[IHTTMBW] Chapter 66

Since horses find it easier to move in straight lines, a circular arena was considered a high-level venue for jousting. What the king demanded, however, was for novice knights to showcase seasoned expertise—a nearly impossible task.

The main problem lay here:

“Not veteran knights but novices? This is clearly meant to mock the princess!”
“What should we do?”

I had very few knights who had sworn loyalty to me. The king had never summoned me to tournaments in the past, and I rarely appeared at such events without Gelbart by my side. Traditionally, knights were raised and maintained by noble houses using their wealth. While there were freelance knights, even they aspired to be employed by prestigious families. Given these circumstances, I had no means to cultivate knights of my own.

There were several knightly orders within the palace, but most were loyal to the First Prince, the king, or the Second Prince. None pledged allegiance to me, the hidden and abandoned princess. The best I had were the senior knights Gelbart had assigned to guard me. He cherished me dearly and would never entrust me to the care of inexperienced knights. The only time I encountered his novice knights was during shared swordsmanship training sessions.

Thus, I faced the absurd prospect of attending a jousting tournament held in my honor without a single knight to represent me. No wonder Orzette and the other ladies-in-waiting were furious. Even if Gelbart tried to hastily assign a knight to me, transferring a knight’s allegiance to a new household required at least two weeks—a timeline impossible to meet for a tournament so hastily arranged.

“They want you to just sit there, doing nothing!”
“Well, maybe I’ll just do that. It seems someone was very upset about my dress,” I replied dryly.
“That’s unacceptable! You’re the star of the event!”

I pondered the situation deeply and then, half-jokingly, suggested, “Should I just participate myself?”

Orzette’s jaw dropped. She looked as though she’d just heard the most shocking statement in the world. I raised a hand to calm her, feeling guilty for my jest, but she preempted me with a shriek.

“You absolutely cannot enter a match where you could die!”
“I know. Women aren’t allowed to compete anyway.”
“Then how could you even suggest such a thing?”

Her voice rose with each word, ending with sharp exclamations that betrayed her rising temper. Orzette was clearly agitated. I cleared my throat and nodded in agreement, wary of provoking her further. After all, she might retaliate by making me wear an unbearably heavy headdress tomorrow.

The rule barring women from jousting was laughable, especially given that female knights existed. Still, the idea of disguising myself as a man and entering the tournament briefly crossed my mind.

But one glance at Orzette’s face quickly dispelled that thought. If I attempted such a thing, she might throw herself into the Lefana River in despair.

“Why do you think the king insisted on novice knights, Princess?” she pressed.
“Well, obviously, he’s hoping for casualties at my coming-of-age celebration. To ruin its memory, perhaps?”
Orzette nodded grimly.

She was right. Jousting in a circular arena was especially dangerous, with a high likelihood of casualties. If the participants were all novices, the outcome was predictable: injuries, deaths, and screaming ladies in the audience. Meanwhile, I would have to endure the chaos without even one knight representing me.

Yet no solution presented itself. As we racked our brains for an answer, the day of the tournament crept closer—far too quickly.

Cheers erupted.

The banners of Crothasone, the kingdom’s proud emblem, were displayed prominently around the venue. Both nobles and commoners gathered to watch the tournament, which was, more precisely, a jousting match with lances.

Two knights would charge at each other on horseback, aiming to unseat their opponent or break their lance or helmet to claim victory. Naturally, this led to numerous casualties. Today’s event, held in the circular arena, was even more perilous. Horses galloping too quickly often collided with the curved barriers, leading to fatal accidents.

Under normal circumstances, novice knights were barred from participating in such events. But today was different. The tournament had been organized by the king as part of my coming-of-age celebration—a thinly veiled wish for disaster.

“Waaaah!”

The crowd’s cheers grew louder as the knights entered the arena. The tournament grounds, resembling a colosseum, included a royal viewing box where I was seated. Surrounding me were noblewomen, the center of attention for both knights and spectators. Among these ladies, renowned beauties—dubbed the flowers of high society—bestowed kisses on the cheeks of knights they blessed. These were either knights representing their families or those they shared a romantic connection with.

Although I had a betrothed, Allenan, he was absent. The king had conveniently scheduled the tournament on a day when an important event was taking place in Allenan’s homeland, Alkaden. As the sole heir to his royal family, he was obliged to attend.

Even if he had been available, I would not have allowed him to participate in such a dangerous event.