[Chapter Size: 1800 Words.]
Third Person POV
Northern kingdoms.
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In the capital of Cintra, a grand celebration was taking place in a structure that clearly indicated a coliseum. The people of Cintra filled the stands around the venue, watching as the spectacle began before them. There were several podiums where the nobility were seated, and on the largest one were Queen Calanthe herself and her granddaughter, with Eist and Mousesack nearby, both waiting for the next fight to begin. As a herald approached the center of the arena, he began to project his voice, accustomed to addressing a large audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of Cintra, today we will witness a spectacle that everyone has been anticipating since the first day of the tournament. All the knights and warriors of Cintra, the greatest this country can provide, have fought over the past days, and only two of them have remained undefeated, battling through each contest. And today, they meet to decide who is the champion of the tournament. First, we have none other than our commander of the royal guard, Varys Current, known as the greatest warrior of the kingdom, undefeated for more than 10 years. But will he continue to hold this title?" — The herald exclaimed, as from one side of the arena, a man emerged wearing golden armor adorned with the symbols of Cintra, presenting himself with the grandeur of a royal guard commander.
The crowd immediately clapped for the commander of the royal guard, recognized throughout the kingdom. The herald allowed the clapping and shouts from the crowd to subside before continuing.
"And as his opponent, we have none other than a boy of 12 years, the one who led Cintra to victory two years ago and today emerges at the end of this tournament, displaying surprising skills as he defeated each adult he fought, despite his young age. Madara Uchiha! Will he, at his incredible age of 12, overcome the greatest warrior of the kingdom?" — The herald exclaimed, and from the other side, a boy with black hair and dark eyes emerged. He wore not armor like his opponent; instead, he was dressed in black leather garments, a style everyone had grown accustomed to since he wore this kind of attire throughout the tournament and had faced no difficulty against his adversaries.
The people also clapped for Madara, recognized by the kingdom over the last two years. Queen Calanthe looked on with interest at this fight, while Eist and Mousesack shared the same interest. Little Ciri clapped her hands.
"Go, Madara!" — She shouted, excited, though not behaving like a princess. Calanthe didn't mind and let the spectacle unfold.
"Now, let us commence the final to determine who will become the greatest warrior of the kingdom this year!" — The herald again exclaimed.
Madara and Varys positioned themselves opposite each other, the older man unsheathing his great sword. Madara held his short sword with just one hand, its blade lowered. The judge approached and checked that everything was in order to start the duel.
"Good luck, boy," — Varys commented, and Madara nodded, waiting for the fight to begin.
"Begin!" — The judge exclaimed, and they quickly engaged in a sword battle. Despite Madara not wearing armor, Varys had fought enough with him to know that the boy wouldn't need it as he advanced aggressively. The swords clanged against each other, creating a symphony in the middle of the arena, with the spectators in a trance, full of expectations about who would win. Although some there already knew, most would not believe that a child could defeat the greatest warrior of the kingdom in a sword fight until today.
Madara had become very well-known in the kingdom since his contributions in the East War, where he was acclaimed for leading a part of the army behind the enemy lines and killing the general himself, securing Cintra's victory. This earned him enough honors to receive a title of high nobility in the kingdom, lands, and wealth.
He had never participated in this kind of tournament that occurred every year in the capital, never had an interest, but the queen insisted that he join this time. He eventually agreed in the end.
Madara had not used money to advance in the system for years, but with the responsibility of managing his new lands, he had learned to make his plans and needed money, forming strong alliances with the Hugkil family and others with whom he had a good relationship. Madara continued fighting, his sword clashing against his opponent's. He could have easily defeated Lord Varys, as he had in various fights they had had before, but he did not want to humiliate someone he had a somewhat good relationship with.
The fight lasted 10 minutes until Madara decided to end it, simply making Varys recoil in surprise at the boy's strength as he pushed his sword back before placing his short sword at the neck of the Commander Lord. A silence took over the entire stadium, as Varys let out a small laugh inside his helmet.
"It seems I have lost..." He said, sheathing his sword and raising his hand.
The judge saw this and immediately exclaimed: "The victory goes to Madara Uchiha!!" He exclaimed, and the herald quickly announced:
"We have a 12-year-old boy as the champion of Cintra this year!!" — He exclaimed, and the people, although surprised, were quickly replaced by excitement, clapping and shouting, amazed at a child defeating an adult.
"Madara Uchiha!!"
"Madara Uchiha!!"
"Madara Uchiha!!"
"Madara Uchiha!!"
The people shouted Madara's name for several seconds.
"He won!" Ciri shouted and quickly left. "Can I go see him?" She asked her grandmother, and the woman nodded.
"It seems your plan worked," Eist said, looking at Calanthe.
"Yes, it's true. The boy has to start making his name in this kingdom, and it will be easier for him to assume the throne this way." She spoke in the end.
It was no secret to the two advisors there, what she planned: to make Madara the king of Cintra. Cintra would not lose its autonomy with her granddaughter marrying another noble from another kingdom, and also Madara would protect the kingdom. Since, although he had no oath with Cintra, he would have his duty to do so as king. This scenario was the best solution that solved her problems. So, she planned to take Madara's name further, already being a great noble and acclaimed as a living hero. This would make it easier for him to take the throne alongside Ciri without much trouble from the other nobles.
Madara left the arena soon after and met Cirilla right at the exit with Commander Varys. "You won!!" She arrived exclaiming joyfully.
He talked a bit with her, she wanted to participate, but her grandmother wouldn't let her, even though he could already defeat some adults with his current strength. There was a banquet later among the nobility and Madara was at the venue, while many people came to talk to him.
Lord Hugkil was with his entire family at the party while he came to greet Madara. He boasted about the fight two years ago all the time since that day when they meet, his eldest son also participated in the fight. While the youngest son looked at Madara with unfriendly eyes as always.
"Excuse me..." Madara was alone when a young girl, apparently 15 years old, came to speak with him, she was not unattractive, he had to admit, with blonde hair and blue eyes, appearing alongside a friend.
"Yes?" Madara looked at them with a poker face as always.
"Could you accompany me in a dance, I would like to get to know the hero of Cintra better." She said, but before Madara could respond, someone approached grabbing his arm.
"He's already dancing with me!" Cirilla appeared while puffing up her cheeks, staring at those women as if they were her worst enemies.
Immediately the girls widened their eyes while bowing. "We apologize for that, Princess Cirilla, we won't bother you anymore." The blonde quickly left them alone.
"Why do they always swarm around him like flies...?" Cirilla murmured discontentedly. She was not foolish in knowing that as Madara was a small Lord independent of a large portion of lands and with titles, single women would be thrown at him by noble fathers.
"..." Madara didn't respond to the little girl's jealousy as she turned to him. "Let's dance a bit, at least that way no one will bother us." She said, and he ended up accepting the dance.
He felt the gaze from the youngest Hugkil son; it was as if Madara was stealing all his dreams and goals, while he was merely a shadow as the youngest son of a noble family.
He spent the entire night at that banquet, while the queen made sure to honor him, and finally left for home in his old manner, jumping out of the gates, heading in a direction of the kingdom. He still had his mansion in the capital, but his main priority now was a small castle on extensive lands where he grew vast plantations.
He quickly entered through one of the windows and landed in his own room, a large space with rich furnishings, much different from the times he lived in an abandoned house in Cintra or in the servant's quarters in the royal castle.
"My lord, I see that you have arrived." A voice emerged behind his door.
"Marcus... come in." Madara spoke.
An elderly man entered the room, this was the castellan of his estate, managing most matters like his butler. He knew Madara's abilities over the time he had been instructing his new lord, although he was stunned by every impossible thing this young lord did, he had grown accustomed over time and accepted it.
"I see you have returned from the tournament... and even though I haven't received the news yet, let me congratulate you on your victory." He spoke with a small smile, it didn't take much to guess that Madara would easily win the tournament.
"Thank you, were you waiting for me?" Madara raised an eyebrow.
"Yes... a letter arrived from the south from one of your contractors." He spoke, and Madara quickly became interested.
"Did you leave it in my solar?" Madara asked, and the man nodded.
"Yes, it's on top of your desk." He said.
"Very well, I'll check it..." Madara spoke and began to exit his room heading to his study, there were guards in the corridors who quickly greeted him.
He entered the solar and saw the sealed letter, picking it up and sitting in his chair before opening it. He read the contents and narrowed his eyes; this letter came from some spies in the south to keep an eye on the movements of Nilfgaard and it seemed that it was finally beginning, after all, the black army was starting to march north.