Princess Ledra

The thick stone walls of Susar Palace kept out the chill of the outside world. Inside the sleeping quarters, expensive ambergris slowly wafted through openwork gold spheres, reflecting off the intricate purple dragon reliefs on the ceiling.

Inside the princess's private bedchamber, a warm fireplace flickered, and on a soft couch covered with an iris-patterned carpet, two young figures were laughing together.

"Stop scratching—Valona! I command you to stop in the name of the princess!"

Leedla Obyszir laughed and dodged, a strand of deep brown hair falling from her elegant updo and gliding across her fair neck and shoulders.

Her emerald green eyes curved into crescents, and her fair cheeks flushed a faint rosy hue from her playful antics.

Finally, she broke free from the maid's "clutches" and sat up straight.

Even with her hair slightly disheveled and her collar askew, she maintained her noble demeanor—a result of sixteen years of courtly training ingrained in her very being.

(Pictured is Ledera Obieschiel)

The maid Valona Jinyu casually collapsed onto the embroidered cushion beside her, her silvery laughter still echoing in the hall.

She raised her hand to tidy her smooth golden hair, a few strands clinging to her cheeks, which were slightly flushed from laughing, making her eyes appear even more azure, like a clear summer sky. Even dressed in simple maid's attire, her radiant beauty was in no way inferior to that of any noble lady.

"Now you can finally tell me who you've got your eye on, right?" Valona turned to the side, resting her chin on her elbow on the cushion. "What did you think of that battle mage at the ball the other day, Ilstein Niaril? He spent the whole night entertaining the ladies with those amusing little spells."

"Ilstein is indeed interesting. Moreover, the Niaril family is the largest merchant family in Arabel; my father mentioned that they control the grain purchases in Arabel," the princess commented.

“And then there’s Oblin Crown Silver,” Valona counted on her fingers, “He’s Tom’s priest and your distant cousin—though he wears his badge backwards and sneaks off to the garden to look for fireflies in the middle of the ball…he doesn’t seem to like the ball much.”

"Oblin..." Ledra shook her head gently, but her smile deepened. "There's nothing we can do about it. He lost his father when he was young. You can't expect someone who grew up in a temple to have the same hobbies as a nobleman."

"However..." she paused for a moment, "a pastor who may inherit the influence of the Crown Silver family, if he could become an ally, would indeed help to consolidate the relationship between the Church of the God of Justice and the royal family."

“And then there’s Linton Crown Hunter.” At the mention of that name, Valona sat up slightly. “The heir to the Crown Hunter family, and the most popular man at the entire ball. Every woman wanted to dance with him. I must say, his grey-blue eyes and melancholic air were truly captivating.”

"Sir Linton is a bit too quiet," Radla commented, "but he does have a talent for governance; at least, the part of the Crown Hunt he helped govern was well-managed."

"I didn't expect you to know so much about them." Valona looked at the princess with great interest. "It seems you've also taken the initiative to learn about them—tell me, which one of them is your favorite?"

Ledra was silent for a moment, then asked in return, "And what about you? If it were you, who would you choose?"

"Don't answer questions with questions," Valona nudged Ledra with her shoulder. "...Fine, what can I do? You're a princess...If it were me, I wouldn't choose any of them."

"Why?" Ledra suddenly became interested. "I see you really admire them."

"But don't you think...they're too boring?"

Valona rolled over, looking up at the stained-glass ceiling, and sighed, "Even though they each have their own unique characteristics, they're ultimately trapped in their own 'identities.' Battle mage, priest, noble heir—everyone's like they're wearing meticulously crafted armor to a banquet, utterly boring."

She turned her head to the side, her eyes shining brightly. "Have you read the novel 'Starry Night Knight'? I really hope that one day someone like that will appear at the ball—not some duke's eldest son, but an adventurer who has come out of the desert or the forest, with skin tanned to a bronze color, who can bring me exciting adventure stories and take me to experience a different life."

Upon hearing this, Ledera couldn't help but chuckle.

"What, don't you think so?" Valona glanced at the princess.

"Of course, I don't want that."

"Why?" Valona blinked, puzzled. "What girl doesn't dream of a passionate, dramatic love affair?"

"Because I am not a treasure that adventurers can conquer, nor a muse in aristocratic lyric poems." Ledra turned her head, her green eyes sparkling with a clarity rarely seen in someone her age. "I am Princess Cormier, daughter of the Obistril family. My marriage will be a line in diplomatic documents, an issue discussed in parliament, or even the reason for a future border change."

"As for love..." She paused, her fingertips lightly tracing the royal crest on her skirt, "love is a bit too much of a luxury for me."

Valona picked up a soft pillow, rested her chin on it, and muttered softly, "You're too realistic, Your Highness."

"Precisely because I am a princess." There was a complex tenderness in Ledra's smile. "Then, it's your turn to ask me—your eyes just now said that you've had a question on your mind for a long time."

The maid's eyes lit up: "What kind of marriage partner are you looking for? I mean, if you could really choose for yourself."

The side hall fell silent for a moment, and the faint sound of guards changing shifts could be heard in the distance.

Ledra stood up and slowly walked to the edge of the terrace.

"I swear," her voice was low but firm, "that I will marry someone worthy of this status and responsibility. Someone who can stand beside me on the throne."

"Of course, if Tamora (the goddess of fate) is merciful... he should also be the one I truly love."

Valona walked to her side and whispered, "So, your choices are still limited to the crowd at that ball that night, right? Among those dukes, earls, and their heirs."

Ledra nodded.

"The threat from Shadow City is drawing ever closer, and the kingdom is teetering on the brink of chaos—for the sake of the kingdom's stability, I have no other choice, do I?"

The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat heavy when the topic of the City of Shadows came up.

Just as Valona was about to change the subject to something lighter, there was a gentle knock on the copper-framed door to the side room.

A servant bowed and entered.

"Miss Valuna, your cousin Marance Goldfeather is requesting an audience outside the palace. He looks...very distraught and insists on seeing you."

Valona and Ledra exchanged a surprised look.

"Marans?" Valona's face was full of disdain. "What's he doing at the palace at this hour instead of squandering gold coins at the Dragon Knight Club?"

"Please ask him to wait in the 'Morning Dew Hall' next door. I'll be right there," Valona instructed, then looked at the princess with a slightly apologetic expression.

Ledra stopped her.

"Wait. Your brother rushed here; something's probably not simple. I'll listen in from here." She pointed to the ebony screen on one side of the hall. "Let him in; I'll hide behind the screen. What could possibly get him to break into the palace this late must be more exciting than any of those boring balls."

Seeing Ledra's enthusiasm, Valona could only agree: "Please have my brother come directly here."

Maranse practically tumbled into the outer hall, his usually meticulously groomed robes now a complete mess.

He didn't even notice anything amiss about the meeting place and immediately poured out his grievances to Valona.

"Valona, ​​my dear sister! You have to save me! I'm in big trouble, really big trouble!"

"Calm down, brother." Valona gestured for him to sit down and handed him a glass of water. "Tell me slowly, what exactly happened?"

Maranse took the glass of water, sipped it for a long time, but didn't say anything.

Valona immediately understood: "Could it be that it's about your personal hobbies again?"

Maranse paused for a moment, then nodded.

As Marans recounted the story, the whole affair—from how he was captivated by the "amazing" Ye Wei'an, to his attempt to "get physical" with her resulting in him being thrown to the roof of the college by a single teleportation, and then to Schulderon's warning about how Principal Ganlahast personally signed off on the honors diplomas—was told to the two of them in its entirety.

"I want to know how to ease the tension with that Ye Weian..." He looked at Valona pleadingly, "Leaving aside the reputation of the Golden Feather family and my own face... what if Master Ganlahast has a bad impression of the family because of this? By Sheenworth, sister, please help me think of a way."

"You deserve it, Marans!" Valona's face flushed with anger. "How dare you provoke a mage that Ganlahast would take a liking to? Is your brain filled with the waters of Dragon Lake?"

Maranth lowered his head in shame.

"Go back now," Valona said, dismissing him. "Don't do anything on your own again, and don't discuss this with anyone. I need to think about what to do next."

"But……"

"Go back!" Valona's voice was firm and resolute.

Maranse flinched, then finally slumped to his feet and dragged his heavy steps away from the side hall.

The door closed, and Valona stood there silently for a long time.

Ledra then stepped out from behind the screen with a relaxed demeanor, showing no embarrassment, and gently patted Valona on the shoulder.

Valona sighed, "Your Highness, I'm sorry to have made you laugh. My brother... is truly absurd."

“Who says otherwise?” Ledra walked back to the couch and sat down, gesturing for Valona to sit as well. “But he also discovered an interesting person, didn’t he?”

"He's an interesting person, but also someone you don't want to mess with," Valona said with a wry smile.

"So, you're planning to clean up this mess for him?"

"We have no choice but to help." Valona sat down opposite Ledra. "No matter how useless he is, he's still my brother, a member of the Golden Feather family. If this matter isn't handled properly, it could very well affect the relationship between the family and the Battle Mage Academy, especially Principal Ganlahaster's opinion."

She looked at Leydra, her eyes pleading, "Your Highness, the tricky part is that I know very little about that monk named Ye Weian. Could you... perhaps use some of the court's channels to investigate his background? After all, someone who could make the headmaster make such an exception..."

"I can help with the investigation," Ledra agreed immediately, "but I have one condition."

"What are the conditions?" Valona asked, taken aback.

"I want to be involved in this myself." Ledra looked directly at Valuna, her eyes filled with eagerness. "If you go to find that guy named Yevian, you have to take me with you."

Valona jumped to her feet in shock: "Your Highness! This is too dangerous! Not only is taking you out of the palace without permission a serious crime, but the other party is a mage, and his temper is clearly not mild. My brother was just hung on the roof for offending him! I absolutely cannot let you be in danger!"

"You know how skilled I am," Ledra said, lightly swinging her fist, displaying a wild and heroic spirit. "Plus, I have you, the best ranger of the Golden Feather Clan, protecting me, don't I?"

Valona looked into the princess's eyes, eyes that clearly said, "I'm very interested!"

She knew that whenever the princess fell into this state, not even a purple dragon could pull her back—

Valona could only nod resignedly, "Alright...alright, Your Highness, please rest assured, my bow will protect you."

"But Your Highness, why?" Valona still didn't understand. "This is just trouble caused by my brother. Why do you have to get involved yourself?"

“Because of Ganlahaster.” Ledra walked to the window, gazing at the towering mage tower in the distance. “Master Ganlahaster was already the Royal Chief Mage before I was born. He watched me grow up. I know him—although he usually seems approachable, he is extremely arrogant at heart. He would never show such enthusiasm to an ordinary nobleman or mage. Unless, that man named Yevian possesses something quite special.”