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Chapter 48 – The Festival Commences

It was ironic and humorous for such thoughts to occur in Levisia’s mind, given that she, too, a nobody, was attending the splendid festival. The 17th Prince seemed to have understood the evident confusion displayed across her features and answered her. “I received a second expression at the recent ability test.”

A second expression—it was such a rare occurrence.

‘I really am out of touch with things,’

Levisia thought. She couldn’t believe that she had missed out on hearing the magnificent news that someone had received a second expression. But in her defense, recently, she had been preoccupied dealing with the three Kraiden.

“I was simply lucky to be spotted by her highness Merril and able to attend today.” The 17th prince then turned around and gazed behind, his gaze falling on the third princess, Merril Cheux Kraiden. Her hair, reminiscent of the blue skies and its length short enough to conceal both her ears, elegantly scattered with the wind. Her black eyes, which appeared gray at first glance, were gleaming brightly. She was dressed in a uniform of white and blue that complemented her features, conversing with Elizabeth while her chin rested on her palm. To be more accurate, she seemed to be talking to herself…

Elizabeth was seated beside her, clearly uninterested with what Merril was saying. It could barely be called a conversation when the other party was busily flapping their fan, their gaze fixated on the ground, uttering no responses at all.

Levisia took turns to glance at the two of them before withdrawing her gaze. The 17th prince who had turned back at a similar time as her, faced her with glistening eyes. “Since you’re here as well, 15th princess, are you also…”

‘Wait, no. Whatever the 18th prince was thinking, he was definitely wrong. Since I was not a special case like he was.’

“No, I’m not-”

Her voice was buried by the loud banging of drums, which grew deafening by every second as it repeated continuously. Levisia ceased to talk and looked to where the sound was coming from. From the opposite entrance, a marching band could be seen striding forward, clutching their instruments. The band then split into two around the round stage and formed a circle.

‘If the band is here then…’

Before she could completely grasp the situation, all the people that gathered in the vicinity began to stand. She too found herself standing up and turned to face where everyone was looking.

A middle-aged man draped in a blue cloak appeared, applauded by the cheers of the crowd that sounded beyond the Horoseum. It was the emperor.

He flaunted the same blonde hair as Siaphyl and his orbs gleamed green, resembling the forest. But somehow, he appeared rather pale. Yet even with such a worrying complexion, he did not stop waving towards the crowd, encouraging the cheers to grow louder and louder—as expected of the current emperor. Unlike his predecessor, the present emperor, who had succeeded him after he had passed away, was an ordinary man who was born with no exceptional abilities. When the previous emperor had met his demise, the successors then were considered too young to succeed the throne, as such the current emperor, who was the younger brother of the past emperor, succeeded the throne.

Although he was not born with the blessing of the Fairy, the present emperor was considered to have corrected the chaos that had continued from the time of his predecessors—and the  current roaring of the crowd was evidence of it.

The people who shadowed the emperor were the empress and the first concubine, respectively. The empress, who was also the mother of Siaphyl, passed by, looking at her son with loving eyes. It was not long before the three of them sat down, and the roar slowly stopped.

“Third Princess, Merril Cheux Kraiden, come forward.”

“Yes, your highness.” Standing up at the emperor’s call, Merril climbed the stairs with a graceful smile. Soon, she kneeled before the emperor. The emperor praised her verbally for her services in preparation of this year’s Fairy Festival and handed her a cane.

‘That cane…’ It was a relic of the Fairy Tree branch handed down since the time of the first emperor. ‘I think they called it Nelle?’ Nelle could only be used by the emperor and those allowed by the emperor; it had the effect of amplifying the powers of its user. Also, it changed into the shape its possessor desired.

Upon receiving the gift, Merril could not stifle a strange expression of excitement. Then, she rose and waved Nelle to announce the beginning of the festival.

“Then, shall we begin?”

With a gleeful shout, water droplets formed and burst among the air. As droplets like drizzling rain soaked the ground, the cheers of the crowd grew even louder—a heat that couldn’t be cooled even by Merril’s water.