The crowd, who had just recovered from the confetti burst, jerked their heads to find the shocking source.
And that was when they saw it. Him.
Perched proudly on Ada Marn's shoulder was something small.
A tortoise.
Sure. But not just any tortoise.
A creature who carried itself with the gravitas of a seasoned performer taking the spotlight on the grandest stage of its career.
Its tiny red scarf—picked and customized especially for today—fluttered with just enough flair to suggest it had been waiting for this exact moment. Its neck stretched upward in a slow, majestic rise, as if acknowledging the heavens and granting them permission to admire it.
The children were the first to react.
They did not just gasp.
They screeched.
Screeched so loudly that several parents snapped their heads around, worried that someone had been injured, only to find their offspring shaking with delight, pointing wildly at the regal little diva basking in its newfound fame.
