Chapter 155: [X] - 155: The Third Prince Arrives
A royal carriage marked with both the Winterfang crest and the Abyss bloodline symbol rolled through the capital streets of Winterfang.
The heavy wheels cut a clean path over the packed stone.
People on the sidewalks stepped aside without needing to be told.
Some pulled their children closer against the walls of nearby shops.
Others simply stopped walking and watched it pass, conversations trailing off as the dual crests became clear.
The carriage did not slow for the usual traffic of the central districts.
Its destination was obvious long before it reached the final turn.
The Curse Bloom Institution Headquarters sat at the edge of the administrative quarter, a wide stone building whose layered wards hummed faintly even under the morning light.
Today was the final day of Proving registration.
A steady stream of participants and onlookers still filled the open space in front of the main doors.
Some stood in loose groups comparing notes on training or exchanging quiet warnings about what waited beyond the registration tables.
Others waited near the entrance for friends who had already gone inside and not yet returned.
The moment the carriage halted, speculation started in earnest.
"Who is that from Winterfang and Abyss together?"
"Must be some royal kid who only just remembered the deadline, heh, typical of the big houses."
"Hey! Don’t you see that! Look at the guards on the escort, that aura is not normal! Someone important is sitting inside..."
Then a few sharper eyes in the crowd picked out the figure standing near the carriage steps, already positioned as if he expected the attention.
"Is that Velen Abyss?!"
"Velen Abyss himself?! The renowned Abyss warrior?!"
The name spread faster than the first round of whispers.
The crowd began to thicken at once.
People who had been walking past slowed and turned back.
Those already present pushed closer for a better view.
The air grew denser with voices and shifting bodies.
Inside the carriage, Alex sat still in the deep black formal attire of the Abyss bloodline.
The prince’s crown rested on his head, its weight familiar after the birthday banquet and the long night that had followed.
The fabric of the outfit was heavy but cut to move cleanly.
Zara sat half a pace to his left in her Shadow Guard uniform, quiet and watchful.
Through the open bond he could feel her attention already scanning the surroundings outside the carriage walls, elevated positions, and the density of the gathering crowd.
’It’s the last day of registration, so it’s the perfect time to do this becasue we get all the attention today with minimal warning for anyone else, and no one expects you to be here.’
He adjusted the position of the crown by a fraction so the weight sat evenly.
’Well, even I wasn’t sure I’d be able to convince them, but now that I’m here, and Uncle Velen’s presence is already doing most of the heavy lifting, let’s see how this actually works out...’
The carriage door opened.
Alex stepped down onto the stone pavement.
For a single heartbeat the noise of the crowd simply stopped.
Every conversations cut off mid word.
A few people froze with their mouths still open.
Then the silence broke.
Multiple shocked voices rose on every side at once.
Many people pointed towards him.
Some staggered back a step as if the sight of the Third Prince himself had actual weight.
Soon the word began moving outward in every direction at a speed that would reach the outer districts before the sun finished climbing.
"Isn’t that the Third Prince?!"
"Alexander Abyss is here?!"
"On the last day of registration? Is he serious? What does he want?!"
"Look at the crown! He came in full formal!"
Alex walked forward without changing pace.
Zara matched him step for step on his left, the quiet precision of her movement never breaking.
The black fabric of his outfit shifted cleanly with each stride.
The crown caught the light once and then settled again, a small flash of metal against the darker colors.
As he passed, heads bowed, it was the careful inclination of people who lived in this kingdom and understood exactly whose path they were clearing.
No one forced them so step away, they simply chose not to stand in the way.
Velen Abyss moved ahead of them toward the main entrance.
The CBI door guards straightened the moment they recognized the Third Prince.
Unease still showed in the set of their shoulders and the way their eyes flicked between Alex, Zara, and the larger figure of Velen.
Velen stopped directly in front of them and spoke in a calm, carrying voice that left no room for argument.
"What are you two watching?! We are here for registration, so open the way, quick!"
The guards stepped aside at once.
Velen entered first, Alex and Zara followed without pause.
The moment they crossed the threshold the atmosphere inside the registration hall shifted hard.
News had already outrun them.
Someone must have run ahead the instant the carriage doors opened.
Every person standing in the long line turned to look and every conversations died mid sentence across the entire hall.
One by one, everyone’s eyes widened, a few mouths opened and closed without producing sound.
The low background noise of a busy registration day vanished into a thick, watching silence.
Whispers started almost immediately, low and rapid.
"Is he here to participate?"
"No chance! He is only twelve! He must be using his status to watch the process."
"Is it really the Third Prince? I can’t believe this is real..."
"Look at him walking this way, though."
"He is heading straight for the counters?!"
Alex kept moving toward the line.
The people ahead of him glanced at one another, then at the floor, then at the open space to either side of the marked path.
One by one they stepped aside.
A clear path opened through most of the line without a single spoken command.
CBI rules treated royals and commoners the same.
No one was required to move for anyone.
The Institution made a public point of that equality in every territory it operated.
Yet no one present was foolish enough to plant themselves directly in front of the prince of the kingdom they still had to live in after the registration closed.
Blocking him would solve nothing useful and create problems that would follow them home long after the Proving itself was finished.
Alex walked the length of the cleared path with the same steady pace he had used outside.
Zara stayed at his side, her presence in the bond calm and focused.
He could feel the quiet readiness in her, the way she had already calculated every exit, every elevated vantage point, and every cluster of people who might become a problem if the mood in the hall turned.
’Zara, don’t be so tense, you know Uncle Velen is here with us.’
’Alex, most of the line is clearing, but a few at the front are still holding their place, should I...’
’Naah, I will handle them.’
At the far end of the hall the registration counters waited under the steady light of suspended mana crystals.
The long line that had once stretched across the floor now had a clear corridor running through most of its length.
Only a small group remained directly ahead of him, still standing in their original positions near the counters.
Alex continued forward without slowing.
Behind him the whispers only grew denser and more layered, carrying the same two questions over and over through the hall.
Was the Third Prince of Winterfang and Abyss really here to register for the Proving?
Or was this only a show of authority on the final day?
Alex gave them no answer, he simply kept walking toward the remaining people at the front of the line, the crown steady on his head and Zara’s quiet presence at his side.
The registration hall watched him come.
🌿 ─ ❦ ─ 🌿
End of Chapter 155: The Third Prince Arrives
🌿 ── ❦ ── 🌿