06. Rud, Rudbeckia. I love you.

Baningo barked. The Argen family probably wouldn’t do anything suspicious…… but there were many rare books here with only one copy each. If he knew what books they were looking at, he could figure out their intentions.

When Elfleda didn’t immediately answer, Rudbeckia stepped forward and spoke.

“Greetings to Your Highness Crown Prince Baningo Perron, Guardian of Continental Peace. I am Rud Primrose of the Blue Whale Knight Order. I will soon be going north with Marquis Finis, so I was receiving guidance about that region from Lady Elfleda.”

Her posture and smile seemed to have jumped straight out of a court etiquette book.

“Oh, it’s Dame Rud.”

Baningo moistened his lips and looked at her with half-closed eyes.

Brilliant blonde hair, eyes like those of a predatory tiger. Snow-white skin, a petite frame that looked like it could fit in one’s arms.

Indeed, she had the beauty that would make Greg say he wanted her in his hands even if it meant killing his own brother at the lance tournament.

“I see you deserve your reputation for beauty. So, what about the north were you curious about that brought you all the way here? Since we’ve met like this, it must be fate……”

“We’ll be leaving now. Didn’t you come to read books? Just quietly read your books.”

“Elfleda. Your liver seems to have grown outside your belly since I last saw you. How dare you cut off the Crown Prince’s words!”

Elfleda continued to interrupt Baningo’s words as she brushed past him, slightly pushing his shoulder. Then she turned around once more, snorted, and growled.

“Yes, yes, it has grown outside my belly. What are you going to do about it? Cut off my head?”

“Your entry to the palace is coming soon. How long do you think you can act so impudently!”

“Your Highness. Let me tell you in advance that I plan to enter the palace on the day of the wedding. I have not the slightest intention of entering earlier. I hope you understand that. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

Daniella and Rudbeckia followed Elfleda, quickly exiting the library. As the library door closed, they heard the sound of a fist slamming on a table.

“Home!”

Elfleda said as she quickly got into the waiting carriage. Her voice was full of irritation.

“Even the Emperor said to prepare for your entry to the palace, is it okay to speak like that?”

Rudbeckia asked Elfleda worriedly as they got into the carriage.

“I don’t know. In the worst case scenario, I’d just be dragged into the palace by soldiers, so I just spoke boldly.”

Elfleda answered with a shrug, as if it were no big deal.

“As expected of my friend. Elfleda, why don’t you just kill Baningo on your wedding night?”

“Daniella! Wedding night! That phrase alone is horrifying!!”

“Hmm, then how about killing him before the wedding ceremony?”

Rudbeckia asked with a rather serious expression.

“Rud, why are you making such a serious face for a joke? Talking about killing the Crown Prince…… someone might think you’re serious.”

Elfleda and Daniella laughed uproariously, clutching their stomachs.

‘Hmm. I’m serious, though…… well, for Lady Elda’s sake too, I’ll have to hurry things along.’

Rudbeckia laughed out loud along with them, a beat late.

* * *

And that night, like the previous night, Caleb knocked on Rudbeckia’s door to receive a kiss wishing him luck in battle.

— Knock knock

But Rudbeckia couldn’t bring herself to open the door despite Caleb’s repeated knocks.

She couldn’t decide what expression to wear when seeing his face, or how to treat him.

“Rud, you’re not sick, are you?”

“……”

The affection he was giving her was too great to pretend not to notice.

Though she couldn’t measure it precisely, it seemed to equal the love Adele had given her. So it should be able to suppress the memory surge.

But to acknowledge that affection……

She needed time to sort out her own feelings for Caleb.

‘I don’t hate it…… but do I have as much affection for him as he has for me?’

Rudbeckia tossed and turned, listening to Caleb’s fading footsteps, before falling asleep.

* * *

Thanks to a light drizzle passing through at dawn, the tournament grounds the next day boasted clear visibility without even dust rising.

Many people had been eliminated, and now only those who could truly be called strong remained. The matches became more intense, and there was even a death when someone was crushed under a fallen horse, but the excitement only grew hotter.

“Make them dismount. Remember that many people use tactics that target the horse just for that purpose.”

Caleb was cooling off his sweat, recalling Rudbeckia’s advice. His first match of the day had been a pure lance duel. The two horses were placed side by side, and they exchanged countless thrusts.

With his good physique came good stamina that didn’t easily tire, so he eventually won, but he had consumed too much energy in the first match.

“How is it possible that even the participant himself doesn’t know how many matches he’ll have to fight?”

Still not knowing his upcoming schedule, Caleb was heading into another match. Waiting for when the announcer would tell him, “This is your last match.”

‘I’ll end it in one go. Can’t afford a war of attrition. I have no idea how many matches I’ll have to fight.’

When Caleb’s name was called, he waved to the audience.

An even louder cheer than the first day poured toward him. It was thanks to the helmet he hadn’t worn because he didn’t want his vision obstructed.

Caleb’s sculpture-like face, fully exposed, had been revealed to the world and was enough to attract the attention of numerous noble ladies.

The flag signaling the start went down. Thunderous cheers erupted. Caleb’s horse and his opponent’s horse ran quickly toward each other from opposite ends of the tilt barrier.

Afraid of making a mistake in the blink of an eye, he ran with his eyes wide open. The wind made his eyes sting. As the opponent’s horse came within range, Caleb launched his lance with intense concentration.

— Thwack!

His lance tore through the horse’s knee and stuck into the ground. If the timing and angle had been just slightly off, it would have pierced the horse’s leg directly.

— Neeeeeigh! Neeeeeigh!

The horse, startled once by the pain of its torn knee, and then with its legs tangled by the lance that extended from its front legs to its hind legs, sat down on the ground with a scream.

The opponent, unable to overcome the momentum of the fast-running horse that suddenly sat down, fell forward and dismounted.

“Caleb Finis wins!!!”

As the announcer shouted Caleb’s victory, waiting medics and grooms rushed out.

Fortunately, the opponent had fallen after the horse sat down, so he had no major injuries, but he got up holding his ankle as if he had twisted it when landing. A medic put his arm under the opponent’s armpit to help him walk more easily.

His horse too, after calming its startled mind, got up and limped but headed to the stable on its own feet with the groom.

That’s when it happened.

— Clunk

The opponent knight’s helmet came off as the medic adjusted his posture to better support him.

“Huh, what…… what’s this.”

Rudbeckia turned pale seeing the face revealed from under the helmet behind Caleb who was walking toward her.

Before Zeno and Elfleda could stop her, Rudbeckia stood up abruptly.

“Rud, where are you going!”

Grabbing her dress with both hands, she ran toward where the medic had entered.

Caleb also turned around wondering what was happening, but the knight being supported and the medic had already disappeared.

“Zeno, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see either.”

Zeno answered, patting Caleb’s wrist. Only then did Caleb go “Ah!” and untie his ribbon to give it to Elfleda instead of the vanished Rudbeckia.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rudbeckia, who had jumped down from the stands in one leap, was frantically opening tents randomly.

‘Where are they, I thought it was around here, I thought I saw them enter a tent around here.’

The moment she lifted the door of the smallest tent, she found the knight who had been helped out.

He was lying down with a much worse complexion than when he had left the arena. He had clearly been supported by a medic when leaving, but there was no one in the tent.

“General Tally! Weren’t you supposed to be in your territory?”

On the tournament bracket, the opponent’s name was clearly written as “John Doe.” A pseudonym.

Tally Hartbird was a loyal subject of the Sanders grand duchy and a general who had fought alongside Caleb until the end.

“When did you come up? Didn’t you see Caleb in the waiting area? If he had known it was you, he wouldn’t have used such tactics.”

“Ru… Rud, is that you… Cough.”

Why would he hide his name and point his lance at Caleb? Bewilderment permeated Rudbeckia’s voice.

“Why did you use a pseudonym? Oh no. General, there’s blood coming from your mouth……”

Tally had fallen forward, but he had clearly dismounted properly with his whole body so that force wouldn’t concentrate on any one area. She thought he hadn’t received enough impact to cough up blood, yet he was spitting out sticky blood.

“General! Where’s the medic? Where did the medic who came in with you go?”

With a worried expression, not caring about her dress getting dirty, she knelt beside the cot where he lay and wiped his blood with her sleeve.

The blood gradually turned a dark purple, and Rudbeckia’s face grew deathly pale as she watched it.

“Rud……”

“Huh?! What’s this? General, it’s poison! What did you eat? What did you touch?”

Where had the poison been absorbed? The startled Rudbeckia frantically felt Tally’s body. If it had been absorbed through an injection or wound, she could slow the symptoms by preventing it from circulating through the blood.