The sidelines of the road were packed with people, waiting for their king to arrive and grace them with his presence. The air hummed with thousands of voices, a low vibration that I could feel even in the soles of my boots. Dad and I had secured a spot near the front, pressed against the cold iron of the barricades.
Given the current time they should be here in just a few minutes.
I can't wait to see the King and the knights. Royal knights are said to be the strongest in the nation, after all.
"You seem eager for the parade," one man said, adjusting his cap.
"Well, I wasn't in the capital during the last parade, so yeah." the other man replied
Behind us, two adult men were leaning against a stone wall, their conversation carrying clearly over the crowd.
"Right, you weren't. Well, that means this will be your first time seeing the current king, in flesh."
"Yes. Last time, the public wasn't even sure if there would be a parade."
"Yeah. after all, It hadn't even been a year since he took the throne. There was a lot of... doubt."
"Yeah, we didn't have much hope from the new king either, but look at it now." the first man chuckled, gesturing to the massive crowd.
"Yeah, the number of people is way higher than last time. The current king is way more popular now."
"Isn't it obvious ? He brought schemes and systems like the bank and increased the number of schools and actually made the roads safe for someone who isn't a knight or an adventurer. He's proven himself worthy of the crown."
"Yeah, he is the king of people. People don't call him the 'wise king' for nothing"
"as i said, This king has proven himself to be worthy"
"Yeah. Come to think of it, the queens and princes will be here won't they ?"
"yeah, this will be their first parade as well. How many were there again ?"
"Yeah. Three Queens, three Princes, and one Princess."
"So we will get to see our future king as well then ?"
"I doubt it," the first man grunted. "They'll be locked inside those armored carriages. Besides, what is there to see? None of them have even awakened their Windows yet. They're just kids playing dress-up."
"Anything is known about them ?"
"Not much. as i said, They haven't even awakened their windows yet. so, there's nothing worth knowing, anyways."
"I heard all the royal children except the youngest one—the third boy— had a great fifth birthday party."
"The youngest prince's mother is from a baronet family, right ?"
"Yes, no one knows why his majesty bothered to marry a baronet. I mean, from what I know she was beautiful. But that alone can't be the only reason, right ? Beauty only goes so far in politics."
"I had heard that she was so beautiful that people used to compare her to the daughter of the Carvy family. you know, the most beautiful jewel of the high society."
"Ah.. the fallen count family of Carvy. Their daughter was also known as the 'Zircon of High Society', wasn't she ? i heard she was never found after the war, was she ?"
"No. Maybe she was 'taken' by the enemy soldiers or sold to illegal slave traders. she was Beautiful, after all."
"Wasn't slave trade banned by the former emperor, forty years ago ?"
"Not entirely, if the slave is a criminal or someone with a lot of unpaid debt, he can be sold as a slave."
"But Lady Carvy should not be in either of those categories."
"That's why I said 'illegal' Slavery, you dumbass."
"Forget it. Back to the topic, weren't we talking about the third queen ?"
"Yeah. According to rumors his majesty was in love with her."
"And despite all that she ended up as the third queen."
"Well, that just proves that even the king can't ignore long standing rules and the oponion of other nobles."
"Maybe. But gotta say, I pity the boy."
"Who ?"
"The third price. Despite being a prince and the son of the queen who is, or maybe was, once loved by the king, he didn't even get a great birthday. That tells a lot about his position."
"Yeah. I guess the next king's gonna be either the first or the second. The third boy is just a ghost in the third Palace"
"You can't tell. Maybe there will be a miracle."
"Well," the other man replied as a distant horn blast cut through the air. "It's not like our opinions change the outcome."
"Yeah... We, the commoners can only hope that our next king will be as good and fair as the current one."
I was still putting my head around the things those men said. Slavery? It sounded like a word from a dark history book.
If it's illegal, it means it's against the King's law, right? then, it's 'Bad Thing'. I didn't understand how people could still do 'bad things' when a King so powerful was watching.
Are they not afraid of being branded as sinners by the Goddess and be sent to Olympus in their afterlife.
I looked back at the road.
'A ghost in the Third Palace.'
The pity in their voices made me angry, though I didn't know why. I didn't know the Third Prince personally, but it did.
I hate the very idea of someone being written off before they even had the chance to step onto the stage.
I wonder if he is bullied by the other queens and princes like those in the stories.
And is it alright to talk about His Majesty's private life like that ? won't their soul be send to Olympus for this as well?
Just when I was lost in my trivial thoughts,
"They are here!" Suddenly someone shouted.
And I looked toward the horizon, and my breath hitched.
Coming toward us was a knight on a snow-white horse. He wasn't just wearing an armor; he was the armor. The metal gleamed with a light that didn't seem to come from the sun, but rather from the steel itself.
Behind him were two knights at two sides and behind them was a roofless carriage.
In that carriage, only one man was seated.
As they drew near, a strange wave moved through the crowd. hundreds of people, all at once, placed their hands over their hearts and bowed.
It was a silent, synchronized tide of respect.
Then, the flowers started. From the balconies above, women began throwing petals—red, white, and yellow—until it looked like a multicolored blizzard of flower petals was falling over the street.
And Then I saw him.
The man in the carriage. He had hair like spun gold and eyes the color of deep, royal amethyst. He sat with a stillness that made everything else seem like it was moving in slow motion.
So, that's the King...