TGS - Chapter 60
Chapter 60: The Coming-of-Age Ceremony
For the youth of the royal family, nobility, officials, and wealthy merchants, the coming-of-age ceremony at eighteen included a particularly important segment.
The family of the initiate had to compile their child's conduct and achievements before adulthood in advance, writing them into a detailed narrative essay or a lyrical long poem. This would then be given to the officiant to be read aloud at the ceremony.
What achievements could a youth who had just come of age possibly have?
It was nothing more than their grades in academic tests or how many duties they had observed and participated in for experience while following their elders. If there was truly nothing to say, even being smarter and cleverer than other children in their youth could be used to pad the list.
However, few resorted to this, as it sounded too embarrassing.
There were also precocious youths who had independently accomplished several great deeds, which would allow their families to write an enviable account.
Of course, people have different aspirations, and there was never a shortage of unmotivated youths from privileged backgrounds. In such cases where there were no achievements to speak of, the lyrical long poem served its purpose.
Before the statue of the god, one could use language to embellish the past of the person being baptized, but falsehoods, deception, and fabrication were absolutely forbidden.
Therefore, writing a long poem for certain profligate nobles was no easy task. There were always worried patriarchs who would secretly commission bards to help compose them, with the goal of beautifying the facts without deceiving the gods.
If they could praise the face, they'd say handsome and charming; if they weren't rowdy, they'd say well-behaved and obedient. If they were out causing trouble with bad company every day, they could only stretch the truth to claim they were sociable and popular...
By racking their brains like this and piling on ornate words, there was always a way to cobble together a poem that was passable on the surface.
By now, whenever the guests heard the officiant reciting a flowery long poem, they knew exactly what the subject of the ceremony was truly worth.
Of course, at Alyuin's coming-of-age ceremony, no one worried about such an embarrassing situation arising.
Due to the request for a low-key affair, most of the spectators outside the ritual chamber were members of the Royal Guard. They remembered the Princess's past achievements with perfect clarity, as these things had happened under their watch.
When this part of the ceremony arrived, they puffed out their chests, sharing in the glory.
Not a single person.
Even going back several hundred years, there was no noble youth who could have achieved what the Princess had at this age.
—Only the master they followed.
Lotus's eyes lowered slightly, her gaze falling on the parchment in her hands.
She was the only family Alyuin acknowledged who was present, and she had written this narrative account with her own hand.
The faint warmth of the early winter sun cast light and shadow on the parchment. Lotus began to speak, her pace unhurried.
Her clear, gentle voice echoed in the ritual chamber, calm and irrefutable, recounting the Princess's achievements in Kadera and on the border battlefields. Each and every deed, born of torn conspiracies and bloodshed, was presented without any embellishment, a simple statement of fact.
At the end of the text, as was customary, it was time to summarize the qualities displayed by the initiate, to declare before the gods the path they had walked and the path they would walk in the future.
At this point, the initiate was supposed to bow their head in humility, but Alyuin raised hers openly.
She hadn't even seen the text after it was written. The Princess was very curious to know how Lotus would evaluate her, and also wanted to see the goddess's expression as she read it.
"Alyuin, Princess and devotee of the Goddess of the Yilu River."
"You are the proud scion of the royal house, a keen scholar, a skilled warrior."
"At the same time, you are also one favored by the gods, you are..." A leader, of the present and the future.
"Your past and your future path all lie under the gaze of Lotus."
This last sentence could be seen as a common closing phrase—the gods will be watching over you—just a platitude, but here, it could be written as a statement of fact.
Alyuin got her wish and saw Lotus's expression as she read.
Gentle, appreciative, with an unspoken expectation.
Fortunately, she didn't detect too much of that "my child has made me proud" sort of gratification, which was a relief.
After that, the ceremony continued according to procedure.
The water of the Yilu River, symbolizing the sacred baptism, was dabbed on her forehead, slid down to the tip of her nose, and finally, to her chin, which was raised in a beautiful arc.
This part of the ritual had been performed once before, five years ago, and Lotus was well-practiced.
There was just a small incident midway through. As Lotus's finger, dipped in river water, touched the Princess's nose, Alyuin gently blew a puff of air, as if in a playful, intimate gesture.
The Princess's action was subtle, and the temple priest standing to the side noticed nothing. But the warm stream of air was real against Lotus's hand, and caught unprepared, she stiffened almost imperceptibly.
The smile on Alyuin's lips deepened.
Lotus: "..."
Lotus remained impassive, but when she touched Alyuin's chin with her fingertip, she applied more force. It was less of a touch and more of a poke.
This small interlude went unnoticed by anyone. The Royal Guard stood in neat rows at the entrance, and those farther back quietly stood on tiptoe to peer into the ritual chamber.
Many of them had also witnessed the little princess's baptism ceremony at thirteen, so they were inevitably more moved now.
However, Wick, who had personally witnessed the current Crown Prince's coming-of-age ceremony in Akhet, was no less moved than they were.
As the envoy from Akhet—or rather, the unlucky fellow who had, in a moment of folly, blurted out his true role as a monitor and was now being kept under close watch for legitimate reasons—Wick certainly had no favorable impression of the Princess.
He wished he could sprout wings and fly back to Akhet right now, but he knew with sober clarity that no good outcome awaited him there.
Wick's position among King Horst's confidants was actually quite awkward. Due to his background, not a single one of his colleagues respected him.
If that weren't the case, the thankless role of envoy would not have fallen to him.
Already held in low regard, and with this mission being a complete failure, Wick himself had adopted a somewhat reckless attitude. Otherwise, no matter how careless he was, he wouldn't have misspoken in front of the caravan master.
And now, Wick stood in an inconspicuous corner outside the door, watching the ceremony with a complicated expression.
He knew the Princess had earned many military honors on the border, but he had never heard them recounted so completely as he had today. The impact was so stunning that it left him speechless for a moment.
Wick had also heard the proclamation at the Crown Prince's coming-of-age ceremony. In the Temple of Sky and Wind in Akhet, the high priest, dressed in magnificent robes, had announced the Crown Prince's achievements to all the guests.
No one could deny the Crown Prince's excellence.
He was the king's designated heir, many officials acknowledged his status, and the Grand Chancellor favored him greatly.
Behind the Crown Prince were countless advisors and guards. He had innumerable sources of support, far beyond what the Princess, exiled to Kadera since childhood, could ever match.
But why, then, was there such a disparity in the achievements presented at their coming-of-age ceremonies?
Yes, it was the battlefield. Of course, the merits one could earn on the battlefield were greater than those in the comfortable royal city. But the problem was, the royal family and nobility almost never sent their underage children to the border.
The battlefield was no child's play. In matters of life and death, no personal guard could be truly relied upon. To send a youth who had not yet come of age was to send them to their death.
Such a difference...
Wick was somewhat shaken.
He couldn't make a decision lightly. In a royal struggle, the leader's own strength wasn't actually that important. What mattered most were their supporters and the intentions of the person currently on the throne.
In this respect, the Princess had no chance of winning, unless she planned to launch a direct rebellion and rely on the border forces to win—but even the border generals might not listen to her!
Wick frowned. Just as he was about to laugh at the sudden thought, he recalled the Princess's attitude toward Kopal, who was of half-slave blood, in Wash City.
The coldness she deliberately showed in public had not fooled Wick's eyes. He was certain that the former Lord of Wash City's accidental death was absolutely the result of these two's scheming.
Even while being legitimately watched by the merchant, Wick still had opportunities to send out a carrier pigeon. But for some reason, he had not written about this matter in the secret letter he sent to Horst.
Wick raised a hand to touch the scar on the back of his neck.
He had made the scar himself to cover the indelible slave brand. Because of it, he had suffered endless cold treatment under both the former king and Horst.
Should he make a choice?
As he was pondering, Wick's gaze shifted, and he suddenly noticed the caravan master smilingly looking his way.
Whenever he thought about doing something for his mission, he would receive this kind of look. The outcome was predictable: he never once succeeded.
This time, he really wasn't planning any trouble!
Wick gritted his teeth. When he turned his gaze back to the ritual chamber, the ceremony was already nearing its end.
Lotus concluded the ceremony with a hymn dedicated to the Goddess of the Yilu River.
Because praising herself was indeed a bit embarrassing, her pace quickened slightly, earning her a knowing and meaningful look from Alyuin, who had seen right through her.
After the coming-of-age ceremony ended, the two stayed at the temple to handle some follow-up matters before strolling back to their residence.
Along the way, they passed the city's theater. Though called a theater, it was nothing like the open-air theater in the City of the Sun God; strictly speaking, it was merely a stage for plays.
Lotus glanced in that direction and quietly withdrew her gaze.
Back at their residence, the thought of returning to their separate rooms made Alyuin's steps slow involuntarily.
Lotus didn't notice and said, "Come to my room."
Alyuin's eyes widened slightly, but she quickly understood and smiled. "Is it my gift?"
"Yes. They will suit you well."
Lotus took two ebony boxes from a cabinet.
The two boxes were not the same size. From their length and width, one could roughly guess what was inside.
Like a modern wrapped gift, a pale gold ribbon was tied around the long box in a bow on the front.
Alyuin lowered her gaze to this gift—or rather, these two gifts—and her lips suddenly pressed together in a thin line.
Lotus instructed her, "Pinch here and just pull."
"...Yes."
She untied the ribbon and opened the ebony box.
A brand-new longbow and sword were revealed before Alyuin's eyes.
"I asked a friend to forge them. In the mortal realm, there are no weapons more suited to you."
Lotus relayed the words of the Goddess of Raging Fire. Seeing the Princess staring motionlessly at the bow and sword, she asked with a smile, "Do you like them?"
Alyuin reached out and caressed the bow's body, which glowed with a lustrous, woody sheen. The sharp, cold glint of the sword reflected in her golden eyes.
"I don't want to thank you, Lotus," she said with a clear smile. "But from this day forward, all the glory I win with them will be in your name."
Lotus paused, then suddenly turned her head halfway and said teasingly, "Does that mean the glory from before today wasn't dedicated to me?"
"This is different."
"How is it different?"
Alyuin leaned in and gave the goddess a light, quick hug.
"I've come of age now. So it's different."
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