231: Elimination Battle : Final Stage (2)

Elimination Battle : Final Stage (2)

When the Head Judge gave him a nod with a confused expression, Juin immediately thanked the guy before "flying" up in the water-air. 1

The moment he reached the seats where the royals were, the guards already had their weapons at ready with scowls on their faces.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Juin greeted the main guy with a polite bow before saying, "But I have a little something for Princess Cecile… May I give it to her?" 

The king looked back at his niece before laughing out loud. He then looked at President Presley and said, "It seems that your little ward is in love with my niece."

Hearing that, Juin's face turned red, but he did not refute it. He only looked at Princess Cecile, who was looking back at him with a confused expression. 

"Young kids… They can fall in love anywhere…" President Presley said to the king. He then looked at Juin and asked, "Can't this be later?" 

"I want to do it now, President Presley… You know how Luca is… He might knock me unconscious for days…" Juin said with a sheepish grin. 

President Presley smiled and nodded. "Yes, Luca is very aggressive… Your Majesty?" 

The king waved a nonchalant hand, upon which the guards backed away. He then said, "Go for it, but don't take long. I'm sure everyone here is waiting excitedly to watch your fight."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Juin said politely with a bow before moving to Princess Cecile. Landing in front of her, with his feet planted firmly on the floor, he then said to Princess Cecile, "I meant what I said earlier, Princess Cecile… But I also understand why you are so adamant…" 

He then took something out of his pocket, which he kept hidden in his fist. Looking at his fist for a few seconds, he then said, "I was told that this will bring the person who found it good luck…" 

He then looked up at her in the eye and said with a solemn voice, "Then I hope this brings you luck wherever you are and in whatever you do…"

Juin put his fist out, turned them so that his palm side was facing upward, and slowly revealed what he kept hidden inside his fist as his fingers unclenched themselves. 

"That… That's..." Princess Cecile gasped with her hands covering her mouth gracefully when she saw the thing that Juin wanted to give her. "A gold Seven-Colored Ladybug!"

She had only seen this once, a long, long time ago, on the day that her younger brother was born. During that day, she had been up awake and was strolling in the Moon Pavilion, refusing to sleep until she knew that her brother and stepmother were safe. 

And a golden Seven-Colored Ladybug landed on her shoulder. Not long after, one of her personal attendants came running to her, telling her the news that her brother had been born safely and that her stepmother was doing well too. 

Since then, she had always been on the lookout for a golden Seven-Colored Ladybug but to no avail.

And now… Someone else was going to give her one. 

Looking at Juin, she said in an almost whispery voice, "Really?"

Juin nodded. He looked at the golden Seven-Colored Ladybug in his hand and said, "I hope that this would bring you luck and make you happy…" 

He couldn't do much. He wanted to help her, but at the moment, he wasn't strong enough to go against an entire kingdom. And even though he had never seen King Frederic fight before, but if the king was anything like his son, then he had a feeling that Cecile would fail in her endeavor.

Even though the king had been smiling most of the time and looked kind and gentle and harmless, but Juin knew firsthand how two-faced one could be. Therefore, he always had his reservation about the man. And given how close the king and President Presley seemed to be, it made him even more uncomfortable and distrustful toward the guy. 

In any case, he hoped that Cecile would be able to escape somewhere far enough. Maybe if she had more luck with her, she would be able to stay the rest of her life somewhere safe. 

At the same time, he hoped that he would be able to help the little ghost boy, Tomas, and fulfill his wish so that he could move on instead of being here. 

Taking the princess' hand, he then gently placed the golden Seven-Colored Ladybug in her hand. He then pushed her fingers up so that they closed over the ladybug. After a split second of hesitation, he kissed her palm and said, "Good luck, Princess Cecile…" 

His action did not go unnoticed by those who were there, especially Renaud, who was sitting in between Princess Cecile and Princess Iris. Upon seeing Juin's bold actions, his usually stern-looking handsome face turned dark all of a sudden as one of his hands grabbed onto the ceremonial dagger on his waist. 

"You insolent--" he said in a low voice, but he quickly stopped himself when he saw his father shooting a glare at him. Taking in a few deep breaths, he then looked away with his fists clenched. 

Juin looked at the princess, who had a slight blush on her slightly-tanned face, and smiled. "A payback for last time…" 

He then took a few steps backward and nodded at the king politely before jumping over the banister and "flying" back to the battle stage. 

As Princess Cecile looked at Juin's descending body, Princess Iris, who was sitting on the other side of her brother, scowled. She was slightly jealous that Princess Cecile was able to receive the love of so many men. And what made it worse was that her own brother was showing quite an intense reaction to it. 

…

When Juin landed on the battle stage, he looked at the Head Judge and apologized, "Sorry for the delay, but we can start now." 

The Head Judge nodded. He told Juin and Luca to take a few steps backward and signaled the guards to activate the ward for the protective dome. After that, he said the words that everyone had been waiting for…

"Let the match begin!!!" 

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