~Aurora~

My reward was taken, in fact all three ancient runes letters were in my hand as I exited the space. I came back to the hall, breathing deeply.

I was numb all along. I came second last to the list of winners until it was concluded by the judge for the Trial of Wits.

My head was held down, which slowly rose up upon hearing the voice of Prince Emeric. He sounded happy, almost like celebrating our victory, but delivered his speech with such a stoic face.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging of a wooden hammer on a table. All our eyes looked up at the adjudicator of the event. My eyebrows were furrowed, I wanted to know why the adjudicator smacked the hammer so loudly that even Prince Emeric had to step aside.

"There was a contestant who breached his vault forcefully to win the Trial of Wits!" The crowd was thrown into a fit of gasping. Even I was taken aback.

"Your majesty, the breacher must be punished. But first, we need him to come to the front by himself. It is a derogatory move by someone who wanted to win by force. Such contestants are not allowed in the Trials any further." The adjudicator stated strongly in the mic, requesting Prince Emeric to take action.

All our eyes turned to Prince Emeric,

"Whoever has done it, raise your hand. We know who it is, but it is always better to—"

Prince Emeric stopped talking. Our heads turned to where he was looking. He was staring down at Odin Blackwood, who stood behind me.

"Your majesty...in all honesty, I did realize it was difficult to open vault. Time was running out on my watch, and I had no choice but to proceed to breach it for the sake of victory."

"You will be analyzed right now. Step forward, Odin Blackwood." I simply stared at Odin Blackwood as Prince Emeric sternly instructed him. He walked to the front, eyes down in embarrassment as I only exhaled sharply.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Odin Blackwood, you will be punished and penalized for your act!" The adjudicator has lost his cool and warned the perpetrator. If I was in Odin's place, I would have confessed to cheating right away and taken the punishment to save my head! Well, he did confess to his breaching half heartedly.

"I understand..." to my surprise, Odin did not budge to the adjudicator's strong warning. I crushed my eyebrows,

After a while of waiting, Prince Emeric took a stance in front of the mic. He didn't speak for a few seconds, our adrenaline was rising.

"The perpetrator...is not guilty.

In the moment of desperation, Odin Blackwood did breach his vault."

"But your majesty! This is a trial of wits! The vault should be opened after deciphering the ancient runes, a script that is specifically indicative of the clues to open a vault!" The adjudicator argued with Prince Emeric.

"...The method of opening someone's vault is not specified in instructions, adjudicator. And it is agreed by the Trial of Wits...that this act is not guilty. This is an act by wit as well, moments of desperation create new ways of solving a problem. This is also...how a leader should work. By this...I shall pass Odin Blackwood nonetheless." The hall was filled with gasps from the spectating crowd. Even I couldn't hold the gasp inside.

This was not how it should be. He slipped away too easily, and it is messing with my head. The way he turned on his heel and walked back with a neutral expression on his face...

He stood in his position, and stayed the same way for the entire conclusion of the second trial. It's bothering me that he doesn't feel a shred of embarrassment or pardon towards himself!

Embarrassment? Right. He was the one who argued relentlessly with the guards and proved himself to be one of THOSE people. He does not have manners. He is more like a rogue than a werewolf of his deserving rank.

What I had registered in my head about his attitude, was that he genuinely didn't care about breaching his final vault for victory!

I think I have got a glimpse of who Odin Blackwood really is. He is a stuck up, snobbish young man who doesn't care anything about the world other than himself!

Odin Blackwood...has left a deep impression on me.

And no, he is not in my good books. At all!

After the conclusion of the Trial of Wits was given, I made a beeline straight to my room. I need to sleep this day out. I wanted to ask Prince Emeric if he had ever made any changes to my final reward. The chit of ancient runes script is still in my tight fist. He had definitely interfered with my reward. I'm sure of it.

I wasn't in the state to argue. I just needed to sleep the day off. And so, I returned my artifact and quickly walked away from the space. Ugh, I don't think I'll sleep any better without a good shower.

Stripping myself, I got under the warm shower.

As I let the warm drops wash away my tiredness and sweat, I couldn't help but catastrophize today's events.

But...I'm just glad it was over.