The Protagonist of the Founding Festival (2)
The empire's princes?
The envoys from the foreign delegations stared at the emperor in astonishment.
A few of them scanned the seats where the princes sat, their expressions a mix of curiosity and surprise.
“Then let us begin.”
The emperor smiled and gestured with his hand.
At once, a brilliant light poured down from the ceiling onto the stage in the center of the banquet hall.
The first to appear on the stage was none other than the First Prince, Adrian.
“It is my great honor to present a hymn I composed myself to everyone gathered here. I hope you will enjoy it.”
After a brief greeting, Adrian snapped his fingers.
A choir that had been waiting in the wings ascended onto the stage.
As the musicians seated below began to play, the choir started to sing.
“I had no idea His Highness the First Prince was so accomplished in music.”
“What a truly beautiful melody. To compose such a piece at such a young age…”
The hymn Adrian had created helped lift the atmosphere of the banquet to a cheerful height.
The lyrics, which wove together myths and legends from across the continent, drew bursts of laughter from every corner of the hall.
Although this was a celebration commemorating the founding of the Ventrum Empire, he had deliberately avoided including verses praising the achievements or fame of past emperors. This subtle choice earned him quiet approval from the envoys.
By the time the First Prince’s performance ended, thunderous applause filled the entire banquet hall.
“Most satisfactory.”
The emperor, clearly pleased with his eldest son’s performance, clapped with genuine enthusiasm.
Even Empress Melanie, who rarely smiled, now wore a faint, gentle curve on her lips.
“Then next…”
As the applause died down, the emperor spoke once more.
“I believe the Second and Third Princes prepared a stage together?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At his question, Second Consort Helena, who had remained silent until now, quickly stepped forward.
“Is it not a long-standing tradition of the empire for the princes to perform a sword dance during the Founding Festival?”
Helena continued in a clear, resonant voice.
“During the last Founding Festival, frequent appearances of demonic beasts left us no room to prepare such a performance. This year, I am overjoyed that we can follow precedent.”
“I see. Very well.”
The emperor listened to the Second Consort’s words and gave a nod.
Thump. Thump-thump.
All at once, the lights illuminating the banquet hall vanished.
Only the intense beam descending from the ceiling remained, illuminating the circular stage at the center.
An inexplicable sense of solemnity settled over the hall, bringing complete silence.
It was at that moment—when every eye, including those of the foreign envoys, turned toward the round stage—that the sound of drums echoed from somewhere unseen.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Two figures stepped onto the stage.
They were the Second Prince Lloyd and the Third Prince Edwin.
Each held a ornate practice sword in one hand as they faced each other.
A taut, delicate tension hung between them, as though it might snap at any moment.
Clang!
The sharp ring of the two boys’ practice swords clashing echoed through the hall.
Though they were ceremonial blades, they were still made of steel; a mistake could easily result in injury.
Yet the two of them charged at each other with full force, as if they were truly fighting for victory.
Not a bad match, all things considered.
I leaned against the wall where I had a clear view of the stage and watched the princes’ sword dance.
Edwin and Lloyd were coordinating better than I had expected.
Even though Lloyd refused the joint practice sessions, so they barely had time to match their movements.
The only time they had practiced together was an hour before stepping onto the stage, and even then, they had only run through it a few times.
It looks like Lloyd practiced hard on his own, too.
The sword dance the two boys performed was far more impressive than I had anticipated.
Perhaps that was why the atmosphere in the banquet hall had grown so heated.
The eyes of many envoys refused to leave the stage.
Still, this is rather amusing.
I looked at Edwin, whose face was painted with a fearsome design.
So he’s playing the evil dragon.
The sword dance passed down through the imperial family for generations carried its own narrative.
It was based on the common founding myth that the empire’s first emperor had defeated an evil dragon and established the nation.
But judging by personality and behavior, the evil dragon role seems far more suited to the Second Prince.
Unlike Edwin, whose face was barely visible beneath the dark paint, Lloyd was dressed in magnificent armor.
His face, polished to a shine for today’s event, gave the illusion that a halo was radiating from him.
Thump. Thump.
The drums, which had quickened for a moment, returned to their original rhythm.
In that instant, the two princes swiftly created distance between them and began spinning in circles.
It was a movement that seemed to test each other’s skill.
Thump. Thump-thump-thump. Thump.
As if signaling that the real performance was only now beginning, the drumbeats accelerated once more.
The two boys collided again.
Hm?
Something felt off.
Edwin’s expression had darkened.
He was even breaking into a cold sweat, as though something had gone wrong.
Wait a second.
After watching for a while, I finally noticed the anomaly.
Was that movement part of the original sword dance?
Unlike before, Lloyd was unleashing a rapid succession of fast, powerful strikes.
It was far too threatening to be considered a mere dance.
I frowned.
…That bastard.
It was clear now.
Lloyd had no intention of performing the sword dance.
His only goal was to defeatEdwin standing before him.
Is he insane? No… I should call it cunning.
If he attacked under the pretense of a sword dance in such a public setting, he would still have excuses even if the truth came out later.
So obvious.
He could claim, “I had no true intent to harm him; I would never attack in such an open place,” or “It was merely a mistake during the dance—please do not misconstrue it.” There were plenty of excuses he could trot out.
This is troublesome.
I couldn’t suddenly leap onto the stage and stop the performance, nor could I throw a hidden weapon at Lloyd. After all, Edwin was up there with him.
“Ugh…”
Meanwhile, Edwin let out a groan as Lloyd’s movements grew increasingly fierce.
Finally, he knocked aside his half-brother’s sword and retreated.
“Waaaaah!”
Yet the audience gathered in the banquet hall cheered wildly at the sight.
The sword dance performed by the two young princes was so full of tension that it truly resembled the legendary clash between the first emperor and the evil dragon.
Because of that, none of them realized the two were actually fighting in earnest.
“Haa…”
Edwin wiped away his cold sweat and scanned the surrounding gazes.
Eyes brimming with anticipation surrounded him from every direction.
For some reason, he felt as if he couldn’t breathe.
Why is Brother Lloyd acting like this all of a sudden?
Although they hadn’t practiced together enough, they had certainly matched their movements before stepping onto the stage. At the time, he had thought it wasn’t perfect but still passable.
Did he forget the choreography?
No. Lloyd didn’t look flustered at all. If anything, he looked delighted.
As if he was thrilled to be able to toy with Edwin as he pleased.
…Ah. I see.
Only then did Edwin realize that Lloyd had never intended to complete the sword dance with him.
Brother simply wants to torment me.
Why had it taken him so long to understand something so simple?
Lloyd had always hated him.
He wants to humiliate me in front of everyone.
It seemed he planned to overwhelm him with unexpected attacks and knock him down.
After all, the sword dance was supposed to end with the first emperor defeating the evil dragon.
Even if Edwin were actually struck and fell, no one would pay it any mind.
So… I’m supposed to just take it?
If Edwin wanted to counter Lloyd’s attacks, he could have done so easily.
But because of where they were, he hesitated.
He was worried that responding to his brother’s provocation would ruin the entire atmosphere.
What should I do?
Edwin wiped the sweat running down his chin with the back of his hand.
At that moment, his eyes met the emperor’s.
Father?
The emperor seemed to have already noticed the situation on stage.
Yet he showed no sign of intervening.
He was simply watching with great interest.
Clang!
There was no time to catch his breath.
Edwin looked at Lloyd, who was charging toward him, with troubled eyes.
“Don’t struggle so much, Edwin.”
The moment they drew so close their faces nearly touched,
Lloyd whispered in a low voice.
“Your role is the evil dragon anyway, isn’t it?”
“Brother, why are you doing this…”
“You look best on the ground with your face in the dirt after losing to me.”
The delicate features of Edwin’s face, hidden beneath the makeup, began to crack.
Lloyd bared his teeth, clearly amused by his half-brother’s reaction.
“Just like right now.”
“Kh…!”
The hand holding Edwin’s practice sword trembled violently.
He desperately parried Lloyd’s strikes, but the situation continued to flow in his brother’s favor.
What do I do?
The evil dragon’s part in the sword dance consisted only of flashy but empty movements.
It was inevitable, since the performer playing the first emperor had to look impressive.
So it was only natural that Edwin was struggling.
If I change the movements too abruptly, it will look strange.
The more ornate the motion, the more obvious any deviation became.
Many members of the imperial family in the audience knew the sword dance well.
The emperor, especially, would immediately notice if Edwin’s movements changed even slightly.
What should I do?
Edwin bit his lip.
Sweat trickled down the young prince’s forehead as panic set in.