The Prince in Question Is Not Stable

Music. It’s always soothing.

It reached them before the carriage even passed beneath the first arch of district.

That’s how the Cerevisia was. It wasn’t just a dukedom; it was the haven of entertainment.

A zither sounded beyond the trees, followed by deeper voices of a drum, then another melody from a street they could not yet see.

The sound did not compete with one another; it was layer of musical instruments that played in rhythm.

They travelled through the evening air together, rising and falling with the movement of the city.

Ymir lifted his deep red eyes from the window, the road had changed.

The quiet country path they had followed for the last house had disappeared beneath a broad avenue of pale stone, polished by years of wheels. Wine merchants stood beneath illuminated awnings with rows of dark bottles arranged behind them.

The labels of those bottles caught the light whenever someone opened the doors of their stores.

Further ahead, a woman was dancing upon a small wooden platform before an open courtyard, three musicians seated behind her, while children gathered around the edge of the performance, some copied her movements whenever they thought nobody was watching.

The carriage slowed. People crossed the streets without hurry, but whenever they saw the carriage...they’ll stumble.

Even the servants that carried trays in restaurants will stop to look at the carriage once.

The people will move far back, protecting their spouses, their children, and even merchants walking on the streets gave way.

The reason was because this was the first time Ymir had taken his official carriage.

Rest of the time he prefers simple carriages, and most of the time he had travelled as Marcellus.

But Ymir’s official carriage is dragged by two massive rain lions.

Those two rain lions dragged a carriage twice their size with ease. Ymir’s carriage had a symbol of lion etched in silver, with bluish hue glowing from their eyes.

Nobody know who this carriage belonged to, because Ymir had never taken this carriage out.

But Ymir’s focus wasn’t on the crowd, the music, or the mesmerizing lights that hung from buildings, crossed narrow streets in long rows, rested above fountains and stages.

For him, all of it was far less mesmerizing than the other person sitting inside the carriage.

Violet had had already moved closer to the window.

She had changed her clothing before they left Silver Valley.

The Saintess was usually seen in garments that made her appear distant from people, carefully arranged gowns that belonged to ceremonies and functions.

Tonight there was none of that weight upon her.

She wore a fitter dark-violet bodice with a low neckline, and a narrow silver fastening on her waist, while the silk of her skirt fell naturally around her legs instead of trailing behind.

A translucent black-violet shawl rested over her shoulders, and her violet hair had been left entirely loose.

It was a simple, but drastic change. It completely changed how she looked.

Ymir had nevertheless spent an unreasonable amount of time looking at her her.

"You’ve been staring a lot," Violet eventually noticed.

"I know," Ymir replied without taking eyes off her.

"Wow...you’re admitting it?" she blinked.

"Why would I deny something obvious?" he scoffed.

"Why’s that? Do I look...odd?" She looked down, but a smile touched her lips already.

"I’ve never seen you dressed like this," he said.

"Is that a compliment?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Without a doubt, you know I’m not good in romanticizing my words," he said.

"I know, but I guess this style also suite me if you’re loving it?"

"Definitely," he said.

She had changed. Changed a lot since covenant has now come under her rule.

She’s been more ruling, and deciding a lot about her life. Frustration had been killing her from inside since the beginning.

"You seriously need to work on compliments," she laughed, and shook her head.

The carriage moved deeper into the city. A theatre appeared on their left, its entrance was framed by musicians playing beneath carved stone balcony.

Across the street, several women performed a synchronized dance upon a circling stage surrounded by lamps, they wore flowing silk garments that caught every movement of their bodies.

Cerevisia had turned entertainment into part of its daily life.

Men dominated the wine houses, arguing about vintages, harvests, and prices. Women filled the stages, theatres, and dance halls. Neither seemed particularly interested in explaining the distinction to outsiders, they simply did what they had come here to do.

The scent of wine had become stronger now, and it came from cellars, taverns and private estates, carrying the sweetness of graves through the evening air.

Flowers were planted along the road beneath the windows of larger houses, and their fragrance mixed with the lingering dampness of rain.

That’s when Ymir saw the Castle of Symphony.

He had visited it before. But not as Ymir.

It still managed to impress him. The enormous structure rose above the surrounding buildings in gold and deep red, its towers were illuminating from below.

Music played from its open courtyards and travelled over the city. Hundreds of lights burned along its terraces, while enormous banners bearing the emblem of Cerevisia moved gently in the evening wind.

Violet looked at it for a long time. It was beautiful.

"You’ve met Regory before, right?" she guessed.

"As Marcus," he replied.

She turned toward him.

"You never told me about it," she said.

"Wasn’t a...strategic visit, had to come here as a professor," he replied. "Besides you healed me in his castle, did you forget that already?"

"Oh, right," she nodded, and shifted her attention back at the castle.

The carriage passed beneath the outer archway of the castle grounds.

Several Cerevisian knights were already waiting there.

Their silver coats caught the light, white trousers beneath them, gold etched into their sword hilts and collar lines.

They stepped into formation as carriage approached, and beyond them stood a group of attendants dressed in the unmistakable style of Cerevisia.

Ymir looked through the window once more, a celebration was taking place in a square several streets away.

For a moment, he simply watched.

Cerevisia was beautiful.

That was exactly why it was dangerous to lose.

The carriage came to a halt, and Ymir looked toward Violet.

"We’re here," he said.

She nodded.

Outside, the doors of the castle were already opening.

The first compartment of the carriage had remained quiet for most of the journey.

Graves sat opposite Theodosia. Both facing the narrow glass partition that separated them from the rear compartment.

Theodosia had spent most of the journey looking at Graves, and Graves, completely unaware, was completely indulged in the outside world.

The carriage doors opened while Theodosia was dazed, Graves stepped down first.

He turned and offered his hand to Theodosia.

"On second thought..." he retracted his hand as she was about to reach for his hand, and then immediately moved to rear compartment.

"I have to open Prince’s gate first, right?" he looked at a Cerevisian knight, who quickly nodded at Grave’s question, and then looked ahead.

Theo’s hand remained suspended for a moment before she slowly lowered it.

Graves opened the rear compartment and stepped aside.

"Your Highness." He bowed once.

"..." Theo was left speechless.