For a mont, I wanted to ask if I’d heard wrong, but Hilda’s eyes were dead serious. She wanted to enter the tournant? Her lifelong dream was to compete in a tournant? Now I finally understood why Hilda, as a woman, had learned horsemanship and mounted combat.
But the problem was that this era strictly forbade won from taking the initiative. The ideal woman, the virtue this age pursued, was one who bore legitimate heirs and quietly managed household affairs. Sure, there was the example of Joan of Arc, but that was an extrely rare and special case.
I wanted to support whatever Hilda wanted to do, but realistically, this was a difficult wish to grant. I couldn’t ignore the desperate look in her eyes, so I agonized over it. The only solution was for her to compete while hiding her identity. Plate armor would help conceal the fact that she was a woman.
However, tournants were incredibly dangerous. Even with various safety rules in place, a rider could die from being thrown from their horse or have their head smashed by a poorly aid lance strike. Sure, compared to actual combat it was tar, but I couldn’t send Hilda into such a brutal arena.
What should I do?
Caught between a rock and a hard place.
I’d never agonized this much before. It felt like wandering through a maze with no exit. But then Hilda, who’d been watching silently, suddenly pulled into an embrace. I’d been worried she’d be disappointed because I was hesitating so much, but surprisingly, Hilda seed to be in good spirits.
"Thank you. For thinking about it so seriously."
"...Why are you thanking for that?"
"Most nobles would’ve dismissed my wish as trivial. But Wolf, you thought about it for my sake. That alone makes so happy. A dream is just a dream, after all."
The Middle Ages were filled with harsh discrimination against progressive won like Hilda. The fact that Hilda had revealed her wish to compete in the tournant showed she had faith that I would accept it. That’s why she was moved by how seriously I was considering it.
Hilda seed satisfied with just that.
But now that I’d heard what was in her heart, I couldn’t just leave it alone.
So what I ca up with was having Hilda teach mounted combat properly.
"I was planning to skip the tournant to spend ti together, but I’ve changed my mind. I’m entering the tournant. As a knight competing there, I’ll carry my lady’s honor and beco the champion."
"Wolf, I’m so happy, but you don’t have to push yourself."
"So then, teach mounted combat properly."
Hilda was speechless for a mont, as if this were an unexpected proposal. Before the campaign, I’d learned mounted combat from Hilda briefly, but it had been literally just the basics. Having witnessed Hilda’s mounted combat skills, I’d always thought she was a better rider than I was.
What if I combined this with the Mounted Combat Manual? Wouldn’t that create a synergy effect?
Since my Stage 1 proficiency had reached 98, I figured that with just a bit more effort I could advance to Stage 2.
"...Are you serious?"
"I’m serious. You have to see the knight you trained beco champion."
She couldn’t compete in the tournant as a woman, but couldn’t she feel vicarious satisfaction watching the knight she’d trained win? Especially if that knight was her beloved husband. Hilda had revealed that she’d not only learned mounted combat but could handle a lance as well. Still, she was reluctant.
"Why are you hesitating? You were the one who taught mounted combat before the campaign."
"I’d love to teach you everything I can. But Wolf, I might raise my voice at you for the first ti. If that shakes our love, I’d rather give up."
An ordinary noble would either fail to endure it or dismiss her by saying, "What does a woman know?"
But I’m no ordinary noble, and I’m not a man so weak-willed that I couldn’t handle her instruction. If I were, I wouldn’t have even thought to learn horsemanship and mounted combat from Hilda in the first place. I understood what she was worried about, so I needed to put her concerns to rest.
So I persuaded her with all my heart and soul.
It felt as if I poured out every flowery phrase I had, as though using the Diplomat Scouter.
Bright and warm as her wine-colored hair, Hilda accepted.
I was dead serious right now. It was for Hilda and no one else, so no other motivation could match it. Even if I didn’t win the tournant, I could still show her my determination. I wanted to fulfill her small wish one way or another.
"Rember when we danced in the cathedral courtyard?"
"Of course. An unforgettable mory. Even though I didn’t know your na then."
"The Lord must have bound us together by fate."
Nestled in my arms, she whispered.
Lord or whatever, it was definitely fate.
The fact that my fated partner had been in another world was why I’d been single all that ti.
When we returned to the banquet hall, the Grand Duke and the other royals had arrived, and nobles were swarming toward them. They were working hard to make a good impression on the Grand Duke and Crown Prince. If they could just catch the Grand Duke’s eye, they might land a position, so they were desperate. The sa situation as the Euz nobles who’d sward Fried.
But there was an unfamiliar girl sitting next to the Crown Prince with a bored expression. She seed to be Princess Evangeline, of whom I’d only heard. Seeing Evangeline, Hilda said she’d go greet her and headed that way. Since Hilda had been childhood friends with the Crown Prince, she was naturally close to the Princess too. Evangeline welcod her with delight.
I thought Hilda’s social skills and connections were impressive.
Especially compared to my own extrely narrow network.
I’d expected Marquis Bertheim to attend, but the old man was nowhere to be seen. Then again, he was retired, so it would be strange for him to have much external activity. When I had ti, I should visit and mooch so tea. When I returned to my seat, Michael and Fiel were all over again, being a nuisance.
"I’ll participate, so please stop already."
"Oh! Good thinking, brother-in-law. I was at a loss for how to report this to Father."
Michael’s gloomy face brightened as though a weight had been lifted.
But why did he need to report to my father-in-law whether I was participating in the tournant?
"Is my father-in-law also entering the tournant?"
"Obviously. He’ll participate in every event. By the way, we’re already signed up to compete as Father’s knights in the team competition, so don’t you dare skip out. Let’s crush those Imperial Knights bastards this ti!"
Apparently I’d been signed up for the team competition without even knowing. And surprisingly, my father-in-law participated every ti a tournant was held in Beren. That was why Michael and Ulrich were forced to participate too. Their results weren’t great, but my father-in-law had won a whopping 13 tis.
My younger brother-in-law Ulrich had been dispatched due to a problem with the eastern border defense. So I was in the position of having to participate in the tournant in Ulrich’s place. In the end, even if I refused, I was going to be forced to participate anyway.
If the order cos from my father-in-law and not soone else, I have no choice but to obey.
Fiel said to :
"I’ll teach you how to use a lance properly."
"Sorry, but I’ve already decided on my instructor."
"What? An instructor?"
I just smiled aningfully. Fiel was disappointed, but he promised to fight with everything he had if we t at the tournant grounds. Among the knights I knew, Fiel was the best with a lance. I didn’t know how things would turn out, but isn’t it the spirit of youth to clash without regrets? Of course, I had no intention of losing.
We talked at length about the tournant. Normally when a tournant is held, knights gather from all over the country, and considering travel ti in this period, it’s held two weeks later. They compete in individual and team events, and if you lose, you pay a ransom and can participate again.
In other words, no matter how many tis you lose, as long as you have money, you can keep challenging until you run out. That’s why bankers and noble moneylenders are always on standby around the tournant grounds. Bank counters are Tier 1 financing, and noble moneylenders are Tier 2 financing. There’s even a worst-case Tier 3 financing run by Jews.
Hearing this, I almost spat out the wine I was drinking.
That’s why there are countless poor knights who participate in tournants hoping to strike it rich.
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