Muyoku no Seijo wa Okane ni Tokimeku

Chapter 64: Leo goes to the party. (1/3)

The day of the Spirit Festival had finally arrived, and like every year, today was also a beautiful day.

The sky was clear, the flowers planted during the Winter Festival were in full bloom, people were dancing to the sound of music and many stalls were selling tasty food along the streets.

Everyone was celebrating the arrival of spring.

"Fufu, it seems like everyone is properly enjoying this year's festival, don't you think so, dear?" – Said Emilia von Harkenberg, with a smile on her face, as she looked outside of the carriage.

"Indeed, and there's even more people on the streets than previous years, so it seems like this year's parade is going to be even bigger." – Said Klaus von Harkenberg, as he stroked his beard. (Tl/n: The author finally gave him a name! ...Or I just forgot that he had one, which is probably the case.)

Every year, on the day of the Spirit Festival, the people of the Empire would make merry while parading the streets of the capital, before heading to the Ivory Palace in the afternoon to thank the royal family for everything they did to better the country throughout the past year, and as the tradition went, the royal family would always greet the people who went to the castle from one of the many balconies of the palace.

But even though the festive mood could make anyone happy, the same couldn't be said about the little girl sitting in front of Emilia.

"Hmm? What is it, deary? You're not excited about the parade? Is there something wrong?" – Asked Emilia, as she turned to look at her quiet granddaughter.

However, Leonora, the person in question, just shook her head, and said–

"–No, I'm alright...."

Leonora was, without a doubt, a beautiful girl, but her natural features, coupled with the light pink dress that she was wearing today, plus her partially braided hair, made her look even more adorable than she already was. Emilia even had to hold herself back from hugging her granddaughter, otherwise, she'd probably ruin the little girl's dress. However, that didn't mean she wasn't worried about Leonora. The little girl had a resolute look on her face, as if she was ready to face a really powerful opponent... and Emilia knew why.

(I see... so she's ready to face both Alexia and Balthazar, huh...?)

Recently, many rumors about Albert started circulating in the social circles of the noble society, and Emilia, who was the head of many of them, knew everything that was going on.

(That child imposed his authority on the old nobles to fix the water problem of the country, so his parents were forced to seal his magic power to teach him a lesson... but I don't think Balthazar is going to let his son off with just that. He's probably going to exile Albert as well, so I hope Leonora made the right choice.) – Thought Emilia, as she looked at her granddaughter with a kind smile.

Thanks to Kai's daily letter, now Emilia knew how much Albert cared about Leonora, after all, he was desperately trying to retrieve the dragon mark that he gave her, in order to protect her from the nobles that wanted him, and his associates, exiled at any cost... and that couldn't have made Lady Harkenberg happier.

(Fufu, who would've thought he cared so much about her...) – Thought Emilia, as she unfolded her fan.

By retrieving the dragon mark, Albert was implying that he did everything on his own. In other words, he was trying to focus all the blame on himself, which, to Emilia, just proved that the prince was indeed good enough for her granddaughter. However, things weren't so simple. Earl Hagmeyer, and many others who were also tasked with solving the water problem, didn't take the matter of the new magic crest so favorably, after all, they lost all the financial support–or rather, the easy money that they were receiving from the crown because of Albert, so it was more than obvious that they were the ones who wanted the prince exiled.