Tangled By Fate

After pushing the ladder toward the blonde, Veronica crossed her legs immediately to balance herself in the pillar.

The best part of the stony pillar was, there were several holes in it. As a result, it was even easier to steady her body. If she were to slip, she could just grab those holes so she wouldn't fall.

"Our lady archer threw the ladder. Now she has nothing to stand on. Wait! She kept herself hanging there just by crossing her legs. It seems she knows what she is doing. Now, she is aiming at the red board. She has only two more arrows left. I hope she can hit the target before she slips."

With the emcee's explanation, the audience began to shout. They were cheering for her.

Veronica pointed her arrow at the red board. 'I can't make a mistake this time.' She took a deep breath and then held it.

After she shot the arrow, it pierced the middle of the red board.

"She hit the target! It's so incredible that her arrow reached the target while she hanged in the pillar. She is mind-blowing. Despite having the worst position, she could still aim perfectly."

The audience cheered loudly after the emcee's announcement. Since the stadium was huge, not all the audience could see what was happening in one corner properly.

When Veronica kicked the ladder, the ladder fell. The blonde was also crushed by it. He ran away when he noticed that the ladder was falling toward him.

The ladder fell when he moved to the safe zone. That's when he heard from the emcee that Veronica hit another target.

"Thirty seconds left! Let's find out who is going to be the winner!" the emcee spoke excitedly. Along with the emcee, the audience raised their voice.

The blonde gritted his teeth. 'I can't waste my time here anymore. I need to shoot another arrow.' He glared at Veronica one last time before going after the red board.

Veronica was relieved that he didn't come to bother her anymore. She focused on the red board.

She noticed Lothar shooting two more arrows to the back side of the red board.

He already shot three arrows to the red board. One of them was slightly far from the target. He had no more arrows left.

Veronica aimed at the board once more. She shot the target rather quickly because it was hard to keep herself in balance in the pillar. However, this time, her arrow didn't reach the board. It fell on the ground.

The reason was the blonde also shot an arrow. Both arrows crossed a path before hitting the board and both arrows fell on the ground.

"You bitch!" the blonde cursed in frustration.

Veronica also didn't have a good mood after her arrow fell on the ground. 'If only I could chew his head before the competition, it would be the best.'

"Ten seconds left! Everyone, let's count together. Nine… eight... seven… six…" along with the emcee, the audience started counting.

Because of the position, Veronica couldn't sit properly. She was slipping.

How was she supposed to find the red board, predict the movement, aim at the target and shoot the arrow in five seconds while she was sliding down?

With her left leg's toes, she clung to the small hole of the pillar. She knew she didn't have enough strength to keep herself in that place.

Afterward, she arched her back and then aimed her arrow at the board. Her vision was blurry for a moment. Looking at the board, she predicted the movement of the board in less than two seconds.

"Four… three… two…"

She released the arrow without another thought. She didn't have the opportunity to check if the arrow hit the target. Her toes gave out, she began to fall.

Her body slid quickly. She threw the bow and grabbed the pillar with both hands. She found two holes to grab onto them. As she did, her body hung on the pillar.

She looked down to see how far she was from the ground. The distance between her and the ground was forty meters.

She gulped. She began sweating. Her hands were sweating. It made her arms slippery.

She couldn't keep it any longer. Her hands slipped. She hugged the pillar with her hands and legs. She shut her eyes. She was so scared that she felt like her soul leaped from her body.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and found herself close to the ground. She unlocked her legs and straightened them.

When her legs touched her ground, her whole body jerked. She felt dizzy and collapsed on the ground.

She heard nothing after that. All the screaming and loud chatters were gone. Before everything went dark, she saw some pairs of feet running toward her. Her vision was too hazy to figure out the owners of those legs.

The next time Veronica opened her eyes, she was in her bedroom. She blankly stared at the familiar ceiling.

"Ver, you woke up!" Catherine sounded relieved.

Veronica moved her head. She found her best friend coming inside the room. Her hands were occupied with a bowl.

Catherine put down the bowl on the table and sat on the bed. "I was worried thinking that you would sleep another day. I thought you would starve to death while sleeping."

Veronica blinked slowly. "How long was I sleeping?"

"You have the guts to ask? You were sleeping for three days!"

"Three days?!" Veronica was astonished. "But… why…?"

"Huh? You don't remember? You participated in a competition. You were against two archers. One of them was trying to kill you. Then, hitting the last arrow, you fell and lost consciousness," Catherine told her about the whole incident in one breath.

"Everyone thought you were gravely injured but the doctor said that you were just sleeping. Maybe you were exhausted due to your training every day, your body couldn't go on anymore."

"Oh… the competition…" Veronica mumbled. She steadily sat up and leaned against the pillow. If Catherine didn't remind her, she would forget what she was doing before losing her consciousness.

"Hey, aren't you curious about the winner?" Catherine asked. "I thought you would ask me the moment you wake up."

Veronica covered her face. "No, I don't want to know. I shot the last time in a hurry. Even if it hit the board, it wouldn't hit the target. I think Lothar won."

"Lothar?" Catherine tried to remember. "The brown haired one? He won second place."

"Is that so…" Veronica felt demotivated to get up from the bed. "I can't believe that blonde won first place. I want to snatch the reward from him right now. He doesn't deserve the prize."

Catherine agreed. "Yes, he doesn't deserve it and so he was disqualified. After attempting to kill the winner, there was no way your husband would stand still.

"He revealed himself and ordered the judges to disqualify that blonde. He won't be able to participate in any competition or join any army for at least five years."

"Huh? Attempt to kill the winner… you mean me? Am I the winner?!" Veronica's jaw dropped.

"Who else would be the winner? I have no clue how you started practicing archery. But then you showed some unexpectedly amazing moves. Especially the last shot. Uff! You actually bent your body backward and shot the arrow. That was just mind blowing!" Catherine excitedly expressed.

Veronica began to laugh. "I won… haha… I won! I can't believe it!"

"Of course, it's hard to believe considering we never saw you practicing archery. It was a jaw dropping performance!

"But you fell and then fainted right after shooting the arrow. We didn't have the time to celebrate your victory. We were all worried sick."

"Did I get the prize?" Veronica inquired in concern.

"Yes, you did. After you fainted, Felix carried you away with the prize money. Arthur didn't want others to find out that you are related to the magic tower. So, we had to be cautious.

"I think Arthur kept your prize money in his office. You can take it later. But first, are you hungry?"

"I'm starving." Veronica groaned. "But where is Arthur? I don't see him."

Catherine replied, "He was glued to you right after you came to the tower. He just got a call from the palace. He wanted to reject it but Ovior forced him to go. It seemed important. Should I inform others?"

Veronica shook her head. "No need. I'll take a bath first and then eat. Later, I will go out for a walk."

"Take a bath first then. I'll prepare your meal in the meantime." Catherine went out of the room.

"Oh, my goodness! I won! I won! I won!" Veronica yelled while throwing her arms and feet. She rolled on the bed. She couldn't control her happiness.

Later, she went out for a walk after finishing her meal. She went to the training ground first. The first person who noticed her was Darius.

"Look at that. Isn't this our winner? She finally woke up." Darius's loud voice made others focus on her.

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