Fairy Tale Chronicles

Chapter 15.5

Albeit with some juvenile vernacular here and there, Aearis sincerely continued speaking from her heart, and the attendees could only watch in awe. Even if she was acting, the Princess speaking on the platform now was so contradictory from the mental image of the vile princess, planted in the majority of the attendees. It was difficult for anyone to maintain their mental image of a cruel and vain princess, while Aearis held back tears, apologizing for those who had lost their lives by being caught in the crosshairs of the scheme to assassinate Aearis. If Aearis was acting, this was a marvelous performance. However, most felt that her emotions behind her words were authentic. While she may had been making some dramatic choices, no one would have thought that she was lying outright.

There was another point that contradicted the rumors regarding Aearis. Rumors had it that her appearance was vile, as if to reflect her personality. However, the girl pouring her heart out now (albeit too young to possess a complete display of beauty) was regal and elegant, exuding a mystical sense of beauty. Her hair and eyes, as well as her facial features all but guaranteed her direct lineage from the King and Queen, and her appearance was anything but ugly. While Princess Katrina at this age had possessed the same elegant beauty (albeit more flashy than mystical). No one doubted that in five years’ time, Aearis would possess irrefutable beauty.

Katrina was watching this all. Her sister, and the number of people reevaluating her sister grow with every word Aearis uttered, as she kept an aloof expression covering her consuming rage all the while.

That pest.

Aearis was wearing her official priestess garb, rather than a dress. The attire, usually kept well-hidden, accentuated Aearis’ innocence and elegance, as well as her mystical aura. Katrina could not stand that Aearis wore that garb (which Katrina would, quite literally, kill to wear) as if she was born in it. She would have felt better if Aearis seemed to struggle to fit the attire, or something, but she could not say that Aearis was being worn by it. In fact, Katrina’s pride prevented her from it.

「She’s finished, it seems.」

Barold muttered without much inflection, watching Aearis take another deep bow.

「The rats are coming out.」

「Let’s see what they have to offer.」

As Barold commented, the party of five entered on the King’s order. The third one in line, a teenage girl, had turned the entire ballroom awestruck again. This time, that included both Katrina and Barold.

Haruna, third in line, was wearing a simple, blue mermaid-style dress that didn’t show too much skin. Her long golden locks were purposefully untouched, flowing down her back. Only accessorized by a simple pair of earrings and a necklace, the simplicity of her outfit further accentuated her natural beauty.

Customarily, for someone of Haruna’s body type, even a mermaid-style dress would come with a large opening in the chest or back, but her dressed only revealed her neck and shoulders, at most. This, in turn, completed her gifted silhouette even more, exuding more sensuality than she would have by revealing more skin.

All the while, the blue of her dress, combined with her quiet, collected attitude had discouraged the male gaze in spite of her sensuality. Her calm blue eyes that shone in intelligence spoke volumes in conveying that she was no easy woman. In short, she was a rose in a glass case. While her appearance sent many men into a tizzy, no one was allowed to lay a finger on her. Anyone who knew how she looked everyday shared the same impression: she had bloomed.

Even the attractive women that went before and after her, and in fact all the women in the ballroom faded in comparison to Haruna, save for Aearis, whose mystique allowed her to rival Haruna’s presence. Not just women, either. Even Tatsuya, who had appearance well enough to not fade away in this ballroom filled mostly with beautiful men and women, was utterly ignored by all. Hiroshi, a forgettable country boy, had no chance of receiving any form of acknowledgment.

「What the…」

Katrina whispered, shaking. Her beauty, which had become one of the few points of pride left for her, had been decimated by her younger sister and some random girl from who-knows-where. Everyone’s eyes were glued at Haruna and Aearis, ignoring Tatsuya making a short spiel, representing the group. To be honest, anyone but Haruna could defile any decorum imaginable, and no one would bat an eye. Any and all movement by Haruna was met by gasps in the crowd. A cliché locking of the eyes would stop anyone in their tracks, and being stared at by her calm, yet all-penetrating gaze caused anyone with a secret to look away in a hurry, only to inevitably have their gaze drawn back to Haruna.

In a sense, the entire ballroom was under Haruna’s control.

「Now, in consideration of Elena’s wellbeing, there will be no dancing tonight. Instead, Lady Haruna has offered to perform a song for us. I have been told that she has a divine voice. May I trouble you?」

The King started, after toasts were made and the attendees were left to mingle. Haruna responded with an elegant bow:

「If my voice won’t offend his majesty, it would be an honor. What shall I sing?」

「Hm. A joyous tune. From your homeland.」

「As you wish.」

With another bow, Haruna stepped forward with both class and presence.

「While it didn’t originate in my country, we sing this as a group at the end of each year. It has significant meaning to my homeland.」

With that, she inhaled deeply, and began singing brightly.

It was a classic. A familiar song in Japan, as carolers formed at the end of the year to celebrate the passage of another year. Ordinarily, it wouldn’t sound quite right without a harmony, but Haruna sang it acapella, powerfully.

「…!」

As soon as Haruna’s voice reached their ears, both Katrina and Barold were assaulted with an indescribable disgust, at the same time. No matter how dense, most would at least sense the magnificence of her tune. True to its title, this song enveloped most members with bliss, but in turn agonies Katrina and Barold.

Once Haruna had concluded her joyous tune, Katrina and Barold were worn down to the point where they found it difficult to keep face. It wasn’t just the two of them, either. All of the nobles, officials, and servants (whom Barold had spent years recruiting) were all dripping in cold sweats, panting. Some of the servants standing by the wall had nearly fainted. The only thing that they had in common was that they all stored a large amount of affliction in their bodies, as a result of Barold’s brainwashing. Barold reached the only logical conclusion:

「The power… of the Goddess?」

He mumbled, defeated, as he somehow managed to offer a weak applause amidst the thunderous roar around him, which also served to drown out his utterance, preventing from reaching even Katrina.

「How did that little…」

Throwing his metaphorical mask out the window, Barold couldn’t help but shoot Haruna a glare. Haruna responded with a gentle smile. Desperately keeping down the urge to striker her, Barold tried to observe if his poison was effective. It wasn’t a quick-acting poison, but after expending so much energy to sing that way, she would be showing some symptoms if the poison was effective.

「…They didn’t come completely unprepared, it seems.」

Watching them consuming what is given to them without much suspicion as they conversed with the members of the royal family, Barold admitted his defeat for the night. Now that he had taken more damage than expected, it would be difficult for him to manipulate the foreigners into a trap. He still would have made a move, if it weren’t for the unassumingly alert members of the royal family. Barold didn’t feel up to stepping into a tiger’s den at the moment.

「Haruna-sama. May I ask for a favor?」

「What is it?」

「Everyone was so enthralled with your voice earlier… Could you play a fun, cheerful song? Like a fairytale?」

「It would be my pleasure.」

In contrast to her demeanor from before, Aearis asked in a sweet tone, appropriate for her age. Of course, Haruna would have never refused. A shiver crawled down Barold spine as he overheard this.

「Princess Katrina. Let us retreat.」

「…Why?」

「An encore.」

Katrina paled. She looked around the room to find that the people who had been affected adversely by the tune earlier had already left.

「How aggravating… There’s nothing we can do now, I suppose…」

「Unfortunately, even we can’t deny that the tune is majestic to the common ear.」

With an utter sense of defeat, Katrina retreated with the excuse of feeling under the weather. Just as they exited the ballroom, the song had begun. Nearly falling to her knees from it, they scrambled far enough.

「We must eliminate that harlot at all costs…」

「It seems that way…」

Their grand scheme paled in light of the immediate threat Haruna possessed to them. Ironically, this defeat had increased the bond between Katrina and Barold.