Green Knight

Camelot Court

"He was noble Aeneas. His descendants conquered many kingdoms and became masters of the western isles, possessing nearly all wealth and land."

As the bard concluded with those opening lines, the entire tale came to an end. The story of Brutus conquering Britain was over.

King Arthur applauded the poem about his ancestor, and thunderous applause and cheers soon filled the palace.

The former master of these western isles, with their endless wealth and lands, had been Brutus. Now, it was Arthur.

The usually uninhibited Knights of the Round Table all straightened up. They saw their king, Arthur, raise his wine cup and descend from the throne, walking to the front of the hall.

Everyone knew that the most formal and solemn part of the New Year's feast had begun.

Every New Year's feast began with a bard's poem, after which the king would deliver a speech.

King Arthur's custom was to listen to his knights or others recount their legendary deeds, or have the Knights of the Round Table compete before him, displaying Camelot's military strength before nobles from across the realm and foreign envoys. It had practically become a tradition.

According to the original plan, King Arthur would have Gawain follow the tradition established over many years and tell the story of his own legend. But when Gawain honestly admitted that his story was fictional, even King Arthur could only helplessly cancel the plan.

"Should I hold back?" Sir Bedivere leaned close to King Arthur and asked quietly.

Since Gawain's story could no longer be heard, they could only have the knights put on a martial duel in the hall.

Though Camelot Court's banquet hall was spacious, with so many guests gathered inside, it was naturally impossible to hold contests in lance work or archery.

Therefore, the martial duel would be a sword duel.

If Gawain could put up a fine fight for several dozen exchanges against Sir Bedivere, one of the foremost Knights of the Round Table, then King Arthur would have reason to knight Gawain.

Gawain was his nephew, after all. Even if he lacked ability, lacked strength, and was nothing but a lump of mud, Arthur could only force him onto the wall.

What else could he do?

Everyone knew that Arthur's sister had borne him two nephews, yet Arthur himself understood that he had only one true nephew: Gawain.

If he did not prop that lump of mud, Gawain, onto the wall, then there would be no mud left to prop up.

King Arthur was torn. Sir Bedivere's suggestion tempted him greatly, but the Knights of the Round Table were no fools. They had followed him through campaigns north and south and possessed abundant battle experience. They would see through such a rigged match at a glance.

If Bedivere himself proposed holding back, then it would not be impossible.

In knightly contests, to preserve spectacle and suspense when the difference in strength was too great, the stronger party could be given unfavorable conditions. This was permitted by the rules and accepted by knightly society.

For example, in horse races, the inferior horse would be allowed to start some distance ahead. When Lancelot sparred with newly inducted Knights of the Round Table, he would even grant them three moves first. Only knights who could last several dozen exchanges against him while he held back could be considered qualified Knights of the Round Table.

King Arthur could promote knights into the Round Table, while the Round Table's internal selection would make knights without sufficient strength withdraw of their own accord.

Holding back was a legitimate rule, but accepting such a concession meant admitting that one was the weaker party.

If Gawain could not even fight Sir Bedivere, who was holding back, to a draw, then even King Arthur would have no way to shamelessly make him a Knight of the Round Table. Gawain lived in the Kingdom of Denmark, where the knightly system was not practiced in Northern Europe. Viking warriors used axes rather than swords. Using swords would be unfair to Gawain, while using axes would be unfair to Bedivere. This was Camelot Palace, not the Danish royal palace, and there had never been a precedent for fighting with axes in a royal tournament.

Thus, if Gawain accepted the concession and still lost, it would be utterly humiliating. The disgrace would fall not only on Gawain, but on Arthur as well. As for the hidden circumstances, the guests would neither care nor investigate. If Gawain wanted to inherit Camelot's throne, he had to shed his identity as a foreigner as much as possible.

Merlin shook his head. If King Arthur had Bedivere deliberately lose to Gawain so that Gawain could make a name for himself, it would undoubtedly defile the meaning of knightly duels and insult Bedivere's chivalric spirit. Not even a king could say something so excessive, much less Arthur, who was himself a knight.

"I think that even if you held back, Gawain might not be able to draw with you, not even for a short while."

King Arthur spoke in a faint voice. Clearly, he did not think much of the vast difference in their fighting ability.

For Gawain to fight Bedivere to a draw, it would take more than holding back. It would be like opening the floodgates.

Bedivere's martial skill might not have been the most outstanding among the Knights of the Round Table, and he did not have many famous accomplishments, but he was still a valiant knight who had defeated giants.

King Arthur knew that Gawain had become very weak after Odin cursed him, but he still had no clear idea exactly how weak he was. Even when he asked his foster brother, Sir Kay, the answer remained vague.

According to Sir Kay, Gawain had graduated with "excellent" marks from the knight training school at his father Ector's castle. Not only had he set the record for the fastest graduation since the school's founding, he had also set records for the fastest improvement and most outstanding performance as a knight squire.

Ever since Arthur became king, countless families across Britain had wanted to send their children to Sir Ector's castle to be trained as knight squires under Sir Ector.

Since Sir Ector had raised a great knight like King Arthur, naturally he could also raise their children into outstanding knights.

In this age, anyone who wished to become a knight had to undergo training from childhood.

Fostered in a knight's household, a knight squire's training lasted from the age of seven until twenty-one. Only those who qualified could receive the title of knight.

Of course, great nobles such as kings and dukes could become knights early.

For example, when King Arthur drew Excalibur from the stone at the age of fourteen, he had still been only a knight squire. After drawing Excalibur, his foster father, Sir Ector, knighted him on the spot.

Logically speaking, since Gawain was recognized by Arthur's foster father, Sir Ector, as an outstanding graduate and an exceptional talent fit to become a knight, there would be no problem with Arthur knighting him.

The key problem, however, was that Sir Ector, King Arthur's foster father, had been bedridden from a stroke seven or eight years ago. Though his mind remained clear, he was half-paralyzed and had no ability to train disciples.

Because the knight training school run by Sir Ector was renowned throughout Britain and could recruit large numbers of foreign students, it had formed a rather formidable industrial chain and had become a source of income for Sir Kay's family.

Though in King Arthur's eyes, it was simply a money-making scam.

Yet in a sense, the training school was no longer merely the concern of Sir Ector's family. It was tied closely to the interests of countless British noble parents, so even Arthur could not easily stop it.

As long as one paid the money, one could always graduate. And once one graduated, one could naturally be knighted.

Knights formed a class between nobles and commoners. Though they possessed fiefs and subjects and also bore military obligations, their status could not be inherited by their descendants.

Only those capable of fulfilling a knight's duties could enjoy a knight's fief.

This meant that if knights wished to pass down their family estates, those with sons had to train their sons into knights, while those without sons had to marry their daughters to knight squires and train their sons-in-law into knights. If nobles wished to inherit their titles, they had to become knights as well. Unless the king granted special favor, exceptions were rare.

King Arthur himself had once doubted, in his youth, whether he could become a knight. His foster father, Sir Ector, had his own son, Kay, so Arthur understood the anxiety of those families without heirs.

As long as the favoritism was not too outrageous, King Arthur could only turn a blind eye.

After all, the interested parties were his foster father, Sir Ector, and his foster brother, Kay.

There had long been rumors among the people that as long as one paid Chancellor Kay a large sum in tuition and repeat examination fees, even a pig could graduate from Sir Ector's knight training school and then be knighted by Sir Ector.

Though that was somewhat exaggerated, it reflected part of the truth. King Arthur could not help doubting Gawain's true ability.

"Who is the weakest at the Round Table?" King Arthur asked.

"There are currently 142 active Knights of the Round Table. Ranked 142nd is your nephew, Sir Mordred," Bedivere answered.

Camelot Court's great round table could seat 150 people.

Therefore, the maximum number of Knights of the Round Table should have been 150. In reality, because of deaths in war, retirement, resignation, and journeys of adventure, it had never been full.

Though King Arthur continuously selected active knights to join the Round Table, Lancelot tested every newly inducted knight. Anyone whose strength did not meet the standard was forced to resign, preserving the Round Table's combat strength and glory.

At present, the lowest-ranked Knight of the Round Table was Mordred. In other words, Mordred was also the weakest.

But they could not possibly have Mordred fight Gawain.

That would carry far too much political significance.

King Arthur decided not to think about the matter for the time being and began delivering his New Year's address. At that very moment, a Green Knight slowly rode toward Arthur's court on horseback.

Meanwhile, two soldiers standing outside the court lay in pools of blood.