The first-round bracket came out. The knights’ reactions were mixed as they looked at the bracket that a bureaucrat had posted on the bulletin board in front of the War Ministry camp. Michael had the fifth match, and his opponent was a veteran knight from Steinhof. Curses flew from his mouth.

I had no words of comfort for him.

What round was I in, and who was my opponent?

I found my name at the very top of the bracket.

I had the first match, and my opponent was Gert von Hornst. He was a Crown Prince’s guard. He was also one of the 13 cavalrymen who’d followed behind me in the battle near Feuzen. A relatively easy opponent, but I had no intention of letting my guard down. I was a tournament novice, and upsets could happen at any time.

"Lord of Feuzen! Get ready!"

"They’re calling for you, brother-in-law. Don’t let your guard down and make sure you win!"

"I’ll dedicate all my victories to Hilda."

The reason I’d entered this tournament started from Hilda’s wish. So I would dedicate all my victories to her. Most tournament knights considered it the highest honor to dedicate victory to an admired noblewoman. I led Mont Blanc into the arena.

The 10 first-round participants lined up facing their opponents.

I looked at Hornst across from me—his pupils were shaking like an earthquake. Was he cursing his bad luck? After conducting a somewhat solemn oath ceremony demonstrating mutual respect and promising not to resent each other even in case of accidents, we each sought out our admired noblewomen.

"Esteemed Lady Madeleine! Please permit me to receive your handkerchief and flowers!"

Hornst poured out his admiration to a noblewoman called Madeleine. The noblewoman seemed pleased that a young, robust knight had chosen her. Her husband beside her was smiling very contentedly. He seemed proud that his wife was the one the young knight admired.

I’m a German too, but I really can’t understand German sensibilities.

My eyes were fixed only on Hilda. My beautiful Hilda.

I was glad there was no fool trying to court her.

"To my beloved Lady Brünhilt! Give your handkerchief and flowers to the man who loves you!"

"Gladly!"

Hilda had Priscilla deliver the handkerchief and Sabine the flowers. Since the noblewoman couldn’t come down and attach them herself, she had her handmaids do it instead. I tucked the handkerchief Priscilla handed me inside the helmet cover, and Sabine climbed onto the stand to hang a prepared wreath around Mont Blanc’s neck.

"Make sure you win, Master!"

Receiving Sabine’s sweet encouragement, I entered the arena. Among the five makeshift joust arenas, I was assigned the middle one, the third. Hornst across from me was so nervous that the tip of his lance was shaking. Mont Blanc seemed eager to run, snorting restlessly.

"Bereit!" (Ready!)

At the referee’s shout, I lowered the raised helmet visor. The gothic plate armor helmet actually had a surprisingly wide field of view despite appearances. My gaze was directed only at my opponent ahead—Hornst.

"Anfang!" (Begin!) 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Finally, the start. I slowly urged Mont Blanc forward, then firmly pressed the inside of his belly with my back heel. It was the charging signal. Mont Blanc surged forward powerfully as if he’d been waiting. Even with a heavy load in the saddle, he didn’t seem to care. As I gradually closed in on Hornst, I leveled the lance and lowered the tip horizontally.

I had to maintain heavy balance matching Mont Blanc’s charging momentum to achieve proper form. Hornst’s lance tip was angled slightly downward. Hilda had said the most important thing was finding the opponent’s center point to attack. Striking down from above, my lance smashed into Hornst’s shield.

Crack!

Crash!

I seemed to have found Hornst’s center point precisely. My lance broke while delivering considerable impact to Hornst. Hornst’s lance also hit my shield but glanced off without much force. When we crossed, Hornst somehow managed not to fall and held on.

As I discarded the broken lance, Ted, who’d been waiting, rushed over and handed me a new one. While we replaced lances, tournament arena staff cleared the scattered fragments from the field. Charging once more, Hornst and I collided. This time Hornst couldn’t hold on and was unhorsed.

He couldn’t properly control his body from the impact of the fall.

Since we knew each other, I felt rather bad.

Hornst would have to pay me a ransom.

Someone who appeared to be his squire consulted with Hornst and ran over to me.

"I will pay my young master’s ransom to the Lord of Feuzen."

"Does your young master have any intention of rechallenging?"

"Unfortunately, it seems he was injured from the fall."

"Please tell Sir Hornst I wish him a full recovery."

Hornst gave up on rechallenging and exited after paying the ransom. Fortunately, first-round ransoms were at least relatively light. Lady Madeleine must have been disappointed by Hornst’s defeat, but I dedicated this victory to Hilda. As the knight who won the first match of the first round, I saluted the noblewomen from the field.

"I dedicate my honorable victory to Lady Brünhilt!"

Hilda received congratulations from the surrounding noblewomen.

I naturally felt pleased seeing her happiness.

I kissed her handkerchief and returned to the waiting room.

Ted and Oscar ran over to take my equipment. Winter led Mont Blanc away—he’d groom him thoroughly. Taking off my helmet, I savored the joy of winning my first match and removed my plate armor. Since the second round didn’t proceed until all first-round matches had ended, I planned to rest in the meantime.

Since Michael’s match was the fifth, I went out directly to the field’s player area to watch. I wondered if he could fight well against his opponent, supposedly a veteran knight from the Steinhof family. Michael pledged victory to his wife and bravely faced the Steinhof knight.

Crack!

Crash!

Michael clashed fiercely but ultimately fell from his horse on the fourth exchange. A veteran knight indeed—the man clearly had rich tournament experience. I was lucky my first opponent had been Hornst. If my first opponent had been such a tough adversary, I wouldn’t have avoided a struggle. Michael’s defeat put me on edge.

Michael trudged back to the waiting room and said to me in a hollow voice:

"I could have won, but I lost concentration at the end and it cost me."

"You fought hard. You might have won if it had gone a bit longer."

"But I lost in the end. That’s the difference between my opponent and me."

I had no words to offer.

"Damn it, I made it to the fourth round last tournament."

Michael seemed deeply disappointed by his first-round elimination. The War Ministry knights all watched Michael’s mood carefully. Noticing their concern, Michael left the waiting room to avoid making them uncomfortable. His retreating figure was a bitter sight. If I didn’t stay focused, I could end up the same way.

I couldn’t afford to lose yet—not for Hilda’s sake.

Among the knights belonging to the War Ministry, only 5 including me advanced to the second round. There didn’t seem to be many knights strong in individual competition. My father-in-law and Viscount Loewenbert were strong championship contenders, so they received seeded positions and started from the third round.

Others like the cavalry commander, the Grand Duke’s Guard commander, and the Imperial Knights commander all received seeds too. Popular stars with high win rates were given seeds like this. My father-in-law heard the news that Michael had been knocked out and grew furious, but Michael had already fled. It looked like I wouldn’t see him again until team competition day.

My second-round opponent was a knight from the Imperial Knights.

"Show those War Ministry mutts the Imperial dignity!"

"Wreck those annoying Imperial Knights bastards!"

I could hear the passionate jeering from the War Ministry knights and nobles. The Imperial Knights camp was no different. Both sides were shouting for blood—so much for the tournament spirit. This wasn’t even a derby. It was close, but I managed to win after four exchanges.

"He won! Long live the Lord of Feuzen!"

"Serves you right, Imperial bastards!"

"Wahaha! Look at those guys shutting their traps!"

Tremendous cheers erupted from the War Ministry camp.

I would have preferred more refined cheering.

Now I understood why European hooligans are so extreme.

"I’ll pay the ransom and rechallenge!"

The Imperial Knight paid the ransom and challenged me again. Since everyone’s center axis is different, if you miss, the force transmission is incomplete and it’s hard to knock them down. But after several exchanges, I could roughly gauge my opponent’s center axis.

Crash!

Crack!

"Urgh!"

The moment my lance collided with my opponent’s shield, I felt a heavy, satisfying impact. My lance broke while properly transmitting the force. The Imperial Knight’s lance missed my shield and went wide. After two exchanges, the Imperial Knight fell. He paid the second ransom and gave up on rechallenging.

He seemed to have realized he couldn’t win no matter how many times he tried.

Swallowing his humiliation, the Imperial Knight made the wise choice.

This is a world where it’s all too common to squander your fortune by continuing to challenge without accepting defeat. In fact, in this tournament, one knight challenged eight times. He reportedly incurred massive ransom fees on top of enormous debt—I could almost hear the laughter of the loan sharks lurking around the arena.

I dedicated the glory of victory to Hilda again.

Hilda seemed to be drawing more and more attention.

The more I won, the higher her honor rose too.

After receiving an enthusiastic welcome at the War Ministry camp and returning to the waiting room, I rested for the next round. After eating the lunch Sabine and Priscilla had packed, I caught a quick nap before my third-round opponent was announced. Then I checked the bracket.

My third-round opponent was the commander of the Beren Lance Cavalry.