"…. The Hellasium symbol is the red sun. Not just because it represents prosperity and glory."
He removed the curtain from his side with his one arm, and it showed a whole new view out of the window. There were bright lights which greeted him which were shining over people and the street. Like the usual days, people were busily doing their own businesses, immersed in it.
"Rather, it was because Hellasium is right under the red sun and is an empire of the sun without distinction whether night or day. It literally means that it is an empire that does not whiter even if it's day or night. Moreover, the capital city of Cremons means 'light' from the ancient translation in the ancient Hellaisum."
Eun-woo then pulled out her head, looking at the radiant lights in the street.
Come to think of it, she has many questions. Even in the castle where she lived, it was common to depend on the light of one or two candles after the evening hours passed. At this late hour, there was no way that the torch with this temperature could have been lit like that outdoors.
She watched as they passed through them with the window carefully. There were hundreds of strange lights that were lit on the perch of the wall, or in the pillars which stood tall and firm; they looked like fireflies and electric lights. It clearly illuminates the busy streets of the capital.
"What's that?"
She pointed to them and asked questions, with a sense of shame. Tashian asked her.
"… Remember about the royal treasures?"
She was too focused to even differentiate the changes in his voice which was a bit expectant. She then thought of it. She recalled that she briefly learned it through Johannes' teaching.
She shook her head as he expected, and he started explaining to her, calming himself so that she wouldn't hear the disappointment he felt.
"Now, it has disappeared with almost no trace of it, but it is said that thousands of years ago, there was a huge power that could only be called divine on this earth. And it was the War of the Great Sages recorded in ancient history that has brought the end of that power within the continent."
"I know that much. I heard that the current Hellasium, Genova, and Austuralch cities were named after the three wise men who represented each power."
Eun-woo showed off her knowledge, relieved that she could at least remember the explanation Johannes gave to her. But Tashian corrected her words.
"To be exact, that is misleading information. Actually, each nation had already been established before the War of the Great Sages. The reason why it was recorded as `War of the Great Sages' is that they exchanged their lives for the power they can't behold any longer due to overcrowding, therefore, they divided them into three precious things and sealed them."
"Three precious things…?"
Tashian nodded at her.
"When the war ended between them, the Great Sages had vanished, but the three precious things remained on the continent and became the objects which protected each of the nations. Fedellamon 's candlestick from Hellasium, Lucius' quill from Genova, and Ginevio's incense burner from Austuralch. In fact, the whereabouts of the said things were unknown except for the candlestick of Hellasium."
Eun-woo thought carefully and opened her mouth cautiously.
"Then these lights here….."
"Thanks to the power of the object."
Tashian added forcefully.
"The reason why the capital, Cremons, can shine at night without the help of candles or perches is because of the precious objects the imperial family keeps. That's why Hellasium is compared to the land of the sun in various history books. "
"Then where is the candlestick of Fedellamon?"
Eun-woo asked the question, surprised by the new revelation she just learned.
"The Black Cathedral."
When she asked her question, he answered it immediately with a look of discomfort on his face.
She wriggled her brows in shock. Because, after hearing him, there was a face that popped into her mind.
"The treasure of the Imperial family is entirely the authority of the heir. The name of the candlestick of Fedellamon is also ridiculous."
Tashian recited cynically. The Black Cathedral was the most sacred sanctuary in the empire, inhabited by heirs and members of the Senate.
The face she remembered belonged to Chief Reinhardt's, which looked sharp because of his unique features. Eun-woo remembered how anxious she was when she saw him.
"I only have the knowledge of it, but I haven't seen it. The same goes to the Crown Prince. Only the heir has the authority to manage such precious objects by hand and fix them each day. That's the law."
Tashian added. It was not until the day the crown prince wore the crown of the emperor at the coronation that he could confirm the object.
Eun-woo looked at his face in deep thought. No matter what he was thinking, his expression seemed so serious that she no longer opened her mouth and just looked out the window.
Meanwhile, the carriage entered the entrance of the Grand Theater, located in the center of the downtown area of Cremons.
To the front entrance between the huge two pillars, there was a crowd of people who arrived after hearing the news of the performance. The people occupied all the available spaces that they had no place to go out. But their wagon somehow didn't stop there.
Eun-woo looked at Tashian in wonder, but he said nothing.
That was the moment when she realized that people had started staring at their carriages. To be precise, they were looking at the carriage owned by Ikshid, which has the golden sun marked on their carriage. Their eyes were full of wonder and envy. Some people had fortunately shown respect to them by taking off their hats and bowing.
She got shocked and closed the curtains again. Their attention was towards the imperial carriage, which was riding in front of them, but Tashian's carriage is enough to draw such unwanted attention, since it's from a duke which has the spruce pattern drawn on their carriage.
Then she recalled what was the position of Tashian and Ikshid, whom she's close with.
Their carriage ran for a long time before it stopped.
Just before getting out of the carriage, Tashian looked at her with an uncomfortable expression and said a word.
"… I wanted to come out quietly, but I'm sorry."
Eun-woo asked in her mind. What was he sorry about? She blinked her eyes, and didn't know what he meant that time. At the same time, the duke's servant opened the door for the both of them and she held Tashian's hand as she got down. Right after, her eyes widened in surprise.
There stands a huge building like a temple with milky stone statues carved on each pillar. Two wagons arrived successfully in front of the building.
And along the entrance, the chief manager of the Grand Theater and his subordinates were lined up waiting for the arrival of the crown prince.
During this light uproar, Eun-woo felt faint dizziness and held Tashian's arm tighter.
"This way, please."
The crown prince and Lady Wellwood, who got off first, were already entering the grand theater under the guidance of the chief administrator. In front of Eun-woo, who was frozen with excessive hospitality, a man who appeared to be the caretaker's subordinate came and led them into the building.
"... This is the entrance for the royal family. It's connected directly to the royal seat on the top floor because it's a passage only for the royal family and the acquaintances they have along with them."
Moving to the stairs, Tashian gave her a small tip.
Listening to his explanation, Eun-woo rolled up the hem of her raspy dress and hurried up the stairs, not stepping on Tashian's feet.
Soon when the seemingly endless stairs disappeared, an entrance with a huge red carpet hanging from the ceiling caught her eyes. There was a bright light that could not be compared to the dark stairs.
She frowned at the bright lights as they passed between the rugs which were pulled up by Tashian's servants on both sides of the entrance. Out of the blue, the light, which scarred her vision, disappeared.
Eun-woo blinked her eyelids as she looked at the big palm that covered her eyes.
"Is it too bright?"
He covered her eyes with his big hand. She then shook her head. The theater was filled with murmurs, footsteps, and laughter. Whatever those are, one thing is for sure; the theater was packed with audiences. Her heart thumped on its own.
"I'll take my hand off."
Tashian warned softly. He lifted his hand before she could no, and a bright light pierced her eyes. Eun-woo instinctively raised her hand to create a shade over her eyes. Then she couldn't move and opened her mouth.
It was a dazzling sight. The seats were lined with red insignia and gold pillars from the bottom to the top. There was no seat that was left empty at all.
All of this was a glance from where they stood. She could distinguish who were the noble ladies and the commoners that were noisy in the bottom floor.
People were constantly moving their mouths, moving their seats in a lively voice or chatting with the party. And miscellaneous merchants passing by were shouting and selling snacks such as drinks and fruits.
The senior nobles upstairs looked down at the scene with bored faces and smoked or sipped wine served by servants.
The noise they made, the lively laughter, and the excited voice of anticipation for the performance seemed to be transmitted to the top floor where they stood.
"…. What do you think about this?"
Eun-woo couldn't speak and turned to Tashian, who was looking at her carefully and intently. It was only after a long time she realized that he was asking for her review about the theater.
She blushed and spoke in an excited tone.
"I… like it so much! A place like this... No, it-it's been a while..... Well, when does the show start?"
His expression, which was a bit dark, brightened up when he heard her positive comment.
"Soon. It doesn't matter if you arrive after the show starts, but I thought you'd want to see the play from the very beginning. "
Unbeknownst to commoners who do not have much entertainment, most aristocrats do not visit the grand theater solely for the purpose of watching the performance. Their real goal was to focus more on socializing with the people they were watching, rather than on the content of the singer's song or play. The performance required no punctuality, no silence, no listening. The higher the status, the more social disrespect was to listen to music or to remain seated until the end of the play.
"It's a wonderful place. I'm really looking forward to the performance."
Selena's voice was heard from Eun-woo's side. Selena, who had arrived first with Ikshid, was standing by her side before she knew it. Perhaps because she had seen this tremendous sight, her voice also had excitement that would have been hard to find without this scene.
"I'm finally going to listen to the famous soprano Calista."
Eun-woo asked Selena back to her unfamiliar name.
"Calista? What do you mean….?"
Then a familiar voice broke into their conversation behind their backs. It was Crown Prince Ikshid.
Even in the dark, the golden eyes of the imperial family were more splendid than any bright light in the dark light.
"The best prima donna on the continent, called the singing ruby."
Eun-woo gaze with interest at the Crown Prince's meaningful smile while he pronounces the word 'prima donna'.
"According to her reputation, it is said that she has a celestial voice that is terribly beautiful. In order to hear her song, I cross the strait not only from the Carte continent, but also from Antasion, the capital of Miremba, in the distance. There really is no siren that blinds sailors' eyes and ears…"
"Is this her first time performing Calista?"
Selena asked with a gentle smile.
Eun-woo had to put in a lot of effort not to make a noise of laughter when she saw Ikshid's gentle expression, crumbled at that moment.