Amber stood on the clear platform with two other passengers. The girl was about Amber's age and the boy looked to be a couple years older. The girl had pale blonde hair and peach colored eyes and the boy had white hair and dark blue eyes. They were both well dressed and attractive youths. The girl was wearing a light green empire dress and the boy was wearing a well tailored black pants suit with a dark blue ribbon tie. At first, they were quiet and repeatedly glanced at Amber, but since she didn't respond to their inquisitive gazes, they soon treated her like air.
"Philip?" said the girl while lightly tugging on the boy's sleeve.
"What is it, Mary?"
"Do you know of an Alchemist master or Divine Doctor that's visiting Kairi City?" She said while wrapping her arm around his and looking up into his eyes adoringly.
Philip shook his head no and took a step away to get her boobs off his arm. "There aren't any visits from my Jora Sect."
Mary sighed, "I hope that when I get tested by the mana orb for my second time, my levels are high enough to join the Jora Sect with you!"
Amber remembered from the story 'Duchess Dash' that this kingdom had ten sects that you can join from the age of sixteen to eighteen. At the age of twelve, parents can have their child tested to see what types of mana they can wield, but they can't be tested for their innate strength levels until they're at least sixteen.
In order to join a sect, you have to either have an extremely rare type of mana or you have to have levels of at least three or higher. People who are able to join sects have a basic amount of respect, but there are the five elite sects that go further than that. To join the Jora sect, you have to be at least level three and have mana from ice or water. It is a very basic sect because this is the ice kingdom and almost everyone who has mana, is able to wield a little bit of ice or water magic.
The mana levels are tested from zero to 11+. Most people test at one to two. This will make it so you can just do basic things and use everyday objects, like light candles or use basic cookware. The more powerful the magical item, the higher mana ability you needed to operate it. Everyone's way of life depended on their strength and unique ability with mana.
This is why what her fiancé did when he blocked her mana paths to the point of zero was so vile. He had destroyed her ability to even use basic everyday objects and subjected her to a life of poverty and shame. Even the lowliest of servants needed to have a mana ability of at least one so they could use basic items like run a bath, turn on lights, and cook food. Everyone looked at her as ugly garbage that they wanted to quickly die. Even the servants looked down on her as garbage.
Amber would have quickly destroyed her vile fiancé, but it wouldn't be that easy since he was the eldest son of the Emperor and doted on by the Empress Dowager. The current emperor, Emperor Gelid was also known as the Ice Emperor. At the age of ten, he was crowned emperor. However, he was mostly controlled by the previous empress who claimed him as her son, but had never had any kids of her own because she is sterile. When Gelid turned twelve, the Empress Dowager married Gelid to her niece as his first concubine. He had his first child at fourteen with his sixteen year old bride. Now at the age of thirty-two, he had two concubines.
He had willingly married the Grand Admiral's daughter in the hopes of holding back the Empress Dowager. They were childhood friends, but there was no romantic love interest between them. In fact, she was more interested in women than not. Nevertheless, they had a doctor secretly impregnate her with the Ice Emperor's seed and she had a son and twin daughters with him. Unfortunately the Grand Admiral's daughter, Malinda was such a softhearted and meek woman that she could never be crowned Empress.
More recently the Empress Dowager's other niece was about to have her debut and she was trying to force him to take her as his third concubine. There had also been a lot of pressure for him to take a proper Empress. Thinking about it, made Amber compare herself to the Emperor. She had mostly goofed off at the age of ten and was just graduating college at the age of twenty-eight in her previous life.
Amber found herself in her current predicament because this body's maternal grandpa had agreed upon an engagement between their family and the royal family. Meanwhile, her mom ran off with her dad when she was supposed to marry the previous emperor. Because of this scandal, her mom's Ducal family lost most of its prestige and disinherited their daughter. Her husband (Amber's Dad) lost most of his standing in court, a great deal of his fortune, and their baron family fell to ruin.
After all of that time, the Emperor saw it fitting to engage Amber to his eldest son shortly after he was born, as his son's future official wife. There was a lot of speculation about why he made this decision. Some said that he was making sure that he would never have to marry Amber later on, but most supposed that this was a convenient way to sabotage his eldest son who clung onto the Empress Dowager.
Emperor Gelid's eldest son, Prince Macallan was currently eighteen years old, but he was already well known as a major playboy who had five mistresses, two concubines, and a fiancé. The Empress Dowager had big plans for, but he was quickly engaged into a trash family. It was well known in the capital that Amber had been tested at the age of twelve for her mana attribute and they had found none. The mana orb hadn't even reacted to her touch at all. Amber had already been poisoned by her fiancé ever since he was eight with the Empress Dowager's encouragement and support.