The Crown Prince Ceremony (2)
As a result, I learned from this Octavia girl who was a maid from a viscount family that magic was a power that only nobles could use for the most part. It was something all nobles would always learn as they grow up… Darn, why didn’t Mother teach me about this?
However, not all nobles were able to use magic, it depended on the person. The more high-ranking you are, the more likely you would be able to use magic, and a strong one at that.
But, apparently, high-ranking nobles viewed magic as a not-so-elegant existence, so even if they were capable of using magic, they did not want to. No wonder I never saw any of my family members using magic.
There were various types of magic, and Octavia was able to use service magic, which apparently was the easiest type of magic. It was something along the lines of asking spirits to listen to a request or two in return for giving them some of the person’s magic power. Heh, these spirits are kind of like dogs. How much the spirits will do for you depends on how much of your magic you offer to them.
The more I listen to Octavia, the more I wanted to try this out. I’m also a noble, and a high-ranking noble at that, so there’s a fairly good chance I would also be able to use magic too. I asked Octavia to teach me how to use magic. Octavia refused at first, but once I offered to help her with her task of cleaning the giant garden, which, by the way, seemed like it was pushed onto her, she agreed.
As soon as she started teaching me, it became clear that I had magical powers. When I held up my hand to the spirit that Octavia had called to me, it responded. However, I had a hard time releasing the magic power from there. Because I didn’t know what magic power was. I tried to figure it out with Octavia’s vague explanation, and it was only after about 10 days that I succeeded in releasing the magic power for the first time.
I chanted, “Spirit of the wind, answer my voice!
I chanted as I released the magic power, and the wind moved around me. Wow! I did it! I had done it! I danced out of joy, taking Octavia’s hand. Octavia looked relieved as I pulled her hand.
She said, “The spirits will start to listen to you as you do this. What you can do will depend on how much magic you have.
“Thank you, Octavia! Thank you, Octavia!”
In return, I ordered the chief chambermaid to punish the lowly maidens who had forced Octavia to clean up. The chief chambermaid wondered how I knew about it.
On the night I finally became able to use magic to some extent, I confessed to Cermiane while lying on my bed in excitement. Cermiane’s eyes widened.
“You learned magic…”
After a moment of hesitation, Selmiane reluctantly spoke.
“Ral, please don’t use magic when I’m not around.”
“What? Why, because the higher nobles don’t like it? I don’t care.”
“No, it’s because it’s dangerous.”
Cermiane said that the magic power was originally given to the first emperor, and it gradually spread to the nobles because of intermarriage. As it spread, it also weakened, and with the thin blood of the viscounts, they could probably only create wind even if they tried their best.
However, the Royal family and high ranking nobles, whose blood is still strong in their veins, have great magical power, though far less than that of the ancient emperors. They are said to be able to give spirits enough power to blow away buildings.
“What is that? That’s amazing!”
“It’s great, but it’s dangerous, isn’t it? Especially when you don’t know how to release your magical power properly. I’ll teach you, but you must not use it elsewhere. Is that clear?”
Nun-nun. I am well aware of the dangers of someone who is not proficient in the use of a blade wielding it. I really wanted to be able to use it as soon as possible, but I had to nod.
“Well, once you become the crown princess, you will often have to use magic in ceremonies, so I guess it was just good that you learned it now.”
Huh? That’s new news to me. It seems that the royal family has to dedicate magical power to the gods necessary to run the empire, and that the higher nobility also have a ceremony where they dedicate magical power to the gods and spirits of their territory to pray for the fertility of the land. It seems that this was the reason why my father and mother always came to the estate twice a year. Come to think of it, they always cleaned the chapel of the estate when they came.
There was a tendency to admonish people from wasting magic power in order to use magic power for such dedications, and it seems that they became unwilling to use magic in public, which turned out to be a good thing.
I felt that even though I had lived for nearly 20 years, there were still many things in the world that I did not know. That reminds me. I remembered that Cermiane had told me that magic was necessary to defeat the dragon.
“If I have magic, doesn’t that mean I can slay the dragon?”
Cermiane looked startled.
“I’m sure that’s what you mean, isn’t it? Right?”
“If Ral’s magic power is great, that’s what it means.”
“I’m motivated! I’m motivated! Mia! You’ll definitely teach me. Absolutely!
For some reason, Cermiane let out a sigh as he stroked my head, which was in cloud nine with joy as I embraced Cermiane.
Immediately after the period of mourning, Cermiane’s crown prince ceremony was held.
That being said, it was quite a challenge. It was a major event. I had hardly ever participated in aristocratic ceremonies before. The only ones I had attended were the coming-of-age ceremony and the imperial family’s return to Selmiane. Perhaps weddings could also be considered ceremonies. I had never been to any ceremonies that involved many aristocrats, such as commemorative or harvest festivals. Therefore, I didn’t know much about what ceremonies were like.
Firstly, the attire for the ceremony is a formal wear specifically designed for the occasion, consisting of seven layers of fluttering sleeves. It is heavy, hot, and uncomfortable. I was fortunate that the ceremony took place in winter. I have heard that during summer, they use lighter materials, but the number of layers cannot be reduced due to their significance.
The hairstyle is also done in a unique style, and the accessories used are of a style that I have never seen before. They are said to have been used since the founding of the Empire. The patterns on the clothing and the decorative cords hanging from the shoulders have strict meanings, and a specialist official for the ceremony carefully inspects them. If there is any discrepancy, the whole process has to be redone.
Because of the clothing, I had to strictly follow outdated etiquette rules. It was ten times more tedious than normal etiquette. There were many rules to remember, such as walking without making any noise, stopping every three steps, and keeping a certain foot direction. I couldn’t memorize them all and wondered why I had to do such a bothersome thing, but apparently, that’s what rituals are. And as the Crown Princess, I had to attend ceremonies many times a year, so it was important to learn them well. Seriously, it was such a pain.
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