1 The Holy Princess
"The Holy Princess is coming!"
The imperial gate opened and all eyes of people on the streets were fixed on the sedan which accompanied by guards. No, actually, their eyes were fixed on the girl sitting on that sedan.
"Your Highness, please bless us!"
" Your Highness!"
"... Your Highness!"
The people who had been waiting on the streets for a long time shouted when they saw their arrival. Some people begged, some of them praised, and some just came to see the crowd.
The girl sitting on a sedan looked at all them. Even though her gaze was slightly hindered by the flying flowers, she could still see the expressions on those people's faces well.
In her deep purple eyes, there was not the slightest negative emotion. And not seen any positive emotions.
" Your Highness," whispered a man in a white robe who walked beside the sedan.
The man appeared to be in his fifties. On his face, there were deep wrinkles that could not be hidden. And the strange behavior of the girl beside him made the wrinkles deeper.
" Your Highness, Princess Arisa," called the man once again in a slightly louder voice.
The Holy Princess, Arisa, blinked and turned towards the man. "Yes, Father?"
The man is not his father but Arisa respects him very much. He was the high priest who had cared for her since she was a child and the people who accompanied her grew up all this time.
"Is there something wrong? You look absent-minded. " The man showed his concern.
"Ah, I'm just thinking about some ... stuff."
The man still looked worried but could only sigh. "Please, don't daydream at a time like this. After all, this is your first appearance in public."
Even though he felt worried, he still had to remind Arisa about the situation right now.
Arisa nodded a little. "Forgive me."
She turned her attention back to the road and began to smile. Her smile looked so cheerful and pure.
If not because he had known Arisa since she was a baby, he probably would not have known if she was just pretending.
The high priest looked at Arisa with a sympathetic look. It must be difficult for an eight-year-old child to accept the burden of being a Holy Princess.
In this kingdom, there is always a 'child who blessed by God' every hundred years. They will be brought into the palace and get the title of Holy Prince or Holy Princess.
Even though that sounds pretty good, it's actually not considering the title is not a light gift. It is because they will be educated and given responsibility as imperial members.
In the case of the Holy Prince or Princess themselves, they will be assigned as imperial diplomats and mascots.
Yes, that's what the public knows.
However, their most important and most difficult task is to become a 'savior'. That means that they must be able to end disasters that occur such as war, flood, to starvation.
That's not something you can learn from in a book. Yet, because they have the magic power that is fifty times higher than the amount of magic power of ordinary humans and also have a 'blessing of God', they can always overcome all the disasters.
Throughout the history of the kingdom, disasters always come when 'blessed children' reach the coming age around sixteen to eighteen, in the same time when they should make debuts in society such as princesses and other nobles.
People say that it is a test for blessed children to see whether they are worthy of being their protectors or not.
The high priest chuckled as he thought about this. Test? He felt more like a curse than a test.
"High Priest."
The man looked back when he felt called. His expression turned serious when he saw that the person who called him was the person he was assigned to neutralize the situation around. "Is there something wrong?" he asked half in a whisper.
The woman in a white robe had a tense expression on her face. She glanced at Arisa who did not pay attention to her presence before approaching the man in front of her and whispered.
The high priest's face immediately hardened. He looked at Arisa for a moment before turning his gaze to the woman in front of him. "Tighten the bodyguards around the Holy Princess," he ordered. "As a precaution, get ready to take alternative routes. We must ensure that the Holy Princess is safe. "
The woman nodded before turning away and disappearing into the crowd.
The priest looked around cautiously. But, he did not show any expression on his face. It wouldn't be good if the Holy Princess knew something was wrong. She is too young for that.
Arisa who has her attention is focused on the people on the streets does not know what really happened but she is somehow feeling anxious.
She is not blind. She could see some unhappy expressions on the faces of several people. And how the way they looked at her ... made Arisa feel a deep hatred.
Her hands under her clothes trembled with fear but the smile on her face did not change in the slightest.
The emperor and several people in the palace have reminded her. As part of the imperial family, it was not strange that someone would show their hatred towards her.
Arisa tried to convince herself that it was not because her. Then, she turned her attention to other people, trying to find comfort in smiles of others.
However, even after she wiped her gaze all the way, she could not find a smile that could calm her heart.
The further they are, the more Arisa feels that the number of people who smile is getting smaller. All that's left is crying and complaints.
Arisa's body stiffened. She wiped her gaze once more but she immediately froze when she saw the black-robed figure in the crowd.
It was not a flashy figure but for some reason, her gaze was completely fixed on that figure.
There is something extraordinary about them. Something that make her drawn to them.
Arisa can't see that person's face and can only see the faint smile that person has.
There is no hatred, no happiness. Just like her.
Arisa who has the ability to feel the emotions of others is silent when she is not feeling any emotions from that person.
Is that person able to hide feelings from her? How can? Their age looks not much different from her if she saw it from their height.
Arisa's brain starts spinning quickly. If they really can hide their feelings at a young age ... How strong are they?
When Arisa lost in her thought, the summer breeze came and made that person's hood come off, showing his face.
Arisa was astonished when she saw it.
That person looked the same age as her, maybe only a year or two years older than her. But what astonished her was the person's appearance. He has deep purple eyes and silver hair that looks sparkling under the sun. He looks exactly like her!
What distinguishes both of them probably only their hair's length and how the figure of that person looks more masculine than her.
Arisa feels as if she has just met her male version.
While Arisa was still shocked, the man turned his head and their eyes met. The smile on the man's face deepened and Arisa who saw this felt as if her heart had stopped.
Afraid.
She somehow felt afraid of him.
But, at the same time, she wanted to get close to him.
The man waved his hand and spoke.
Arisa can't hear his voice which drowning among people's but she can read the movements of his mouth.
"I found you."
Arisa suddenly felt a headache that attacked her. It was so painful that she felt as if her brain had been torn from inside and outside simultaneously.
Besides of it, she felt a burning sensation as she began to see strange scenes that were spinning rapidly in her mind.
Arisa feels like she is in the middle of a turbulent sea and does not know which is the west and which is east. Everything seemed to move quickly and that make her confused.
She could not clear her mind and when she tried to do it, all she heard was the hysterical screams of the crowd.
"Your Highness!"
"Ahh! Your Highness! The Holy Princess! "
Arisa's consciousness slowly faded and the last scene she remembered was only a grin on the face of someone who had an appearance similar to her and the high priest who ran frantically towards her.
What has actually happened?
