Exiting the royal carriage, they were greeted by rows of knights. A person that seemed to be the leader, was also standing at the front of the door.
They walked through the path created by the rows of knights and eventually stopped in front of the leader of the knights.
"Hmph! So you're the guy that I was told who possesses the Legendary Cursed Sword? You don't look all that amazing..." <???>
He then looked at the girls beside Shin. With eyes full of fascination, he closely examines the three girls. Looking at them, he got mesmerised by two of the women. In his mind, Iris was as beautiful as what the rumours say of elf people. While for Shana, she was a woman that he considered more beautiful than the princess he adored. He could tell this was no joke since the other knights were gazing at her as well.
"Tsk! Guess you must be something if there are beauties following you. Well then, my name is Damian Kharesma, leader of the Azure knights. I'm sure you four have been informed of the formalities. So I expect you to behave yourself in front of the king. Now then, please follow me." <Damian>
Shin and everyone followed behind as they walked through the castle's hallway. Along the way, they pass by different kinds of ornaments and decorations. Such as statues, paintings, and even colourful gems embedded on the walls. Everything was as expected of a castle, all were fancy and luxurious.
It should be normal for people who were not of royalty to feel fascinated by such luxurious decorations. However, that wasn't the case for Shin and his group. Except for Misomi who was mesmerized by every decoration she passes by, the rest acted as if the decorations were of no significance. Shin didn't show a hint of awe as he walked through the castle. Whenever he looked at one decoration, he only casually glanced. Iris being royalty, also wasn't bothered by such decoration. As for Shana, she didn't even bother looking at anything other than Shin. The whole time she was clinging to Shin.
Looking at the three uninterest attitude, Damian got annoyed. He hates when royalty isn't looked up to. As a marquiss son himself, he enjoys the luxury of being rich and having power in society. To him, commoners should be grateful that nobles existed to maintain order within the kingdom. Without nobles, the kingdom won't function and society will fall apart.
Part of this is true, but the rest was what Damian had thought to himself. Probably due to his father over doting him when he was young, he eventually came to think that nobles should be revered by commoners, even other nobles that are below his rank. Basically he is a spoilt kid that takes his noble rank for granted.
Damian thought of reprimanding them for not acting just like how a commoner should when they are within a noble's territory, but he hold it in. Since they are the King's guest, it would be rude to the king if he acted roughly.
Soon enough, they finally reached the front of the throne room where the king is currently in.
The knights guarding the door moved to the side before they announced the arrival of Shin and his group to the people inside. As the door open, Damian continued to guide them into the throne room.
"Fellow citizens and guests, show your respect and courtesy before the king of La-Viena!" <???>
Reaching a few steps from the throne, a retainer of the king announces to the people within the throne room. Following that, the knights at the side changed their posture into a salute to greet the king. As for the nobles and aristocrats present, they did a slight bow. Since these people were not the main focus of this gathering, they did not have to show the utmost respect for their greeting compared to the people present in the middle.
Damian, the leader of the azure knights, and in charge of the guests, genuflect towards the king. This is the proper manner when showing your respect to the king.
However, seconds after Damian went down, a small commotion started at his sides. The aristocrats were talking among themselves while looking in his direction. Curious, he thought he had made a mistake. He checked himself to see if his clothes were untidy or his posture was wrong. But nothing seemed to be out of place. So the only thing left was the guests.
As he turned his head back, he saw three of the guests had remained standing. One of the girl was on her knee just like him, though not properly, but still tried to show respect. However, the other three didn't even give off a hint of respect to the king. They remained standing and just looking at the king.
As anger fills Damian, he warned them with a displeased tone.
"What do you think you three are doing? Haven't you been told of the formalities!? Why are you not showing your respect!?" <Damian>
Despite his warning, the three people refused to abide. Shin looked away from the king and glared at Damian.
"Sorry but, I have zero intentions to bow my head down to anyone." <Shin>
Shin declared it vehemently to everyone inside the throne room. Hearing him say that, the aristocrats and knights at the sides started to become more rowdier. Damian also became enraged. As he was about to get up and teach Shin some manners, the King suddenly shouted.
"Silence!" <King Of La-Viena>
At his command, everyone became silent. Damian who was about to spring up also got back down. After the room had settled down, the king continued talking.
"Shin... Correct?" <King Of La-Viena>
"Yeah." <Shin>
"May I know why? Is it your pride that prevents you from doing so?" <King Of La-Viena>
"There is that. But also-" <Shin>
Before Shin could talk anymore, another commotion erupted outside the throne room. Hearing closely, it was the sound of a female voice arguing.
"Move away! I want to enter!" <???>
"Princess, please leave! The king is currently having an important discussion!" <???>
Seems like the female voice is the princess. She sounds to be trying to get into the throne room. However, the guards stationed outside isn't willing to let her through.
"I'm the princess! I should be allowed to enter as I pleased! Now move!" <Princess>
Suddenly the door burst open as a female figure entered. As if oblivious to her earlier commotion and sudden barging, she proudly spoke.
"Father! I heard the person who has the Legendary Cursed Sword has arrived! I want to meet with him!" <Princess>
Everyone in the throne room stared at the princess who casually enters the room on her own and announces as such, as if nobody would mind.
Nobody dared say anything to the enthusiastic princess who isn't aware of the current situation within the throne room. Since the person she wanted to see is making a scene, others thought the princess was making the matter worse by calling him out.
"Eh? What's wrong, everyone? Did I say something weird...?" <Princess>
Since everyone was looking at her, she felt a bit puzzled. All she said was that she wanted to meet with the person who has the Legendary Cursed Sword with them, but nobody answered and instead looked at her as if she was a problem. She was totally clueless of the situation.
Looking around, she spotted unfamiliar faces inside the throne room. She instantly judged them to be the said guests. It could be said that she barely knows the faces of most of the aristocrats here, but the group of people in the middle stood out the most. Since their outfits aren't the usual of what people normally wear inside the castle, she deemed them to be the people she was looking for. So she began to walk towards them and greet them.
"Aleytia! I told you not to come here today, didn't I!?" <King Of La-Viena>
Before she could even take a step, the king yelled at her. His voice was filled with anger and disappointment. She stopped her movement and made a displeased face at her father.
For Aleytia, as the 2nd princess of La-Viena, she was very treasured. Her parents loved her and the knights all admired her. She was born with a beautiful face, clear white skin, and long silky light-blue hair. Her appearance was said to be even prettier than her elder sister. Because of this, she had always been kept inside the castle. The king didn't want her to mix around with people outside of the castle, fearing she might cause a problem due to her curious personality. Her desire to learn new things might endanger her. If she were to explore the outside, they feared she might get involve into something troublesome and end up hurting herself. Therefore, she wasn't allowed to leave the castle.
Everything that she wanted to know, she would be informed by her teachers. Her lessons were all taught within the castle, such as magic, society, etiquette, and more. Because of this, she wished to be able to leave the castle and meet new people one day.
That's why when she overheard one of the knights talking last night about an adventurer who had obtained the Legendary Cursed Sword, she was amazed. Continuing her eavesdropping, the knights went on about how those people would be coming to the castle to meet with the king tomorrow.
Thinking about being able to meet them, Aleytia got excited. It would be the first time she is able to interact with someone outside of the castle, and who isn't of noble birth. Since they are adventurers, her excitement increased. She had heard how adventurers has a lot of fun and freedom when they do their quests. Compared to her boring and restricted life, she admires the people called adventurers. However, adventurers were called barbarians by her father. He always denies her request to meet with one everytime. But now that she knows an adventurer would be coming to the castle, she didn't want to miss this chance to meet with them.
And that was how the current situation came to be. The reason why she barged into the throne room without consent, even after her father, the king, warned her not to.
"Get back to your room! Shouldn't you be studying right now!?" <King Of La-Viena>
Without giving Aleytia any chance to talk back, the king kept scolding her. As he was about to say more things, someone else entered the throne room behind Aleytia. It was the figure of a girl that was shorter than Aleytia. She was exuding a dignified aura more than the princess. She wasn't of royalty nor nobility, but she walked as if she was. Even the aristocrats and knights looked at her as if she was a royalty. Their expressions shows that she is someone who they revered.
"Theodore, don't blame little Aleytia. I was the one who insisted to bring her with me." <???>
The girl leisurely said it to the king. She even called the king by his first name and without any honorifics. The king didn't feel bothered by this lack of respect, which shows that the girl is friendly with the king.
After saying it to the king, she turned to look at Shin. Shin was making a very surprised face when he saw the appearance of the girl who was now beside the princess. Even the three girls that is with Shin had similar expression on them.
"From the looks on your faces, it seems like you roughly know who I am. Hehehe~" <???>
Author's Notes:
(Can anyone guess who the girl is? I want to see how big of an imagination you have to try and come up with her identity. Or maybe my story was easy to predict. Either way, I want to see the reader's thoughts.)