“Little girl, you dropped your newspaper. Aren’t you going to pick it up?” Vivian asked gently.

Ivan looked down and realized the newspaper had slipped off her cloak and landed by her feet. But if she bent to pick it up now, would she give herself away?

After hesitating for a moment, Ivan still reached out and picked up the newspaper.

That one small movement quietly gave away the snow-white hair hidden beneath her cloak.

Satisfied that she’d gotten the reaction she wanted, Vivian turned and left.

Her daughter really was adorable. She’d actually sneaked all the way over here.

But even if she hadn’t come, so what? As long as she showed up looking like that anywhere in Blood Clan territory, a good show would be waiting for her.

How long could so-called conviction really hold out?

Vivian was already imagining the future with keen interest. Down below, the audience was fired up. They’d never expected to see the Blood Clan Queen perform today. Suddenly, skipping work to watch the matches felt completely justified.

“Awooooo!”

The uproar rang through the entire arena. Amid the crowd’s cheers, Vivian made her way onto the platform without a hint of haste and waved to thank them.

Her nearly flawless manners only made the crowd roar louder.

Even the organizers waiting behind the platform couldn’t help feeling a little emotional. The arena hadn’t been this lively in ages.

As the moment passed, one of the organizers called over his subordinates and told them to pay extra attention to crowd control. News that the Queen was appearing was bound to draw even more Blood Clan members into the arena.

If a serious crowd crush happened right in front of the Queen, the whole management team might as well offer up their heads in apology.

So every staff member was sent out to keep order.

Ivan saw all the staff rushing toward her and cautiously slid her left foot forward, ready to run at a moment’s notice. A little while later, she realized they weren’t coming for her.

The guards reached the arena entrance and stopped the huge crowd surging outside.

“You guards! Don’t keep us from seeing the Queen’s amazing performance!”

“Please be patient! The arena is already packed, and the organizers are working on it. Stay calm!”

A large number of spectators turned to look at the commotion by the entrance. But after a glance, they all turned their attention back to the platform. Who would pass up the chance to see the Queen perform?

To them, the Queen’s beauty was undoubtedly a symbol of their nation’s pride and spirit.

It gave them the confidence to walk around with their chests out.

What, your king has a crooked face? How unfortunate. Our Queen, on the other hand, is so fair and lovely. It’s fine, though—a king isn’t there to look at. We just happen to have a beautiful Queen.

The Blood Clan’s morale had been high for years, and Vivian’s careful stewardship had a lot to do with it.

Ivan watched it all in silence, unmoved.

If she cared about beauty, she might’ve noticed long ago that her sword spirit was a beauty too.

But to Ivan, the most important thing would always be sword intent. Only the purest sword intent could cut through the heaviest darkness.

Still, there was one thing Ivan was curious about: Vivian’s strength.

She’d never fought Vivian before, so she had no idea how strong her opponent was. This duel was a good chance to gain some experience.

Fighting on paper was a major taboo in military strategy, but without the Holy Sword, Ivan wasn’t stupid enough to actually duel Vivian.

If she could study Vivian’s movements and get a feel for her habits in combat, it would help her prepare for a getaway later.

Ivan quickly convinced herself of this and joined everyone around her in watching the Queen’s match closely.

In the arena, a middle-aged man stood opposite Vivian. He held a bright white longsword, and his armor was especially heavy. It would slow his attacks down, but would he really have a chance of landing a hit on the Queen without it?

Better to wear the heavy armor and play it safe.

“Captain of the Knights, I’ve been impressed by your recent work. I hear you wiped out a group of rampaging monsters in the Dragonbone Mountains?”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”

The Captain of the Knights raised his sword into a ready stance. In a Blood Clan duel, choosing a sword was usually the worst option. The Blood Clan had a racial advantage and disdained such a boring weapon. And after the humans and the Elf Clan formed an alliance...

Human swordsmen had all but crushed the Blood Clan’s regular troops. More and more young Blood Clan members would rather hone their hand-to-hand skills than learn swordsmanship.

As for why the Captain of the Knights had chosen a sword, his racial gifts were no match for the Queen. With a sword, at least he’d have a chance to attack.

“I’m going to make my move, Your Majesty.”

The Captain of the Knights leaped forward with a slash. Just as his blade was about to reach Vivian, an invisible force knocked it aside, sending him crashing hard to the ground.

Vivian didn’t even furrow a brow.

The audience couldn’t see what had really happened. To them, it looked like the Captain of the Knights had been knocked back by his own strength.

The Captain of the Knights got back to his feet in a sorry state. His sword was no longer usable, so he tossed it aside and took up a fighting stance. Hand-to-hand combat was another skill he’d trained in. On the battlefield, even without a weapon, a smooth sequence of moves could keep an opponent on the defensive.

That was especially true against mages who liked to chant spells. Once someone got close, they were usually as good as dead.

“Do you want to keep going? You’ve just come back from a mission, and you’re already injured,” Vivian said calmly.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. The essence of combat is never to give up too easily.”

With that, he launched a fluid series of punches at Vivian. She merely turned to the side, then sent a ball of ghostly flame at the armor on his back. The Captain of the Knights spat out a mouthful of blood. His punch froze in midair before he reluctantly lowered his fist.

“I declare the Queen the winner, by an overwhelming margin!”

Thunderous applause erupted from the audience. Some of it was for the Captain of the Knights. Everyone knew challenging the Queen was practically asking to get flattened, but his courage had genuinely moved them.

Ivan applauded too. She couldn’t make out the Captain of the Knights’ movements, but his courage had moved her as well.

She’d even forgotten that she’d come to study Vivian’s fighting habits. But now, Vivian seemed utterly flawless.

Her head hurt.

The Blood Clan she’d imagined was worlds apart from the one she’d actually seen. She couldn’t help wondering: which one of them was wrong?

Meanwhile, the audience clearly hadn’t had enough of the Queen’s performance. They clamored for another brave soul to challenge her, but everyone just looked at one another. Not a single person dared step forward.

Eventually, a few so-called friends started calling out the names of people beside them. When it came to throwing their buddies under the bus, the Blood Clan and humanity were pretty much the same.

The situation came close to getting out of hand. In the end, it was the audience’s deafening cheers that...

A woman holding a staff rose from her seat, bowed to the Queen, and began the second duel.

There was no doubt about the outcome: the Queen once again overwhelmed her opponent. But just as the mage was about to stop, the staff in her hand refused to obey and unleashed a gust of wind toward the stands.

Seeing trouble brewing, the organizers hurriedly ordered the mages on standby to reinforce the barrier.

But there was something eerie about the wind. It pierced straight through the barrier and swept across the stands, chilling the audience to the bone.

The hood that had been resting on Ivan’s head was ripped away by the gale. Her snow-white hair was finally exposed.

Several spectators nearby went pale when they saw Ivan’s face.

“When did Her Majesty get into the audience seats?”