The jousting tournament was being held in the open space outside Highgarden. The competition had already begun. Instead of going to the field, Witt and Duke Mace went to a nearby sugarcane field to discuss the issue of sugarcane paper.
This year, the Reach's grain production had increased compared to the previous year. They also planted a large amount of sugarcane for sugar production. After sugar production, a large amount of sugarcane residue remained. Witt, on his way to Highgarden, passed a workshop and saw this, and he thought of using sugarcane residue to make paper.
Paper made from sugarcane residue, unless it could reach the level of modern technology, was soft enough, but the surface was not smooth and had a large water absorption rate. It was completely unsuitable for writing, but it was very good for wiping your backside. It was much more comfortable than toilet paper.
Witt originally wanted to give this business to Renly. Although toilet paper was cheap, it was a necessity for every household and a consumable product. Selling it across the continent could make Renly a toilet paper tycoon. However, in this world, dealing with things related to the lower body was not good for one's reputation. The most important thing was that with Westeros's transportation capabilities, it could only be done in the Reach, the place of origin of sugarcane, otherwise the cost would be too high, and they might even lose money.
Moreover, Duke Mace was very interested after Witt mentioned it. He could arrange for others in the family to do it in their name, without worrying about reputation, as long as they could make money.
Witt thought about it: there would be many things in the future that would require raw materials from Highgarden. There were many things that could make money, and he didn't lack this one. Besides, inflatable fish wasn't any better than a toilet paper tycoon, so it's you.
Now the two were discussing production details in the sugarcane field. Mace was preparing to build a sugarcane juice workshop nearby. Suddenly, a guard wearing a crowned stag cloak ran over.
"Duke Renly was seriously injured in the jousting match, a stab wound to the abdomen, and has been taken back to his room. Please, come quickly, my lord."
Witt immediately took off running. He remembered in the original story that the Red Viper crippled Willas at Highgarden, but Willas was only thirteen now and hadn't participated in the joust. The Red Viper wasn't even here this time. This should have happened later. Was someone trying to hurt Renly and stir up trouble between Highgarden and Storm's End?
Witt's thoughts grew darker.
Renly was now his own brother, and also the one who made him money. Anyone who dared to touch Renly, he'd... he'd make sure their whole family paid!
Duke Mace was too fat to run fast. Witt arrived at the guest room first. Apart from Margaery, the rest of the Tyrells were there. Renly had his upper body stripped bare, and there was a finger-length wound on his abdomen, bleeding. A handmaid was using water to clean the wound.
"That's it? I thought you were dying." Witt pointed at the wound and asked Renly. With Renly's magical abilities, the wound should have healed in less than a minute.
"I used a Healing Spell to treat it, but I'm out of magic now. I had my guard find you; maybe he exaggerated." Renly sounded weak.
Witt took a closer look at the wound. If it still looked like this after a Healing Spell, it must have been serious before. He raised his right hand and cast a Healing Spell on Renly. The wound healed at a visible rate, until it disappeared completely.
Witt had told Robert years ago about using magic, and he'd told Renly too, so there was no need to hide it. However, there weren't many opportunities to demonstrate it. Many people thought the Baratheon brothers were just talking, but the Tyrells had seen it with their own eyes this time. However, this wasn't the right occasion for them to ask questions.
Witt saw that Renly's face was pale, and his lips were white, likely from the blood loss earlier.
"Healing Spell can only heal your wounds, it can't bring back the blood you've lost, right? Next time you're injured, use magic to stop the bleeding first, then use the remaining magic to heal your internal injuries.
Don't think that just because you have magic you can do whatever you want. How to use magic when your magic is limited also requires a lot of experience."
Renly was silent.
Finally, Lady Olenna broke the silence, "Renly, now that you are growing up and starting to participate in tournaments, Loras Tyrell, would you like to be Renly's squire?"
Loras Tyrell had seen Renly's bravery in the arena. Although he had magic to assist him, it was still very rare to dare to compete in a tournament at such a young age.
The next day, Renly was already up and about. Witt and Renly stood on the castle's windowsill, watching the jousting field in the distance. Renly had already been eliminated and wouldn't be participating further.
"I forgot to ask you yesterday, how did you even get into the jousting? And how did you get injured?"
"Didn't I learn Stone Skin? I thought I'd cast a spell, and no one would be able to hurt me. So I borrowed a set of armor from the guards and entered the competition," Renly said.
"It went smoothly at first. I'd cast Stone Skin on myself before each match. My opponents and the audience only saw a flash of magic, but they didn't know what it did. They attacked me like a normal knight, but they couldn't hurt me at all, and I beat them all."
Witt asked Renly, "So how did you get hurt?"
"I ran out of magic. I could only cast Stone Skin once in a real fight. After winning a few matches, I met an opponent, and we broke more than ten lances. Then, my Stone Skin faded. I had been relying on Stone Skin for defense and hadn't noticed my armor was off-kilter, and I got stabbed in the belly."
"Your armor is custom-made. The armor you borrowed wouldn't fit properly. It would definitely loosen up when you were riding a horse. When we have money, we'll each get a set of armor made," Witt said, hearing Renly's explanation. He realized that someone hadn't been trying to harm Renly, so he relaxed.
"Are you preparing to participate in the jousting?" Renly asked.
"Yeah, if you can compete, so can I, but I have to wait until after I get back from the Citadel," Witt confirmed.
"But, after I used magic yesterday, the audience's eyes... Besides surprise, there was more disdain. It was like I was cheating," Renly felt a bit uncomfortable.
Witt thought for a moment and voiced his opinion, "Indeed. If it were a battlefield, it's a matter of life and death. Even dragons can go to war and breathe dragonfire. Only the victor gets to speak. If you win a war using magic, you'll become a hero.
But a jousting tournament isn't a battlefield. It emphasizes fairness. You have magic, they don't. They'll think you're cheating, bullying them. In a tournament, you need to win with a power equal to theirs, only then will they think you're glorious. For example, in many duels, if one party only has one hand, their opponent will also voluntarily give up a hand."
"So, I can't use magic in tournaments from now on?" Renly asked.
"No, it's best if you defeat them using force, but what if your opponent is also a mage?" Renly looked at Witt, confused.
Witt said with a smile to Renly, "Like if you meet me in a tournament in the future."
"Then why bother fighting? I'll just admit defeat," Renly replied decisively.
"I will use the same magic as you to fight you fairly."
"Then I'm really looking forward to it. But not this time. It will take at least half a month for my magic to fully recover." Renly's anticipation was high. After all, he had seen many knight duels, but he had never heard of or seen a mage duel.
The two brothers once again looked into the distance, "The age of magic will eventually come."
....
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