Chapter 22: Event [4].
As the guest announcer’s voice faded into silence, the heavy wooden gates of the Fang estate creaked open with ceremonial grace.
A ripple of awe spread through the gathered crowd.
From beyond the gate came the sound of hooves—slow, deliberate, yet impossibly precise. A royal carriage rolled into view, its polished gold trim catching every flicker of lanternlight.
Twin banners bearing the Avetide crest—an azure dragon entwined with a silver sun—fluttered gently in the breeze.
Flanking the carriage were knights of the royal guard, clad in gleaming armor marked with the imperial seal.
Not merely for show as each bore the presence of seasoned cultivators.
Swordmasters, likely. Silent and sharp-eyed.
Then, the carriage came to a halt.
A figure stepped out.
Tall, composed, draped in a robe of imperial blue chased with starlight silver.
Crown Prince Lukas Von Avetide descended the steps slowly, each movement practiced, as though this moment had been rehearsed a hundred times.