Ch. 160: The Parade and the Wizard
Sounds of drums and flutes could be heard from somewhere outside of the palace.
The music that reached the Palace was a festival prelude signifying that the Imperial Family was about to appear in the parade.
Igni: “Alicia, you don’t look so well, but are you okay?” Alicia: “.......I’m fine.” Alicia stood firm and tall as ever, but her face was deathly pale.
Igni: (Is she nervous?)
Igni thought as he glanced at Alicia wrapped in a gorgeous dress.
Alicia: “Yes, I’m fine. There’s no problem. I just didn’t get much sleep.”
Igni: “We’ll have to make sure you stay awake in the carriage then.” Alicia: “Hehe. I know, right?”
As we bantered lightly, Alicia got onto the horse carriage.
And though it is a horse carriage, it is nothing like the ones Igni has used as transport before.
It had been modified and customized specifically for the parade, and so the Imperial Family can be seen easier, it had been raised higher like a platform with seats.
For servants or people in servant-statuses like Igni, they would be sitting one level lower than the Imperial Family.
Iris: “Sir Igni! We’ll be able to sit next to each other today!”
Igni: “Yeah, that’s true. Let’s do our best today.”
Iris approached Igni and with bright sparkling eyes, spoke up.
If she had been born as a dog, her tail would have been wagging furiously.
Alicia: “I’m counting on you two.”
Igni: “........are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Hearing Alicia say things that she would not normally say, Igni’s concerns grew bigger.
Elina: “That’s not like you, Allieー”
Alicia: “..........Sister Elina.” And Ellie came over also wrapped up in a fancy, gorgeous dress.
As the two stood next to each other, you could see the family resemblance in their faces.
Elina: “You’re way overreacting to your fortune telling, you know.” Alicia: “But…….” Elina: “Fortune telling is just that. It’s just a guess. The outcome hasn’t been decided at all, right?”
Alicia: “........that……is true, but…….” But Alicia didn’t look convinced.
Igni: “Hey Alicia. What fortune telling are you talking about?”
Alicia: “It’s about the [Sacrifice].” Igni: “..........I see…..” It was a fortune telling card that even Igni was concerned about. He knows nothing about fortune telling. For someone who can only use {Fireball} like himself, he would not be able to use the [Ancient Magic].
But from those words, he could make a guess about what the card entailed.
Alicia: “The Fortune Telling said there’s an 80% chance that the [Sacrifice] will occur during the Emperor’s Birthday Festival.” Igni: “........that’s pretty high.” Alicia: “With you at my side, the chances dropped to 60%.” Igni: “Still over 50%.....I see….” Alicia: “During the Festival, there will be representatives from other countries and states as well. Once we make a round around the Imperial Capital, we will hold a ceremony there.” Igni: “Yeah, so I’ve heard.” Igni had already heard about the general festival plans from the Captain of the Knights the night before.
Alicia: “During the ceremony, Princes from other countries will be present too.” Igni: “...........I see.” Igni caught onto what Alicia meant by the Princes.
Alicia: “Igni……please.” Igni: “Don’t worry. I understand.” Hence, Igni nodded firmly to Alicia’s pleading eyes.
Elina: “Allieー hurry up and get onto the carriage. We’re going to be late.”
Ellie hurried Alicia onto the carriage as she got up onto the carriage first.
Seeing that she wouldn’t be able to stall the inevitable for any longer, Alicia gripped both her fists tightly as she got up onto the carriage herself.
Following her, Igni and Iris also got on one level below them.
Iris: “Sir Igni, this is a little nerve wrecking.”
Igni: “Yeah, I think so too.” Iris sat next to him as she spoke to him softly. The carriage then began slowly proceeding forward. Ellie was in the first carriage, and Alicia’s followed. The Emperor’s carriage would come last.
As the carriages left the castle, it entered into the heart of the city.
“ “ ーーYEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! ” ”
As they passed the castle gates, they were welcomed by a roar of cheers and applause.
The main streets were flooded with people, and everyone was pushing against each other to get a glimpse of the Imperial Family. Many people waved wildly towards the Imperial Family members.
Of course, Alicia did not just sit there silently.
She smiled and waved back at the crowd.
Igni: “..........this is something else.” Iris: “Don’t you think so? It’s apparently like this every year.” Igni: “Hm? Iris, you don’t know yourself?” Iris: “Yes, I live way out in the rural areas of the Empire………so I’ve only seen the parade only a few times.”
Igni: “.......hm? But you’re from a Noble family, right? As a Noble, don’t you have to attend these kinds of events?” Iris: “Um, well…….actually…………Nobles are ranked by importance…..”
Igni: Yeah?” Iris: “There are Nobles important enough for the Emperor to see them……..and there are some Nobles who fall outside of that category.”
Igni: “........I see now.” Igni groaned quietly as the news dawned on him.
Iris: “So yes, my family is not important enough for the Emperor to see us……”
Though she mentioned how her family was ranked somewhere low among the Nobles, Igni decided that touching upon the subject would not be helpful.
The Knights guarded the carriages carefully, and from the Sniping locations, they monitored the security as the parade continued.
Igni: “........I wonder which they would choose.” Igni muttered to himself quietly.
But Iris heard his words and looked inquisitively at him.
Iris: “What do you mean?” Igni: “Well, you see….you can divide this Birthday Festival into largely 2 categories, right?” Iris: “You mean, the parade and ceremony?” Igni: “That’s right. As for the parade, there are a lot of citizens and large crowds, so if you attack now, it will be easy to stir up panic and confusion and compared to the security of the ceremony, it is <spread thinner>.”
Iris: “I think I understand what you’re saying.”
Igni: “But, the representatives of each country and state will be at the ceremony. The security is <tighter> but the merits you gain from attacking then are much greater.”
Iris: “I see! That is very true.”
Igni: “So Iris, if you were them, which would you choose?” Igni continued to monitor his surroundings as he spoke with Iris.
And Iris continued to monitor her surroundings as well with detection Spells as she chatted with Igni.
Both were using above average skills and techniques.
Techniques that only someone who had trained at the Rolmod Wizard Academy could do.
Well, Igni was trained by his grandfather though.
Iris: “Well, in that case, I would choose the parade.”
Igni: “Why?” Iris: “Because look at all these people around us. If a mass panic occurs, it’s obvious to everyone that something horrible would happen.”
Igni: “Yeah, it would.” Iris: “That’s why I would prepare two groups. One would cause a panic, and then the second would focus on taking out the most important targets.”
Igni: “.........as expected of you, Iris.” It was the same idea that crossed Igni’s mind.
Even if they are [Transgressors], would they be able to easily take out the elite guards that protect each countries’ representatives? That’s why they would attack during the parade.
Igni renewed his determination to keep monitoring the Capital’s perimeters when far from the city, <Magic suddenly exploded>.
Igni: “.........!!!”
Iris: “Sir Igni?”
Igni glanced quickly at one of the Knights walking nearby the carriage.
If he were to panic himself, that panic would transfer to the citizens around them.
Seeing Igni’s eye contact, one of the Knights drew near him.
“Is something the matter?!”
Igni: “I sensed an explosion of Magic Power from the South East direction. Something is coming.”
“........!! I’ll confirm!!”
He took out a short-range communication Magecraft device and spoke into it.
A moment later, he came back to Igni with slight confusion in his voice.
“.......the Dungeon southeast from here has completely malfunctioned. A stampede is heading our way.”
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