Facing the sunset glow of early spring, the carriages that set out from the city finally gathered at the gate of the manor outside the city. When the "knights" wearing various armors appeared, the reporters who came for tonight's news excitedly turned on the flashlights of their cameras, making the white light flash at the gate of the manor.
At first, Shad was worried that his golden armor might be too flashy, but when he entered the manor with Dorothy's hand in his, he realized that he was overthinking it.
It is no longer the old era when knights were everywhere. The invention of firearms has made cold weapons and armor outdated. Therefore, swords and armor, which originally showed the spirit of chivalry, have become decorations or even show-offs in this era.
The armor that should have been neat and cold was painted with fashionable colors, and the helmets were decorated with colorful feathers. When Shad and Dorothy entered the banquet hall of the manor together, they even saw a young man showing off his sword skills to a group of young girls on the right side of the banquet hall door.
The armor on his body was painted dark gold, with a sword and a pistol crossed on his chest and back. The thin tubular sword in his hand, or the back end of the hilt connected to a thin pipe, was connected to the steam bag in the corner.
Every time he swung the "sword", scorching steam would spray out from the densely packed small holes on the sword, causing the onlookers to exclaim in surprise.
Xia De felt that the other party was more suitable for performing in a circus than participating in an equestrian competition.
"Although I have seen similar scenes in Leicia's memory, this is the first time I have participated in it in person."
Dorothy was very interested in this.
Neither Miss Karina nor Lecia will appear at this banquet. The former has no need to attend, while the latter plans to wait until the closing banquet of the competition.
As usual, both the King and Queen Diana made an appearance. Shad learned of Queen Diana's pregnancy earlier this year, and now, two months later, although her belly is not particularly bulging, she still looks like a pregnant woman in her dress.
A total of 36 knights registered for the competition this year. All of them appeared at the banquet in armor, and knelt on one knee together to assure the king that they would win honor for themselves with the spirit of chivalry.
Leicia's father, Larus III, seemed to be in a good mood today. He not only encouraged the contestants, but also personally announced the rules of this year's competition.
After His Majesty the King finished his speech, Dorothy told Shad that the negotiations with Carsonrick on the border were going smoothly and would probably begin in the middle of next month, which was why His Majesty the King was in such a good mood.
This year's "Spring City Riding Competition" has a total of four days, and the first three days are "archery", "horse racing" and "horse duel". The first two are regular events, while the "horse duel" requires contestants to ride their own horses and attack each other with wooden swords dipped in white ash within a specified time.
This is a new event this year and it is also a more difficult event. There are still many people who can ride horses in this era, but there are basically no people who know how to duel while riding horses.
The first two events take one day each, and the last event takes one and a half days. The first three events will each count points. The two with the highest scores can enter the exhibition match on Thursday afternoon. That is, they will duel in front of the king and the audience wearing armor and holding real swords. The winner will be the champion of the 1854 Spring Ring City Riding Competition.
"The tickets for the exhibition match on the last day will definitely sell like hot cakes."
This was Xia De's first thought after hearing the rules. In previous years, only the top scorer would win the championship, and then a grand ceremony would be held on the last day of the competition to award the prizes, but there would be no final duel.
But Dorothy was quite excited about this, and the writer had a wonderful expectation for Shade:
"In the name of Leicia, knight, you will definitely defeat all enemies, right?"
When asking this question, Dorothy's eyes seemed to light up.
After the King's speech to the "knights", the grand banquet really began. Because it was quite uncomfortable to attend the banquet in armor, the manor also opened some rooms so that the "knights" could temporarily change their heavy clothes.
Compared to the complicated way to put on the armor, taking it off was much simpler, and even Dorothy could help Shad take it off by herself. Because the clothes were prepared in advance, Shad didn't have to return to the banquet hall in a white shirt after taking off the armor.
However, when Dorothy was helping Shad adjust his tie in front of the mirror in the lounge and talking to him about the dance music for a while, there was a knock on the door of the room.
There was no need to ask who was knocking at the door, because the sound was familiar:
"Mr. Hamilton, may I come in?"
It was Ajelina's voice.
"Come in."
Dorothy spoke on behalf of Shad. Although the voice was hers, the tone of her voice was surprisingly like that of Leicia, and Shad was sure that the soul now was Miss Writer.
The intensification of soul fusion has caused this phenomenon. In addition to your revelry on Red Butterfly Day, you also need to make them feel from time to time that they are indeed two people, in order to slightly prevent the further intensification of this fusion phenomenon.
The little princess outside the door obviously felt the familiarity of the tone. She opened the door carefully, and after seeing the blonde girl helping Shade to tidy up his formal clothes, she asked the maids behind her to put away the armor that had been removed.
She went into the room herself, looked around to make sure there was no one else in the room except Shard and Dorothy, and then she said softly:
"Mr. Hamilton, my mother asked me to come look for you."
Queen Diana has always been very friendly to Shad. According to Leicia, this is also related to Shad's relationship with Miss Carina. Shad often talks to Queen Diana at various banquets, especially those attended by Miss Carina, so he is not surprised at all by the invitation:
"Is there anything I can do for you? If it's nothing very important, I'll take Dorothy with me."
The blonde smiled, and Ajelina replied softly:
"It's nothing important. Mother met some Kasenrick people who are related to my grandmother's family and wanted to introduce you to them."
Although Carsenrick and Delarion had once had a conflict that affected the entire Old World, the kinship between the nobles of the two countries had never been severed. Even the Angevin royal family of Carsenrick and the Cavendish royal family of Delarion might be related if they traced back more than a dozen generations.
"Okay, I'll be right there."
Xia De nodded, and the little princess hesitated and said:
"In fact, there is one more thing. The one participating in the city riding competition this year is the eldest son of Marquis Dulahhan. That is..."
"Marquis Dullahan is a candidate for the next Minister of Finance of the Kingdom. He will retire after completing this year's financial reforms."
Dorothy said casually:
"Although His Majesty the King may not really like the son of the Marquis, if he can win this year's championship, it may give the King some new ideas. After all, Ajelina is already 17 years old, and she is not like Leicia who can still play a role in Yodel Palace, so..."
Now Shade understood:
“I will definitely be the champion this year.”
Ajelina smiled immediately and was about to give her blessing, but Dorothy said:
"Lecia has prepared a wonderful celebration for Shade."
The smile on the little princess's face disappeared, and Dorothy turned around and continued to straighten Shad's clothes, with a barely perceptible smile on her face.
She is indeed becoming more and more like Lecia.
After Shad had packed his clothes, he took Dorothy and Ajelina back to the bustling banquet hall.
Different banquets have different procedures and atmospheres because of the different participants. Tonight's banquet is undoubtedly more relaxed and does not have too many rules. Because the weather is getting warmer, in addition to the banquet hall, the courtyard of the manor is also open to guests.
Not all "knights" took off their armor. Shade saw many of them still wearing bulky attire, but that could attract more girls.
Queen Diana did not go to the lounge, but sat on the sofa in the lounge area on the side of the banquet hall. When Ajelina led Shad and Dorothy over, Shad realized that he had also seen the so-called Carsonrick relatives of Queen Diana's mother's family.
"Mr. Eric Foran, Mr. Charles Foran."
"Good evening, Mr. Hamilton."
The two five-ring sorcerers whom he had met at Queen Maria Opera House stood up and greeted Shade.
The two gentlemen from Carsenrick also signed up for the city riding competition, but they had already taken off their armor and were now wearing similar black suits.
They still wore monocles. The one wearing the glasses on the right eye was the older twin brother, Mr. Eric Foran, and the one wearing the glasses on the left eye was the younger twin brother, Mr. Charles Foran. Although the whispering elements on the two monocles were low, Shade could still tell that they were relics. They often wore them, just like the sage-level ruby earrings that Leicia often wore.
"Have you seen it?"
The queen, who wore an opal pearl necklace around her neck and a silver crown on her head, asked with a smile.
As Shard and Dorothy sat down together, he said:
"Yes, I met the two gentlemen a few days ago when I was watching an opera at the opera house with Miss Carina."
When the queen heard Shad mention "Miss Carina", she looked at the blonde writer beside Shad, but the latter's expression did not change.
While the queen was surprised at the knight's tricks, she continued:
"The Forlan family and my mother's family are distant relatives. My grandmother and Mr. Forlan's great-grandmother are cousins."