Inside the guest palace, Shion Lan looked toward the girl standing before him. She stared back at him with guilt and fear, yet neither of them spoke for a while until Shion finally said,
"Lady Neumann, are you not going to admit your mistake?"
Solan Neumann replied anxiously,
"I only wanted to heal you! Please don't be angry with me!"
Shion answered with a grim expression,
"Didn't you see that my soul is practically half-dead?! What if you had been injured during the treatment?! And why didn't you direct all the damage toward that idiot instead?!"
Solan replied shyly,
"Because my circles weren't enough to support me since I have too few of them, so I had to redirect part of the magic into myself to make use of the circle."
"And what about the Spirit Lantern?", Shion asked coldly.
Solan hurriedly answered,
"It helps me perform advanced magic, but I can't control its circles!"
Shion grew furious and shouted,
"If you knew you would be harmed, then why did you do it?! What if you suffered a wound that would never heal?! Didn't you understand how dangerous my injuries were?!"
Solan defended herself,
"I can't continue living while knowing you're suffering so much and do nothing about it!"
Shion replied,
"Why didn't you tell me before taking such a step?! Do you still see me as a child incapable of making decisions?!"
Solan answered sorrowfully,
"If I had told you, you would've refused because you didn't want to see me suffer while healing you."
Sweat appeared on Shion's temple as he approached her and said in a cold voice,
"So you understood my personality, yet you still chose to act on your own and anger me!"
Solan burst into tears.
At that moment, Shion's mother intervened and said,
"Do you even call yourself a man?! How dare you make her cry like this?!"
Shion replied,
"Mother, this concerns us, and she deliberately chose to do something I hate, so how am I supposed to forgive her?!"
His mother responded,
"You know, my son? Even though that man married two women and had many children, not a single one of them is willing to spend their time on him. Yet my precious daughter is trying to take care of you and sacrifice herself to you as much as she can, and now you're blaming her for it?"
Shion's voice trembled as he replied,
"And what about me? Do you think I want to watch someone sacrifice themselves for me?! I don't want to see pain in the people I love, and she knows I hate seeing anyone harmed because of me. Yet despite that, she insisted on melting herself away. If I hadn't cut the connection, I don't even know what could've happened to her."
He looked sadly toward Solan and asked whispering,
"Did you really want to see me crying over you that badly?"
Solan trembled, and even his mother no longer knew what to say.
She finally sighed and said,
"Shion, no matter what she did, you shouldn't get angry like this. Please treat her gently."
Then she left them alone.
When Shion realized no one remained besides Solan, he sat beside her and pulled her into his arms to calm her down.
He said softly,
"Ever since we met, you've seen the state of my soul, surrounded by the aura of death. I was afraid that terrifying aura might affect you. And I want to ask you something… don't you love me?"
Solan looked at him with teary eyes and a faint blush across her nose and cheeks.
Shion continued with a warm smile,
"All these wounds are what shaped me and made me the person I am today. Or do you dislike my personality and want to change it?"
Solan shook her head and said in a trembling voice,
"I… love you… Shion…"
Shion gently played with her beautiful white hair and said,
"Please, my love, don't ever do something that makes me worry about you again, alright?"
Solan nodded her head and remained where she was.
Shion did not mind. In fact, he wished this moment could last longer.
He thought to himself,
'A Pure Spirit… unaffected by emotions such as anger, revenge, and the things that define evil spirits. But when they cling to a feeling, they reach the absolute extreme of it… She truly loves me.'
Without realizing it, Solan fell asleep on his shoulder.
Shion smiled and called out,
"Marie, take her to the guest bedroom."
Marie entered shyly because Shion had clearly realized she had been eavesdropping. As she carried Solan away, she thought to herself,
'It seems Her Highness has lost him forever.'
She remembered how the second princess, Jina Joul, had asked her to find out the nature of the relationship between Shion and Solan after seeing them together several times. Jina had looked utterly exhausted while asking.
Marie sadly muttered,
"Your Highness… Shion has someone he loves and who loves him back. It seems there's no longer any place for you in his heart."
After placing Solan on the bed, she quietly left.
Meanwhile, Shion walked toward his room while thinking,
'What were those scenes I saw? The Shi family estate was completely burned down, and countless corpses were scattered around it. Could those people have been his family? I mean, his grandfather had already reached the Supreme Level, and his father was at the Emperor Level, so how could all that happen?! And where was Shi Yun Lan during all of that?! Also… why did I cry for them? It's tragic, sure, but it has nothing to do with me…'
Yet the moment he recalled those scenes, pain struck his heart.
So he forced himself to stop thinking about it and returned his attention to training for the Academy Tournament.
However, his younger brother suddenly blocked his path and handed him a letter sealed with the royal crest.
Shion frowned in annoyance.
"When will all of this finally end?"
He opened the letter and found it was a mandatory invitation to attend the ceremony appointing the Crown Princess.
Shion thought to himself,
'That girl… it seems she finally got what she wanted. Will she abuse her authority or not? Although our last meeting was somewhat tense, it turns out the issue had something to do with Shi Yun Lan, and the truth became clear during the trial. Now I'm simply waiting for compensation from the king. Even though everything happened under his watch, he never once looked at me suspiciously and kept everything under control. As for his daughter, it seems she only listened to one side of the story and gave me the cold shoulder. But it doesn't matter. She'll become Crown Princess, and I can't hold a grudge against her.'
Shion then began organizing his training schedule in preparation for the tournament.
...
Several days later, Jina awoke from sleep trembling slightly.
Today was the day she would officially be announced as Crown Princess.
Her mother and the maids entered her room to prepare her.
"My beautiful little girl, how are you today?! This is your special day, and you'll become the second most important person after your father! I prepared several outfits for you, so you must choose one!"
Jina replied,
"I'll wear the normal Crown Princess attire. I don't need anything more."
Her mother protested immediately,
"No! You have to stand out! No one should ever forget the beautiful princess!"
Celesia Joul joined in,
"Exactly. You must shine today. Everyone will come to congratulate you."
Jina sadly repeated,
"Everyone…?"
When Celesia noticed her expression, she snapped angrily,
"For heaven's sake! You shouldn't be thinking about that boy! Attendance is mandatory, and he must obey the king's order!"
Jina washed her face and quietly said,
"So if he attends today, it'll only be because he's forced to. I doubt he'd come willingly."
Celesia sighed.
"You're overthinking things. He wouldn't even dare look at you anymore, even if you gave him the chance."
Jina replied mockingly,
"And if he did approach me, then he'd be called opportunistic, right?"
Celesia answered sharply,
"A queen should never give her heart away so easily!"
But Jina no longer cared enough to argue.
She changed clothes repeatedly until she finally settled on a dress that did not resemble the attire of a queen as a wife, but rather the attire of authority itself. It perfectly embodied both nobility and power. White and gold intertwined throughout the dress beautifully, and even Jina herself fell in love with it.
She looked at herself in the mirror and could only stare in admiration.
The maids then took over to prepare her makeup, but they soon realized cosmetics only diminished her noble beauty. So instead, they carefully treated her exhausted skin in gentler ways.
Time passed until she looked into the mirror once more and saw a breathtaking reflection staring back at her.
Everyone noticed the approaching hour, so Jina departed alongside her mother until they arrived at King Jord Joul's chamber.
Moments later, the king emerged with an imposing aura and a broad smile.
"It seems our little princess is radiant today."
Jina smiled with satisfaction.
"Thank you."
The king walked alongside his daughter and second wife, and shortly afterward they arrived at the grand hall where the nobles of the kingdom had gathered.
The moment they noticed the king's arrival, everyone stopped what they were doing.
Then they were captivated by the beauty of the second princess, Jina, who moved gracefully while secretly searching the hall for him — the only person who had ever entered her heart.
Shion Lan.
He stood calmly with Solan Neumann beside him in her spirit form.
For a brief moment, Jina felt sadness, jealousy, and a flood of complicated emotions.
But she quickly regained composure and walked forward, ignoring everyone's gazes until she reached the seat beside her father.
The king then declared,
"Today is a great day, for we shall witness the appointment of the Crown Princess with the approval of all. The one concerned today is my daughter, the second princess Jina Joul, possessor of extraordinary talent and inheritor of the Golden Eyes bloodline, raised under the guidance of the first queen in the kingdom's history, Celesia Joul. Now then — does anyone here object to her assuming this position?"
Everyone answered in unison,
"No, Your Majesty!"
Although Shion also said those words, inwardly he thought,
'For a girl so easily influenced by the opinions of others, she still needs to work on that flaw. But since the king is around, it should be alright for now. She'll probably learn with time.'
The journalists then stepped forward to record this important event.
Jina moved before her father as he began reciting the oath.
"Second Princess Jina Joul, do you swear to follow the laws, protect the people of your kingdom, and…"
The king continued listing the vows until the princess answered affirmatively and bowed her head.
The king then placed a crown upon her head.
It was a small crown suitable for princesses, almost like an elegant accessory, which only amplified her beauty even further.
Everyone applauded loudly.
"Long live His Majesty! Long live Her Highness!"
The celebration officially began afterward.
Music and melodies filled the grand hall, and everyone began dancing.
Shion glanced toward Solan and asked,
"Solan, can you dance in that form?"
Solan thought for a moment before shaking her head.
"Unfortunately… I can't currently be touched."
Shion sighed helplessly.
But suddenly, a girl pushed through the crowd and approached him.
"Lord Lan, may I have a dance?"
She was a daughter of a second-rank noble family.
Another girl immediately interrupted, asking Shion for a dance as well.
Shion could feel Solan's anger rising, even though she could do nothing except swallow her frustration.
Soon, five girls had gathered around him.
Several young men looked at him with envy before deciding to approach the Crown Princess instead and request dances from her.
But Jina ignored every single one of them.
She walked directly toward the group of girls surrounding Shion.
The moment the girls noticed her, they bowed obediently, and Shion did the same.
"Your Highness, how may I serve you?"
With a flushed face, Jina asked,
"May I have a dance with you?"
Everyone was stunned by the request.
Shion realized he could not reject her in front of everyone, so he extended his hand ignoring the jealous spirit beside him and said,
"Then would Your Highness honor me with this dance?"
Jina placed her hand in his.
The two of them stepped into the center of the hall.
Anyone who saw this pair could only sigh in admiration.
Shion possessed the handsome appearance of a king, while Gina carried noble beauty worthy of royalty itself.
They moved together in perfect harmony.
And Jina thought to herself that this might have been the happiest day of her life…
If not for the coldness radiating from Shion the entire time.
...
End of Volume One: Noble