The carriage rolled unsteadily on the rough path. They headed north where the imperial capital lay, past the forests, small towns and villages. South, the Theocheirós Manor and their domain lay, acting as a powerful barrier between the empire and the demonic continent.
Rightfully so. The Divinity Clan, otherwise known as the Theocheirós Clan, was the strongest of the five that governed the continent. As their title suggests, a Theocheirós was able to connect their soul to the divine gods and angels. The consequences were heavy, but they were able to borrow powers from the celestials and indeed, these powers were unironically divine.
Leveling mountains, crushing armies, even reviving the dead, all that could be possible for a member of the clan.
Except for Dhein, of course.
Zarria, his younger sister, was in a league of her own. When it comes to combat, her martial and magical prowess remained unmatched in the empire. Though the people considered Dhein to be the strongest, they revered her to be second.
Speaking of whom, she sat across from him, wearing a stormy expression. But even with a small pout on her beautiful face, her elegance remained unbroken.
She'd been like that for a while since boarding the carriage. And it just added to Dhein's anxiety. He figured that he had to address it anytime soon.
After mustering his courage, he spoke.
"What's wrong, Zarria?"
Startled, the girl whipped her head towards Dhein and searched herself for an answer.
"Whatever do you mean, brother?"
With a serious expression, Dhein continued.
"You've been wearing a long face. Is something bothering you?"
Zarria lowered her gaze and collected herself, restoring her cold and detached persona before answering.
"I'm a little insulted, that's all."
A single drop of sweat rolled on Dhein's forehead.
'Crap.. did I do something wrong?'
After a moment of silence, she elaborated.
"The world already knows that you are the obvious choice as the princess' husband. No one in this empire—this entire world is even close to competing with you! Yet, they dare test you?"
Her calm, stoic expression began to shift to a devilish rage. Darkness began to fill her face and veins bulged on her forehead. Dhein swallowed hard. He was afraid especially because he knew exactly what his sister was capable of.
She continued.
"Why? What for? It makes you look like a desperate suitor who is dying to marry that bi... that princess! In fact, they should be groveling to the ground for our bloodline! What about the princess? How are we sure she's not unworthy of you? Shouldn't we test her as well? Yes. That's right. We should test her. She and I will fight it out and we'll see who's really worthy of marrying you!"
'You were supposed to keep the last part to yourself!'
After sharing her thoughts, Zarria let out a deep breath and calmed herself down.
Dhein crossed his arms, trying to cough up a decent response.
He cleared his throat and then spoke.
"Don't dwell on it. I am merely fulfilling my role as a Theocheirós, anyway. This charade shouldn't bother you at all."
The carriage traveled through the main road across cities and towns, heading north where the imperial capital lay.
They'd been to the capital a few times for entirely different purposes. Both of them were homeschooled, but they'd been called to the imperial academy numerous times for various reasons.
When the students needed to see the standard for perfect magic and sword techniques, Zarria gladly demonstrated it for them. Dhein also shared his vast knowledge with the youth, but the main purpose of his being there was to analyze the major issues in the empire and provide his insight to the council.
Past the forests, then the vast green field, the towering walls of the massive castle was finally in sight.
Zarria closed the forward window and then untwisted her body to face Dhein.
"We're close, brother."
Crossed arms, Dhein tried to ignore her statement. He had one thing in mind and that was to turn around and go home. The closer they got to their destination, the desire to retreat to his own bed and sleep all day became stronger. How else was he supposed to feel when he was about to face other people with monstrous strength in battle?
But alas, he had to move forward. Relying on his luck had taken him so far, anyway.
'I wanna go home and sleep.'
Zarria waited for a response from her brother, but his silence intrigued her so. What could possibly be running in the mind of a genius such as himself? Could she even fathom the countless calculations of possibilities, strategic planning and schemes inside his brilliant head? Those questions plagued her, but she didn't dare ask in fear she might disturb his deep thinking.
Despite what she said earlier about the princess, Zarria knew what was at stake in this competition. The emperor had failed to produce a male heir to the throne, hence, he was in search for a worthy husband for his only daughter to hopefully procure a male grandson who will inherit the throne. If the prize was getting their bloodline into the imperial council, then the other clans will do whatever it takes to win this competition.
Even for a clan as powerful as Theocheirós, that was a reward too lucrative to throw. It was no question that becoming the victor would be in their great interest.
That said, they couldn't expect everyone to play by the rules. She knew that each one of them would use all of their cunning to eliminate their opponents—by fair play or not.
'He's probably formulating a plan to counter the enemy schemes,' she thought to herself.
But to her surprise, a faint smirk crossed his face. She gripped her gown's skirt tight.
'What happened? Did he come up with a brilliant idea?' she asked in her mind, carefully observing Dhein's every move.
Her heart almost skipped a beat when Dhein looked at her. His piercing gaze and devilish smirk made her uneasy in her seat.
"W-What's wrong?" she stammered.
Dhein leaned back, his smirk softening into a smile. "I just realized how similar this spectacle is to a festival," he said calmly.
Zarria stared at him, confused.
"Huh?"
With a serious expression, Dhein continued.
"In our time here, you should try to have fun. It isn't often that we find ourselves free from our personal duties."
Again, the words that came from his lips were entirely different from what she was expecting. But at the same time, it made complete sense.
She wasn't surprised by how fast he was able to read her mind. But he was even telling her to relax!
'How could he stay this calm—even treating this whole ordeal like a festival!?'
Her mind was blown.
'Is it really that easy for him to defeat the other scions? He shows no concern at all!'
Dhein let out a sigh before looking out the window and going back to his own little world.
'If I'm gonna die soon, then I might as well enjoy myself for the last time,' he told himself.
Moments later, the road became less bumpy and the voices of the crowd began filling the silence. As the wheels rolled on the stable path, Dhein knew they'd reached the outskirts of the city.
He moved the curtains and looked past the window. The bustling streets filled with people hanging decorations and preparing all sorts of food reminded him of the festivals they used to go to back then.
'The empire is about to procure an heir after all. I guess this is worth celebrating.' he thought.
Not far ahead, they were finally able to see the mighty imperial castle.
The colossal walls of stone and steel seemed to have parted the earth, extending skyward. Though aged, the mighty towers stood tall, surrounding the heart of the empire—the capital city of Olcour.
Before the massive iron gates was the grandiose bridge, about a hundred meters wide and thrice as long. Beneath it was a river leading to the great sea, flowing calm and deep.
It was an indestructible fortress of a true great emperor.
Along with the other countless horses and carriage, they crossed the bridge towards the gate. The imperial guards greeted them with utmost respect, welcoming them into the lively city.
Dhein's carriage stopped in front of the palace steps. He got off first, stylishly stepping foot into the spotless stone brick floor before offering a hand to Zarria like a true gentleman. She gratefully accepted and exited the carriage.
The passing civilians couldn't help but stop for a second and admire the siblings. It wasn't often that their elegance graced the capital.
Next to their carriage, the others arrived one by one. Dhein's blood ran cold, he couldn't even look in their direction. The other scions exited their carriages and even with his back facing them, he could feel their murderous gazes towards him.
He wordlessly took the steps and entered the grand palace.
The Divinity Clan was revered to be the strongest. Behind them, the Luxier Clan, otherwise known as the Light Clan, claimed the title of "supreme mage". Thevon Luxier, the heir, had perfected the arts of mana manipulation. Upon hearing his name, the oldest of libraries salivate over his unmatched technical arcane knowledge. The enemies of the empire tremble before his destructive power. And a sense of hope rises in the hearts of the powerless. He was a symbol of light, a savior of the common folk.
Thevon watched as Divinity's scion turned his back on him and walked ahead, ignoring others as if they were insignificant in his presence.
"Dheinyrus..." he mumbled to himself.