On a forest road that intersected between the wilderness and the border of the Azuri city, there was a luxurious carriage moving towards the city gates. Two guards could be seen wearing plate armour with long swords sheathed at their waist.
Once the carriage was at a close enough distance where the sound of the rattling of the carriage wheels easily entered their ears, the two guards promptly got into position, and their eyes became filled with wariness.
Once the carriage had made it towards the gate entrance, the window of the carriage abruptly opened, revealing the figure of the person sitting inside. The oldest of the two guards steps forward, approaching the window.
"Excuse me... could you tell me your business here?" the guard inquired somewhat nervously.
After observing the appearance of the carriage, it was plainly obvious that whoever was inside wasn't someone normal. That was because the carriage was so beautiful and extravagant that the guard could easily say with absolute confidence that he had never seen any other carriage as well-made as this.
There was also a symbol embedded on the carriage door; unfortunately, he couldn't recognise the symbol on the carriage.
That is to be expected. Other than the royal markings of the royal family of the kingdom of Barat, he hadn't seen any other royal markings in his life. It wasn't often that they had visitors from outside after all.
A woman in her late twenties, approaching her thirties, with short shoulder-length black hair answered. "Good afternoon, I am Rose, a noble from the kingdom of Alilia located west of here, but I am nothing more than an attendant who has accompanied your highness, first princess Emilia we are here to have an audience with the royal family of Barat." the woman explained.
'They came here from the kingdom of Alilia; holy crap, isn't that a major nation! Shit, why didn't someone tell me that someone of such important status would be showing up today! The guard broke out into cold sweats and promptly turned away to open the gates.
From the side, two pairs of emerald eyes glittered faintly as it observed his reaction.
"Sigh! Even though our status is different, we are still human beings. Why does everyone have to be so dramatic?" Princess Emilia unintentionally grimaced as she said somewhat tiredly.
Hearing her words, Rose couldn't help but show a wry smile. "That's just how this world is... power and status are what rule it." Rose gently brushes her glossy black hair that had blown into her face by the strong wind of the open window.
After a few seconds, the sound of the two-sided gates could be heard opening.
After another few seconds, the wheels of the carriage started moving again.
The carriage then entered the city of Azuri, the largest city of the kingdom of Barat and one that could be considered its capital and held to the true royal family.
The crowded streets were bustling with life as the shouts of people could be heard coming from here and there.
The beautiful buildings and structures of the city could be seen easily as the carriage slowly made its way to the royal palace.
"Amazing, it really lives up to its name as the busiest city in the Barat kingdom." Princess Emilia said as her curious eyes wandered around.
They had been stuck inside a forest for days, seeing scenery like this really made her appreciate the beauty of the city even more.
"Your highness, we'll be meeting them really soon. Please be prepared." Rose warned. "Yes, I know... I hope that the prince who is supposed to be my future husband turns out to be interesting." Princess Emilia said, though she was slightly worried about her engagement to the prince, as she heard that he was a ladies' man who thinks nothing of the women around him and sees them as mere toys for his use.
Princess Emilia tried her best to think that what she heard was nothing but mere rumours, at least she hoped that it was nothing more than simple rumours. Rose looked at Emilia with slightly complicated eyes as she could easily guess what the princess was currently thinking, which caused her beautiful, smooth, white skin to turn slightly pale in colour.
"Do not worry, princess, your majesty definitely wouldn't allow you to marry such a man; the fact that your majesty is allowing the marriage between you and that prince means he has faith that your safety is guaranteed," Rose said confidently.
After all, the king of Alilia dotes on his daughters; if something happened to at least one of them, it would be no exaggeration to say that a war could easily start the moment he found out something had happened to his precious daughters.
At that, Princess Emilia smiled pleasantly in such a way that her eyes curved into a crescent shape. She was truly beautiful; if any man had seen that smile just now, they would have easily had their hearts stolen by that innocent smile.
Emilia's golden hair swayed gently by the soft wind which flew through the slightly opened window.
"Yes! You're right.... I must be worried for nothing," she said. No one spoke after that; Princess Emilia enjoyed the view of the city visible outside the window as the carriage slowly made its way towards the royal palace that had become visible in the distance.
The carriage crossed the slightly arch-shaped bridge that connected to the royal palace and stopped before the castle gate. Upon noticing the royal symbol embedded on the carriage, the guards promptly opened the silver gates, allowing the carriage to pass through. Unlike the guards outside, the ones who guard the gates of the castle seem to have received notice of their arrival beforehand.
It only took a few minutes before the carriage finally parked at the side of the garden of the castle. Once the carriage came to a stop, the door swung open, and Princess Emilia finally came out, her long golden hair swaying in the gentle breeze, softly brushing against her skin.
Her emerald eyes gazed at the royal castle in the distance.
"Now then, Princess, we are finally here... shall we get going?" Rose, who had stepped out after her sudden suggestion. Princess Emilia nodded her head before they both slowly made their way towards the royal castle.
....
Inside the royal palace, in one of the many rooms, there a young man could be seen sitting on his bed eagerly waiting for the arrival of his guest.
The young man was extremely handsome, his short red hair was like burning flames as his eyes narrowed slightly, and he seemed to be in his late teens.
If Kenta had seen the young man, he would have immediately recognised him.
He was none other than the man whom he hated the most in this lifetime and had sworn to kill!
The first prince smiled as he licked his lips, waiting for the princess who was supposed to be his future wife.