Third Day

Emery fell into a dreamless sleep, only awoken by the golden light from the rising sun shining through the windows. Without wasting time, he woke up and got dressed.

The third day of the tournament had finally started.

Today was only the third day of the five-days-long tournament. But, for most squires, this day was the day their fate would be decided.

Today, the judges will choose the top 100 squires and all of those chosen will be given the honor to join the Knights of Divine Order.

This was the moment they have prepared for their whole lives, the culmination of the blood, sweat and tears they poured into their training.

Emery went to his tent and walked to the rack, inspecting the provided leather armor before wearing it. He took one sword and shield in each hand and tested the weight of the sword by swinging it once in every direction.

The sword felt a bit light and an experimental knock on the shield made Emery realize the item was not quite durable, but it certainly was enough. Though the sword was light, its weight was distributed quite evenly, which meant Emery would have little to no problem executing attacks with it. Each practice swing he did made the blade emit a whooshing sound, as it cleaved through the air.

While he was testing the weapon, some of the squires approached him and asked about his health, concerned he decided to participate in spite of his wound. He decided to explain that the wound no longer hurt and thanked the Logress physician for his rapid recovery.

"Oh, by the way, Lanzo, did you hear?"

"What is it?"

"Apparently, Prince Edward of Cantiaci was punished by the order for what he did yesterday and was given a dishonorable discharge as a result."

Some of the squires who hadn't heard the news turned rowdy after hearing that. It was natural for everyone to be happy, all the squires gathered here hated what the prince did to the princess.

Meanwhile, Emery was a little bit surprised at how heavy the punishment the prince received, did the knight order truly care about honor?

Emery was also concerned this would bring trouble to the princess and her kingdom later on. However, on second thought, knowing the kind of man the prince was. It's probably a good thing that he's being discharged from the order.

Emery shook his head. He had no time to be concerned about these things. After all, he had a tournament to win and a title to get.

The trumpet was sounded and the call for all squires could be heard from outside.

Everyone walked out of the tent and stood in the center of the field for the opening ceremony. This time, the knight commander stood next to King Uther Pendragon, who gave the opening speech for the game.

"I wish you all the best and may the best squire win!"

All 240 squires drew their numbers and went back to the tent to wait for their turn.

The arena was no longer split into three lines for cavalry. Instead, it was now split into eight smaller arenas. Today's game involved traditional close combat, where the squires were allowed to choose any weapon between: broadsword, sword and shield, or mace and shield.

Without even considering the other options, Emery chose the path of the sword.

The first match was about to start and Emery decided to rest in the tent, while preparing his mind to concentrate. While he was lost in thoughts, the squires' chatter suddenly went silent. He looked at the entrance to see two figures walking in.

They were the princess and Yvain, the Golden Knight.

All the squires quickly kneeled on one knee to give their respects. For most of the squires, the princess was a blessing, as, without her, they would not even have the chance to participate. This may be the only time the princess was given the chance to take charge of the event and they would not let such an opportunity go to waste.

"My squires, I hope you can do your best in the tournament. Give it your all and go to make me and the kingdom proud." The princess smiled, and all the squires raised their fists. It seemed their fighting spirit was restored.

The princess looked around and her eyes met Emery's.

"Lanzo!"

To be honest, Emery considered pretending he didn't see her, as he was reluctant to talk with her due to what she said yesterday, but there was no way to do that here, with the squires watching him.

"Yes, my lady." Emery approached the princess and kneeled in front of her.

"You leave the room without words, that's really impolite. Don't do that again!"

The princess ordered him to stand and gave him a small jar of something that looks similar to the green healing paste.

"I know you won't want to miss the tournament, therefore I have fetched a very good medicine for you. This will definitely help, I heard it will ease the pain from your wound for a few hours."

Emery gave a small bow and nodded.

"Thank you, princess."

Emery was about to turn around and go back to where he sat, but the princess stopped him.

"No, stay here and use it now, or I will not let you participate."

Emery was worried. If they saw what happened to his wound, he would get more questions than he was comfortable with right now.

"What are you waiting for? You aren't shy, are you?" The princess let out a small smile.

His brain scrambled to look for a way to avoid the situation, but with the princess, the squires and the golden knight watching him, there was no way to wriggle out of this situation. With hesitation, Emery removed his armor, and to the princess and the knight's shock, they saw his wound was almost nonexistent.

"How could this be?!"

The only reason he could give to the princess was,

"I am sure it was thanks to the medicine I was given before by the Logress physician my Lady."

The princess didn't respond. She still stared at the almost disappearing wound.

To try and relieve the awkward silence, Emery hurriedly put the new paste on his shoulder and wore his armor back. Luckily, his number was called moments later and the trumpet resounded as his cue to start. Thanks to that, there was no need to explain further.

"Thank you, princess. But, I really need to head out now."