Elric followed Hughesin’s lead up the stairs to the Temple of Triumph. Like before, his hand was still firmly clasped around Hughesin’s elbow. He was still displeased about it, but there was nothing he could do about it without risking the Princess, Charle, and Kebrilio from finding out. He feared receiving punishment again, but he also dreaded being seen by his comrades like this. 

It was a dilemma with an answer forced onto him. Being a powerful Archpaladin, the Duke had strength like none other. Elric wasn’t about ready to cause a scene by trying to wrestle out from his hold. All he could really do was obediently follow him up the stairs.

The paladins that stood guard every few steps on this grand stairway were different from the ones that stood guard at the square’s exterior. They were the elites and possessed the capability to be commander for their own soldiers. 

Actually, Elric recognized several of their faces from his journey to Waldsk. Were it not in fear of his disguise, Elric would’ve greeted them a long time ago.

Triumph Square was entirely visible from the top of the stairway, considering the temple was right in the middle of it, meaning Elric was free to admire the banner strewn across the area. Every arch had on it a lengthy red banner with a gold border and tassels that shined in the sunlight. With a golden-armored paladin standing underneath each banner, the square looked impeccably spectacular.

All sorts of embroidered flags and brocades littered the square. Such material was commonly reserved for nobles and their clothing, but today, they were being extravagantly cut into strips and such to decorate the entire square in festive colors. Even the statues installed there had a layer of gold applied to them. 

It was only at the top of the stairway that Elric finally saw the rest of the dignitaries. Standing off to the left, Princess Flania and the Prince were currently representing the Sovereign Kingdom in this banquet.

And how beautiful Flania was. She wore a gown as white as snow with the hem of her skirt being multicolored to resemble petals in the wind when she moved. Two long strips of handspun cotton fabric looped around the right shoulder to the opposing side of her waist, adding an element of liveliness to the Princess’ demeanor. She also had two gold bracelets and a large ruby necklace as accessories befitting royalty. Her hair wasn’t meticulously combed like usual, though Elric figured this mostly due to her usual hairdresser being sent away to help himself and no one else was experienced enough to replace her. Regardless of her hair being combed or not, the Princess still looked impeccably charming the way she was now.

He shifted attention away from the Princess to the Prince, unintentionally catching the latter’s attention. He saw the Prince’s eyes look him over briefly before giving a good-natured smile; the Prince clearly didn’t recognize him.

He was even more confident in such a realization when he saw just how entranced the Prince was at the sight of him. A faint coloration of a red blush could be seen on the Prince’s face as he maintained the stare. What kind of expression would the Prince have when he learned about the truth, Elric wondered.

As expected, Elric didn’t have to wait long. He watched as the Princess cup the Prince’s ear and whisper something to her younger sibling. For a second, the Prince looked confused. 

Then the realization hit.

His jaw dropped open and his eyes bulged outwards from their sockets. The Prince looked as though his entire person had stopped working after hearing the truth.

Several precious seconds passed by before the Prince regained his bodily functions. A medicinal flask was fished out at once from within his robes and unstoppered. The Prince tilted his head back and took a lengthy swig of the flask’s contents to seemingly regain his previous calm.

Elric took this opportunity to follow Hughesin off to another segment of the temple. He didn’t want to bring any more attention to himself.

But that was impossible. As Fantasia, Elric was simply far too beautiful and eye-catching to avoid attention. Pointed whispers followed him no matter where he went, though. The entire temple was abuzz with gossip.

Elric didn’t need to even listen to know who they were talking about. The noblewomen gathered here already were distinctly familiar to him. He met them once before as the guests of the Duchess. These particular noblewomen were pillars of high society and could spread news faster than an imperial proclamation. Elric wasn’t stupid, he knew what the crafty Duchess was up to the past few days and the traps she laid out in place to better set Fantasia up as Hughesin’s legal wife. The escalation of effort being displayed here only made the pain in Elric’s head worsen. Was Kebrilio going to be alright? The potential ramifications of this deception felt almost too much for the Archmagister to handle.

Whereas Elric felt uneasy with the attention, Hughesin was beaming. It absolutely brightened his day to see everyone pay so much attention to the woman with him. The envious looks and jealous whispers—he could even sense the jealous glints in a particular brother and sister pair.

The older brother wasn’t much of a concern for him. The man was as resourceful in mind as he was in money, but weapons like those could never hope to hold a candle to Hughesin’s own charm. It was the younger sister, actually, that was of bigger concern. It pained him to admit it, but Hughesin wasn’t entirely confident on beating a lesbian rival for Fantasia’s heart. Not after all those losses he suffered at her hands in their flirting competitions. The younger sister was a threat and had to be watched at all times to prevent Fantasia from being even within three steps of her.

Three blasts of a bugle interrupted Hughesin from his thoughts and silenced the entirety of the people gathered here in the temple. Not a single conversation could be heard anymore. One by one on the stairs, the paladins raised a metallic horn to their lips. The angle of which their horn was held at aligned perfectly with the sun to create a dazzling illusion of the horns being a brilliant chain of gold from above.

Paladins filed into two equally-distanced lines to establish a safe path between them. Four bodyguards, drabbed in ceremonial robes, unfurled a crimson carpet that traveled through the Triumphal Arches and then all the way up the stairs.

Just beyond the square, the nobles who were just a minute too late to arrive were displaced and forced to make way. Every ten steps, two paladins faced each other at a distance with their golden bardiches in hand. The combination of their golden weapons and helmets made for a spectacularly shiny sight.

Then all at once, every one of the horns began to sound. It filled the square at once, shaking the streets with vibrations heavy enough to be felt by the entirety of Waldsk. Several warhorses emerged from the distance at the horn blast. Armored riders with helmets of gold and crimson uniforms galloped through the path. These riders belonged to the jewel of the Karth Empire, the strongest chivalric order throughout the lands: the Paladin Order. 

The air surrounding these specific paladins felt awe-inspiring and most certainly worthy of being called the strongest. Not only were the riders of significant quality, but the warhorses as well. 

Under the protection of these paladins, a grand chariot appeared onto the venue. It was colored entirely out of gold from the wheels to even the reins. Golden light reflected off the golden chariot and illuminated the solemn expression of the emperor of Karth.

Standing behind and to the left of him was Kebrilio.

Very few paid attention to the paladins riding underneath the arches nor to the red carpet being unfurled. All eyes were gathered upon the golden chariot with the young emperor standing on it.