"So of you are here tonight," the Prince went on.
"That is why," the prince said, his tone carrying a hint of pride, "the royal family continued its discussions with the imperial envoys and other involved forces."
He paused, then allowed himself a small, satisfied smile.
"And through our efforts... we have acquired ten additional slots into the ruin."
This ti, the reaction was imdiate and uncontrolled.
The hall rippled with noise.
Ten.
Even Michael lifted his brows slightly.
That number was not small.
At this level, each slot was as valuable as a mid-tier territory.
Beside him, Seria inhaled softly.
The Second Prince let the stir continue for a mont before raising his hand.
"These ten new positions," he said clearly, "will not be restricted solely to the academies. Nor will they be distributed purely by birth status."
The noise grew louder.
On stage, the Second Prince's smile deepened slightly.
"I understand," he said, "that many among you desire the chance to enter that place. To test your fate. To seek opportunities that may not appear again in this lifeti."
That silenced so of the murmurs.
Desire and anxiety mixed in the air.
Michael twirled his glass lightly, watching the liquid catch the light.
The prince's next words fell slowly, deliberately.
"Which is why," he said, "in order to distribute these ten new positions fairly... and to give true talents a chance to step forward... we have decided on a particular thod."
It was then Michael realized sothing.
This did not line up with what he had been told.
A week ago, Arianne had ntioned that the participants were already decided.
So why is this suddenly becoming a spectacle?
His brows lowered slightly.
Beside him, Arianne still watched the stage, her expression calm.
Michael shifted his gaze to her.
She felt it and glanced his way.
For a brief heartbeat their eyes t.
Arianne gave a tiny shrug, so small that anyone who did not know her would have missed it completely, then looked forward again as if nothing had happened.
So even you did not expect this.
He was starting to think maybe it was just him who was just becoming aware of the new information after all this while.
Michael turned his attention back to the Second Prince, waiting for
him to explain what particular thod he had prepared.
The prince drew breath, ready to speak.
"Your Highness."
The clear voice rose from within the crowd.
It was not shouted, yet it carried cleanly through the hall.
Conversation cut off like a thread being sliced.
Heads turned in the direction of the sound.
The interruption alone was enough to draw shocked looks.
At a mont like this, when the prince was about to announce sothing important, who would dare?
Michael's eyes followed the shifting gazes until they settled on the
one who had spoken.
A young man stepped forward from a cluster of nobles near the front.
Murmurs broke out at once.
"Leonard..."
"Lord Leonard is here?"
"The Queen's nephew..."
Recognition rippled through the hall, turning annoyance and shock
into wary attention.
Michael's eyes narrowed.
Leonard Vale.
He rembered him clearly.
After all, his encounter with him was the first ti he fought soone whose power ca directly from their bloodline.
The mory flickered through his mind.
The Second Prince's expression did not change much, but the faint tightening at the corners of his eyes betrayed a hint of displeasure at
being interrupted.
"Lord Leonard," he said, his tone still smooth. "You wish to speak?"
Leonard smiled politely and bowed just enough to be considered respectful without looking even a fraction submissive.
"If it pleases Your Highness," Leonard said, "this humble one only has a small request... or perhaps a clarification."
The hall quieted again.
Leonard straightened, his gaze steady on the platform.
"Before you reveal this particular thod," he said, voice clear but not
loud, "could Your Highness first tell us who the originally selected candidates were? The ones chosen before these ten additional slots
appeared."
A hushed shock ran through the crowd.
He actually said it.
So nobles paled, glancing quickly toward the royal family, as if expecting a thunderbolt to fall for the offense of questioning the flow.
Michael's eyebrows rose slightly.
You are doing this here?
He studied Leonard Vale more closely.
The polite smile.
The relaxed shoulders.
The complete lack of fear in his eyes even while addressing a prince
in front of the kingdom's elite.
What are you planning?
The hall held its breath.
The Second Prince opened his mouth to respond.
But another voice cut in.
"Interesting question. I am sure everyone here also wishes to know
that."
Every head snapped toward the new speaker.
And shock rippled through the room like a struck bell.
Prince Raelion.
The Ninth Prince himself had interrupted.
Many nobles nearly lost their composure. So forgot how to
breathe.
Interrupting a prince was already unthinkable.
But for one prince to interrupt another during an official
announcent...
That was different entirely.
The Second Prince's fingers paused in the air.
A tiny shift in his expression, a hardly noticeable tightening of his jaw,
revealed the smallest crack in his calm.
The Second Prince prepared to answer again.
But before a single word could leave his lips, a third voice entered the
fray.
"I agree," the Seventh Prince said lightly.
Dead silence.
Unmoving silence.
Even the musicians froze, hands hovering over strings and keys, too
afraid to breathe wrongly.
Three royal voices had spoken against the flow.
All aid at the Second Prince's announcent.
Michael slowly placed his wine glass down.
This is getting political.
The Second Prince lowered his raised hand. The gesture was small,
but his aura seed to thicken slightly, the refined calm of a veteran
court figure slipping back into place to cover whatever tension
simred beneath.
His gaze moved first to the Seventh Prince.
Then to the Ninth.
Then finally to Leonard Vale.
Arianne inhaled lightly. Michael heard it even over the silence.
Seria's eyes were wide, her hand frozen halfway to her mouth. Michael watched everything with growing interest. For so reason, he felt like being a bystander at chaos was quite
interesting.
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