make it the way it is in my consciousness, lord Gerard. But  I am grateful for your thoughtfulness." he smiled proudly listening to my words and nodded his head in appreciation again.

"Shall we start then?" I asked, holding the hilt of my sword when he shook his head.

"Well, we have still not discussed what I would get as a prize if I won." he asked, taking my attention back to the topic.

"Very well. What do you want to have?" I asked, though I did not want to offer anything to this man. I knew that it was not going to work that way. 

"I want you to be my knight." he said blatantly, making me frown.

"This is not in my hands, my lord. As you know the emperor had chosen me. I did not have a say in it." I replied earnestly and he nodded.

"You do not need to worry about that. I will talk to my aunt about that. You just have to accept it when the time comes." he offered and i nodded.

"I will do as you say if you will win the competition" I accepted and finally a satisfied smile came on his lips.

"Then let us start." I said, taking my sword out of the hilt.

"I thought you would never ask!" he said with a smirk as he moved his sword without giving me a further warning.

I used all the force to stop his attack, a strong clang reverberated in the air.

so I defended his attack using my full force. I saw his shocked expressions and I smirked. Did he think, no one would stop him because of his title?

But then he defended and a smile formed on his lips. I saw he had a smirk on his face, and in the next second, he attacked straight at my neck. my eyes widened, as I bent and used my sword to defend.

so I attacked his chest but he just flipped, I turned and aimed his hands. He raised a brow, as if mocking me then he flipped and back turned. He showed that he was retreating but I knew it was his secret trick.

He would show his opponent that he was retreating, when the opponent would try to attack, taking its benefit he would suddenly aim at the heart of the opponent. To use this trick on me, how much desire did he have to win against me!

My heart and eyes turned cold at the thought. Since he wanted a battle, I was not the one to back out.

Instead of going forward as he was expecting, I took out the dagger and threw it in his hands. Thank goodness that the knight's uniform is equipped with two daggers except for a sword.

The dagger passed wounding his upper arm, I could see the sleeves turning red. His eyes widened and then turned colder, his face filled with hatred. What! Were you expecting me to stay like a mannequin doll when you stab me with the sword?

It would have been in the past, but not anymore. I moved forward and aimed at his other hand, which he had defended at the last moment. He must have been surprised. I flipped back and bent and aimed at his legs, but he jumped in the air.

I gripped my other hand in the last dagger I had, in case he used another trick. He swiped his sword, and I lifted the blade again to block his attack. But this time I parried, I pushed away his sword and then moved to attack his wound. 

He stepped away and attacked my arm with the sword, I could feel the pain, and I was sure it was deeper than the one I had given him.

This time he tried to stab me. So when he tried attacking, I blocked his move with my sword. Putting my full force to hold his sword, I lifted my feet towards his groin. I pushed with my feet against his body to push him off balance and attack him.

He fell and I was about to attack his chest, giving it a small wound to end the fight, but he flipped on the floor and jumped. He stood back straight and attacked my neck straight.