Tangled By Fate

Scanning her top to bottom, Felix asked, "Veronica, are you feeling well?"

Veronica grinned. "You bet. I woke up and heard I won. What can be the most entertaining news after waking up?"

"I guess you are right." Darius came forward. "I mean you are not a puny kid anymore. You are a warrior now. People are looking for you all over to recruit you. How can you not feel well?"

Veronica giggled at his teasing, not a bit offended. "I'm so famous. I don't know what to do anymore."

Darius suggested, "Just go to the street and announce, 'I'm the famous lady archer' and then start giving autographs to everyone."

"Is that a thing nowadays?" Veronica was surprised.

Felix shook his head. "No, he is joking. Don't listen to him. I'm glad you are on two feet. We were worried about you. We were giving you a hard time, didn't we?"

"Don't say that. if I didn't want to do it, you could never force me. I still owe you all an apology. You all worked so hard for me but I ended up running away. I'm such a coward. I'm sorry," saying that Veronica bowed.

"Don't bother," Ironin curtly replied.

"He is right, Veronica. Why are you bothered with it? You already won one competition. There is always next year," Darius comforted her.

"I don't think even next year I will have the guts." Veronica rubbed her palms uncomfortably. "I saw those swordsmen. They are just too strong."

Darius waved his hand. "You didn't even see them fighting. All right. Don't think about swordplay anymore. Just take a week's break. After that, ask Ovior to take you to the barracks of the imperial palace. Imperial soldiers practice martial arts and sword fighting there."

"What will I gain from watching them fight?" Veronica inquired.

Darius grinned. "You will find out how weak they are."

"Imperial soldiers are weak!?" Veronica exclaimed. "You want me to believe that?"

Darius replied, "You don't understand how powerful you have become. You just kicked the asses of those young archers who were supposed to be the best.

"Since you don't have faith in yourself, you can just use your eyes to see and use your brain to judge."

Veronica gave up talking logic with him. "Fine, I will do that but I cannot guarantee that it will boost my confidence. You see, I never won against anyone."

"Hey, hey, you won against me and Roxana. I even got injured…" Darius tried to show his wounded mark but it had disappeared a long time ago. After all, Veronica was an excellent healer.

Ironin strode forward and stood in front of Veronica. His purple eyes stared at her.

Veronica found his action rather odd. "…Is there something you want to say to me?"

"Your master… the one who taught you archery… who is it?" Ironin flatly asked.

"That was a living being," Veronica was quick to reply. "It wasn't a dead human or a dead dragon, believe me."

"I want to know that person's identity," Ironin stated with a poker face.

"I cannot do that," Veronica replied. 'Ironin is a straightforward person. I can only answer him the way he likes it.'

Ironin's eyebrows slightly creased. "Why not?" He refused to back down.

"That's because my master doesn't want others to know. I swore to keep it a secret," Veronica flatly lied.

"Payment." All of a sudden, Ironin changed the topic of the conversation.

Not understanding what he meant, Veronica blinked. "Payment? What payment?"

"For teaching your swordsmanship."

Veronica's jaw dropped. "You want me to give you my master's identity as a payment for teaching me swordplay?"

Ironin nodded quietly.

'Sometimes, I wish I was a dumb woman,' Veronica lamented inwardly.

She forced a smile and then suggested, "How about I give you the same amount of money Roxana gets for training me?"

"Ooo… nice payment. I would love that," Darius grinned.

Veronica didn't bother to reply to him.

In return for her suggestion, Ironin stayed expressionless. "Your master's identity."

Veronica let out a deep sigh. "Ironin, aren't you a good friend of my husband? Aren't you a good teacher of mine? Why do you have to be so difficult? I already promised my master. I can't tell you my master's identity."

Darius put his elbow on Veronica's shoulder and said, "Yeah, we can see that. You are trying so hard to cover that person's gender. I'm not sure how else one can hide one's identity like that. So, Veronica, why don't you tell us who that person is?

"Just look at you. You were gone for a few months. It's not like you were gone for years or something.

"You have done a tremendously great job. Bending your back and then shooting with the little bit of time you had left. Who could do that?

"I've never seen anyone doing something so amazing except for Ironin. You are almost as good as him. That's why we are all curious to find out who your master is. I'm sure Arthur wants to know as well."

After talking so long, he suddenly lowered his voice, "You don't know. When you were playing in the field, Arthur's expression was cold. He looked like he was going to kill anyone. I'm sure he was wondering how much you worked hard to be this good in archery."

"Work hard?" Veronica let out a dry laugh. "You have no idea. It didn't matter what kind of weather or situation I was in. I had to practice every single day. It's great that my hard work paid off."

"Hard work, practice and persistence always pay off. Now tell me who is your master," Darius pressed.

"I'm not telling." Veronica was also stubborn. "I'm sorry everyone. I'm sorry, Ironin. But I can't tell you. Don't tell me to become someone I'm not for your personal curiosity. I can't even tell Arthur about this."

"Why won't you tell him? Won't he get mad if you do this?" Felix became curious.

"It's not like he doesn't have secrets. He has many secrets and I'm not prying them out. Then what gives him the right to be mad at me?" Veronica shrugged.

Darius and Felix exchanged glances.

"Just inform me before the tower shatters into pieces. I need to run away with my life," Darius told her.

"Why do you think Arthur will get mad? Even if he becomes upset, he won't hurt anyone, trust me," Veronica tried to ease his worry.

"Phht! You are telling me that he won't hurt anyone because he will be just upset?" Darius found her logic ridiculous. "He will slaughter people if he gets a bit upset. Forget about being furious."

Ironin and Felix nodded in reply.

"We have known him for a long time now. It's easy to predict his actions. Although he changed a lot after meeting you, a leopard doesn't change its spot. Remember this," Felix advised her.

"Fine, I'll remember it and inform you in advance so that you people all can run away. I'm heading downstairs. I want to greet Arthur as soon as he comes back."

"Go to your bedroom rather than going downstairs," Felix instructed her. "He teleported to the palace. He will come back using teleportation."

"Then, I'll go downstairs and walk in the garden before going back. I want to stretch my limbs a bit. See you later. And Ironin, I'll pay you money. Sorry that I can't give you what you want."

Afterward, she slipped away from the room.

'Huff! I can't believe they would gather around me to find out about Urulas and his people. It's been a long time since I met them. I should ask Arthur to give me my reward money.'

'With that money, I will buy a house for myself in the capital. I'll keep one room for myself and leave the rest to Urulas and his soldiers. At least they will have a good place to live. They deserve it.'

Veronica went to the garden and walked around. The flowers were blooming and spreading sweet smells. It was a pleasant atmosphere.

'I can't remember the last time I came to the garden to enjoy the view. Just how busy was I? I should spend more time here. The weather will be warm soon. I can bring some books and read them here. I can hold a small picnic for myself.'

Veronica was planning for her recreation when something huge crashed on her behind.

"Eek!" Veronica stumbled and nearly fell facing the ground when an arm circled around her back. Soon, she was enveloped with warmth and a tight hug.

"Nica…" Arthur's voice shook as he called out her name. "When did you wake up?"

"Arthur!" Veronica's face beamed. She turned around and circled her arms around his back. She placed her head on his chest and responded with a smile, "I woke up three hours ago. Are you done with the meeting? I heard you went to the imperial palace."

"It was an annoying meeting. It's no fun talking to bugs.. I was worried about you and came back. Why are you walking here alone? Where are the others?"