Chapter 309
Chapter 309: Just Say You Want the Princess to Be Emperor Already—Holy Crap, He Actually Said It
Count Beck's meaning was clear enough, and the Duke had caught it.
The Princess's birthday was still 7 days away.
And yet a Banquet had been called today, seemingly out of nowhere, gathering the greater part of the Royal Capital's population in one place.
Something was off. Very off.
Logically speaking, there was nothing objectively wrong with it.
After all, this Banquet today was held for Auréliane.
And who was she? She was the Princess—the daughter of Emperor Aubrey!
If the Emperor wanted to hold it today, he could hold it today.
Never mind that the Princess's birthday was still 7 days away.
Holding it continuously from today all the way through to the 7th day—for an Emperor, there was absolutely nothing wrong with that!
But as a seasoned old Mage, Count Beck naturally wasn't going to be satisfied with such an easy explanation.
If he couldn't work it out for himself, he might as well ask the Duke directly.
Livi smiled and waved his hand:
"Listen here, Beck—don't be in a hurry."
"If you absolutely must know, then just wait a while longer."
The Duke had said nothing, and yet seemed to have said everything.
At the very least, it was enough to make Count Beck understand.
This Banquet was, indeed, not as simple as he had imagined.
Not merely a birthday celebration for the Princess alone.
Before long, the candlelight throughout the entire Banquet Hall began to waver, sending trembling sparks of brilliance flickering through the air.
A silver silhouette stepped into the Banquet Hall.
It was Gwen.
She arrived at the Banquet dressed in a wide, azure-blue gown fitted over her armor, like a brilliant blue flower with veins of silver running through its petals.
Beneath the gallant and spirited bearing she carried, one could sense a certain steadiness and a pride uniquely belonging to a Knight.
At her side was Auréliane.
Auréliane likewise wore a pale-blue gown, its surface draped in a layer of pristine white gauze, with 2 sash ties wound around each shoulder.
Auréliane's vivid eyes swept across the assembled nobles with a faint smile.
She had her arm looped through Gwen's wrist, and they walked forward with unhurried ease.
At the sight of this, the nobles fell silent, every voice stilling.
The scene before them was simply too dreamlike, too beautiful.
A Knight accompanying her Princess to a Banquet.
It was the kind of story one only ever heard in fairy tales and old Prophecies.
And yet, tonight, it was unfolding before their very eyes.
Although both women shared silver-white hair, there were distinctions that could be drawn between those flowing strands if one looked closely.
Auréliane's long hair was like drifting clouds, touched by what seemed like scattered starlight, radiating a radiant, luminous glow beneath the candlelight—mysterious and graceful.
Set upon that vivid, beautiful face, it carried an air that could only be called noble.
Gwen's silver hair, fine as freshly fallen snow, appeared subtly more muted by comparison when set alongside it.
The composure and stillness that emanated from her were like a sculpture that gave nothing away.
Exactly as her expression appeared now—cold as ice, seemingly devoid of all feeling.
Like a perfect, righteous Knight who existed only to obey the commands of the Imperial household.
When the crowd finally made out Gwen's face clearly, their breath caught in their throats for a few seconds. The goblets in their hands went still and silent, as though time itself had paused in that instant.
That was Gwen Delin—head of the Delin Knight Family from the frontier, holding command over tens of millions of Northern Frontier Knights.
She was also Viktor's Fiancée.
And Auréliane's teacher.
The intricacy of these relationships left countless nobles in the hall drawing a sharp, involuntary breath.
With Auréliane and Gwen appearing together, the assembled crowd became keenly aware of a subtle wrongness they couldn't quite name.
The strength of the forces standing behind Princess Auréliane.
It seemed, somehow, a little too formidable.
Under any circumstances, should any of the Emperor's children secure the backing of such a powerful network of support, they would be viewed as the unquestionable candidate for the next Emperor.
And yet here was this phenomenon, manifesting around a Princess who appeared to have no connection whatsoever to the Imperial throne.
This left many nobles and ministers deeply perplexed.
And yet in this moment, not a single one of them could find the words to say anything.
Because Gwen's ice-cold air sent a chill that was almost physical through the assembled nobles, like something genuinely threatening.
Like a cold blade cleaving through the air, sending a breath of frigid cold spreading instantly into every corner.
The hall fell eerily, unusually quiet.
Witnessing this, the nobles slowed even their breathing.
Auréliane, like a moon surrounded by stars, walked forward through the nobles at Gwen's side, stepping up before the crowd.
Every gaze in the room was locked upon them, taut with anticipation.
When they reached the foot of the staircase at the front, Gwen released Auréliane's hand, stepped to one side, and gave a respectful bow.
Auréliane then, carrying that noble and proud bearing all her own, stepped up each stair with composed elegance.
Step by step, all the way to the very top—the platform that led to the golden dais of the Banquet Hall.
Aubrey had appeared at the dais at some point without anyone noticing, standing quietly in place.
His gaze fell upon Auréliane, his eyes carrying a note of quiet satisfaction.
Auréliane stepped past the final stair, lifted the hem of her blue gown, and stood before Aubrey, giving him a deep and respectful bow.
Aubrey wore a warm and genial smile, and gave Auréliane a small nod of acknowledgment.
The Princess moved to stand behind Aubrey, then turned to face the nobles gathered throughout the Banquet Hall.
Every gaze in the room was fixed upon Aubrey. Ears perked up, listening intently for whatever the Emperor was about to say.
Before long, the Emperor's measured, unhurried voice resonated throughout the entire Banquet Hall.
"This Banquet tonight is held for my daughter, Auréliane Sorel."
The moment the words landed, 2 rows of ceremonial cannons outside the Banquet Hall fired skyward in unison.
Bang! Bang! Enormous, brilliant fireworks detonated overhead, and jubilant ceremonial music rang out simultaneously.
Dancing musical notes seemed to materialize from thin air, gliding through the upper reaches of the Banquet Hall like a host of joyful sprites leaping and bounding without end.
Many nobles erupted in cheers, set down their goblets, and broke into thunderous applause.
And yet there were still those among them, the more attentive ones, who caught something in the Emperor's phrasing.
His Majesty had never once said that this was a Banquet to celebrate the Princess's birthday.
He had only said it was held for the Princess.
Simply a Banquet.
Those nobles who had picked up on this and begun forming suspicions grew all the more curious about the Banquet's true purpose. Perhaps there was a deeper layer of meaning still to come.
Watching the cheering crowd, Aubrey pressed his hand downward in a calming gesture, signaling for the nobles to quiet down.
"However, there is one more matter."
"I would like to take this opportunity to make an announcement, before everyone present."
Here it was!
This was the development that many people had been waiting for.
After all, the crowd gathered here on account of Auréliane's birthday was exceptionally large.
Virtually every minister and person of note within the vast Royal Capital had come together under one roof.
With so many people assembled at once, it was impossible not to speculate about the Banquet's underlying purpose.
Something was surely being announced—otherwise, why gather this many people at the same time?
And now it seemed the Emperor himself had confirmed exactly what countless people had been suspecting.
But what was it?
The nobles craned their necks, every ounce of their attention locked forward.
Then suddenly, a surge of Magic Power descended without warning.
A pocket of space inside the Banquet Hall began to tremble, as though wrenched open into several rifts, and countless phantoms spilled outward from within.
Swiftly, the blurred silhouettes began to overlap, and what had been a disordered, pixelated blur began to settle into the forms of those who had arrived.
Flame and shattered rock materialized simultaneously from the air, rapidly spiraling together overhead.
Within the flames, several streams of blue, monotone Magic Power descended from above, their patterns converging and clarifying.
It was Heim Horn. Ryan Kent.
And Rashel Azure-Blue.
All 3 of them wore the emblem of 3 shattered heads upon their chests—the insignia that marked a Mage Council Member.
Beneath the candlelight, those 3 emblems gleamed with an otherworldly starlight, flashing with something sudden and brilliant.
The gazes of everyone in the room were instantly drawn over.
Stunned expressions broke across the crowd, and voices of astonishment rang out.
"That……that is—!"
"3 Council Members of the Mage Council!"
Whoooosh!
The moment those words rang out, the entire hall erupted!
Council Members—the designation for the 12 most elite Mages within the Mage Council.
Nearly all of them stood at the very pinnacle of 4th-Tier Mages.
Beings of that caliber, wherever they appeared in the world, were received and treated as the most honored of guests.
In short order, countless people began to recognize exactly who these 3 figures were.
【The Phantom of a Thousand Faces】
Heim Horn.
【The Indomitable Blue Flame Forge】
Ryan Kent.
And one of the Council Members the Empire's people were somewhat more familiar with.
【The All-Seeing Eye of Nature】
Rashel Azure-Blue.
3 Council Members had appeared together in the Banquet Hall—and in the presence of countless subjects of the Empire, and before Emperor Aubrey himself.
In an instant, countless people seemed to reach a sudden, collective understanding.
The 3 Council Members gave a slight bow in unison toward Emperor Aubrey.
"On behalf of the Mage Council, we offer our heartfelt blessings to the Princess of the Kingdom of Carencia—Auréliane."
The moment the words concluded, several layers of Magic Formations lit up behind Heim Horn.
Carrying a kind of fantastical, starlit radiance, the sky above began to gradually darken.
The crowd could not help but look up toward the ceiling.
The ceiling at that moment seemed to be covered over by some presence, like a chaos that made it impossible to see clearly.
And then, quickly, it transformed—blooming into a breathtaking, radiant sea of stars, piercing through the veil of cloud.
Stars revolved in their courses, trailing starlight as they fell, their brilliance burning clear and bright.
Like countless delicate white gauze curtains, they took the light born from every single star and gently scattered it across Auréliane's figure.
【4th-Tier Magic: Starlight Blessing】
When all of this was done, the faint glow of the starlight gradually faded, and Auréliane looked down at herself, puzzled and curious.
Upon her body, it seemed as though the trace of a star had been etched.
Before long, Heim Horn's voice rang out once more.
"This is my gift to you, Your Highness the Princess."
"For 7 days, the blessing of the stars shall accompany you at every moment."
At this instant, countless nobles were rendered entirely speechless.
What did it mean to be treated with the highest possible honor? This—this was what it meant!
No one had ever imagined that an Imperial Princess's birthday would draw 3 Council Members to bestow their blessings upon her in person.
This was a standard of treatment no girl in all the world had ever received!
No small number of young noble daughters displayed expressions of intense envy, but this was a kind of treatment they would never be able to obtain in all their lives.
Because every person present understood it clearly enough.
None of them had an Emperor as their father, as Aubrey was.
Nor did any of them have a Mage Council Member as their teacher, as Viktor was.
At this, Aubrey likewise smiled with evident satisfaction.
He gazed out ahead, and opened his mouth to speak:
"From this day forward, I hereby formally announce."
"The successor to the Imperial throne, in the future, shall be inherited by my daughter—"
"Auréliane Sorel."
BOOM!
A bombshell dropped, detonating directly across the entire Banquet Hall.
In that instant, the minds of countless nobles went completely blank—they were no longer even capable of processing or comprehending what they had just heard.
What the—what in the world was going on?!
Auréliane was going to ascend the throne?!
She was only fifteen—oh wait, after her birthday she'd be sixteen!
That wasn't the point. What was the point?!
The next Emperor of the Kingdom of Carencia was going to be a Princess?!
If not for the fact that none of the nobles present could possibly overpower Aubrey, they would have dearly loved to crack open his head and see exactly what was going on inside!
With a single sentence, Aubrey had rendered every last person in the room completely stunned.
This meant that all those who had been backing the First Prince or the Second Prince.
From this moment, would all of them become fools.
Some people scrambled forward in a panic, no longer caring about the occasion or the setting, and hurriedly opened their mouths to protest:
"We beseech Your Majesty to reconsider!"
"The matter of Imperial succession is no trivial thing—how can it be decided in such a straightforward manner……"
He hadn't even finished speaking when he suddenly felt something damp pat against his face.
Was it raining?
He looked up, and saw that the starry sky above was steadily releasing drop after drop of falling water.
Splash, splash, splash!
The drops swelled rapidly into a torrential downpour, as though the entire Banquet Hall were about to be submerged beneath it.
And yet these waters seemed somehow unreal, like a phantom.
They landed upon the floor, only to instantly dissolve into vapor and dissipate.
Then all at once, a rising wind began to stir.
Before the eyes of countless onlookers, that vapor began to drift upward.
At last, it coalesced into the shape of a person wearing a formal suit.
A pitch-black Crow perched upon his shoulder, strained its hoarse voice, and let out a sharp cry.
Pulling every thought and every gaze in the room directly toward it.
Viktor emerged from the rain and the vapor, materializing from nothing.
In his hand, he held that black Staff capped with a golden bird's head.
"Apologies—I'm a little late."
"I'm curious about the topic that was just being discussed."
Viktor turned to face the person who had spoken a moment ago.
From the Staff in his hand, the faint silhouette of a scale suddenly rose, swaying ceaselessly back and forth.
Those deep, obsidian eyes, as though capable of seeing straight through a person's soul, fixed upon that noble.
The air itself seemed to vibrate and surge around them.
"Tell me, just now."
"Where were we in the conversation?"