After that incident, Joffrey seemed like a changed person. He began to diligently learn Water Dancing swordplay.
However, among Syrio's students, the one improving the fastest, aside from Lancelot, was Arya.
Arya had more time to learn than anyone else. Plus, she had plenty of it, whereas Lancelot had to spend a long time each day on alchemy.
Joffrey and the others, being royalty, had to attend many events and banquets.
And Arya wasn't like her sister Sansa; she had absolutely no interest in balls or parties.
Arya often held two thin swords: one forged by Mikken, the blacksmith of Winterfell, and one of the five Valyrian steel rapiers given to her by Lancelot.
Arya named these two swords "Needle" and "Embroidery Needle" respectively.
In the Red Keep, Arya was facing off against Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen all at once.
Although the three were siblings, they didn't know how to coordinate, so they were defeated by Arya alone.
Watching from the sidelines, Lancelot and Syrio were curious about Arya's innate talent.
"I can only say she's a true Stark! The wolf's blood runs in her veins!" Lancelot remarked.
Then Lancelot looked at Syrio.
"Syrio, the First Men also came to Westeros from Essos. Are there still any First Men where you're from?"
"I do not know. But almost no one on the continent of Essos claims to be a descendant of the First Men anymore!" Syrio replied.
Lancelot checked the time and said to the others, "It's getting late! Training is over! The tourney officially starts tomorrow! Let's go watch it together!"
"Joff, come with me for a moment!"
Lancelot called Joffrey into his room and gave him a bottle of Felix Felicis (Liquid Luck).
"Drink this before the competition! It guarantees you the championship!" Lancelot said.
"Although I have confidence in my own archery and the compound bow you gave me! But saying it guarantees the championship... isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?" Joffrey asked.
"This is Liquid Luck; it increases your luck. After the competition, you can go try your hand at the casino and see if you can be a God of Gamblers for a day," Lancelot explained.
Joffrey accepted the Liquid Luck and thanked Lancelot.
The next morning, outside King's Landing, by the Blackwater Rush.
The tourney officially began.
Tents were set up along the riverbank, serving as temporary lodgings for the knights during the competition.
The venue was divided into three parts: the joust, the archery contest, and the melee.
Three members of the royal family participated this time: King Robert, Prince Renly, and Prince Joffrey.
Renly entered the joust, Joffrey the archery contest, and Robert the melee.
---
In the stands, nobles from all regions had taken their seats, gathering around their respective liege lords to form small groups.
Lords from the Westerlands and the Reach sat beside Tywin Lannister and Mace Tyrell, respectively.
As for the Stormlands lords, since Renly was personally participating, they sat somewhat scattered. The Riverlands lords, because the Lord of Riverrun was absent due to illness and Edmure Tully lacked prestige, were lukewarm towards him.
The Vale lords, with Jon Arryn dead, sat in their own separate clusters.
Lancelot sat in the royal box, right next to Myrcella and Tommen, with the Stark family beside them.
From a distance, Lancelot spotted Ygritte in strange attire arriving at the preparation area.
She covered her face, so others could only see her red hair. As for her figure, since she wasn't particularly busty, others didn't recognize her as a woman.
"Cousin Lancelot, who do you think will win today?" Myrcella asked, tilting her head.
"The joust? That's hard to say. There are so many knights here this time, and many are powerful."
"For example, the Hound, Barristan, Jaime, Bronze Yohn Royce, the Knight of Flowers Loras, Garlan Tyrell, and the Mountain That Rides," Lancelot listed.
"But you seem very focused on that red-haired knight! Who is he? Do you know him?" Myrcella asked.
"She's not a knight; she's a wildling! Ygritte, you've met her!" Lancelot said.
"What? It's her? How did she end up on the battlefield?" Myrcella showed a very surprised expression.
"She wants to prove that wildlings are no worse than people of the Seven Kingdoms!" Lancelot said.
Ser Loras was the first to take the field. He spotted Ygritte immediately and pointed his lance at her.
Ygritte said nothing and rode straight to the barrier.
As a wildling, she didn't lack fighting spirit, but wildlings weren't skilled at horsemanship. She had been practicing riding during this time.
In the first charge, Loras knocked off Ygritte's mask, revealing a woman's face.
"What? It's a woman!"
"A woman actually joined the tourney?"
"Does she have no ladylike grace!"
Many noble ladies in the stands began gossiping about Ygritte.
But their chatter was no different to Ygritte than the chirping of sparrows. She didn't care at all.
Seeing she was a woman, Ser Loras didn't use his full strength in the charge, but his leniency led to his defeat.
By the time Loras came to his senses, he had been knocked off his horse.
"How did I get unhorsed?" Loras was still trying to recall. He vaguely remembered Ygritte unleashing a burst of strength that caught him off guard, knocking him down with sheer force.
"Really can't underestimate wildlings, or women!" Loras told himself.
After Ygritte's victory, the attitude of the noble ladies in the stands began to shift.
"She's actually pretty good!"
"Which house is she from?"
"I wonder if she's betrothed! How about marrying my son?"
"She looks quite nice, and her martial skills are no worse than Ser Loras! Quite impressive!"
The joust proceeded quickly, and Ygritte fought her way into the top eight.
Lancelot's agreement with her was that if she could reach the semi-finals (top four), he would knight her.
This was Ygritte's critical battle.
Unfortunately, this time, her opponent was the Mountain.
As soon as the Mountain appeared, the crowd held its breath because he was so massive, like a giant.
The horse beneath him seemed small, unworthy of his bulk.
Other knights consciously avoided the Mountain, unwilling to get close to him.
But who was Ygritte? She was born beyond the Wall and had seen real giants. The Mountain was only eight feet tall; real giants were ten, twelve, thirteen feet or more.
The duel between the Giant Mountain and the Beauty Ygritte began.