Chapter 186
Imperial Year 981, September 25.
A sacred investiture ceremony was held in the chapel of the Temple of Helios.
It was the investiture ceremony for the Crown Prince who would lead the future Pentium Empire.
“I hereby invest Prince Alvin Pentium as Crown Prince of the Pentium Empire.”
As the Emperor’s voice resonated, Alvin knelt and received the imperial heirloom from the Emperor.
The sword of the first Emperor, carried by all Crown Princes throughout history.
Alvin grasped the sword with both hands and lowered its tip downward.
Thud-
The heavy sound of the sword’s tip touching the floor echoed through the chapel, and High Priest Prion stood before the Crown Prince.
Normally, the Pope himself would bestow the blessing at the investiture ceremony rather than the High Priest, but due to the recent unsavory events at the temple, the Pope had fallen ill, and Prion, designated as the next Pope, stood in his place.
Prion solemnly addressed the Crown Prince:
“On behalf of Helios, the God of Light, I bestow this blessing upon Your Highness the Crown Prince. May you become a strong Crown Prince who will not be swayed by any winds that may come.”
Prion placed his hand above the Crown Prince’s head.
Soon, a snow-white light like snowflakes poured from Prion’s palm.
As the blessing naturally seeped into the Crown Prince, Prion carefully withdrew his hand.
The High Priest bowed to the Crown Prince, who had raised his head, then stepped back, and the Crown Prince rose from the platform and turned toward the distinguished guests’ seats.
At that moment, all the high nobles attending the investiture ceremony paid their respects in unison.
“We greet Your Highness the Crown Prince, the great star of the Empire.”
The majestic voices of the nobles echoed through the chapel.
Alvin looked down at the bowing nobles with unwavering eyes.
From the ill-fated Third Prince to the radiant Crown Prince.
At last, Alvin Pentium had found his rightful place.
And so, that night, as the new history of the Empire began.
A party celebrating the Crown Prince’s investiture was held in the largest banquet hall of the Imperial Palace.
Under the splendid chandeliers, numerous nobles were discussing the new Crown Prince.
But among them, there was one spot where an unusually large number of people had gathered.
At one end of the party hall, a noblewoman seated on a couch.
Many nobles had gathered around her.
The noblewoman wore a blue dress so dark it almost appeared black.
One might wonder if such a dark dress color suited the lavish party, but her dress was not merely a dark hue.
Crystal embroidery densely sewn over the deep blue fabric.
It was as if the starry night sky had been captured on her dress.
A perfect dress that possessed both the elegance of heavy colors and the splendor of starlight.
No more beautiful dress could be found anywhere in the banquet hall.
And the noblewoman wearing such a beautiful, almost artwork-like dress was none other than the Duchess of Dearrut.
The Dearrut Ducal House had become the Empire’s most powerful force in name and reality after eradicating the black magic faction.
With the positions of Empress and Crown Princess vacant, the highest-ranking woman in social circles was now Alice, the Duchess of Dearrut.
“Your dress is truly beautiful, Duchess.”
“That’s right. It’s not just a simple dress; it’s like watching the starry night sky.”
“Now I understand why Madame Rosewell didn’t accept any other appointments. She was creating such a beautiful dress; naturally, she had no time to make other dresses.”
Indeed, the dress Alice was wearing now was a work of art that Madame Rosewell had poured her soul into, staying up for several nights straight.
And it was correspondingly expensive.
In truth, Alice was not someone who typically cared much about dresses.
But today she had paid special attention.
Not only had she become the highest-ranking woman in the Empire due to the absence of an Empress, but personally, she was also preparing something special for today.
“You truly look like the Goddess of Night, Duchess.”
A young lady with a youthful face, as if she had just had her coming-of-age ceremony, addressed Alice.
Unlike other nobles who were trying to get close to her by flattering, her eyes were full of sincerity.
Alice responded with a faint smile:
“Goddess of Night? You flatter me, Lady Bellocta. It’s simply Madame Rosewell’s excellent craftsmanship.”
She waved her hand in feigned modesty.
At that moment, a young lady’s clear voice rang out:
“Even the most beautiful jewel cannot shine if it meets the wrong owner. So too, your dress shines more brightly because you are wearing it, Duchess.”
‘So it’s not an exaggeration at all.’
As the lady finished, adding softly, Alice turned her head slightly toward the voice.
Unlike the nobles who stood at a distance in front of her, this lady stood right behind her, like a guardian knight.
Sienna Meltain Dearrut.
Alice spoke to Sienna, who had elegantly praised her:
“Oh, Sienna. How can you say such things so casually? You truly have a way with words.”
She partially covered her mouth with her fan, as if embarrassed by the compliment.
“I’m only stating the facts, Duchess.”
Sienna replied with a serious expression and tilted her head.
Her gaze seemed to ask why Alice would suddenly be embarrassed by such a small thing.
It made sense, as this wasn’t the first time Sienna had said such flattering things to her.
Cute, lovable, pretty, beautiful, with a heart like an angel painted in the temple.
Sienna had often given her even greater compliments than what she had just said.
Kylus was the same.
Thus, Alice had built quite an immunity to flattering words, but now she was deliberately pretending to be embarrassed.
To momentarily break the flow of conversation directed at her.
To make the nobles’ attention shift toward Sienna.
Seeing the nobles’ attention adequately directed toward Sienna, Alice closed her fan and said:
“Sienna, aren’t your legs tired? Come sit here.”
Alice stood up from the couch and offered her seat to Sienna.
“No, I’m fine…”
Sienna tried to refuse, waving her hands, but Alice was quicker.
She grabbed Sienna’s hand and seated her in the empty spot.
Sitting on the couch unexpectedly, Sienna looked flustered and whispered to Alice:
“Duchess… You know I haven’t had my debutante yet, so today I should try not to stand out…”
Indeed, Sienna was still a young lady who hadn’t had her debutante ball.
By custom, she shouldn’t have been able to attend the party, but befitting the Dearrut Ducal House’s status as the Empire’s most powerful family, they had slightly ignored convention and brought Sienna along.
Today was a gathering of almost all of the Empire’s nobles.
The number couldn’t be compared to those attending a debutante ball.
‘She’s going to be the future Crown Princess anyway.’
‘She needs to make an impression in advance.’
Moreover, today was the celebration party for the Crown Prince’s investiture.
It was the perfect occasion for Sienna to make an appearance.
Alice quietly replied to Sienna, who was looking at her with troubled eyes:
“Today is as good as your debutante. And even if you’ve broken custom, no one would dare say anything to the young lady of the Dearrut Ducal House, so be confident.”
It sounded exactly like something Kylus would say, but Alice was no longer uncomfortable with such arrogance.
The Dearrut Ducal House was truly a family with that level of capability.
After hesitating, Sienna eventually changed her troubled expression.
Seeing Sienna’s characteristic confident gaze, Alice smiled with satisfaction and stepped back beside her.
As if they had been waiting, the nobles immediately addressed Sienna:
“Lady Dearrut. As I saw at the courthouse, you’re truly beautiful. Just like a rose in bloom.”
Sienna began to interact with the nobles, wearing a smooth smile:
“Thank you for your kind words.”
“Your father is Baron Hostu Meltain, who owns the large granary region in the west, isn’t he?”
“Yes, that’s correct. My father successfully reclaimed land in the west. Perhaps because I watched his land reclamation project up close, I too have considerable interest in agricultural business.”
“How impressive. I heard you have tremendous talent in magic as well. Why, they say you made a great contribution to the Empress’s palace construction…”
“Ah. Yes. Although it wasn’t intentional, the magic circle I newly developed was very helpful for the construction.”
“As I understand, there aren’t many magicians in the west. Did you receive your magical education by traveling back and forth to the capital?”
“No. I’m self-taught.”
The nobles exchanged surprised looks at Sienna’s answer.
To learn magic through self-study?
That was by no means an easy feat.
Just as the nobles’ perception of Sienna was dramatically changing, a noblewoman exhaled a peculiar “hmm” and let her words trail off:
“But more than anything else, I’ve heard your friendship with His Highness the Crown Prince is quite… special. Is that true?”
“I did keep His Highness company when he stayed at the Ducal house. So while we do have a friendship, I think it would be dangerous for me to presume to speak about the nature of my relationship with His Highness, Countess Purrelin.”
“Ah, well… that’s true.”
“However, I’m always grateful that His Highness thinks well of me.”
Sienna elegantly deflected the subtly aggressive inquiry and smiled.
And Alice was watching Sienna with proud eyes.
‘How does she do that so well?’
‘She’s even more adept than I am.’
‘Is this what it means to be the female protagonist?’
Having been given a stage prepared for the protagonist, Sienna fearlessly displayed her bold charm.
As if her earlier reluctance had been a lie, she was absolutely perfect.
There seemed to be nothing Alice needed to help with. If anything, she might need Sienna’s help later.
After watching Sienna skillfully discussing magic and land reclamation projects with the nobles, Alice quietly stepped back further.
And to moisten her lips, dried from the long conversation with the nobles, she picked up a glass of champagne.
Just as she refreshed herself with the champagne and handed the empty glass to a servant, a gentle baritone voice resonated in her ear:
“My lady.”
