Everdog: Tale of the First Female Knight

Chapter 37 - The Secret Code

"Join the tournament." The knight suggested out of thin air.

"Huh!?" The lad didn't catch what the knight had suggested.

The knight wasn't joking around. There were two decisions that the lad could choose from. Join the tournament and ascend the social ladder or perish in the hands of its enemies.

"You want me to join a pretentious tournament?"

"Yes." The knight confirmed his words. "You want me to acknowledge you as my squire. So, I'll give you my approval to enter the tournament."

The lad furrowed its eyebrows in confusion. Did the knight get possessed? Not everyone could enter the tournament, only knights and qualified squires (usually older squires) could participate. Younger squires participating in the tournament were rarely seen and were not advised as the tournament was competitive and it was likely that an inexperienced younger squire will get himself injured or killed.

"In order to gain your approval, Taylor worried endlessly for the past week. Compared to him who has been training under you for years, I haven't taken any exams or classes. How can you so easily give me your approval?" The lad questioned the knight's intentions.

"Are you saying that you don't want the opportunity?"

Unlike knights who are automatically given a spot if they chose to participate, squires have to compete with each other in the preliminaries for the remaining spots. If a squire shows exceptional weaponry skills in the preliminaries, he can pave his way into the tournament.

Not everyone could receive this kind of opportunity that was offered to the lad, yet the lad was quick to turn the knight down. Did the lad understand what entering into the preliminaries entitled him to? The lad could set foot into the ranks without actually having a proper title.

Everin discerningly scratched her head. "It is indeed an opportunity but I don't feel that it is worth squabbling for a spot that is not guaranteed. I saw how Taylor has been tiringly training under the rain and I am not particularly interested in fighting with the older squires for practice space."

The knight raised an eyebrow at the lad's reasoning. For the past week, the knight was fully aware that the lad has been training with the squire. The lad purposely studied the tournament rules in order to help squire train and gain the knight's approval. If the lad was truly uninterested, then why did it bother to study the tournament rules? Why would it train under the rain with Taylor? The lad's actions spoke otherwise.

The lad might have felt that the knight never considered that the lad as his squire, but that was not true. The knight would have never bothered to train the lad or take the lad in as his squire if he truly believed that the lad would amount to nothing. It was that the lad never considered the knight as its mentor.

"If you still see me as a mentor, then follow my advice. Join and build a name for yourself." The knight finished what he had to say.

Everin confusingly gawped at the knight as he quietly left the corridors. She couldn't tell if the knight truly hated her or if he was genuinely helping her. At certain times, he was cruel and cold, and other times, he was kind without an explanation.

***

Resuming to their usual afternoon tea, the baronet and the lass sat in the baronet's office enjoying some freshly brewed mint tea and warmly baked honey biscuits. Whenever the tea was close to the bottom of the cup, the baronet would refill the lass's cup with more tea. He graciously held the teapot in his slender hands and poured the steaming liquid out of the pot's nose. Just before the tea fell three-quarters of the cup, he stalwartly tilted the pot back and placed it on the side of his desk.