V. O, Glory of the Tournament! (17)
V. O, Glory of the Tournament! (17)
There wasn't much worth eating, but the banquet had gradually come to life.
Keldric looked sourly at the plate he had somehow managed to empty.
He had eaten almost everything out of courtesy, yet a glance around showed plenty of people openly leaving food behind.
When Keldric glanced sideways, even Sir Jacquesmon—the one who kept going on about God—had left several pieces of bread and half a herring.
Of course, there was a reason for that.
"Well... it is a banquet, after all, and Lord Bogenberg's fiftieth birthday besides. We should help him save face."
According to Sir Henri's explanation, it was customary for the nobility and upper classes to leave a little food behind at banquets.
It was a way of demonstrating that the host had provided more than enough food.
That naturally enhanced Count Bogenberg's prestige, while the leftovers went to the city's poor or the castle servants, earning him further credit.
The notion that 'finishing everything you were served was only polite' had been lodged deep in Keldric's mind, but that piece of common sense did not apply here.
"The fine food you promised isn't showing up."
"About that... sorry. Damn it, I completely forgot Lent was right around the corner."
Sir Henri, who had been getting Keldric excited before they entered the castle, apparently had not expected the banquet food to be this awful either.
"I can guess why Lord Bogenberg kept the banquet so modest."
"Can you?"
"If it were not for Lent, the banquet would have been grander than anything you imagined. I thought the decorations looked unusually modest from the moment we entered the castle..."
"..."
Keldric sipped his wine wistfully.
As Henri said, if not for the religious restrictions, this would have been exactly the lavish banquet Keldric had imagined.
"Well... since it's come to this, it can't be helped. Let's at least drink our fill of wine today."
"...Yeah. Let us."
"It's awkward to say, but... it isn't as good as our House Candillon wine. Still, they've prepared a respectable vintage."
Sir Henri clearly thought very highly of the wine from the Barony of Candillon. By now, even Keldric was curious enough to think, 'Maybe I should visit someday.'
During Lent, meat and dairy products were forbidden, but wine was not particularly restricted.
Wine in this era was treated less as alcohol than as water or medicine. Clean water was difficult to obtain, so people drank wine like water because, apart from getting drunk, it posed few risks.
It was also regarded as something akin to the blood of God used in the Eucharist, so forbidding wine altogether was out of the question.
That did not mean they could guzzle it freely. Abstinence was the central spirit of Lent, so people tended to drink only enough to wet their throats in place of water rather than for pleasure.
"Hnngh... I'd like to drink a little more."
"Bear with it. A little restraint won't kill you."
That left Sir Henri—plainly an alcoholic rather than merely fond of drink—to suffer alone.
After moistening his mouth with a modest amount of wine, Keldric looked around.
When Count Bogenberg rose from the high table, the nobles who had finished eating took it as their cue to stand and begin socializing.
Some went into the forecourt to watch the jesters, while others listened to the minstrels singing and playing inside the hall.
Most of the songs praised God. Under ordinary circumstances, they would have honored Count Bogenberg as the host, but Lent was approaching.
Since the banquet had been held on the eve of a season devoted to abstinence, they could maintain the outward festivities only while preserving a strong religious tone.
Even the jesters in the forecourt were different on closer inspection. Instead of anything provocative or pleasure-seeking, they gave a restrained and decorous performance.
"Sir Keldric, I will step away with my brother for a while. It seems we need to discuss his marriage negotiations."
"Ah, all right. Go ahead."
"Sorry you can't join us. It's a family matter, and my brother seems a little sensitive about it."
Sir Jacquesmon left the hall for a time with Sir Henri.
As Henri had mentioned on the way to Bogenberg, the reason was Jacquesmon's marriage negotiations.
A banquet was not merely a place to eat, drink, and make merry. Nobles exchanged no small number of alliance proposals and marriage arrangements there.
Some of the guests had also competed in the tournament, and several nobles clustered around knights who had distinguished themselves or displayed impressive skill.
"Sir Keldric of House Bellaf?"
"Hm?"
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Giuliano of House Monterauro."
"Oh, are you the Sir Keldric who competed in the tournament?"
"Sir Keldric, I am from House Valfiore—"
The same happened to Keldric—more intensely than to the other knights, if anything.
Keldric himself did not know where the nickname "Undefeated Knight" had originated, but everyone who approached him brought up that title. His performance in the tournament had been that impressive.
Keldric was mortified. He answered them calmly on the surface, but inwardly he could only sigh.
The Undefeated Knight, seriously? Keldric, at least, was not the sort of man who could casually attach such an embarrassing title to his own name.
Still, only amateurs dodged every conversation and fled the gathering merely because they were embarrassed.
"Your martial prowess was truly outstanding. Most impressive."
"Thank you. You were impressive yourself. You were on the Blue Woodpecker Team, weren't you?"
"Oh! You remember?"
"Your shieldwork stood out."
"Hahaha! I do handle a shield rather well!"
Keldric showered the gathered nobles—especially the knights—with flattering praise.
As a fellow knight, Keldric knew exactly what they wanted. Tell knights what they wanted to hear and most of them ate it up.
"Visit our house someday, sir. I promise I will not disappoint you as a host."
"Would you consider visiting our house as well? It would be a true honor if a knight of your caliber came to us."
"Sir Keldric. I have a cousin of marriageable age..."
The mood soon grew downright friendly, and more than a few of the nobles subtly broached the subject of marriage.
"Of marriageable age, you say?"
"Indeed. She has always admired skilled knights like you, and she is a very proper young lady. I think the two of you would make a lovely pair..."
"I have heard of your house. I would be ashamed to marry into such a distinguished family—unless I first became a man worthy of it."
"Ah... I-is that so?"
Of course, Keldric had no intention of marrying anytime soon and tying himself to another house. Nor did the idea of discussing marriage with someone he had never even seen appeal to him.
So he carefully offered gilded flattery that would not offend them and might even leave them pleased.
"You are... truly honorable, sir. Enough to make me ashamed of myself."
"Don't say that. You're an admirable man yourself."
He was strong, reasonably eloquent, knew exactly how to scratch their itch, and told them precisely what they wanted to hear. It was hard not to like him.
More people began to regard Keldric favorably. Several knights readily struck up friendships with him.
Keldric kept up his social activities with a genial smile.
Since most of those who approached were not especially high-ranking, Keldric could deal with them comfortably.
"Sir Keldric of the honorable House Bellaf?"
But that thought lasted only a moment.
Keldric flinched when a familiar man suddenly approached him.
"Sir Tolle?"
"Fancy meeting you here. It cannot be coincidence. This too must be a meeting arranged by God."
Sir Tolle of House Lombard. He was none other than the man who had nearly come to blows with Keldric once before.
Keldric greeted him with a slightly uneasy expression.
He had only recently learned that Sir Tolle's House Lombard was Burggraf Kuno's own house.
That gave Sir Tolle considerable standing. The knights and lesser nobles who had crowded around Keldric watched Tolle's reaction and quietly excused themselves.
Keldric quickly looked for Alisa.
Alisa had been sipping wine alone nearby. She caught Keldric's glance and came to stand beside him.
"Are you enjoying the tournament?"
"Of course. Did Sir Keldric not display magnificent prowess? Thanks to you, my father has been able to save face. He is overseeing this tournament, after all."
Sir Tolle was being remarkably friendly.
Keldric assumed there was an ulterior motive behind Tolle's attitude, but Tolle did not immediately raise the real subject. He first went on at length about Keldric's tournament results.
"Many people were astonished by your prowess. Several men I know are eager to befriend you."
"Thank you. I imagine it is all God's will. My diligence in training probably helped as well."
Keldric answered with shameless confidence.
Humility was a virtue in a knight, but denying an achievement everyone already knew about took it beyond virtue.
People would only conclude that he was feigning humility to look pious or diligent.
At times like this, it was better to accept the praise in moderation and thank the speaker. Tolle did not seem displeased with that response.
"Anyway, Sir Keldric... are you busy at the moment?"
"No. What is it?"
Sir Tolle glanced around furtively.
By then, the nobles and knights who had moved away from Keldric had found other people with whom to socialize.
After confirming that, Sir Tolle stepped half a pace closer and murmured to Keldric.
"My liege wishes to meet you."
"...Your liege?"
"His Excellency Count Bogenberg, naturally."
That was a genuinely unexpected request.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
Keldric walked behind Sir Tolle, keeping two paces back.
Being summoned by Count Bogenberg came out of nowhere, but Keldric had no choice in the matter.
Refusing a summons from a man of Count Bogenberg's stature, however politely, would still be an affront to his dignity.
The castle corridor was nearly empty. The occasional servants who passed them were busy heading toward the banquet hall.
"Alisa. Do you have any idea what this is about?"
Seizing the opportunity, Keldric cautiously whispered to Alisa as she walked beside him.
It felt a little strange to seek Alisa's advice on noble affairs, but as the daughter of a fallen noble house, she surely knew far more about them than Keldric, who came from a backwater village.
Alisa moved closer to Keldric with a slightly bewildered expression.
She had been quietly eating bread and drinking wine in a corner while watching the minstrels, so being abruptly dragged into this situation was understandably disconcerting.
"I'm not sure either... Perhaps he has some political purpose..."
"A political purpose?"
When it came to the politics among the Empire's nobles, Keldric knew absolutely nothing.
When Keldric gave her a puzzled look, Alisa awkwardly scratched her cheek.
"It's too complicated to explain here. I'll tell you after we meet Lord Bogenberg."
"Understood."
She was right. Listening to a long explanation while trailing after Sir Tolle would have been absurd.
Keldric walked in silence, following Sir Tolle.
Before long, they arrived at a room guarded by two soldiers.
Burggraf Kuno, who had presided over the tournament, stood outside the door. His exhausted eyes swept over Keldric.
"Sir Keldric of House Bellaf?"
"Yes."
"Enter. Tolle, wait outside."
The room was not large. A long table filled the chamber, which was far narrower than the banquet hall, and Count Bogenberg sat at its head with his back to the fireplace, his hair completely white.
"Oh, so you are the..."
"By God's grace, it is an honor to meet the rightful lord of Bogenberg."
Keldric watched Count Bogenberg warily.
The genial smile on Count Bogenberg's face revealed nothing.
Yet the naked greed in his narrowed eyes was aimed squarely at Keldric.
"Sir Keldric, let us dispense with idle talk and come directly to the point."
"Yes, Lord Bogenberg."
"Would you consider becoming my vassal?"
The herring and rye bread Keldric had eaten seemed to lodge in his stomach. The unbelievable words rang in his ears.
'Has he gone senile?'
Count Bogenberg's proposal was that abrupt.