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Fortunately, Noelle was well aware of just how absurdly strong her little boss was, so she decided to simply place full faith in the crimson-haired beauty’s ability and give it her all. Her struggles only made her movements appear more genuine and credible, after all.
Emilia dodged and weaved through most of her strikes, but pretended to struggle while blocking those she ‘couldn’t avoid’, showing a clear difference in their level of strength, and her previous ‘setback’ only made people more certain of their earlier conjectures.
The previously anxious spectators couldn’t help but cheer as they realized that ‘their side’ was winning. “As expected of someone chosen by the elders!”
“What was her name again, Noelle?”
Some of them felt that they might have heard that name somewhere before, but since the people of the Nightingale clan rarely cared about things that ‘didn’t concern them’, it was no surprise that none of them could match Noelle’s name and face with anyone they knew. Maybe only if some really well-known celebrity showed up at their doorstep would some of them be able to recognize the person.
“Go Noelle, go!”𝗈𝒱𝐞𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t
The gray-haired girl obviously didn’t pay any attention to their screaming, but no one found it strange. After all, even if she had an edge over the masked girl, she still had to be fully focused so as not to make a fatal mistake.
Looking at their usually indifferent clansmen cheering so enthusiastically, the grand elder couldn’t help but smile. “It’s good to see them all so full of vigor and passion.”
Of course, they were more pleased to see that their strategy was working than anything else. In their eyes, as long as Noelle managed to win this fight… the issue with Gildroy and Narcissa’s rebellion was as good as resolved.
As everyone expected, it didn’t take long for the high-intensity fight to take another turn as a resounding bang echoed through the field, and by the time the dust cleared… the result was clear for all to see.
The masked girl was not only pinned beneath their hidden genius on the ground, but her throat was also within the gray-haired girl’s grasp!
With her apparent superiority of strength, everyone knew that it would only take her a thought to snap the smaller girl’s neck like a twig, and the girl’s hands grasping Noelle’s arm would helplessly would hardly even qualify as resistance.
“W-We won!”
As soon as they realized it, most people couldn’t help but burst into cheers, though many managed to retain their composure. After all, it was too embarrassing to be so happy after they’d almost had their faces rubbed into the ground by a young girl.
The grand elder grinned happily as he stepped forward. “Little lady, you—”
Before his words were even finished, Noelle had already got up and pulled her opponent along, and her glance made the old man’s words get stuck in his throat.
The grand elder couldn’t help but be dumbfounded. Weren’t they on the same side now? What’s with the glare?!
Noelle carefully dusted off all the dirt from Emilia’s clothes while sulking about how easily her little boss had led her along to ‘victory’ when she felt like it. To be able to control the rhythm of their match to such an extent, it showed that the difference between them was even greater than she ever expected.
Of course, Emilia couldn’t watch the gray-haired beauty pout so gloomily, and immediately clung to her side with a flattering glint in her smiling eyes. “Don’t be so cold, baby~ Aren’t we going to be married soon? Such small matters can’t be allowed to come between a loving couple!”
Not to mention him, but almost everyone in the crowd was dumbfounded at this point.
Didn’t this masked girl just get defeated after being so boastful and proud? How could she turn colors so quickly?!
No wait… it seemed like the purpose of her challenge was to find a ‘husband’ to begin with… then…?!
Immediately, dissatisfied murmurs spread through the crowd as they started grumbling about the rude intruder’s behavior.
It was one thing to not know about their traditions, but how could she be so brazen with the person who was so clearly ‘better’ than her?
A loser must have a loser’s attitude, and at least pretend to be humble in front of the victor!
Before they could protest, however, Noelle snorted coldly. “If someone dares to badmouth the girl I love in front of me, don’t blame me for being rude!”
The hushed whispers ceased immediately, and the people could only stare around awkwardly in embarrassment.
Obviously, they’d failed to realize that they’d also been ‘losers’ just moments before, and were only enjoying the feeling of being ‘victors’ because of Noelle. With the ‘hidden genius’ speaking out for the girl, they couldn’t very well contradict her openly now.
Emilia also nodded enthusiastically. “It just so happens that we’re a fresh couple who hasn’t had much time to bond, so beating people up together would be just perfect!”
Not to mention the regular people, even the elders shuddered at the girl’s words. Of course, with the couple’s recent ‘show of strength’, they didn’t dare to risk humiliating themselves in front of such a huge crowd, which put them in a very awkward position.
The grand elder could only step forward again with a pained smile. “I-I’m sure everyone’s running high on emotions after such an intense fight, so why don’t the two of you take a break first, and we’ll take care of things here and have a discussion about other things later?”
Emilia and Noelle stared at each other before nodding, and the grand elder couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Just as he did, however, the cacophony of gasps made him once again swivel his head around, only to be left staring at the glamorous back of Noelle taking the masked girl away towards her residence in a bridal carry.
‘I-I’m getting too old to deal with all this crap, aren’t I?!’
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