After having picked up the aquastone, Mom and I returned to the grand dining room, where the king was waiting for us while he looked from his chair at the panorama of the celebration and all his guests in conversation with old and new acquaintances.
I felt great irritation on my back and below it. What the hell was Max thinking when he put the rope in my pants? He probably did it as revenge for having asked him for the favor of covering me, although I undoubtedly owed him a big debt for helping me enter the palace, it would have been very difficult to have done it alone. In any case, I just had to place it on the balcony and voilà, my itch would disappear.
Veronica: 『 My lord. 』
King Van Laar: 『 Well. Did you find it? 』
Veronica: 『 Yes, my lord. Here it is. 』
King Van Laar: 『 Good. Now we just- 』
Lidia appeared from the right and unintentionally interrupted her father, only to mention that she had returned, without detailing precisely from where, although it wasn't as if he needed to know.
The king asked my mother for a glass and some clean cutlery. He struck both dishes together carefully, producing a vibrant crystalline sound that reached everyone present at the party, standing up to listen to the words the host would say.
King Van Laar: 『 Dear guests. I am very honored by your presence tonight for the celebration in honor of the sixteenth birthday of my daughter, Princess Lidia, and I am sure that she is also more than grateful to you. That is why, as an act of gratitude, she has prepared to hold a demonstration to showing why she is the worthy successor to the crown. So without further ado, let's receive it. 』
It was incredible he said that. He firmly believed he knew Lidia, when in reality he never lived with her like her father, furthermore, he didn't even know her opinion of this event. He only said the rehearsed words of a mere political speech, disguised as benevolence to further enhance his ego and please the viewers.
While the guests alluded to the king's words, mom asked me to give the aquastone to Lidia. It was just as I predicted, there was no one else in the castle who used this but her.
Very few are capable of the use of mana, it's not even something that is taught much in the castle's military school, the soldiers here prefer to train in hand-to-hand combat than to know the fundamentals of it. After all, it's very difficult to master, just casting a spell to generate some fire is very complicated, it's even easier to do it with a flint than a catalyst. It requires incessant practice and knowledge, and above all money, many of these stones are not very cheap.
I didn't understand why Lidia was interested in it. At first, she hated those basic theory classes that the king imposed on her during our childhood and then at some point she immersed in them on her own accord. I think that was when Max and I started working in the barn. Still, it was an unexpected decision when she told us that; she wanted to be able to do incantations by herself. To tell the truth, it wasn't something that would worry me at all, we were just kids, and I didn't understand why she decided at that moment and in fact I still don't understand it. But I never believed that choice would fall in this situation.
I didn't want to give the stone to Lidia because she would only be fulfilling the true purpose of the party. I didn't at all agree that she would expose herself to such an act, only for the group of suitors in the room to continue fixing their harassing eyes on her, waiting for the moment to pounce on her.
I had to refrain from carrying out the order so as not to raise suspicions. It would help me prepare the rope that kept bothering me and have everything ready. So then, with a fake smile on my part and bow included, I began an unnecessary false protocol to give her the stone.
Shun: 『 Ahem! Princess, please receive this... What could I call it? 』
Veronica: 『 Shun! What do you think you're doing?! 』
Shun: 『 Well, it's not exactly a "humble birthday gift", it cost 50 gold coins. 』
Veronica: 『 Stop fooling around and give it to her! 』
I guess you couldn't be sarcastic or expressive in front of the king; no matter how much mom restrained herself and tried to show her manners, she didn't hide the desire she wanted to hit me in front of his majesty. As much as I wanted to delay it, I only made a fool of myself and made my mother angrier; the king only fixed his look of indifference on me without real interest in the mocking way I acted.
Shun: 『 Here is your aquastone, Prince− 』
When I looked at Lidia, I noticed how tense and shaky she was. It already seemed strange to me that she didn't react with shame when she saw me say something stupid. She had her head down and her shoulders hunched as tightly as possible, her arms were so straight that she was not even able to extend them to receive the stone.
I didn't remember seeing her so nervous before, not even when she had to receive visits from unknown politicians. I supposed it was normal, after all she had never done anything to stand out, she was always very reserved with people, especially those of her own class, and now she had to do this in front of all of them, being the center of attention and completely alone.
I couldn't leave her like this, her spells could go wrong at any moment due to lack of concentration, making her look ridiculous in front of everyone, she could even collapse for the nervousness and pressure.
I had to do something to calm her down. I called her name a couple of times, but she didn't listen to me because of the terror that invaded her. I went straight to it then, took her hand and noticed that the problem was even more serious, it seemed more like spasms than simple tremors. Lidia finally noticed me when she felt my hand; she raised her head and looked at me with her dilated, frightened eyes, as if asking with her gaze "what's happening?", "Where am I?"
To get her out of that pile of worry that was flooding her head, I had to think of something to say to her to distract and motivate her. Nothing came to mind; I was battling with my own mind to find the right words to support her. As her friend, I couldn't let her down. I steeled myself to say something that suddenly came to me and prayed it would work.
Shun: 『 Lidia, everything is fine. This is a piece of cake for you, so you don't have to worry. 』
Lidia: 『 B−But, if they don't like it, then... 』
Shun: 『 Listen, this is not about them, but about you. 』
Lidia: 『 Me? 』
Shun: 『 Exactly. It doesn't matter if they are impressed with you or not. What matters is how much you impress yourself. It's time for you to know your worth, to be amazed at what only you can do. They have no idea who you really are or how hard you've worked for this. No one knows better than you how hard you've worked to do this. Furthermore, if there's something that only you possess, it's that dedication, that effort you always put in to learn and to be able to do things that others cannot. Believe me, that is a virtue that very few people have, even I don't have it. So, be proud of it and be proud of yourself. 』
For a moment, she stood processing those improvised but sincere words. She took a breath, exhaled, lowered her tense shoulders, and relaxed her arms. Her fearful look transformed into a very determined and focused one. I let go of her hand and she took the stone, moving to the center of the grand hall. She took a second breath and closed her eyes to recite a prayer in another language, and then...
Lidia: 『 Extractionem. Ostium primum realis... ¡Elementum fingut! 』
I told her to impress herself, but maybe I'm the one who was more impressed.