The Princess's Awakening Ceremony (1)
The Princess's Awakening Ceremony (1)
Early morning.
Students emerging from the dormitory hurried off to make it to their first-period classes.
I stepped out of the dormitory alongside them, blending into the crowd.
Perhaps because some time had passed, a few students gave me a polite nod as they walked by.
They were commoners or third and fourth sons from nameless, insignificant rural fiefs.
Unlike at the beginning of the semester, not every single student turned a blind eye to me anymore.
Still, no one openly acted as if they knew me, either.
It couldn't be helped, considering how illegitimate sons of noble families were treated.
Unlike the students heading off to class, I made my way toward the academy's main gate.
A few students cast puzzled glances my way, but no one dared ask me outright.
"Is it today?"
Well, except for one person.
The voice came from a group of female students walking to class on the other side of the path.
It was a fairly large group, made up of freshmen and upperclassmen alike.
They had been chatting happily among themselves, but everyone fell silent when the girl addressed me.
The one who had called out was the girl who stood out for her singular, radiant beauty—in other words, Balea.
No matter how many times I witnessed Balea's worldly tact, I found it nothing short of impressive.
After entering into a contract with me, she acted even closer to me than before.
She often sat next to me during class, and whenever she passed by like this, she always acknowledged me.
And yet, she could still make friends and socialize with others so effortlessly.
Though her father, a baron, had passed away, she still got along remarkably well with the nobility—a testament to social skills a hundred times better than mine.
"Yes. I'm on my way now."
When I said that, whispers broke out among the female students.
"What's going on?"
"Today is the Princess's Awakening Day, right?"
"Don't tell me he was invited to the Awakening Ceremony?"
"Surely he isn't actually going into the ceremony hall itself?"
"No way. Only family—or rather, royalty—are attending."
"Then is he going separately to offer his congratulations?"
"Must be."
"Even that is incredible. Celebrating the Princess's awakening?"
"That's true. Nobody from the academy was invited."
"Wait, even if he's a child of the Gracia Dukedom, isn't he an illegitimate son? Is that really possible?"
"Shh! How could you say something like that so recklessly?!"
"Anyway, it really is intriguing. How did he even get acquainted with the Princess?"
By now, I could easily hear whispers from this distance, even without infusing mana into my ears.
Thanks to that, I got an earful of gossip that wasn't particularly pleasant to hear.
Balea knew full well that I could hear them, but she spoke to me without showing it in the slightest.
"Have a safe trip! Please give my regards to the Princess!"
She waved to me and walked off with the other girls.
The whispered chatter about me gradually faded into the distance.
Just as they said, I was on my way to the Princess's Awakening Ceremony today.
I wasn't actually going inside the ceremony venue, of course; I was going to congratulate her on her awakening, and because the Queen had summoned me.
The Princess, her escort knights, and her handmaidens had already gone ahead to the royal palace the day before.
A carriage sent by the royal family was waiting in front of the main gate.
It wasn't sent for me, though.
It was for Katrin, the Queen's younger sister and the Princess's aunt.
Professor Katrin was inside the carriage.
As soon as I took my seat, the carriage set off.
Since it had been provided by the royal family, it was exceptionally luxurious.
It was roughly on par with the carriages at the main ducal estate.
"It's been a while since the two of us traveled together like this."
Katrin spoke to me with a glad expression.
"It really has been a while."
I smiled at her words as memories of exploring dungeons with her resurfaced.
After exchanging a few words, Katrin looked back at the receding main gate of the academy and let out a sigh.
"I was going crazy from how suffocating it was. If it weren't for Aisha, it's a place I wouldn't want to stay anywhere near."
The rigid expression she'd worn during class had completely relaxed.
She seemed to have let her guard down since there was no one else around.
I'm 'someone else' too, though... Should I tell her to be careful?
Setting that passing thought aside, I offered her a word of comfort.
"You've been doing great, though."
I meant it as comfort, but the truth was that she really was an excellent teacher.
She fulfilled her role as the homeroom professor for the First-Year Knight Faculty exceptionally well and taught the students of the Knight Faculty with great skill.
Though it had only been a short time, many students had come to respect her, and their skills had improved rapidly under her instruction.
Although the students had suffered the humiliation of a total defeat against the knights during their very first class, every student at the Royal Academy was an inherited ability user who had undergone awakening.
Therefore, once given proper education and training, they quickly began to demonstrate their true potential.
By now, some students were even dueling on equal footing with the knights, and the others no longer lost easily in their spars.
"Great, my foot. I'm just getting them to properly utilize the inherited abilities they already have. It's boring."
I recalled the sparkle in her eyes back when she was a mercenary.
She had lived as a mercenary to support her family, but she had never disliked adventure or mercenary work itself.
"Mercenary work was tough, but it was never this suffocating. Plus, dungeon exploration was actually fun."
Having tasted such freedom, it made sense that a professorship felt stifling to her.
Frankly, I felt suffocated, too, so I inwardly agreed with her.
On our way to the royal palace, Katrin and I shared a relaxed conversation for the first time in a while.
We talked about various personal matters, school life, and the like.
Though I had to leave out things that needed to stay secret, it was quite an enjoyable time.
As we chatted, the royal palace soon loomed right before our eyes.
"Ah, I'll return the dagger to you today."
"Understood."
A few days ago, Katrin had borrowed my dagger under the pretense of needing to research something.
Since it had originally belonged to Katrin's family, lending it to her for a few days was no trouble at all.
Before stepping out of the carriage, Katrin spoke to me as if something had just occurred to her.
"I almost forgot. You have some time after the Awakening Ceremony finishes, right? Let's make a stop before heading back to the academy."
"Pardon? Where to?"
"My home."
If it's Katrin's home, don't tell me...
"The Rattenhamar Count Family estate?"
"Yeah. Our house has a proper dueling hall."
Was it because she hadn't been able to have a proper spar lately?
The dueling grounds at the academy were all public spaces, making it impossible to hold a proper duel with her.
She couldn't display the full extent of her abilities, and I couldn't reveal my true strength, either.
At times, when the gossip got too harsh, I considered revealing my real skills, but worrying about the aftermath kept me from doing so.
"Do we really have to spar there?"
I wanted to have a proper bout with her, too, but I didn't think it absolutely had to be at the Count's dueling hall.
"Well, you see..."
She looked troubled at my response. Was there more to this than just a duel?
"Father also asked to see you."
So that was the real reason she wanted us to visit her home.
Come to think of it, the dagger I had was an artifact of the Rattenhamar Count Family.
Although we'd obtained it together during the exploration and Katrin had given it to me, making it officially mine now...
Still, when invited like that, I couldn't simply refuse.
Seeing her apologetic face made it even harder to decline.
In the end, I nodded.
After passing through the royal palace's outer castle wall, the carriage came to a halt in front of the inner castle.
A considerable number of carriages were parked in front of the inner castle.
An Awakening Ceremony was an internal family affair.
Even back at the ducal estate, only the priest conducting the proceedings, members of the family, and the butler had attended.
I had heard it wasn't much different for the royal family.
Well, considering I had come to the royal palace under the pretext of offering congratulations, it was clear that others had gathered under similar pretexts.
"Let's go."
In any case, all I had to do was follow Katrin.
At her word, I stepped out of the carriage as well.
Someone was there to receive us.
"Lady Katrin de Rattenhamar and Young Lord Alex de Gracia, welcome."
The butler who had greeted us escorted us with polite words.
We stepped inside the inner castle. The inner castle of the royal palace—this sturdy, colossal fortress—was the very place known as the Knight's Castle.
Passing through grand hallways, we traversed the palace's interior and emerged into its back garden.
Situated in the rear courtyard of the royal palace were a vast flower garden and a magnificent mausoleum.
Instead of entering the flower garden, we paused at the edge of the back courtyard.
A large crowd had already gathered there.
I spotted handmaidens I had seen during my meeting with the Queen, along with nobles, priests, and knights.
All of them had come to offer their congratulations for the Princess's Awakening Ceremony, just like me.
I made an effort to commit the faces of the gathered people to memory.
These were people who had come specifically to witness the Princess's Awakening Ceremony. While they might have had ulterior motives, they were far more likely to be the Princess's allies than those who hadn't shown up.
Yet most of the people gathered didn't seem to have high expectations for the Awakening Ceremony.
Among the Queen's handmaidens, a few were praying, but most were chatting with those around them with indifferent expressions.
"She'll obtain [Mana Resonance], right?"
"Who knows. It is the ability both princes obtained, though."
"She might awaken one of the Mana Cultivation Techniques instead. The Founding King Carlos possessed quite a few Mana Cultivation Techniques, after all."
"Haven't most of those Mana Cultivation Techniques passed down to the Gracia Dukedom?"
"They're connected by blood anyway, so it could easily manifest in the royal family as well."
"The Founding King's abilities included Steel Body, Physical Optimization, and shield techniques, so another ability might manifest instead."
"Or perhaps an ability from the Queen's side will be inherited."
I pricked up my ears slightly and overheard their conversation.
Most were speculating about which ability the Princess would awaken. Despite their indifferent expressions, if the debate got any more heated, it seemed they might even start placing bets.
But unlike my initial impression, they didn't seem like staunch members of the Princess's faction.
Perhaps they were merely acquaintances within her social circle.
Fortunately, the Queen's handmaidens were somewhat different. Though they were called handmaidens, all of them were of noble descent—children who hadn't inherited titles.
Unlike the rest, the handmaidens who had finished praying spoke in hushed tones.
"I hope it's an ability other than Mana Resonance."
"Why? Wouldn't it be great if Her Highness obtained Mana Resonance too?"
"Because both Princes inherited that ability and have been at odds ever since. If Her Highness obtains it as well, won't she end up harassed by both of them...?"
"Ah, that's true..."
[Mana Resonance]
It was an inherited ability said to be awakened exclusively by the direct royal bloodline of the Carlos Kingdom.
The ultimate inherited ability for perceiving and manipulating mana.
Whether deploying elemental powers known as magic or learning a separate Mana Cultivation Technique to fight as a knight, it was an inherited ability that made anything possible.
It was the power that the Founding King, Knight Carlos, often proclaimed to be his most crucial asset—and at some point, it became an essential ability that any King of the Carlos Kingdom had to possess.
'Should I pray for her not to awaken it, too?'
For my academy life to pass peacefully, the Princess needed to inherit a modest, unremarkable ability.
Though I had no religious faith to speak of, I closed my eyes slightly and offered an earnest prayer to a god I didn't even believe in.
'Please let her inherit an ability from the Queen's side—the ability of the Rattenhamar Count Family.'
Wait, wouldn't that make her my fellow disciple, in a way?
Just then, a commotion broke out. I opened my eyes and saw everyone looking in one direction.
People were emerging from the royal palace.
I saw the Princess, handsome young men, Queen Ria, and a middle-aged man wearing a resplendent royal crown.
Everyone, including me, fell to one knee.
The middle-aged man adorned with the crown.
It was the grand procession of this kingdom's King.