Hoooonk—
The imperial messenger knights’ loud trumpets announced the start of the event. Soon, the majestic voice of the emperor, sitting in the seat of honor, poured out.
“People of Descarde, thank you for attending the big event of the imperial family!”
“Whoa!”
“Long live the Descarde Empire!”
“Long live His Majesty!”
As the voice amplified by the power of the spirits reached all over the large arena, the crowd cheered in unison.
“I hope you will give generous support and praise to the knights of our empire who advocate honorable chivalry!”
After the emperor’s brief congratulatory speech, 3rd Princess Aristana took over.
“Dear citizens of the Empire, I am the 3rd Princess Aristana van Rashmagh Descarde who has the honor of presiding over this year’s joust.”“Long live Her Highness the 3rd Princess!”
“Whoa!”
“An honorable member of the imperial family who has been awarded a knighthood because of his outstanding martial arts, Crown Prince Lark van Rashmagh Descarde and the 2nd Prince Nathan van Rashmach Descarde will face off for the first match.”
“Oooh! Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!”
“Whoaa! His Highness the 2nd Prince!”
Lark let out a deep sigh at the cheers of the excited crowd.
When the knight handed over a 4m long lance (*cavalryman’s spear), Lark received it, put it under his armpit, and took a ready stance.
“The weapon used in the match, the lance, is made of wood that breaks easily, and during the match, the Guardian, the spirit of His Majesty, protects the participants from being injured by fragments of broken lances.”
Between Aristana’s voice explaining the match, the audience’s enthusiastic cheers were mixed.
Lark glanced at Rubette, who was sitting next to Aristana.
“Sigh…”
And he sighed again.
“In the Imperial Joust, the first participant to get 6 points wins. 3 points for striking the opponent’s helmet, 2 for striking the torso or shield, and 6 for dismounting the opponent. However, if the lance is not broken, no points are scored.”
6 points for a fall. As long as Nathan knocked his opponents off the horse, it’d be his single-round victory without having to go several times.
‘Mm, it’ll be too ugly if I fall off the horse, so let’s not lose like that,’ Lark thought to himself.
Everyone would be puzzled if they knew what he thought about was not ‘how to win’ but ‘how to lose in the least ridiculous way’.
“Then, I wish the honorable knights of the Empire good luck.”
As soon as Aristana finished speaking, the messenger knights posed and blew their horns.
Hoooonk—
The sound announced the start of a match.
At the same time, Lark rolled over the stirrup, and his horse charged. Yellow dust rose at great speed.
With a fence in the middle, the two quickly rush toward each other.
Looking at Nathan, who soon got closer, Lark thought momentarily, ‘If he holds the shield so carelessly like that, my spear should’ve hit him right in the face.’
It was so obvious he should’ve been hit and fall, but that wouldn’t happen.
‘Sigh.’
Lark swung his lance at Nathan, and Nathan swung his lance at Lark.
Wheee—
And.
Bang!!!
“Ugh.”
Contrary to expectations, Lark, not Nathan, was hit in the face with the lance.
“Huuuh!?”
“Wh-what!?”
Surprised voices from the audience erupted from everywhere.
The horses that continued to charge stopped, and Lark, who took off his dented helmet, turned the reins and looked at Nathan.
Holding a perfectly broken lance, Nathan was eliciting cheers from the crowd.
“Whooaaa!!”
“His Highness the 2nd Prince, Hooray!”
His head was dizzy, perhaps because he had been hit in the face, but Lark secretly looked at Rubette sitting in the organizer’s seat.
While everyone clapped their hands and cheered for Nathan, Rubette’s eyes were fixed on him.
‘Mm. I wish there was a rat hole.’
He was embarrassed, but the knight in charge brought a new helmet.
“First sum, Nathan van Rashmagh Descarde hit the opponent’s pitch and scores 3 points!”
3:0. The referee passed the scoreboard in the middle and declared.
“Wow!”
“Oh my God! They said that His Highness the 2nd Prince spear wielding skills were unrivaled. It must be true!”
“Did you see His Highness the Crown Prince get beaten?”
“What is this? I naturally thought that His Highness the Crown Prince would win without conceding a single point.”
Hearing the disappointed voices of the crowd mixed in with the cheers, Lark swallowed a sigh and accepted the new lance.
‘Alright, let’s hit another pitch next time.’
Since he gave up 3 points, if he was hit again in the following sum, it’d be 6 points. No need to be humiliated three times; two times was enough.
Lark, determined to break down his shield, took a ready stance.
Hooonk—
The majestic trumpet sound signaled, and they rushed back toward each other.
Clack, clack, clack.
As he got closer, Nathan looked sloppy again. It should’ve been a sure hit as long as Lark swung his lance…
Baaang!!
“Ugh!”
However, Lark was again helplessly beaten on top of the helmet.
He was beaten so hard that his body staggered. However, he couldn’t bear the embarrassment of falling from his horse, so Lark squeezed the strength he had saved to hold onto the reins.
‘Oh, I want to die.’
The slow sound of the horse’s hooves.
A moment of silence hung over the stadium, and soon thunderous cheers poured from the stands.
“Whoaaaa!”
“His Highness the 2nd Prince, Hooray!”
“Awesome!”
The lance seemed to have broken this time as well. It was natural that it hit harder than the previous sum.
Lark, who slowly took off his helmet, pulled the reins and looked back.
“Second sum, Nathan van Rashmagh Descarde strikes the opponent’s pitch for 3 points!”
The scoreboard was over. 6:0.
“Jousting match, the honorable winner of the first match has been decided!”
The referee knight declared, and Lark and Nathan removed their helmets and approached each other.
It was the custom of the match to meet in the middle of the field, greet each other, and accept the result once the winner was decided.
“Brother, I was lucky enough to win with my lack of skills,” said Nathan, shaking his sweat-soaked head once and smiling brightly.
Nathan seemed to have prepared for this tournament quite thoroughly, even boldly cutting off the long hair that he had always adhered to.
Facing him, Lark smiled, “How can you win with only luck? The skills that you have honed so far have shone through. You’ve worked hard.”
“Yes, thank you. You’ve worked hard too.”
After shaking hands, Lark thought as he returned to the waiting room, ‘Ah, my tiara…’
The winning prize, the Afante tiara.
Of course, he had expected that it would not come into his hands, but after he was eliminated, he still felt bitter.
“Brother, Brother, Brother!”
While he was gloomily removing his armor, Aristana rushed into the waiting room.
“What? Why are you here?”
The organizer who was supposed to host the next match was away.
He was puzzled, but Aristana abruptly held out her hand. “I’ll collect the pocket watch I gave you before the game.”
“Huh?”
Oh right. Recalling it, Lark unwrapped the pocket watch hanging from his neck and handed it to her.
“But why do you need this—”
“I’m busy, so I’ll explain later. Don’t take off your armor yet and wait.” Aristana turned around and disappeared without giving Lark a chance to catch her.
‘What’s wrong with her?’
Lark, who was tilting his head, soon released his gauntlet, shaking his stiff neck from side to side.
At that time.
Click, click. The sound of heels echoed in the quiet waiting room.
Looking back, he saw Madame Ruby with silver hair and a mask.
It was Rubette.
“Cough, cough!”
Embarrassed, Lark coughed and jumped up. Then he smiled and waved his hand.
“Hi.”
“…”
He couldn’t make out her expression because of the mask, but he could see that she was disappointed.
“Didn’t I tell you? Why are you not confident?”
“…”
“Mmm.”
Lark, who glanced here and there as if embarrassed, took out the handkerchief he had received from Rubette from his sleeve. Then he said, looking into her eyes, “Do you…want me to return this?”
“Yes.”
“Mmm.”
Lark held out the handkerchief, and Rubette quickly snatched it up.
Pak, but unfortunately, Lark’s grip on the handkerchief was too strong.
“Quick, please. I meant to give my handkerchief to the winner.”
“Ah, you’re too much. Are you really going to do this? You’re going to take it away from me?”
“Oh, give it to me!”
Rubette’s reaction, which made him nervous, was disappointing. Lark’s hand lost its strength.
“Pfft.”
Rubette took over the handkerchief and burst into laughter.
“…?”
Soon, Rubette, who took a step closer, tied the handkerchief she had snatched back to Lark’s wrist again.
“What’s this?”
“The handkerchief embroidered by Madame Ruby, the goddess of victory!”
“…?”
“Only the winner can have this handkerchief, so let me tell you…”
“What?”
“Great job. Good luck with the rest of the game.”
He was puzzled, but then he heard Aristana’s voice outside the arena.
“Dear people of the Empire, the next match will resume in about two hours. It is evaluation time for a fair game, so we ask for your understanding.”
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