Theia immediately came to a stop and glared angrily at Camilla. She seemed like she would murder Camilla right here if she had the opportunity. They could see Hina approaching them. Hina halted close to Camilla and Theia and shot them a furious glance. She asked, "What were you guys doing?"
Theia did not respond to Hina right away since she became enraged upon seeing Camilla act in such a way. In the midst of them, Haley remarked, "Senior, that girl smacked Theia. Her cheek is still red; check it. How could she act in such a manner towards a powerful mage? A low-level rat."
Camilla cast a chilly gaze on Haley's way as soon as she heard her. Camilla caught Haley's attention, and she said, "See, senior, just look at her glance. She seemed to threaten us."
"What is this behavior, Camilla?" Hina asked.
"Senior, you don't know everything. It was their fault to b—." Adela tried to explain what truly happened, but Camilla cut her off by stating, "Senior, I slapped her."
Adela came to a halt and looked shocked at Camilla. Did Camilla ignore her? She wondered as she looked at Camilla.
"I see it. How rude are you? Don't you realize it?" While she stared at Camilla, Hina spoke to her. After hearing Hina, Camilla made no facial expressions; she simply turned her head to face Hina and remarked, "She wants me to be her opponent. So I was attempting to deal with her."
"But that doesn't mean you have to slap her. Are you aware that if Theia reports your behavior to the authorities, you may not be eligible anymore?" Hina said.
Nevertheless, Theia interfered in the middle. She fixed her focus on Camilla. She was angry, and she would never forget what she had said to her. Camilla would pay for it. If she became disqualified, then how would Theia teach her a lesson? Camilla needed to watch what she said to Theia. Camilla turned to face Theia as she heard Theia's words.
"Senior, I'll give her a chance to uphold her word. I want her to be my opponent, but if she is lucky enough, I will take care of her later, or if she becomes the opponent of any three of us, especially me, she will have to pay a high price. I'm threatening you in front of everyone, Camilla. I will see how you can take part in the expedition."
Hearing Theia, Hina's eyes grew narrow. In front of Hina, Theia made threats at Camilla. Camilla didn't even feel like responding. After threatening Camilla, Theia left the area, but not before giving Camilla a quick glance. It was so horrible. It appeared that they would not let Camilla get away. Adela lowered her gaze upon noticing Camilla and Theia's menacing behavior. She began to question whether Camilla had made the right decision. Would she back up her claims in front of everyone?
Camilla continued to glance in Theia's direction, and Adela slowly turned to face her. Adela lightly arched her brows as she approached Camilla from behind. "Camilla," she called her.
Adela came into Camilla's line of sight as she smiled and blinked her eyes. "Adela, you came first today. I always come in first, but today you got me."
Adela lightly smiled and was about to say something, but Hina interrupted. She gave an announcement, "Everyone, listen carefully. We should make our way to the main yard now. Seniors and mentors are waiting for us. Let's move quickly."
As Hina had stated, she gave the command for everyone to form a line and did so. Everyone began to follow her, and they all appeared to be extremely happy. Adela and Camilla were nearby, but they did not form a line. Adela wanted to speak with Camilla, but Camilla's approach made her feel uneasy. She had lost all confidence in speaking with her. Camilla appeared to be a stranger to her. Camilla wasn't a childhood friend; it appeared that she differed completely from Adela and was new to her. Adela took a stride while turning to face Camilla and saying, "Camilla, did uncle come?"
Adela wanted to start their conversation with casual talk. Camilla turned her head and suddenly smiled broadly, saying, "You can't believe, Adela, that my father accompanied me here. I'm overjoyed that he's coming here with me for the first time."
"Wow, so you two must have chatted a lot, right?" asked Adela. Camilla chuckled as she nodded her head. But Petra abruptly halted them because she was the captain and wanted to monitor what was happening. She instructed Camilla and Adela to take a position on the line. Camilla and Adela immediately took a line. In front of Adela, Camilla was standing. Adela saw Camilla was speaking with her normally now, although she had previously experienced something odd. She was an entirely new person.
Everyone slowly exited the building and made their way to the yard. Adela narrowed her eyes and took a glance around; the day was bright. They moved toward the grand yard. Adela turned her attention to the entrance as she walked. She was looking out at the royal carriage because, for the conference, all the imperial family had to be present there. She discovered one carriage in the front row, which appeared to be the royal carriage, but apparently, there was only one. Adela looked around quickly after a long blink in search of another carriage. Because she knew that the first prince would not accompany the emperor.
There was just one carriage from the imperial castle. Adela turned her head to look for the first prince's carriage and wondered whether he hadn't arrived yet. Adela concluded he must be exhausted since he hadn't been able to get a good night's sleep the night before. While thinking of him, Adela suddenly grabbed the crystal inside her palm. She could feel the warmth of the crystal inside her palm.
[The scenario was changed to the palace]
Richard was moving through the blacksmith's forge. He put on the plate mail armor and bracers. Roy followed him as they walked together after he left the forge. Roy stepped up and said, "My prince, I will deliver news to the academy that you cannot attend the meeting today."
Richard gave a brief nod as Roy continued to stroll by and asked, "But my prince, don't you think we should tell the emperor about it first? He might not take it well if he learns you left the palace without telling him."
As Richard heard Roy, he stopped walking and turned to face him. Roy realized that he had said something unreasonable that he should not have. Richard spoke out: "Roy, if he heard I left for Targoviste, he would not react anyway. He wouldn't give a damn if I didn't go to the conference or not. He was just concerned about maintaining his power."
Roy said, "But my prince, you have to return in two days and join in the tournament to see, and if you can't do it, then you know we won't be capable of selecting good warriors for us."
After giving a brief light nod, Richard remarked, "I know, Roy. And I'll get there on time."
Richard's expression darkened abruptly when he said. It seemed he was thinking of something. He came to a halt in the middle of the path and said, "Roy, tell everyone to be ready, and get my horse ready. I'll be there in five minutes."
"Yes, my prince," Roy responded as he curtsied. "Do you have somewhere to go right now?"
"I will indeed visit the royal library. I left something valuable there."
Richard made a move toward the ancient library after saying this. He reached for the crystal and thought about Adela. "Adela, I need to meet you before I leave for Targoviste," he muttered. Within his hand, he sensed the crystal's warmth. He hurried toward the library.
Roy was standing in the back. He observed how quickly the first prince was heading to the library. He walked to the stable instead of remaining there.
**
Meanwhile, at the academy, everyone was standing on a large field, and all the imperial members were sitting up and viewing them from a high vantage point. Draven was sitting in his chair, and James was beside him. Adela raised her head to look. James was seated on the emperor's left side, while Draven was seated on the right.. Adela carefully shifted her attention, wondering where the first prince had been and whether he had arrived.
However, when she turned to look at the emperor's right side, the second prince, who was also glancing in her direction, met her eyes. Adela wasn't prepared for that because she was hard to see in the crowd, but James's gaze found her. Adela wondered, as she carefully moved her eyes, how long he had been staring at her. Adela tried not to stare at him, but she could not help herself. She once more glanced up to check if James was still gazing at her.
To be continued...