Chapter 79 - The Princess's Awakening Ceremony (1)

Early in the morning, students streamed out of the dormitory and hurried to their first classes. I left with them.

Perhaps because some time had passed, a few students greeted me with a nod as they went by. They were commoners, or third and fourth sons from obscure little provincial domains. Unlike at the start of the term, not every student avoided me now. But none openly acknowledged knowing me, either. That was how noble families treated illegitimate sons, so there was little I could do about it.

While the other students headed to class, I made for the academy’s main gate. Some gave me curious looks, but no one asked me where I was going.

“Is it today?”

No—one person did ask. The voice came from a group of female students on the other side of the path, heading to class. It was a sizable group that included both freshmen and upperclassmen. They had been chatting happily as they walked, but they all fell silent when one of them spoke to me. The one who had called out was Valea, whose beauty stood out even among them.

Valea’s social skills never ceased to amaze me. Since signing the contract, she had acted even friendlier toward me than before. She often sat beside me in class, and she always greeted me when we crossed paths, as she had just done. Yet she still managed to make friends with the other students. Despite being the daughter of a baron who had died, she got along so well with the nobles. She was a hundred times better at navigating society than I was.

“Yes. I’m on my way now.”

At my answer, whispers rose among the girls.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s the princess’s awakening day.”

“You don’t mean he was invited to the awakening ceremony?”

“Surely he won’t be allowed into the ceremony itself?”

“Of course not. Only family—no, only the royals will attend.”

“Then is he going to congratulate her separately?”

“Probably.”

“Even that’s impressive. Getting to congratulate the princess on her awakening.”

“True. No one else from the academy was invited.”

“But he’s an illegitimate son, even if he is from the ducal House of Gresia. Is that really possible?”

“Shh! You can’t just say that!”

“Still, it’s strange. How did he get to know the princess?”

I could easily hear whispers from this distance now, even without channeling mana into my ears. Thanks to that, I got an earful of gossip I would rather not have heard. Valea knew perfectly well I could hear them, but she gave no sign of it as she spoke to me.

“Have a safe trip! Give the princess my regards, too!”

She waved to me and walked away with the other girls. Their murmured questions about me faded into the distance.

As they had guessed, I was on my way to the princess’s awakening ceremony. I would not be going inside for the ceremony itself, of course. I was going to congratulate her and because Her Majesty had summoned me. The princess, her escort knight, and her maids had gone to the palace the day before.

A carriage sent by the royal household stood outside the main gate. It had not been sent for me.

“Come on in.”

It was for Katrin, the Queen’s younger sister and the princess’s aunt. Professor Katrine was already inside.

The carriage set off as soon as I sat down. As one sent by the royal household, it was lavish—about as fine as the carriages at the ducal family’s main residence.

“It’s been a long time since the two of us went somewhere together,” Katrin said, looking pleased to see me.

“It really has.”

I smiled back, remembering when we had explored the Dungeon together.

After we had exchanged a few words, Katrin looked back at the academy gate receding behind us and sighed.

“I thought I’d suffocate in there. If it weren’t for Aisha, I wouldn’t want to stay there at all.”

The stern expression she wore in class had softened completely. She seemed to have relaxed because no one else was around. I’m here, too. Should I remind her? I set the thought aside and offered some comfort instead.

“You’re doing a good job.”

It was meant as comfort, but she truly was an excellent teacher. She did well as the first-year adviser for the knights faculty and taught its students effectively. In that short time, many students had come to respect her, and their skills had improved rapidly through her classes.

They had suffered a humiliating defeat at the knights’ hands in their first class, but every student at the Royal Academy had awakened an inherited ability. With the right instruction and training, they soon began to show what they could do. Some could now spar on equal terms with the knights, and even the others no longer lost easily.

“A good job? All I do is get them to use the inherited abilities they already have properly. It’s boring.”

I remembered how her eyes had shone when she was a mercenary. She had taken up mercenary work to help her family, but she had enjoyed the adventure and the work itself, too.

“Being a mercenary was hard, but it wasn’t this stifling. Exploring the Dungeon was fun, too.”

Having tasted that freedom, she would naturally find teaching confining. To be honest, I felt stifled as well, so I agreed with her silently.

On the way to the palace, Katrin and I had a relaxed conversation for the first time in a while, talking about all sorts of personal matters and life at the academy. I had to leave out the things I needed to keep secret, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Before I knew it, the palace was just ahead.

“Oh, I’ll give your dagger back today.”

“Thank you.”

Katrin had borrowed it a few days earlier, saying there was something she wanted to investigate. It had originally belonged to her family, so I had no problem lending it to her for a few days.

Just before we got out of the carriage, Katrin spoke as though something had suddenly occurred to her.

“I almost forgot. You have some time after the awakening ceremony, right? Let’s stop somewhere before we return to the academy.”

“What? Where?”

“My house.”

Katrin’s house? Surely she didn’t mean...

“The Count of Rattenhammar’s estate?”

“Yeah. We have a proper sparring room there.”

Was it because we had not been able to spar properly? The academy’s sparring grounds were all open to view, so we could not have a serious match there. She could not show everything she was capable of, and neither could I. Sometimes, when the gossip got particularly bad, I considered showing my true strength. But I always held back, worried about what would happen afterward.

“Do we have to spar there?”

I wanted to face her in a proper match, but I did not see why it had to be in the count’s sparring room.

“Well...”

My question left her looking uncomfortable. Was there more to it than sparring?

“My father wants to meet you, too.”

So that was the real reason she wanted me to visit. The dagger I carried was, after all, an heirloom of the Count of Rattenhammar’s family. We had found it together during our exploration, and Katrin had given it to me, so it belonged to me now. Still, I could hardly refuse an invitation to visit. The apologetic look on her face made it even harder. In the end, I nodded.

* * *

The carriage passed through the palace’s outer walls and stopped before the inner castle. Quite a few carriages were parked there. An awakening ceremony was a family affair. At the ducal estate, only the priest conducting the ceremony, members of the family, and the butler had attended. I had heard the royal household was much the same. Then again, I had come to congratulate the princess, so the others must have come for the same reason.

“Let’s go.”

All I had to do was follow Katrin. At her word, I stepped out of the carriage. Naturally, someone had come to receive us.

“Lady Katrine de Rattenhammar and Young Master Alex de Gresia, welcome.”

The butler greeted us courteously and led us inside.

We entered the inner castle. This sturdy, enormous structure at the heart of the palace was the place known as Knight’s Castle. We passed down a vast corridor, crossed the palace interior, and emerged into the rear courtyard. A large flower garden and a beautiful, imposing mausoleum stood there. Rather than enter the garden, we stopped at the edge of the courtyard, where a crowd had gathered. I recognized some of the maids I had seen when I met the Queen; there were nobles, priests, and knights as well. Like me, they had come to congratulate the princess on her awakening ceremony.

I tried to remember their faces. They had come for the princess’s awakening ceremony. They might have had other reasons, but they were more likely to be on her side than those who had stayed away. Most of them did not seem particularly anxious about the outcome, though. A few of the Queen’s maids were praying, but most people chatted with those around them without much expression.

“She’ll receive [Mana Sensitivity], won’t she?”

“Who knows? Both princes did receive that ability, but...”

“She might receive one of the Heart Methods. The first king, Carlos, had quite a few.”

“Didn’t most of the Heart Methods pass to the ducal House of Gresia?”

“They’re related by blood, so one could still appear in the royal family.”

“The first king’s abilities also included Steel Body, Physical Optimization, and shield techniques. She could receive another ability altogether.”

“Or she could inherit an ability from Her Majesty’s side of the family.”

I listened in on their conversation. Most were discussing which ability the princess would receive. Despite their calm faces, they sounded close to placing bets on it. Contrary to my first impression, though, it was hard to call them the princess’s supporters. Perhaps they were merely acquaintances close to her.

Fortunately, the Queen’s maids were different. Though called maids, they were all nobles by birth—children who had not inherited titles. Those who had been praying began to talk quietly among themselves about something else.

“I hope she receives an ability other than Mana Sensitivity.”

“Why? Wouldn’t it be good if the princess received Mana Sensitivity too?”

“The two princes both received it, and they’ve been at odds ever since. If the princess gets it too, I’m afraid the princes might make her life difficult...”

“Ah, you’re right.”

[Mana Sensitivity]

It was an inherited ability said to appear only in direct descendants of the Kingdom of Carlos’s royal family. It was unmatched for sensing and using mana. Whether its wielder used the elemental abilities called magic or learned a Heart Method separately and used their powers as a knight, it made either path possible. Carlos, the knight who became the first king, had often said it was his most important ability. At some point, it had become an ability that every king of Carlos was expected to possess.

‘Should I pray she doesn’t get it, too?’

For me to get through life at the academy safely, the princess needed to receive an unremarkable ability. I had no particular faith, but I closed my eyes and prayed earnestly to a god I did not believe in.

‘Please let her receive an ability from Her Majesty’s family. One from the Count of Rattenhammar’s house.’

Wait. Would that make her and me fellow disciples?

Then I heard a commotion. I opened my eyes to find everyone looking in one direction. People were coming out of the palace. I saw the princess, several handsome young men, Queen Ria, and a middle-aged man wearing an ornate crown.

Everyone knelt, myself included.

The middle-aged man in the crown was the king of this country.