Chapter 69: First Day

The first event of the Tourney was the joust.

The competition took place on a long, rectangular field, separated in the middle by a wooden fence, with two contestants charging on horseback from opposite ends.

The fully armored Knight held a Goumiandun in his left hand and a Lance in his right, tucking the butt of the lance under his armpit to steady the hollow shaft.

In truth, the lances used on a real battlefield were not only solid but also much shorter than those used in the arena.

The only thing they had in common was that they were both single-use items.

Every time a charge was made and a strike landed, it had to be replaced with a new one.

Furthermore, to avoid self-injury, they were usually designed to break easily.

The arena lances were made even more hollow to reduce the impact.

Of course, the lances of the Winged Hussars were also hollow, but that was to deal with unarmored peasant soldiers, sacrificing strength for length.

If dealing with armored infantry, the lances would be much shorter and much stiffer.

Nearly a hundred Westerosi Knights and nobles participated in the joust.

Commoners and hedge knights basically did not participate in this; the joust was not an event they could afford to play. Most of them signed up for the archery competition and the Melee.

Originally, according to the custom of the Targaryen Dynasty, the Tourney could collect entry fees, but King Robert, in order to show off his wealth, waived all fees and even increased the prize money for the three competitions to the level of tens of thousands.

Moreover, the travel expenses of the contestants and their food and lodging in King's Landing could be reimbursed by the subordinates of the Master of Coin.

This clearly showed Robert's sincerity in spending money.

Now, this first-generation King of the House of the Stag, who had spent six million Gold Dragons and the three-hundred-year accumulation of the Targaryen Dynasty in fifteen years, was sitting in the VIP box with most of the courtiers, Crownlands nobles, and the Marquesses, Earls, and young ladies who had come at the news, waiting quietly for the joust to begin.

Thousands of commoners were crowded noisily into the long, open space opposite the VIP box, guessing who would be the champion this time and who would rise to fame.

The most recent Tourney was the Name Day Tourney for Prince Joffrey's twelfth Name Day.

The biggest dark horse of that tournament was the Knight of Flowers, whose horse armor was covered with hundreds of roses, who unhorsed the Kingslayer Jaime Lannister with a single lance, making a name for himself across the entire continent.

In this competition, the contestants favored by the public varied, but most people held the same view: that the handsome noble riding the giant red horse in gold armor would make the whole arena remember his name.

Because that gold-armored red horse was simply too big.

So big that even when surrounded by nearly a hundred riders, it was a sight visible at a glance.

Of course, the rider's handsome face was equally conspicuous.

"Aren't you tired riding this horse?" Loras, the Knight of Flowers, gently squeezed his horse's flanks and strolled over to Arthur's side.

"Aside from the posture being a bit strange, it's not very tiring," Arthur, who was practically doing the splits, replied.

The saddle he sat on was a custom-made one that Tuobu had found a highly skilled carpenter to build within two days, giving Arthur one day to get used to this giant horse.

Although the saddle was well-made, the horse's back was a bit too broad, making it not very comfortable to sit on.

The servants Meidan, Yule, and Piper had helped him put on the horse armor before arriving at the competition venue.

This was only accomplished under Desmond's guidance.

After all, none of them had ever come into contact with such high-end things as horse armor.

Although Arthur felt that this golden horse armor was a bit flashy, even flashier than Loras's rose-covered armor.

But once he thought about how all eyes were on him, he accepted this fact with peace of mind.

A girl who was a fan of good looks like Sansa Stark would definitely be able to see him.

Looking at the roses on Loras's horse armor, he suddenly had an idea.

"You wouldn't mind if I took one of your roses, would you?"

"Take whatever you want, I have plenty of roses," Loras said.

He was having his Attendant help him tie his gorget and didn't pay much attention to what Arthur wanted to do.

The Lord of the Red Mill picked the largest rose, pinned it to his own golden horse armor, and then lined up to wait for his turn.

The riders who appeared before him were not many skilled ones, and the competition proceeded without any surprises.

So when Arthur rode the giant red horse in gold armor onto the field, the entire VIP box and the commoners became restless at the same time.

After all, this was a contestant who left a deep impression on everyone.

Some of the commoners with good memories even recognized that this was the man who had defeated a certain good-for-nothing member of the Kingsguard a week ago.

Arthur's opponent was riding a much smaller, thin horse, which made the result seem almost without suspense.

Both sides lowered their visors, and after the referee signaled the official start, they charged on horseback.

"This match is really boring. Where is your Mountain? I want to see him fight this red-horse rider," Robert asked his wife, Queen Cersei, who was beside him.

"I don't care where a guard is," Cersei replied coldly.

She did notice that this red-horse Knight was extremely handsome, not much worse than Jaime in his youth.

Robert glanced coldly at his nominal wife and said nothing more.

Not far from them, Sansa and Littlefinger were sitting together, talking about something.

The eldest daughter of Winterfell was exceptionally excited by what she saw and heard, but she was very restrained and did not show it physically, only letting her complexion become more rosy.

The handsomeness of this rider also left a very deep impression on her.

Much more handsome than that Royce, she thought to herself.

Boom!

Arthur's opponent was knocked off his horse by him and then carried away by the King's servants.

Red Hare walked the remaining half of the distance with a steady gait, carrying the victor to the front of the VIP box.

After opening his visor, Arthur took off the prepared rose and reached out to hand it to the rosy-cheeked Sansa.

Sansa wanted to scream with excitement, but considering the princes and ministers around her, she held it back.

This must be the happiest moment since she arrived in King's Landing.

The handsome Knight in gold armor, the eye-catching act of giving flowers—perhaps it would be sung by bards in later generations!

Prince Joffrey looked on in astonishment as his fiancée was given a flower by another man.

He had only exchanged a few idle words with The Hound, so how had he been taken advantage of?

Loras, the Knight of Flowers, who was waiting to enter the arena, was also stunned.

Wasn't this what he had wanted to do himself?

How had he been beaten to it?

The crowd opposite was stirred into the most intense atmosphere since the start of the tournament by this action, with boos and jeers emerging one after another.

Many people even cheered for Arthur, hoping he would do something to the eldest daughter of the new Hand.

But Arthur knew when to stop; he slipped away immediately after presenting the flowers.

He certainly did not want to be dealt with by Sandor Clegane, The Hound, sent by the jealous Joffrey.

The remaining matches proceeded as planned, the rumbling sound of hooves echoing until evening, until the final four were decided:

Loras the Knight of Flowers, The Mountain, The Hound, and Arthur.

Because there was truly no time left to finish, the King announced that the matches for the final four would be held tomorrow, along with the Melee and the archery competition.

This drew a chorus of boos from the crowd, but everyone still obediently departed.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)