Chapter 401 - Acceptance
A beautiful lady in a black dress walked into a well-decorated western-style room with an infant boy in her arms.
The lady looked to be around 25-26 years old at most but gave off an air of maturity. She had long black hair coming down to her hips, a healthy reddish complexion with a red hue on her cheeks that made her look a bit shy, and an overall perfect figure, depending on who was observing.
The little boy in her arms was barely more than a year old. He seemed like he was out of energy as he just laid in his mother's arms quietly.
The lady walked up to a crib and placed the boy inside. He fell asleep within seconds.
She stood back up and looked at him with dotingly.
"How many have arrived already, Dana?" she said out loud even though there was no one else in the room.
But a second later the air behind the crib shook and a young girl appeared out of nowhere. She had blonde, short bobbed hair and with her glasses, she looked much older than her actual age which seemed to be around 20 at most. There were also small horns coming out of her forehead, like a baby goat.
Dana bowed slightly and spoke with a calm demeanor.
"Almost everyone on the list is here, even a few others showed up."
The lady in the black dress looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Who?"
"A few people from the Academy. Henrik Biric, Wu Jin, and a third person we haven't identified yet," she replied looking at her Spirit Band.
"That's strange. Henrik is the Biric Clan's official face so he isn't allowed to go out without their consent. The fact that he is here means this isn't just a friendly visit. And Wu Jin? I have never even seen him myself, he always stays away from these things. Find who this last person is, he might be the key. I don't like to be in the dark."
"Yes, Lady Yuan."
Yuan! The girl in the black dress was Dai Yuan, sister of the current King of Edda and a high ranking executive in the Fehim group.
She was about to turn around but stopped upon seeing Dana's troubled expression.
"Is there anything else?"
"Lady Ceni is here. She will be participating as well."
Dai Yuan was astonished at first before a dazzling smile bloomed on her face.
"Where is that little girl? I haven't seen in her so long and now she shows up out of nowhere?"
"She is waiting for you in the master bedroom," Dana replied with a deep bow.
Dai Yuan walked out of the room with hurried steps and after passing through a few hallways reached a giant wooden door. She pushed it open and entered. The first thing she was a silhouette standing in front of the window with a wine glass in her hand.
She wore quite a revealing yet somehow tasteful backless dress and seemed to be in her own thought as she didn't react to Dai Yuan's presence.
"Ceni!" Yuan yelled while walking towards her, successfully getting her attention.
Ceni turned around with a slightly vacant look but gave a toothy grin upon seeing Dai Yuan.
"Aunty!" she replied mischievously. Dai Yuan expected the answer and lightly slapped her jokingly on the shoulder before giving her a hug.
The two beautiful girls sat down on the bed and chatted for a couple of minutes before Dai Yuan asked the question that had been weighing on her mind.
"It's been so long since you visited me. What's the occasion?" she asked suspiciously.
Ceni's lips parted but no words came out. She took a sip of the red wine and exhaled.
"Did you hear? Second sister also awakened," she spoke despondently.
Seeing her downcast expression it reminded Dai Yuan a lot of herself when she was young. She held Ceni's hand in hers.
"You know very well not everyone can awaken the bloodline. Look at me! I'm still doing fine without it. Why do you keep pursuing it?"
Ceni shook her head. Her eyes were wet, tears threatening to rain down any second.
"I don't want this life. You know me. I can't be a mom or a good wife like you. M-Mother said she can't hold them back anymore. The entire clan is pressuring her. If I don't awaken the bloodline, they will marry me off when I turn 18 in a few months."
Dai Yuan let out a deep sigh. Yes, it was all too familiar to her. She had also cried when they married her off for the good of the kingdom. Luckily she found a good man, someone who loved her dearly.
She patted Ceni's back gently.
"You have to accept the truth love. Stop looking at your siblings and just enjoy yourself. It's not every day that they let you princesses out like this. Come, hundreds of royal children from across the continent are waiting downstairs. Maybe you'll find someone you like, eh? A charming prince, or a genius from one of the ancient clans? All those handsome men will go crazy for you! And who knows, you might even awaken the bloodline. There's still time," she said trying to console her, but knew that was far from the truth.
The older the person the got, the harder it became to awaken the bloodline, especially theirs which was so pure. For someone like Ceni, the chances of that happening now were almost zero. Both of them knew this fact but neither said anything.
Ceni wiped her tears and fixed her dress before walking towards the main hall hand in hand with Dai Yuan. From the other side of the door they could hear loud music, laughter and.....shouting? It sounded like a fight was about to break out.