The Tour Commences
The tour was the most dangerous part of the coronation ceremony. The entire imperial city was under martial law and a good number of armed special agents had been eliminated. Still, the city couldn’t be considered safe. The tour was fraught with danger among the crowds, at high locations, corners and alleys. The enemy could strike from anywhere and anytime. It was unlikely every dark corner could be controlled even if all the guards in the city were on duty. Regardless, Queen Vera didn’t intend to cancel the tour. The tour was crucial for Queen Vera, who had just been crowned as it was a good chance for her to make her stance clear. It was also an opportunity to viciously slap Ikana in the face, figuratively speaking.
The four sisters were extremely tense. They were allowed to follow Queen Vera in the horse carriage behind her, but that only proved how risky it was. If assassins wanted to strike, it’d be difficult to go straight for Queen Vera’s carriage, which meant it would be a lot better to strike the carriage behind her first as a means of diverting attention to it before striking Queen Vera.
The designated route for the tour avoided as many dangerous small streets as possible. All of the soldiers guarded the main road, and it was forbidden for anyone to open their windows to avoid marksmen or archers hiding in buildings. There were also patrol soldiers on roofs. Despite that, it was still impossible to ensure absolute safety.
The four girls got onto the horse carriage. Queen Vera knocked on the door. Smiling, she shared, “How is it, girls? I’m sure every girl has a dream of riding an extravagant horse carriage, right? If I am correct, you didn’t get to participate in your father’s coronation ceremony.”
The four sisters nodded. Troy never actually had such a grandeur coronation ceremony. The North didn’t have an abundance of money back then; it was actually quite poor compared to the present time.
Nona cheerfully looked at the ceiling of the extravagant carriage as well as the spacious interior. The carriages in the North weren’t particularly extravagant since they already began to replace them with mana-powered vehicles.
Vera dryly chuckled. Hopeless, she expressed, “It is all right; however, I am quite concerned. After what happened last time, I am quite worried about this…”
“It will be fine, Princesses. After last time’s attack, we have killed a fair number of armed assassins and special agents. There may have been some who escaped, but I am sure that they will not be as bold as last time. As a countermeasure against their magic, we have installed huge mana control crystals at the centre of the city, which is the present we prepared for you last time.
Vera looked at the youngster in front of her with a dumbstruck look. She exclaimed, “Doesn’t that mean I’m crippled?!”
“I am very sorry, Miss Vera, but I hope you can understand our position. After all, if they can freely use magic, it will be difficult to defend against given our limitations, in my opinion. You need not worry, though, as we will be sure to protect you properly this time!”
Frankly, Vera didn’t trust the youngster as he didn’t do anything during the last attack to convince Vera she could feel assured. In addition, he hadn’t done anything that left a deep impression on Vera. Liu Yue, however, oddly seemed reassured when she heard him.
The youngster adorned himself in his best clothes for the grand ceremony. While they were from different nations, they appeared to share the same criteria for aesthetics. Both nations considered white clothing to be the most appropriate colour code for clothing at such formal events. That said, at Galaluocia, the shirt they wore inside was black; hence, it was different to the pure white worn in the North. The youngster’s clothing enhanced his appearance for the better.
Daisy offered kind words of praise: “I must admit that you look quite cool in that. You resemble a bodyguard a little.”
“Thank you very much for your praise.” The youngster accepted Daisy’s praise with a smile.
It was a great honoured to receive compliments from the four sisters of the North for the guards of the North were arguably the best guards. With that said, the youngster’s attention wasn’t on Daisy; it was on Liu Yue. That was something beyond his control. Initially, he didn’t have anything in mind until he saw Liu Yue’s ears twitch, leading to him noticing his sight was on Liu Yue.
As a fox, Liu Yue’s keen senses allowed her to detect the gaze on her, which made her feel a little embarrassed, not because she felt that he didn’t look good at the moment but merely because she was too embarrassed to praise a man’s appearance in her sisters’ presence. Being looked at that way was even more embarrassing for her, however.
As good friends (they considered each other so), Liu Yue felt it would be impolite for her not to say something when he awaited her comment. Vera wriggled around then lowered her head to strangely see her sister’s tail wriggling behind her. She then looked up at her sister’s gaze and realised something. For that reason, she gave the youngster a simper she disguised as a polite smile: “I agree. Your clothing looks very nice.”
“Really? Thank you.”
“I also think it’s cool. I want to bring it up with Dad to see if we can get clothes similar to it in the North for the guards.”
Ying shook her head: “Your Highness, I think our current clothes look very nice.”
“Ah? Dad designed it a long time ago. It hasn’t changed for over a decade. Shouldn’t we try new things?”
“Guards do not ask for aesthetic clothing.”
“It looks good, though…”
The youngster shifted his gaze specifically over to Liu Yue but with a slightly anxious look. Liu Yue checked on her sisters and sighed. Touching her face with a smile, she said, “Mm, I, too, think your uniform looks very nice. It reminds me of the Valkyries I once saw at Hilles City.”
“Really…? I do not know what the Valkyries are, but I… am grateful,” responded the youngster.
The youngster touched his face. He oddly felt content as well as the joy of having a wish fulfilled. He suddenly returned to reality and tugged the reins. To calm his nerves, he turned around and declared, “Your Majesty, I shall go and inspect the guard team now. We will be setting out any moment now. We are awaiting your orders!”
“All right, I shall return to the carriage, then. I wish you a joyful trip. Take a good look at this place, girls.”
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