Book 19: Chapter 54
The tour was the most dangerous part of the coronation ceremony. The entire imperial city was under martial law and a good number of armed special agents had been eliminated. Still, the city couldn’t be considered safe. The tour was fraught with danger among the crowds, at high locations, corners and alleys. The enemy could strike from anywhere and anytime. It was unlikely every dark corner could be controlled even if all the guards in the city were on duty. Regardless, Queen Vera didn’t intend to cancel the tour. The tour was crucial for Queen Vera, who had just been crowned as it was a good chance for her to make her stance clear. It was also an opportunity to viciously slap Ikana in the face, figuratively speaking.
The four sisters were extremely tense. They were allowed to follow Queen Vera in the horse carriage behind her, but that only proved how risky it was. If assassins wanted to strike, it’d be difficult to go straight for Queen Vera’s carriage, which meant it would be a lot better to strike the carriage behind her first as a means of diverting attention to it before striking Queen Vera.
The designated route for the tour avoided as many dangerous small streets as possible. All of the soldiers guarded the main road, and it was forbidden for anyone to open their windows to avoid marksmen or archers hiding in buildings. There were also patrol soldiers on roofs. Despite that, it was still impossible to ensure absolute safety.
The four girls got onto the horse carriage. Queen Vera knocked on the door. Smiling, she shared, “How is it, girls? I’m sure every girl has a dream of riding an extravagant horse carriage, right? If I am correct, you didn’t get to participate in your father’s coronation ceremony.”
The four sisters nodded. Troy never actually had such a grandeur coronation ceremony. The North didn’t have an abundance of money back then; it was actually quite poor compared to the present time.
Nona cheerfully looked at the ceiling of the extravagant carriage as well as the spacious interior. The carriages in the North weren’t particularly extravagant since they already began to replace them with mana-powered vehicles.
Vera dryly chuckled. Hopeless, she expressed, “It is all right; however, I am quite concerned. After what happened last time, I am quite worried about this…”
“It will be fine, Princesses. After last time’s attack, we have killed a fair number of armed assassins and special agents. There may have been some who escaped, but I am sure that they will not be as bold as last time. As a countermeasure against their magic, we have installed huge mana control crystals at the centre of the city, which is the present we prepared for you last time.
Vera looked at the youngster in front of her with a dumbstruck look. She exclaimed, “Doesn’t that mean I’m crippled?!”