The black knight bowed deeply and stood up. Then he turned his head to look around and made a gesture of looking for someone and began to walk with sure footsteps.
The bleachers standing behind the king had seats for noble guests and there were many ladies sitting there, but he didn't look in that direction, so the crowd groaned. Normally, the winner would choose a woman from a prestigious family, as it is customary for the king to bestow the title along with a territory upon the winner.
“Who will he appoint? He didn't pick a woman from the guest of honor seat…… Oh, he's coming this way.”
Cynthia, who had been watching the awards ceremony with her elbows on the fence, shouted in confusion. A few seconds later, we stiffened without a word.
The black knight was coming straight toward us.
Then, he came straight to the front of the fence and knelt down – in front of me.
“Eh? Liesel?”
Cynthia's voice turned upside down in surprise, but I was even more astonished.
It seems that the audience was the same way, too and they were thrilled that the winner of the Joust had chosen a woman in a plain yellow dress, leaning against the fence with a half-eaten apple, because it was so unexpected.
Perhaps taking advantage of my completely frozen state, the black knight stood up, reached out his right hand, took my hand, and pulled it hard against the inside of the fence.
“Ho, ho, there you are, girl. You've been chosen as the maiden of honor, now get over here!”
The ceremonial officer who had followed the black knight scowls and gestures for me to climb over the fence.
I have no idea why I was chosen. Is the black knight mistaken me for someone else?
If I am chosen as the medal maiden, I'll have to marry the black knight. In all the previous competitions, that has never happened.
No matter if you have a fiancée, no matter how prestigious a daughter or princess you are. As long as she's not married, she'll be the wife of the first knight of Leia.
That was the best part of this tournament.
(What should I do? This is so embarrassing!)
I looked around and saw everyone in the crowd staring at me with expectant eyes.
Some were curious, some were genuinely astonished, and some were disappointed.
But everyone was waiting for me to make a move. A nominated damsel has no right of refusal.
I couldn't refuse to comply.
Prompted by the gazes of the place, I scrambled over the fence with my feet and climbed over. Cynthia, who was standing next to me, silently takes the apple from my hand.
“Um, are you sure about me?”
I ask the black knight standing in front of me, trying to ascertain his true intentions.
The black knight nodded his head silently. The red cloth on his helmet was swirling with his movements.
He held out his right hand toward me.
“Please take this hand this second time. Even if it's out of pity.”
“Eh, Yes…… But..”
“I'm the most proud here in Leia today to be able to choose you.”
I gasp and look up at the black knight.
(Why did this man say that line?)
I gasped audibly.
How could this black knight know the words of the encounter that night in the royal garden, which I had already recalled hundreds of times over and over again?
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I unconsciously gripped my overlapping right hand tightly. The gloves of the armed black knight were so thick that I could not feel their warmth.
But when the black knight turned around and began to walk toward the red carpet where the king was waiting, I meekly followed him.
Seeing me approaching, the king blinked several times with a strange expression on his face.
He probably couldn't understand why I, the crown prince's Kings guard magician, had been chosen by the black knight.
Then the king's complexion changed.
He turned his head and stared at the black knight with a steely gaze, then muttered with the medal in his hand.
“No way, black knight…you're…”
The black knight walked up to the king and put both hands on his helmet. He held the bottom part of it and took off his black helmet while shaking his head.
The bleachers were buzzing. It spread like a ripple, and eventually, those who had noticed what was happening spoke up about the identity of the black knight.
–His Highness. Isn't that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?
“Father, I too have joined the Joust. Sorry to have kept it a secret.”
The crown prince, holding the helmet he had taken off under his arm, turned his brown twin eyes toward the king.
“Please allow me to choose Liesel as the maiden of the medal.”
“No! I will not. The crown prince's participation in the joust is outrageous! What do you think you're doing?”
But after the king said this, he became violently upset.
Because the audience praised him, repeatedly calling the crown prince's name in a jubilant voice.
“Our Lord Ulysses! Our true knight of Leia!”
“Our crown prince!”
The crown prince quickly knelt before the groggy king. Next, he looked up at his father, his brown eyes filled with a strong light.
“Father, I swear to devote my life to this country. I'll be a model of integrity and honesty. I'll put the public before me in everything….. So please forgive my selfishness, but only to the princess who stands by my side.”
The king's stern face relaxed slightly. His sharp eyes became slightly engorged as if he had been moved. He's probably most acutely aware of the weight of the burden he has borne for his country and the fate that will eventually fall on the crown prince's shoulders.
The crown prince's desperate persuasion made me unable to stand still.
I knelt down next to the crown prince and folded my hands in front of my chest.
“I was so close to His Highness that I couldn't help but feel that he was in pain. I stand by his Highness with all my heart and I swear to support him for the rest of my life.”
The MC walked up behind the king, who put his hand on his forehead and sighed.
“Your majesty. It's traditional that no one can break up the relationship between a knight and his maiden.”
“Oh, enough of this. Do as you please.”
The king muttered in resignation and the crown prince stood up with a radiant face. He immediately helped me to my feet and gave me a big smile.
“Come on, Liesel. Give me my medal.”
The king handed me the medal with reluctance. I put it around the crown prince's neck, who bowed his head slightly.
“Congratulations, my dear Black Knight.”
The crown prince chuckled as I said this.
The crowd applauded and cheered so loudly that it shook the ground, and the defeated count took his helmet and tucked it under his arm, applauding us with a big smile on his face.
Chapter end
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