Finally, Havali confessed his concern.
“I had some free time yesterday afternoon, so I went to watch the outside qualifiers.”
“Did you see them? I’ve heard that the outside qualifiers matches have been going on for a week. I heard there were many knights from all over the country. I thought it would be hard to get knights from faraway regions because the notice was posted late, but I guess everyone was waiting for a chance to show off their skills.”
“Yes, in fact, after watching the outside qualifiers yesterday, I realized that I was living in a delusion.”
“I think you both have enough skills. Lord Waters also praised your rapid growth.”
Even at Sienna’s praise, Havali shook his head.
“In fact, when I lost the battle with Lord Waters, I thought I had forgotten about the Waters family’s historical battle skills, rather than feeling my inadequacy. Moreover, I was taught by Sir Waters, the father-in-law of the famous House of Waters, and I regained my confidence as my skills improved. I was able to enjoy hard training because it was a rapid growth even for myself. But when I watched the preliminary match yesterday outside the palace, I realized how much of a frog I was stuck in a well.”
Although Jamie’s training has greatly improved their skills for half a year, knights from outside have been trained and experienced for a long time. It was only natural that they were still not enough to compare with them.
Sienna advised the two knights as she did the young soldiers who were on their way to fight monsters back home.
“My father always told me. You can see the confidence of the knight from the end of the sword. The tip of a discouraged knight’s sword shakes like a frightened herbivore. Even when you’re dealing with a stronger and better enemy than you, you’ll find a chance to take your opponent’s breath away if you watch him to the end and figure out where he will be.”
“That’s really good advice.”
“Yes. So be confident. I don’t want to see my knights shudder and hide their tails before they even try.”
“Yes! We will keep that in mind.”
They answered loudly and saluted like knights. Sienna smiled contentedly as she looked at their confident posture unlike before. When Hain, who brought a cold drink, saw the scene, nagged to Sienna again.
“This is not the time for you to worry about the knights. How come you haven’t done a single thread on the handkerchief?”
“Sorry, Hain.”
Sienna sighed again, looking at the white handkerchief.
<ul>
</ul>
The much-awaited Mutu competition opened.
Knights entered the stadium with magnificent music of a band that was decorated with colorful flags. Citizens filled all seats for the first time in a long time because it has been a while since the Mutu competition was held in the capital city. They cheered whenever the knights who came up from the preliminary rounds appeared with dignified steps.
It was a great honor for the knights just to participate in the games. This is because the competition was enormous as many competitors gathered in the preliminaries coming from foreign countries.
As the competition was announced since the preliminary round, citizens enthusiastically cheered for those who they had in mind. In the Mutu competition, it was possible to officially bet on the winner, so the citizens who had stakes in the games were more passionate and cheered for the candidates.
Sienna and Carl had earlier settled in the stands. Besides them, most of the aristocrats who were staying in the capital were there.
“Will the Emperor take part today?”
Sienna asked Carl with a worried look. Yesterday, Valore did not look very well.
Valore recently began to participate in state affairs again, saying his health has improved. But to Sienna, he just seemed desperate to let everyone know that he was in better shape. His glossy brown hair became crumbly, and his smooth skin became rough.
“Valore is holding this martial arts competition today to show off that he is healthy and to consolidate his power. He’ll come back fine with the help of some medicine. And I heard it is only a flu.”
“…”
Sienna knew that Valore’s illness was not a flu, but she could not tell Carl. Valore’s health seemed to be deteriorating faster than in the past.
She saw Arya sitting across from the seat of the emperor couple.
Arya was looking down at the citizens, looking beautiful as always. A fan was being fanned with feathers, and her black hair moved gently in the soft wind.
At Arya’s seat, the nobles kept coming and continued to greet her. It was a sight that clearly showed that she was standing at the pinnacle of power.
‘Enjoy that now. You will soon be removed from that place. And I will never let you stand on that seat again. Whatever it takes.’
Sienna bit her lower lip. She was clenching her fist so hard that her veins were popping out, and Carl put his hand on hers. Without any change of expression, he was looking straight ahead.
‘Yeah, at least it’s not like before.’
Her deep-seated anger subsided calmly. Then there was something that was not seen until a moment ago. Jamie stood dashing among the knights lined up in the stadium.
Her brother was dressed in well-kept armor. The helmet tucked on his left was accompanied by a blue tassel with a fine texture. It was a color that symbolized the Waters family.
The blue cloak on his shoulders fluttered as the wind blew. It was as if he were in a hero’s novel, so Sienna wondered if he might find a companion through this event.
“Your Majesty the Emperor is coming.”
Everyone in the arena stood up at the sound of the bugle calling for silence. As a majestic carriage came across the stadium, the band beat drums to greet the emperor.
After getting off the carriage, Valore was not the sickly figure Sienna saw yesterday. He looked incredibly healthy and she could almost not believe that he was the same person.
He escorted his wife, Marie, down. The audience applauded as the emperor couple gestured. Valore and Marie held hands and climbed onto the podium with leisurely steps.
Valore stood on the platform, gave a short congratulatory speech, and encouraged the knights who were participating today. And when he declared that the competition had begun, the crowd cheered him again. It was clear that this competition was a meaningful place to inform citizens of his presence who had no outside activities until then.
After the greeting, as Valore climbed to his seat in the stands, Carl, Sienna, and Empress Arya greeted him. He didn’t even look at his mother, and only said hello to Sienna and Carl.
When her son refused to accept her greetings, Arya’s face was filled with embarrassment. But she soon sat down with a blank look on her face.
There were many aristocrats who saw it, but no one cared because the feud between her and the emperor was quite old. Although Valore was the emperor, it was Arya who had everything that an emperor should have.
Valore looked back at Sienna and said, “I heard Lord Waters is also participating in the competition.”
“Yes. It’s Lord Waters there in the first row with blue capes.”
“It’s nice to see him manly. Lord Waters’ skills will certainly bring good results. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Thank you.”
Even though the preliminaries were held, the number of those who made it to the games were high. They were supposed to face ‘The Difficult Battle’ today for the first game.
‘The Difficult Battle’ was a game in which all the 100 knights from the preliminaries fought inside the stadium all at once. Only 24 knights who survived were able to advance to the tournament the next day.
Because of this, there was a rule that prohibited more than two knights from the same knight’s order in the capital participating in the competition. It was to prevent it from becoming a game favorable to one side. This is because it was possible for the knights to join forces with each other after the game began.
In order to reduce the number of casualties, the same wooden sword was given to all, and leather pockets with ink were tied to the front and the sides of the waist. It was considered ‘death’ if any of the colored pockets burst.
There was a drum roll to signal the beginning. The knights searched each other in the beginning without attacking, identifying the weak and the strong. They were wary of attacking first and being struck back and bursting their pockets.
But that was just momentary, and one by one, the pockets began to pop. Red ink came down from waists and soaked the thighs. It was a vivid red color that looked like blood from afar.
The spectators were excited and the participants began to make full-fledged moves.
Sienna couldn’t take her eyes off Jamie and the Knights of Phoenix, Milton, and Harvey, out of concern. The knights began to build a herd.
“Just looking at it makes me nervous.”
“Your knights and Lord Waters have already formed a camp.”
As Carl said, the three were in a triangle formation, protecting each other’s backs. Since Jamie’s skills were far more superior, when they met an enemy who was too strong, Jamie came to the front to face the opponent, and the two others faced enemies in different directions. Since it was a game that required protection of pigmented pockets, the way to protect each other’s backs while driving out the difficult opponents seemed effective.
“What about you, Carl? I’m sure the people you like also participated a lot here. Who is it?”
“Well.”
Sienna pouted her lips when Carl refused to answer straightforwardly. But that only lasted for a moment, and she became enchanted at the magnificent sight of a hundred men mingling with swords.