My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 120: The Matches Begin

Chapter 120: The Matches Begin

The following days of the festival went more smoothly than the first, in Leonor’s opinion. She didn’t drink herself silly or say anything to get her in trouble. She even secured a new coral beaded necklace with a beautiful gemstone at the center of it.

Desmond insisted she buy more, but she didn’t want to be seen as someone taking advantage of her new husband’s deep pockets.

While she was looking forward to wearing her new necklace, she couldn’t quite part with the locket even though it was far more shabby than something a duchess ought to wear. It comforted her to have hope as much as it felt ridiculous waiting for so long.

The day after she drunkenly needed the duke’s help, she panicked when she realized she hadn’t healed the flower. However, seeing that it was intact when she opened the locket in private, she was relieved and instilled healing magic into the small bloom a few times throughout the day to make up for her mistake.

She hadn’t considered herself obsessive over it before, but she didn’t want any more guilt eating away at her conscience.

Towards the end of the week, Piedmont’s energy slowed as the focus turned towards the sword fighting competition.

Organizers were getting an arena just off the town square ready for the event.

Many years before, the arena was a place for knights to show off their jousting skills against others. However, since armies took over and military strategy was at the forefront of protecting the kingdom, the arena found other uses. A sword-fighting competition fitted the purpose well.

Throughout the week, higher-ranked officers observed smaller matches that would choose the final bracket of sixteen sword fighters to participate in the final event.

On the closing night of the Spring Equinox Festival, those who had proven themselves would be chosen to fight for the king and ducal family. It was an honor considering nobles flocked where nobles were.

If a swordfighter caught the eyes of someone rich and willing to sponsor, they could join military forces or have a way into one of the military academies littered across the Castillian Kingdom and put in place by the late king, Stephano II.

As they sat at breakfast before the matches were supposed to begin, Stephano turned to Leonor and pushed her buttons so Desmond would have no other choice but to respond.

"Leonor, do you know much about sword fighting?" he asked, seemingly innocently.

Leonor knew what he was doing and she tried not to have an irritated expression that would set Desmond off in a barrage of questions.

"As much as anyone else who doesn’t sword fight themselves," she responded casually.

"Have you ever watched a sword match?" he asked.

He was equally bothering Desmond and Leonor. However, they thought the other didn’t know what he was talking about.

"Not really," she responded and reached for her tea, hoping he would be gentlemanly enough not to talk to someone taking a drink.

Luckily, he didn’t pressure her more than that.

The three were finally able to take their carriage to the center of the city. After they arrived, they were led to their seats above the common audience, it was time for the sword matches to begin and Leonor couldn’t hold back her excitement.

There were mages there instilling metal swords with magic so that they wouldn’t be damaged in the matches. Unless someone had a magical device that could overpower the magic, there was no chance the weapons would be damaged.

She had seen this method before when instilling weapons with magic. It was up to those in the enchantment classification and she always thought their job was so exciting.

While she could cover things to avoid damage, it would be interesting to put her mana into something and manipulate it in that way. The most she ever did was her healing magic but it was so limited. If she had to heal much more than the small lilac, she would certainly fall asleep easily just like when she was a child.

While the king, duke, and duchess sat in their comfortable chairs above the audience and with a perfect view of the arena, Leonor couldn’t keep an overly proper facade for long. She found herself leaning into the stone wall in front of her and watching with interest as warriors bore their weapons and charged at one another.

While she thought mana sparring was much more beautiful, there was something enthralling about watching two people go at it with weapons.

It took her back to when she saw Stephano and Valerio’s sword fight. That was the only time she witnessed something so amazing. She always thought he unleashed something particularly alluring when he was moving his body in a way that boasted his athleticism.

She remembered their long conversations about how he would practice at night so the other children in the orphanage wouldn’t see him. Most were too young to comprehend that he wasn’t doing it for fun but to protect them if they ever needed it. Before he left the orphanage, he only trained two others to protect the other children with a sword in emergency situations only.

She knew that if Valerio was still in Burien he would have certainly done so much more. She didn’t doubt for a minute that the skills Valerio instilled in Stephano were what made him decide to take his father’s life and, ultimately, the throne.

Despite sword fighting reminding her so much of Valerio, Leonor’s mind drifted to the man at her side who was undoubtedly one of the best sword fighters in all of Castille considering he was the only one alive at that point in history who faced a dragon and survived. She wondered where he learned or when he started.

There were so many things about her husband that she had no idea about.

Desmond always wore a sword when he was out of the estate, but when they were inside together he didn’t bother carrying a weapon around. It showed just how much he trusted the guards to protect them if anything ever happened.

However, he did keep the sword he used most often on a stand in his study. It was the place he occupied the most so she imagined that’s why it was there in the first place.

Leonor had engaged Desmond a few times but her focus was on the battle. She leaned towards her husband when curiosity got the best of her.

"Does your sword have magic instilled in it?" she asked.

"I haven’t had a magic sword since the war," Desmond responded. "My sword doesn’t have to face magical beasts any longer–"

Desmond’s words were cut short when there was shouting from the nearest point of the audience to them.

The duke and duchess turned towards the disturbance.

"All this sword fighting yet you won’t raise your sword!" a man shouted, clearly slurring his words from the ale passed out at the event. "What sort of man can you be to not prove yourself once in a while!? I don’t believe for a moment you faced a dragon since you won’t raise your sword!"