The Alpha's Revenge

Chapter 32: Archery

“This challenge… I’m willing to accept.”

Anthony was stupefied at her answer. The only reason why he called her name out was to avenge his younger sister and also to vent it out for Lady Valerie. He knew that it would bring a bad reputation for him and a lot of people might think that he was a scoundrel for daring to challenge a woman at a man’s game.

However, none of this concerns him. He was used to having his way no matter what and no matter when. He is not afraid of offending anyone because his family is always at his beck and call. Even if this reached his parents' ears, he would most probably just receive a scolding.

Knowing his mother’s character, she would immediately plead with his father not to beat him up. So, there’s nothing for him to worry about. As long as he can avenge Celina and Lady Valerie, then, he is willing to be scolded and be a scoundrel for them.

Anthony was expecting Lady Kira not to accept his challenge. He had already come up with a lot of ways to humiliate her if that happened. But who would have thought that she would accept the challenge without any second thoughts?

Aside from that, what made him frustrated was that she accepted the challenge with her calm and composed demeanor. If it was someone else, they wouldn’t be able to maintain their composure just like her. This made him feel a little strange. Does Lady Kira have no fear at all?

Anthony immediately erased that thought from his mind. How could she have no fear? A little girl like her has never held a bow and arrow in her entire life. She probably hasn't even seen one. So, anyone who was ignorant of something would panic. ‘She must have been acting… Right, she was just acting to be calm.’

However, he admired her acting skills. Even in this situation, she can still keep up the act…

Kira had already walked up the stage. With her calm and small strides, she arrived in front of Anthony, who was sizing her up.

The examiner was having a hard time with this challenge. For his entire life, this was the first time that something like this had happened. A man challenging a woman. What’s worse is that it’s for military arts, which gave an advantage to the man. How could Lady Kira compete with him with her delicate arms and figure?

He could bet that she might not be able to carry the bow on her own. It’s justifiable if they compete in scholarly arts since both men and women are proficient in these arts. But for military arts, it looks like Anthony really wanted Lady Kira to be shamed.

“Don’t you think this year’s examination is really good, Young Master?” Marcus’s eyes showed great interest on the stage, “I think this would really put a strain on the royal family’s reputation, don’t you think so?”

Clovis shook his head and sighed, “It’s the same for the two households. Whether it’s the Royal Family or the Noble of House of Flynn, both would suffer the same. However, it would be worse for the Royal Family since we all know that Master Javier is also a skilled archer. Even the eldest princess, Lady Valerie, knows how to shoot an arrow. She might not be as skilled as him, but she’s considered knowledgeable still… So, if Lady Kira would end up failing miserably, this would be a big blow to the royal family.”

Anthony’s lips curled up before he spoke, “This time I wanted to add something to the rule. Since it’s so boring using the same wooden target every time. Why don’t we use a human this time around? It will be like this: a magnolia flower will be placed on top of the head and will be used as a target. Then I will shoot the arrow after. It will be the same when it’s your turn to shoot. I will be putting the flower on my head as well. How is that?”

The entire hall went in uproar after they heard his words! This could lead to someone’s death!

The examiner quickly called out his name, “Mr. Anthony Flynn, we can’t…” However, he was cut off when Kira spoke. “Since Mr. Flynn added a rule to our challenge. It would be fair if I added something as well, right?”

“ Of course… Feel free to add whatever rules you want!” Anthony laughed in delight.

“Well then…” she coldly said, “Since Mr. Flynn wanted to use a human as a target, I would like to propose a deal as well.”

She walked towards the other side of the platform where there was blank paper and ink placed. Kira raised the brush and gently stroked the paper.

Everyone was patiently waiting and curious as to what she was writing. Some even ridiculed her for stalling. In their minds, she wasn’t brave and knowledgeable at archery, so she wanted to stall as much as time, hoping someone would be kind enough to make the challenge stop…

As Kira put down the brush, she turned around with the slightly wet paper and showed it to everyone, “Since we all know that Mr. Flynn is highly skilled at archery. There’s a guarantee that he won’t hit me or else, his renowned title will come out as a joke. However, in my case, I don’t know how to do archery. There’s a chance that the arrow might go sideways and hurt him instead. I’m afraid that your family might deal with me if something happened to you.”

Kira walked slowly towards Anthony with a slight smile on her face, “I have to protect myself if something like that happens since it was you who proposed this challenge. So, Mr. Anthony Flynn, are you willing to sign a life and death contract with me? No matter if it’s you or me who got injured or died in this challenge, no one will suffer the consequences.”

Her eyes swept across the people at the banquet until they landed on Anthony’s shocked face. Her sharp eyes darted toward him, making him shudder slightly, “Now, Mr. Flynn, do you dare to accept my contract or not?”

This time, Kira looked like a devil ready to hunt. She looked extremely evil with that wicked smile on her lips. With her red dress swaying gently in the air, she is like an Asura who can kill whomever she wants to kill.

This caused everyone to fall silent. They looked wide-eyed at the little figure on the stage. How can someone like her be so brave to make a life and death contract with anyone? On top of that, it’s to someone very proficient in archery!

Anthony became speechless all of a sudden. Lady Kira’s words made him ponder. What she said earlier was the truth. There’s no need for lady Kira to be terrified if he will be the one shooting the arrows, since he won’t be able to miss his target and he doesn’t want to risk his hard-earned title as well.

However, it would be different for Lady Kira. Everyone knows that she’s ignorant, so they can expect that she can’t shoot well. If her arrows deviated slightly, they would hit his head instead and he would have died if that really happened.

He hadn't thought that Kira would be able to think of something like that. He underestimated her! However, he immediately thought of something. It would be impossible for Lady Kira to fully draw a bow since it’s really hard to do. She would just be able to draw it halfway and release it. If that happens, the arrow won’t be able to reach him. And she would be extremely humiliated instead.

He would just choose a larger distance to assure his safety. However, because of his careful thoughts, he didn’t notice Kira’s reaction. She was just looking quietly at him with the same calmness she usually has, which is very unusual for a girl like her age.

“If that’s the case, it would be rude of me to decline your deal! Fine, let’s sign a life and death contract!”

On the other side of the hall, Alder was quietly watching the people on the stage with a meaningful smile, “This young lady is really fearless. Her desire to win is somehow admirable.”

After their short conversation in the plum blossom forest, Alder didn’t leave the venue and continued watching her from the side.

Jett, who was behind him, couldn’t help but voice his opinion, “Isn’t Lady Kira too reckless?… I heard that Mr. Flynn is truly skilled at archery. He might intentionally hurt her since he had better skills.”

“It’s the opposite.” Alder looked at Kira on the stage and said, “In life and death agreement, one should not fear the strong but fear the weak…”