The Contest

Soledad opened her eyes exposed to sunlight coming through the window of her room. She was reluctant to move from her bed when she felt a hug so warm.

For a few moments she was lulled by the embrace until she realized that there was big trouble waiting for her if she didn't immediately open her eyes.

"Y-Your Majesty-"

"Good morning, my dear?" Leonidas said good morning with a sweet smile. He lay beside Disha shirtless or you could say, without any clothes at all.

Disha raised her head and she realized that, just like Leonidas, she wasn't wearing any clothes at all and it shocked her when suddenly her mother called and knocked on her bedroom door.

"Oh no! You must leave immediately, Your Majesty!" In a panic, Disha got out of bed while covering her body with a blanket. She was so panicked that she didn't know what to do.

While Leonidas was still lying quietly looking at Disha who was busy wearing her clothes.

"How about taking a bath together?" He said teasing Disha.

"Don't joke around, Your Majesty! You must leave now before anyone notices your presence in this house!"

Leonidas held back laughter, he got up from the bed and let Disha see his naked body. With a seductive smile, he took Disha's hand and hugged her tightly.

"What are you worried about? The more clearly we show our relationship, the more difficult it will be for them to separate us!"

"You are wrong! We are in different positions. You are the crown prince, no one will oppose you and I am just an ordinary girl who has absolutely no authority to reject social sanctions."

"What social sanctions are you talking about? You and I love each other, what's the problem with them? I don't care, I don't want to see you avoiding me again!"

"Disha...! Disha, are you awake...?" The sound of her mother calling made her heart almost jump out of her body. She was lucky that she had locked the door, otherwise there would have been much bigger problems.

"Oh no, my mother! Your Majesty, I beg you to put on your clothes and leave right now!" She asked frantically.

"I'm not leaving until you promise me that you won't run away from me again!"

"I can not promise!"

"Really? It can't be helped, then I'll still be here even if it's your father who opens the door!"

"Your Majesty, please?" She really wanted to cry now. She didn't know why Leonidas could be so stubborn like this.

Leonidas laughed at how cute Disha was with her pitiful face. Leonidas kissed her forehead and it was hard for him to leave now.

"Promise me!"

"But, what if-"

"I won't to let anyone hurt you. Let alone touch you. You're mine, only mine!"

"But you will marry the Princess of Evangelia, right?"

"You are jealous?"

"No, I-"

"You're jealous, why do you keep lying like this? Hmm?"

"Because I don't even have the right to be jealous. You are free to have so many women, you have the right to choose the best woman."

"Would it hurt your heart if I kissed another girl like this?" Leonidas continues to bully her. He will not be satisfied until he gets the answer he wants.

"You always get whatever you want, don't you?"

"Yes, because I am Leonidas. If you already know, why do you keep playing game like this?"

"Because I only want to be free, Your Majesty. I want to love you freely, not because you are a crown prince, nor because you are an enemy that I must avoid. I want to love you freely, no matter who you are."

Leonidas was stunned, his heart trembled. He didn't expect that he would hear that from Disha. He had never expected that he would be loved even though he was not a king's son. He always knew that everyone wanted him because he was Leonidas, the future emperor who would lead the greatest dynasty today.

"Okay, Baby. I'll go. But promise me, you'll come to the forest this afternoon, ok?"

"My father is likely to carry out the contest tomorrow, Your Majesty. He wants me to get married soon to end the scandal about our relationship."

"Then, I will take part in the competition!"

"What?"

"If I really have to fight for you, I will definitely do it, Disha! I won't let anyone win you other than me."

***

Disha looked down, this was the first time she felt afraid to lift her head and look at people's faces. She really hoped that no one would come to take part in this competition. But what she feared actually happened. Dozens of men from various circles came to the Varadkar family residence to carry out a sword fighting competition.

It seems that Disha's beauty has amazed so many men that they don't even care about the relationship scandal between her and the crown prince Almaric. For most men, the news about the scandal actually made them feel even more challenged to get the girl who had brought the crown prince to his knees.

Leonidas is known as a man who is very difficult to conquer and even women find it very difficult to get a little attention from him. So far he has been too focused on war, hunting and adventuring with several knights. He is not erect interested in love. Because of this, the scandal over his relationship with the daughter of the Knight Commander, Sheerkan Varadkhar, really shocked many people.

"Why are you so anxious? It seems like there are still many young men who are interested in you, my daughter! I hope that the one who wins this competition is a young man from the noble class who is rich and has a fairly high position in the palace." Said Lady Margaretha. She looks so happy, in contrast to Disha who really hates all this.

She saw no sign of Leonidas, it seemed impossible for a prince to take part in a competition just to win over a woman. Disha didn't want to hope that Leonidas would really come as promised, because his arrival would definitely cause opposition from many parties.

The participants present began to fight each other with swords until they reached the preliminary round. A young man with a mask that covered part of his face advanced to enter the deciding round. He will fight participants wearing wolf masks made of rubber.

Both of these young man are equally strong and superior. However, a man wearing wolf masks fought more aggressively. He really didn't want to lose and that made everyone watching this fight get carried away.

Praaang...

The sword from the hand of the man wearing a mask that covered part of his face slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground. Everyone was amazed because the man with the wolf mask managed to win this sword fighting competition.

The wolf masked man took off his mask and in an instant, all eyes widened so that they almost couldn't believe the figure of the wolf masked youth.

"Prince Leonidas?"

"Tch, damn it! Lucien, you bastard! Your stench is so easy to smell!" Leonidas looked so annoyed. He thought that Lucien really didn't want to give up until the end.

Prince Lucien took off the mask that covered part of his face. He smiled cynically after realizing his defeat. Disha really can't believe this, how can Prince Lucien take part in this contest too.

She had never spoken to Prince Lucien since that night. After Prince Lucien asked her to give up on their relationship which for her was nothing more than friend.

"Lucien?" Disha stepped closer to Lucien who looked at her with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry Soledad! Turns out I really can never win against my brother."

***