At two in the afternoon in the Nobles' District, where opulence is revealed through moral etiquette and refined actions! In the southern region atop the city of Freundinestream, behind stone walls and massive towers, stood numerous colossal and ancient palaces, stretching as far as the eye could see in an incredible sight.
They looked like real-life works of art, situated in very beautiful mountainous locations. These palaces belonged to nobles and aristocrats from all the cities of the kingdom. They had been built recently as residences for them, so they could be present for the upcoming party at the end of next month. However, only some had arrived, while others were still on their way. No one would dare disobey the king's orders, lest the title of nobility be stripped from any family that defied the king, and they would all be eradicated by imperial decree.
This area didn't have many streets, but there was one enormous street running between those palaces, called the Imperial "Alden Gate" Street, reserved solely for the passage of the nobles' luxurious and elegant carriages.
No citizen of the middle class or lower was allowed passage here without direct permission from the king. The lampposts were gigantic, and the lanterns upon them were stronger and more beautiful than those in the streets of the commoners' and poor districts.
The noble carriages moved along the huge street in an extremely orderly manner. The horses used here were white, with powerful bodies due to the feed they received, which was of the finest quality in the kingdom.
Alden Gate Street stretched for a very long distance, in front of the palaces all the way to the top of the giant mountain.
There stood a palace that didn't look like those below; if one might say, those below would merely be trivial decorations compared to that imperial palace.
It was a truly colossal and dazzling palace, twice the size of the palaces below, not to mention its distinct design compared to the rest.
A bright light reflected off its many large windows. There was a lake below that mountain, in front of the nobles' and families' palaces. The reflection of that imperial palace – bearing the royal family's emblem – on that vast lake beneath it created an extremely beautiful scene, suggestive of elegance and stunning architectural artistry.
There was no factory smoke or air pollution causing suffocation upon inhalation in the nobles' and aristocrats' side! This was due to the excellent geographical location of the area, situated in the southern highlands of Freundinestream city, where winds blew in reverse direction towards the north, pushing all smoke and air pollutants away towards the rest of the city. Hence, the sky here was clear, allowing one to see the white clouds moving across the clear sky.
At that moment, the sound of royal trumpets was heard at the beginning of Alden Gate Street, causing the nobles present in their palaces to rush out of their homes with their personal servants. The nobles looked towards the street's beginning and saw a white and gold carriage approaching, drawn by four strong white horses. On either side were many knights in golden suits, their swords in their sheaths. Behind them was a band of people wearing red suits with loose white trousers and long black boots reaching up to the knee.
They were blowing a beautiful, majestic tune for the arrival of a figure of great stature.
However, that wasn't what occupied the nobles' minds; rather, it was the crest on the carriage's frame.
'The royal family's emblem! It's Her Highness, the Third Princess, Sanolina!' The nobles exclaimed inwardly as they bowed before their palace walls to the passing carriage, with all respect and decorum.
"We are honored by the Princess's arrival! For the imperial party!" all the nobles on both sides of the street spoke loudly, bowing to the Princess along with their personal servants.
There was no response from inside the carriage, and only the white horses continued pulling it along the huge street, passing by all those palaces on the way while hearing those repeated words from the aristocrats and nobles.
..
There was a 17-year-old girl, wearing white stockings and sky-blue high-heeled shoes. She had long black hair with some blue strands at the front, and she wore a dark blue dress. Her eyelashes were carefully curled, making her beautiful face even more lovely. Her lips were rosy with plump, beautiful red cheeks.
She wore a golden crown with some jewels on it, and also wore shining golden earrings on her ears.
She sat quietly inside the royal carriage by the window, seeing many nobles, aristocrats, and numerous servants greeting her with all respect from in front of their palace walls.
But Sanolina paid no attention to those greetings. She moved her crystal blue eyes coldly and looked at the young maid beside her, saying, "Susan! How long until we arrive?"
"Yes, Your Highness! We will arrive in approximately half an hour!" Susan said as she arranged and combed the Princess's hair.
"I recall telling you! There's no need for that!" She moved her hand to push Susan away from her hair.
"No! There is a need for this! You will be meeting His Majesty the King and His Highness the First Prince." Susan pushed Sanolina's hand away, continuing, "Therefore, you must appear beautiful and tidy before them!"
"Do as you wish!" she said while turning her gaze back to the window.
"Your Highness, you are kind and shy at the same time, so don't worry and leave this task to me!"
Princess Sanolina had previously wanted to push Susan's hand away, but upon hearing that from her, she allowed her to comb her hair without objection. Susan had served the Princess since she was only 3 years old! Now she was twelve. That is, she had served the Princess for nine years and knew much more about the Princess's nature and favorite things than anyone else.
The Princess had resided in her fiefdom in another city and had never come to Freundinestream city before! This made her shocked by the number of people she saw in this large city. So, she tried to escape from her personal guards and roam the city a bit, to get to know more people.
But the people who saw her kept chasing her carriage wherever she went, which caused her to develop social anxiety and a desire to escape them, to get some rest from the constant pursuit.
After a little while, she managed to mislead them along with her guards and trumpeters, and she was left alone with her white horses on some street. She saw how beautiful the scenery was after last night's rainy evening, which had forced her to stop at an inn and delayed her arrival in this city.
She was enjoying the breathtaking view, but at that moment she heard the voice of someone calling her a "cursed wench"! So she stopped the carriage to see who that person was! And she was surprised that it was a boy who seemed to be about a year older than her.
She apologized to him at the time, but he seemed very shocked by the mere apology, so she asked him if he was okay then!
But he said he was fine, and then said words like how she shouldn't remember a mere vagabond like him, urging her to continue her tour.
She wanted to say something to him, but the guards, trumpeters, and the pursuing people had found her. She felt annoyed, but he smiled at her and ran away quickly, not responding to her call. And only then did she board the carriage, wanting to escape, but she was caught at 12 noon, taken to a luxurious restaurant where she had lunch, and then headed here.
"Hmph! Is this what I get from you in return for forgiveness?" Princess Sanolina said, remembering Xiao Peng's smile and escape earlier this morning.
"Huh? Who do you mean by forgiveness?" Susan asked before saying, "Oh! My god, who would have expected this from the Princess!" Susan remembered the morning incident and smiled slyly.
"Expected what from me? And what's with this tone today?" Princess Sanolina asked, looking at Susan with a surprised expression.
"Expecting the cold and shy Princess to fall in love! But I advise you, Your Highness, to think carefully about marrying a vagabond! That will never happen due to your high status, so I beg the Princess to abandon these feelings!" Susan said, winking at the Princess.
"Wha... what? What are you uttering, that's impossible! I only met him a few hours ago and we didn't even talk much!" Princess Sanolina stammered, denying Susan's words, but her cheeks were redder because of this.
"Oh really? That's good for him and for you, because you are from very different and distant social classes. So it's better for him to dream of obtaining a single strand of hair from our beloved Princess." Susan said, still combing the Princess's hair.
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End of Chapter ~ To be continued