Upon closer inspection, the girls appeared to be standing side by side in a line, waiting for their own turns.
What they were waiting for was a stone statue of the Black Virgin in front of the central synagogue. The girls wrote something down on a piece of paper in front of the statue, tore it in half and threw it into the blazing fire.
Selena, who came up to her at that time, said with a broad smile.
"You will apply as a candidate over there. Let's go too."
Eun-woo was taken aback by Selena's helpless words.
She had long since given up on being a candidate and had long since made up her mind to help Selena's Flora internal affairs instead.
"W, what are you talking about, Selena? I have no intention of running for Flora."
Then Selena blinked her eyes blankly, as if Selena hadn't heard her. As she looked at Eun-woo's up and down, her last words ended up not being heard.
"But that dress…"
Eun-woo didn't notice that everyone was actually looking at her clothes.
Tashian grabbed her shoulders urgently, turning her in front of him and asked in a voice as if it was very important for him.
"You… you didn't mean to run for Flora?"
Her expression turned distorted and shook her head, and couldn't comprehend why everyone seemed to have the same question.
Tashian looked intently at her with only her eyes twinkling, and then she took a deep breath and pressed her forehead. But that sigh was more of relief than of frustration.
"Why is everyone doing this? I already told you, I had no intention of participating in the Flora nomination."
Selena smiled embarrassedly at her answer. Then she opened her mouth.
"Eleanor, when a young woman wears white clothes to attend the Flora festival, it means that she is running for Flora."
Eun-woo's mouth wide open at the bomb-like remarks.
Wh, what the heck does that mean?!
'Anita..!'
Eun-woo recalled the critical battle she had with the elderly nanny this early morning.
She was standing in front of the mirror wearing a pure white dress that Anit had made with a special fabric. She is the placenta in other pretty colored clothes, but she was so tired of white colors, and her words that came from her mouth were with a grudge.
〈"It's just too white… Do I have to wear this dress?" 〉
〈 "It's okay, miss! It is customary for all the virgins to attend the Flora Festival in white! Miss Selena will also wear white dress. Trust this old nanny, unless you don't want to stand out in the crowd." 〉
Anit has deceived her!
She couldn't believe it. She truly had no idea that her white dress meant that she was running for Flora.
Eun-woo remembered the scene a few days ago, when Anit received the white cloth that was said to have been taken with great difficulty from the butler, Johannes. Her cautious maid had already planned what she should do.
She felt this was so absurd that her lips were convulsing.
She clenched her fists, compromising that she wouldn't ever talk to Anit once they went back to the Duke's mansion.
Come to think of it, Tashian's expression changed subtly when he discovered that she was in her white attire after he had finished his preparations in his office, before he went to the festival, and now it makes sense.
He was looking at her with her shocked expression on his face, as if she was wearing a dress that revealed her chest.
'Do I really have to participate as one of the candidates?'
Tashian asked her again as if verifying if he had heard her reply. In the end, she answered, holding back the urge to run away from him, and stuttered,
"Of course…! I do-don't even care who will be picked as the Flora. I just, just, I just wanted to watch the festival with all of you.. an-and, Anit said that it was a tradition for women to wear white to attend. That's all I know!"
As she spoke, her embarrassment rose even more.
Eun-woo grunted inwardly and shut her mouth bluntly. As a result, she missed seeing Tashian's mouth open satisfactorily.
The moment she ran as one of the candidates, she would have to show herself in front of numerous people and must have all the qualities to be evaluated. It would be a huge competition.
He imagined that she would go out in front of tens of thousands of people in a white dress that showed off her slender white skin. Just thinking about it made him feel unpleasant.
He cleared his thoughts with a deep breath. From in front of her, he could see her taking her light steps, rustling. Tashian further strengthened his guard around them.
"If that's what Eleanor thought, then it's fine. No one is forcing anyone to run for Flora just because you are indeed wearing white. Then I will go alone now. Good luck to me."
After appeasing Eun-woo's absurdity, Selena followed the procession of girls.
The line for the girls was quite long. It was impossible to enter the center of the hall with the statue of the Black Virgin, except for female participants in white robes. Reluctantly, they decided to take a seat at the end of the line and wait for Selena.
Eun-woo pulled her head out with her curious eyes to find Selena, who had left for her candidacy in the endless procession.
Around them, not only the girls who would participate in the competition, but also their companions gathered around them, forming a bustling crowd.
Eun-woo muttered as if tired of seeing the countless heads floating in the crowd.
"There are so many people… a lot."
"It's just natural. Considering how many people in Hellasium gathered here for the Flora Festival."
Ikshid crossed his arms and said.
"The real festival hasn't even started…. Seeing such a crowd gathering during the preparation period to recruit Flora candidates will increase on the last day when Flora is elected."
Sir Ouns nodded and added. Eun-woo nodded at the words of Sir Ouns that the real festival had not even begun.
So, what they've seen so far has been nothing but preparations for the festival.
"Oh, I see Selena over there."
Eun-woo, who was peeking around among the white girls while tiptoeing and raised her head as far as she could, shouted when she found a red hair that was slightly sticking out because it was covered by a towel.
Selena stood in front of them, making an awkward glance with the girls around her, contemplating her turn.
It was not long before her turn came. Selena prayed solemnly in front of the statue of the Black Virgin and calmly wrote her name on the paper in front of it. Then she also wrote down her name on the paper next to it, ripped it off, and put it in the burning torch in front of the black statue of the Virgin Mary.
The paper with her name on it became black ash and flew in the air, and she finished her candidacy.
Eun-woo stared blankly at her figure and found Ikshid, who, like herself, couldn't take his eyes off Selena's candidacy scene.
His usual lightness seemed to have been thrown away, and Ikshid's golden eyes were chasing only Selena's half-protruding red hair with a serious attitude.
It was then when Ikshid, who always takes care of Selena like a silly rip-off, realized that there was a serious moment when he looked solemn about his feelings for Selena.
At the same time, Eun-woo felt a pain as if something was tightening around her heart. A feeling of indescribable guilt seemed to bind her body and drag her down to the ground.
Eun-woo turned her gaze to a distant place in order to escape from the pressure that she was interfering with their love.
Then there was a humming noise. A group of people was approaching the hall from a place where there was a larger crowd than the other places in the distance.
Eun-woo narrowed her eyes to recognize the woman in the center of the crowd, rolling her eyes with a lot of difficulty as she was with the tall three men.
She was a woman with an appearance she had seen somewhere. She was a woman with a tall nose, with her tall, slender body, and had reddish-brown hair.
Calista was approaching the hall with a group of followers.
She was the most notable celebrity in Cremons. The buzz of people grew louder as she approached.
"It really looks like Calista is running."
Eun-woo muttered with a genuinely surprised expression. She murmured as Ikshid didn't uncross his arms.
"I don't understand her intentions… …what can she covet when she's already sitting in the prima donna seat of Cremons. If she does something wrong, all the hardships she has gone through will be all in vain."
"What do you mean?"
"His Highness is talking about the case where one participated in the Flora Festival and climbed up to the last three candidates and then didn't get to be the winner."
Sir Ouns explained.
"As the Flora festival usually places its significance on participation, the first and second judging stages give rewards and are very considerate to those who failed at those stages. It provides a very good opportunity for young women, such as being able to make a name for themselves to be high-ranking people and arranging a good marriage seat. But the problem is when you get to the last three spots."
"These three women are usually called three pearls. As it is the final stage of appointing the Saint Flora, the candidates who failed at that time are treated more harshly than the women who failed in the first and second stages. It is literally a pearl on a pig's neck."
(TN: PEARL ON A PIG'S NECK; One must live within one's means, and, This proverb shows the difference between a human and an animal and that they have different values for objects. While a human might admire expensive cars and jewelry, an animal would not value those objects but would rather value a good meal. This hints at humor by comparing two unlikely matters; an expensive pearl necklace and a pig, which is an animal that is usually perceived to be dirty.)
He continued to explain.
"She might become one of the pearls of three, and indeed quite a few of the candidates who were not honored as saints became nuns in the Black Church; Either give up the marriage altogether, or get married in a hurry to a partner of a relatively low ranking man, or both."
Hearing that, Eun-woo muttered with an uncomfortable heart.
"That is unfair? One barely got there."
She frowned. Who the hell makes such a stupid custom?
Ikshid murmured bitterly as well.
"No matter how nationally we try to change the perception and protect the last three candidates, deep-rooted customs are hard to pull out. They were afraid of the people around them and decided to become a nun…"
Then, suddenly, the crowd swarmed in waves. In the sudden tightness of the space, Eun-woo withdrew her body to the fullest and lifted her head to see what had happened.
There was a roar, the sound of glass breaking and someone shouting loudly.
"It looks like there is a fight."
Tashian wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. Without a moment to be surprised by his sudden action, Eun-woo was pushed by the crowd again and had to move two or three more steps.
Had it not been for Tashian to hold her up tight and support her, she would have already been shoved back and forth and pushed to the end of the procession.
Tashian frowned and stared at the side of the fight.
"It seems to be a common street fight. It must be the work of drunkards."
He tightened his arms around Eun-woo's shoulder and said.
"But just in case we don't know what will happen, hold on tight."
"Wait a minute, Selena will be coming out of the entrance soon after her candidacy…"
Eun-woo said, worried that Selena would get caught up in this crowd. But Tashian reassured her.
"His Majesty went there with Geral. You need not worry about Miss Selena. More than that, hold my arm tighter."
Eun-woo quickly turned to the side. Suddenly, the place where Ikshid had been was empty. In the distance, she could notice Ikshid, who was rushing to somewhere, and the back of Sir Ouns, who was escorting him and strengthening his vigilance.
Although it was not clearly visible, the dozens of knights of the imperial palace protecting him must have been moving with them.
Then, from somewhere, she heard a crying child. In the midst of the crowd, they were drawn into a young boy crying and looking for her mother. It was not far from the direction they were being swept away.
Eun-woo looked worriedly in that direction, looking where the child's mother might be. No matter how she looked at him, the child seemed to be alone.
'It would be a big deal if he got hit by the wheel of a wagon…'
The direction the child was crying was near a major road lined with wagons and horses running mercilessly. Eun-woo was conflicted as she saw the boy pushed out by the crowd and headed towards the road where the horses were running.
Tashian, noticing her like that, whispered in her ear a little.
"I will find a way. First, I'll take you to a quiet place."
But it was then. Eun-woo let out a scream at the terrible pain inflicted on one of his arms. While she was looking at the child, someone had separated her from Tashian.
In an instant, the arm that Tashian was holding fell off, and her figure moved away from his eyes.
In a moment, I saw a vagrant-looking man running through the gap of the dug-out men who had pushed them away. The man's large sleeves were full of stuff. It looked like a pickpocket.