The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 647: Poor Attempt

Prince Damien and the Cygnian Knight lowered their lances, and Dominic could already see how this joust was going to go.

The Cygnian Knight’s lance bounced a bit too much with the stride of his horse, while the Prince’s lance tip hovered perfectly level in the air, compensated by his body movement and subtle adjustments of his arm.

However, when the lances landed, both were a clean break, an even start to the match.

The jousters returned to their spots, and again they charged. This time was not an even match, though. Prince Damien shifted in his saddle as the lance approached, and the Cygnian Knight managed to miss entirely, instead of hitting the shield on the close side.

Just a slight wobble of the lance was all that it took, and suddenly he was down by five points.

The next pass was marginally better, as he did manage to land a hit, but his lance did not break, it slid harmlessly off of the Prince’s shield.

As the pair returned to their spots, the Cygnian Knight raised his lance in a salute and started down the tilt, the formal withdrawal. Dominic couldn’t blame him, Prince Damien was far technically superior, and there was little chance that he would make up the points in the last two passes.

That miss was too big of a difference.

The morning reports were slowly finished, just in time for the first round of jousts to come to a close with a brief announcement from the referee.

“With every contestant finished the first elimination round, we will now break for thirty minutes to prepare the concourse for the second round. Please relax and enjoy a refreshment while you wait.”

The ’maintenance’ of the field involved Dave pushing a wide roller over the grass, while casting nature magic to help it take root again. Going in the direction of the horses allowed him to press most of the churned earth back to a flat and stable state again, and the magic would stabilize it as good as new.

Unlike most arenas, where the field would get progressively worse and more dangerous as the days wore on, the Trolls were able to keep it as good as new.

“How about some more of that good wine? The old man is gone now, and we’ve run out.” The King requested, his tone much more pleading than Dominic had expected of the dignified man.

“Father…” Prince Claudius warned.

“Oh calm down. I’m not that drunk. Now, about that wine?”

Dominic laughed, as he knew that the old man was putting on a show for someone.

So, he filled the pitcher that the King had been drinking from, and motioned for Amie to find the threat. Ironically, it was one of the simplest gestures in the hand language, and one of the most used.

So commonly used, in fact, that many people mistook it for an internal greeting between Merchant Guild members.

More food was brought, light snacks now, so that they didn’t feel groggy during the afternoon events. And that was when Dominic finally found the source of the issue.

The servant who brought the food was not one of the veiled maids.

She was wearing the uniform, but she walked wrong, and she didn’t hold herself in the strict posture that Alexis demanded. She held herself with the slightly slouched, head down posture of a proper and humble servant before the King.

It was a subtle difference, just a tilt of the head.

But it was enough that everyone in the Royal Family booth could tell that this was an imposter.

“When you go back, have someone send for Miss Amie, would you?” Dominic informed her.

“Of course, Your Grace. I will send for her directly.”

That would make life easier on the little mage. Nothing said ambush quite like sending a false servant directly to one of the Mage Sect Assassins. Even if nobody outside the inner circle realized that was what she was.

She didn’t dress like one of the Duskblade Sect members, and she looked quite young. So, everyone assumed that she was an errand girl or Dominic’s assistant.

Only those in the security forces knew better, and they were wise enough to keep quiet about the military capabilities of the Duke’s shadow.

The same way that they didn’t mention that the Veiled Maids were incredibly deadly.

“You know, we’re not going to get any more snacks, right?” Prince Alex sighed as he stared longingly at the plate.

“On the contrary. You might not get any more snacks, but I’ve got plenty.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Someone sent her, and if we totally ignore the plate, it will be suspicious. Just grab something from the vendors when they come by, and I will pretend that I am sharing these with my wife.

I am reasonably certain that she will cure me if they’re poison, and most toxins barely affect me anyhow. Some are actually quite tasty.”

And not just the dragon berries.

Dominic topped off all the wine pitchers in their box seats, and picked up one of the sandwiches.

The scent of poison hit his nose hard, and he flinched.

“Okay, they’re not even trying. I can smell the poison from here.” He announced, a bit louder than intended.

The King began to laugh, but Alexis and Alex had their eyes trained on the crowd, intensely scanning for odd behaviour after Dominic openly rejected the poisoned food.

There, on the far side of the arena, facing their box.

Three men in nearly identical “peasant” outfits, artfully patched in the exact same spots, finished their drinks and rose, vanishing into the crowd.

But not for long.

The Royal Guards had tagged them already, and the Mage Sect likely had as well. With both of those groups on them, unless they immediately left by portal, they would not get far.

“You know what the worst part of this is? It’s not just one or two. They dosed every single thing on this plate. What a waste.”

Now he needed to order lunch again.