Chapter 125: The First Truly Effective Hit

I silently pulled her into an embrace and comforted her.

What Hilda truly wanted wasn’t worldly honor, but small everyday happiness with me. She no longer cared for hollow glory and said present reality mattered more than past desires.

Actually, I felt the same.

I pursued practical benefits over honor, but Hilda was more precious than any practical benefit.

But because we’re nobles, we can’t help being bound by appearances.

Sometimes they become a shackle.

"I want to lie in this rose garden like this, chatting about daily life, making light jokes and teasing each other, and dreaming about the future of our children to be born in Feuzen."

"Children. I hope they come soon."

"That’s why you work so hard every night, right? I’m looking forward to it."

"Mm, you’re not just looking forward to children, right?"

At my mischievous joke, Hilda giggled and leaned even closer to me.

Yeah, this ordinary daily life is the greatest happiness.

The world doesn’t end just because you lose a tournament.

So, let’s not feel pressured.

"How did you feel when I defeated the Knights commander?"

"It was so satisfying! If Betty (Elisabeth) hadn’t stopped me, I almost threw my cup."

It would’ve been entertaining if she’d thrown the cup and cracked the commander’s skull. Hilda shuddered, saying she’d nearly lost her composure when the Imperial Knights commander hit on her. She hadn’t expected him to pull such a shameless stunt.

Because of that, the commander’s reputation among noblewomen was now at rock bottom.

Huh? I’d thought there would be noblewomen who pitied him for being so pathetic.

Instead, with Hilda—who’d secured the victor’s honor—at the center, public opinion condemning the commander had become dominant, and he lost both honor and trust. As expected, the victor’s voice carries the farthest.

While chatting intimately with Hilda, I became even more determined. She said she no longer wanted honor and told me not to overdo it, but isn’t wanting to win all the more because of that just a man’s nature?

After spending the night together, the final day of the individual competition arrived. As expected, Hilda’s embrace was the best. I didn’t exert myself, wanting to maintain top condition. I simply reconfirmed that her embrace had become my sanctuary.

Only the last match remained.

I got to briefly talk with Wilhelm before the round 6 jousting match. Maybe because it was the final, but the proceedings took longer than expected. Court clergy who hadn’t shown their faces until now were performing religious rites in the middle of the arena.

Oh Lord. Grant me glorious victory. Alleluia!

Could I win just by praying like this?

"I watched your match with great interest, my lord."

"I don’t know what the great freelancer thought of it."

"Hahaha, you’re modest. I feel nervous for the first time in a while."

Nervous, my foot—there’s no match for you except my father-in-law.

"The Steinhof knight I faced yesterday too—I didn’t know the Duchy of Beren had such skilled young talent. Especially when the Lord of Feuzen’s reputation has reached even Munich."

Bavaria was a duchy east of the Duchy of Beren, a massive power representing southern Germany along with the Grand Duchy of Austria. It was interesting that my reputation had spread that far.

"I’m fortunate to end my jousting career against the Lord of Feuzen. Please do your best. This old knight won’t go down easily."

"I’m prepared. The glory of victory will be my wife’s."

"I’ve noticed it before, but you really do love your wife."

Wilhelm seemed unable to relate. Nobles usually preferred taking lovers rather than falling in love with their legitimate wives. Legitimate wives were merely tools for producing heirs. Sadly, that was the typical reality of medieval noble marriages. Genuine love between spouses was uncommon.

Hilda’s and my marriage was essentially an arranged one on the surface as well. We’d first met at a banquet hall, and Hilda, who’d immediately weighed the benefits and various advantages of the match, became interested in me. Our marriage happened because Hilda’s standards were clearly different from those of ordinary noblewomen.

But I’d fallen for Hilda at first sight, and Hilda came to love me because I truly respected her without deception. So I can confidently say our meeting was fate. Wilhelm, who’d been married four times, might not understand, but we were living happily.

"Good luck, my lord."

"I’ll do my best, Sir Terese."

I watched Wilhelm’s back as he turned away.

I got the feeling his gait was slightly off.

We stood at opposite ends of the jousting field after the court clergy withdrew. My condition and physical state were very good, similar to yesterday’s. So I prayed silently that I could hold out long enough to drag this into a war of attrition.

"Bereit!"

Hilda said she no longer wanted honor.

But once you’ve drawn the sword, you have to cut something, right?

I’d just do my best so I’d have no regrets.

I lowered the helmet visor and fixed my gaze on Wilhelm ahead.

"Anfang!"

I charged on Mont Blanc. Though our time together had been short, I considered this snow-white companion my best partner. Our bond had only grown stronger through jousting against formidable opponents in the tournament.

I drew closer and closer to Wilhelm.

My condition and physical state were still good.

But the moment we collided, I understood.

Crack!

Thud!

I took a tremendous impact that felt like it would pierce clean through to my back.

Not falling off from that blow alone was a victory of sheer endurance and the medical service. If this had been before the fight with the Knights commander, I would’ve toppled off in the blink of an eye. Chills ran across my entire body.

Could I keep enduring this and drag it into a long battle?

My lance had also hammered Wilhelm’s shield and made his upper body sway, but he didn’t fall off. He leisurely took his position at the end of the jousting field. While swapping in a new lance, I caught my breath. For today, I’d sent Oscar to the Steinhof weapons factory to buy up all the spare lances.

About 60 or so.

Having committed to the long battle strategy, that many lances would be consumed.

Having plenty of ammunition stocked felt reassuring.

"Argh!"

Nothing for it.

I just had to grit my teeth and endure.

Wilhelm never missed by accident. He always hit his mark. In contrast, by the fifth pass, I’d landed three strikes and missed twice. Advanced techniques like Fiel’s subtle center-of-gravity shifts were beyond my current abilities, so I had no choice but to tough it out.

Crack!

We collided up to the seventh pass. My whole body ached. But I desperately tried not to lose concentration. The medical service’s effects seemed to be wearing off, but as the eighth pass came, I could gradually feel it—Wilhelm’s attack intensity seemed to weaken just slightly.

And at the tenth pass, my lance found Wilhelm’s center of gravity and struck it squarely. The first truly effective hit. Until then, my attacks had only made his upper body sway slightly, never shaking him this violently. Wilhelm barely held on and turned around at the end of the jousting field.

Seeing that, I was certain.

The long battle was clearly taking its toll on him.

Just hold out a bit more!

Before I knew it, we’d reached the twelfth collision.

The result of enduring relentlessly, again and again.

Crack!

When I struck Wilhelm’s shield, I definitely felt a solid impact in my hand. No doubt—this one had landed clean. Unless you trusted your condition and recklessly endured as I had, it would be hard for the older Wilhelm to hold on. I believed that, but—

"Damn it!"

The one who fell off was me. Getting overconfident and thinking the long battle was paying off turned out to be the fatal mistake. Hit by Wilhelm’s lance, I toppled backward without a chance to react. And my only thought in that moment was to break my fall. Plenty of knights had died from landing headfirst after a botched dismount.

Fortunately, I’d devoted as much attention to breakfall training as to wrestling, so I landed safely on my back and lifted my head as much as possible. But the impact, compounded by the weight of the armor, was anything but light.

Lying there like that, I could see the sky through the gaps in my helmet visor.

I’d felt the same thing when I fell off against the Grand Duke’s Guard commander—it was more peaceful than you’d expect.

The sounds around me seemed to have vanished entirely.

"Lord Wolfgang! Are you alright?"

Until Ted and Oscar came running, it was utterly quiet.

"Phew, I’m fine. Help me up. The long battle was useless in the end."

Ted and Oscar exchanged puzzled looks at my bitter words. Sensing something was off, I turned around with their support and discovered that Wilhelm had fallen off too.

Huh? Had we fallen off simultaneously?

Waaah!

Only then could I hear the cheers echoing through the arena.