Chapter 55: Sixth Episode: Chapter 9 (1/2)
Chapter 55: Sixth Episode: Chapter 9
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
It was the 26th day of the 7th month, Prince O’Neil had stayed in Andrew Haila for nearly a week. He and the Princess had countless appointments to attend to every day, and these people were the ones who already passed the initial filtering and had to be attended to, in other words, refusal is not an option. This had been a source of headache for Oscar, but Princess Alanis seemed to be enjoying it. Oscar knew she probably faked it, because the servant maids had been massaging her shoulder and her back every night, they said her back has got bright red chafe marks as a result of breast binder digging into her skin.
It’s only a few days before the Army Day. As one of the Narcissus people’s annual celebrations, Army Day brings a unique importance to them, and comes with a unique tradition.
Our Prince Oscar doesn’t like to stroll on the street, but it’s not his fault, Andrew Haila had next to no beautiful street sights to see. The teenager locked himself and his third brother in the cellar, away from the summer heat. The kid stole two bottles of fine wine in his dad’s collection, while Cody was fine just having yogurt, the two settled in cozily. However, because of that, they missed out on the eye-popping changes occurring in Andrew Haila and the rest of Narcissus County because of Army day.
Andrew Haila, the capital of Narcissus County. This city hidden within thick walls had dressed up in celebratory colors. Colorful ribbons and sloganed cloth decorated the boring khaki brick walls, citizens hung military ensigns of the Narcissus Knights in front of their windows, business owners started promoting their fares with all kinds of discounts.
Every adult and children had changed into their new clothes. The summer clothing in Narcissus had stayed largely the same, unperturbed by the fashion trends of Dulin. Only the upper class citizens cared to match the fashion sense of Dulin, but most nobles in Narcissus County wouldn’t go out of their way to purchase luxury items from Dulin or from Italia of the South like some upstarts. Even the classiest Lady Duchesses of House Andrew had only worn dresses and jewelries they had collected through the years.
The Prince noticed even the County of Narcissus was comprised of upper class and leisure class. The teenager had always thought the nobles in Narcissus to be military class, but most military officers started as commoners. No matter how much honor they’ve contributed, none of them can be knighted as Lords. This has to do with the royal strategy of ‘Collaborative Confrontation’, the royals controlled the amount of Narcissus nobles meticulously in order to prevent them from breaking away from the nation as their quality of life improved.
Army day is a day for Narcissus citizens, more importantly, a day for the Narcissus warriors. And those handsome knights, they are allowed to do things they usually refrain from, for example, asking a young lady for her hand in marriage! These knights who sacrificed all their youth had no time to search for a partner, or even chance upon a romantic encounter with a special lady like those in stories, their lives only consist of swords and skirmish.
Hence, a tradition started forming in the Narcissus County, large meetings were planned specifically for knights to find a mate, and the date? Army Day. On the day of celebration, single ladies would dress up to the parade. After it finishes, the ladies would approach knights they liked to meet them face-to-face. Of course, all the knights who participated in the parades were single.
In a typical Narcissus wedding, the opening speech usually features the couple smiling while saying a variant of ”We met on the Army Day in Year X…”
Usually, the event on the Army Day only provides the knights and the ladies a chance to mingle. In the year after, the knights will need to contact the ladies, exchange mails, miss each other, and worry for each other. At the next Army Day, another feature of the day would be a mass wedding. Of course, a lot of ladies missed out on their knights, the Army Day of each year is filled with joy and happiness, as well as pain and depression.
Life has to go on! Having played with mud, built sandcastles, and chased after river crabs, Oscar finally got bored of his childhood past time, right before Cody brought him to experience a different kind of traditional game.
‘Horseback War’, the oldest game in Narcissus County, was one of the all-time favorite games for boys. The rules were simple, gather some boys, look for a vacant clearing, and split them into two teams. The two teams would have to go through another round of assignment, half of them pretend to be horses, and the rest knights. The ‘horses’ would carry the ‘knights’ and go into their respective position before they start.
The rambunctious girls would cheer for the boys, who would yell ”Andrew Haila” and charge at each other. After a round of collision, the team with more ‘knights’ being pushed off their ‘horses’ would lose. The game could last all day, from the eastern border of Andrew Haila into the vast inland.
Narcissus boys would never sit quietly in the classroom. In order to disperse their extra energy, the school would organize these games as part of the school activities. Among the citizens, ‘Horseback War’ was the only way for boys to settle disputes. It avoided the possibility of actual fighting, bt at the same time allowed the boys to experience their first ever combat situation! Since young, they would be taught there’s only one way to win the ‘Horseback War’, and that is to trust their partners, as well as cooperation. Some theorists say the Narcissus Knights’ tactics were evolved from the game, it wasn’t practical, but it acknowledged the value of the game.
At some point, ‘Horseback War’ became an official competition between schools. Every Army Day, Narcissus County would hold the finals for the competition between school on the military training ground of Andrew Haila. Participants and audience alike flood the place, even the important officials from the Narcissus Knights attended. Winners don’t only get the honorary trophy, they were also allowed to pick a team to join when they were enlisted.
Oscar and Cody had already won themselves a reputation around the headquarters, the brothers had endured many challenges from other teams. Sometimes, even the Princess joined in the cheering. To the Princess, Narcissus boys were really full of courage and perseverance, they don’t know when to quit, or be discouraged! No matter how many times they fell off their ‘horses’, they would rise up again to charge at their rivals.
”Foul!” Oscar has had enough! Where are all these muckers from?
”Foul!” Oscar shrieked! ”That kid in the vest! How many times have you fallen? Are you freaking done or not?”
Even though he was indignant, Oscar liked this life of challenges!
The kid in vest smirked as he replied, ”You wish! Look at your ‘horse’! Pick on someone your own size! Why don’t you get someone our size instead of him as your horse!”
Oscar smacked his lips against each other. He was kind of bullying the others, Cody was already twenty-something, and he had high endurance to boot!
Alanis came to them, she felt she had to say something. ”I say, a foul is a foul, what if his ‘horse’ was bigger? A dozen of you were fighting against one.”
”Girls have no place in a man’s conversation!” The kid in vest didn’t recognize the Royal Princess of Morisette Dynasty.
The Princess, being interrupted for the first time in her life, flushed in such fury she couldn’t retort.
”That’s enough! Apologize to the lady! Don’t you have any basic manners?”
”Manners are not for the enemies!” The kid in vest sent signals to the other kids in his team while he spoke. As soon as he stopped speaking, all the kids started charging at him at once.
Oscar and Cody started barking at the others. The kids had changed tactics, some of the larger ‘horses’ tried to trip Cody’s legs while the rest surged Oscar.
”Yogurt! Cody! Yogurt the unbeatable!” Oscar pulled one of the kids off his ‘horse’ with a single swipe, but he already felt tired. The rule of ‘Horseback War’ was that they could only pull their rivals but not punch. The Prince’s hands obviously couldn’t beat for other pairs of hands.
”Yogurt unbeatable!” Determined, Cody flung all the other kids away with two steps, and knocked the boy in vest off with a tackle. He swung around with Oscar on his back, they won!
When the boy yelled at them, attempting to get back up, a team of Narcissus Knights dressed in bright colors came into their sight.
”Hey! Both my brothers are here! How was the game?” Figg Andrew Tibotty approached Oscar with a cheeky grin.
The children were shocked! The hero of the Narcissus Knights! General Figg who led the Narcissus Knights to attack the Persian capital appeared in front of them! The two cheaters who handed their behind to them were his brothers, that must mean…
”We’re okay! Are you back for the celebration?” Oscar leaped off his third brother’s back, who groped at the reins of the second brother’s horse.
”Yogurt!”
”Yes I know! Can’t you change it to cheese or something?” Figg lightly knocked Cody on his head with his knuckle.
Cody’s hands flew to cover the spot, ”Ouch…”
”Your Royal Highness! Good afternoon to you!” Figg ignored his brother and performed a dashing knight salute.
”Thank you! Good afternoon!”
The children were shocked. Royal Highness? Is this beautiful lady really the Princess who came to visit House Andrew?
”Haha, Oscar, you’re such a bully to bring Cody here and torture the kids?” Figg turned toward his youngest brother.
”That’s right! How does House Andrew with so many heroes come out with a boy like this?” The kid in vest complained loudly.
Figg took a look at him and laughed. ”I know you, the kid from the Rayen’s.”
It’s Oscar’s turn to be shocked. ”He’s a Rayen? Kamille’s brother?”
”That’s right! I’m Karrol! My brother is the Paladin of House Andrew!”
Oscar didn’t know what to make of it, but he knew his second brother must have important things to look for him.
”Second brother, ignore that kid, tell me, what is it?”
”What is it? The Princess and you are the highlight of this year’s Army Day, right now my house was filled with nobles from the whole county.”
”Another feast?” Oscar noticed his Raytheon stallion was brought over by a knight, looks like playtime is over.
The kids looked on with envy as the Prince with similar age to them hopped onto the legendary horse.
”Your Royal Highness!” Figg pointed at his horse under him, ”Mind if I give you a ride?”
Oscar glared at his brother with disdain. Did no one tell him it was comparable to adultery to invite a Princess to ride on the same horse?
”Thank you! I think I like Raytheon better!” The Princess extended her arm to Oscar, who pulled her up happily.
”Oh! In that case, I need to get myself one.” Figg muttered under his breath.
House Andrew’s feast was simple, it was a crowd sitting together at a long table and eat as the food is served. This was significantly different from other places in the Empire. House Andrew’s feat only include the dinner, while other places usually have an orchestra and a ball.
The feast was held at the Shanvelor Palace, even though most Narcissus nobles weren’t fond of the unnecessarily complicated red-tapery, however due to the two Royals’ presence, they prepared the feast according to the tradition.
The nobles waited until the Prince’s and Princess’ arrival before they took their seat, not even Duke Andrew was excepted. Everyone followed the Titan tradition of seating order very rigorously according to their rank and status. After everyone was seated, the host would give a customary speech followed by the most important guest. The Princess got used to the custom, so she put on a graceful show for the others. Next came the other guests’ competition to shower their most cringeworthy compliments on her.
Of course, compared to other places, Narcissus nobles were much more guileless than some other places. Furthermore, more than half of the guests were military officers, so the whole feast was still pretty warm and stately. The soldier did what they are required to do, said what they are required to say, and the Ladies hid their shabby, outdated dressed cautiously in the presence of the princess/
Not all Narcissus people were welcoming toward the Princess, for example, the famous General Toshtor, as the Narcissus County’s Quartermaster of Military Personnel Department, he didn’t bother hiding his disdain toward the Morisette Royalty.
This was how he greeted the Princess as Duke Andrew introduced him, ”Your Royal Highness, allow me to compliment your visitation, as with your arrival, even the iron provided by the Empire became higher in purity.”
The Princess retrieved a notebook, she said, ”General Toshtor, I know the military supplies the Empire provides to House Andrew has a strict standard of quality control, do you mean to say this standard was often not followed?”
”Precisely, Your Highness, that’s exactly right.” General Toshtor replied neutrally, what he said was a fact.
”Let’s do it this way, I will pen down your concern, when I return to Dulin, I will reflect these concerns about quality of military supplies to father. I trust the Military Supplies Department will respond to your concerns as soon as possible, and the supplies they provide will no longer be problematic.”
General Toshtor was slightly embarrassed by the way he acted, so he saluted the Princess, and compelled the Princess to have a drink.
This was only a small incident in the feast. Oscar had just gotten used to his family life, but now he’d already grown accustomed to feasts like this. He cold recognize most of the people, and no one treated him like they would a royal member. They’d still address him as ‘Royal Highness’, but would affectionately refer to him as ‘Little Oscar’. To these Narcissus Nobles, this teenager is a citizen of Narcissus, and to add on it, the youngest child of Duke Andrew.
”Father, what is Kamille doing? I haven’t seen him since our return.” Oscar thought of the Paladin who escorted him, reminded by the boy in vest.