The carriage quickly arrived at the venue.
The shapeshifters continued to enter, but Arsene and I were guided to separate VIP seats, so there was no need to mix with other shapeshifters.
Escort knights, priests, and Kendrick’s lieutenant escorted us to our seats.
“You can sit down.”
The seat with the large emblem of Yeckhart was located high up, so the center was clearly visible.
“Linsy, sit here.”
Arsene said, holding my hand and leading me to my seat.
I nodded and sat down.
“Did father go to get ready?”
“I guess so.”
“Leona probably hasn’t come yet, and Cain…”
I was curious about why Cain was late.
Since Cain is the only heir to the Snake Clan, he couldn’t possibly not come to the festival.
“Is there any problem?”
“No way. It won’t be. Don’t worry too much.”
Arsene shook his head and answered quite dignifiedly.
I nodded and kept my eyes on the other clans.
‘Where is Raniero?’
I wanted to make sure that Schville really came to the festival.
In the distance, I saw a seat with the eagle that is the symbol of Raniero.
The problem was that the dark purple curtains were down.
Because of that, I couldn’t see who was inside at all.
Feeling regretful, I leaned over and whispered to Arsene.
“The shadow wolf won’t be able to remove the curtains, right?”
“I can lift it, but then I’ll get a problem. Father will scold me.”
Arsene glanced at Raniero once, then shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ll pull the curtains when it starts. Just a moment, Linsy.”
“Okay.”
I nodded obediently.
The huge event hall was quickly filled with shapeshifters. It seemed to be at least fifty thousand.
And not long after,
“It begins.”
Along with Arsene’s low voice, a loud trumpet sound rang out.
Sparkling light poured over everyone’s heads like starlight, and Arsene and I looked at the scene, seeing it for the second time in our lives, in awe.
Soon, cheers erupted, and Arsene and I also looked at the venue with our mouths slightly open.
‘Whoa…’
The first and last time I came to the festival was when I was only seven years old, so it was as amazing as seeing it for the first time.
A festival to show that the heads of each clan are still in good health.
The cheers died down, and after a few firecrackers exploded, the nine heads of clans came up on the podium in turn.
I opened my eyes wide and looked at the nine heads of clans.
Since the family of Hezeth was there, it seemed like Cain had come, even though he was late.
‘The snake family is not important.’
I quickly looked for my father, Arthur Raniero.
However,
‘It’s Gale.’
Perhaps it was true that Arthur gave Gale the post of head of the family, so Gale stood tall among the heads of each clan. Gale was already an adult, but he looked young because he was with the heads of clans who were quite old.
He seemed very nervous because it was his first time standing there.
“Linsy.”
Arsene frowned and called my name.
Seeing Gale on the podium, he seemed worried about me.
“Eung, it’s okay.”
I nodded my head to reassure Arsene, and then turned my head abruptly to Raniero’s seat.
The curtain had been lifted.
And in that place.
“…Schville.”
Before I knew it, Schville sat looking down at the podium with a modest appearance.
But it was a bit strange.
‘….’
Schville, who I remember, was a timid yet smiling kid.
However, Schville, who was sitting there, looked like an emotionless doll.
I held back my desire to approach Schville and turned my gaze toward the podium.
However,
“Arsene, the Pope is not here?”
“Right, his health has gotten worse, so he doesn’t show up at all.”
Instead of the Pope, the high priest was seated on the podium.
The high priest asked for their understanding briefly, saying that the Pope’s health was deteriorating and he was inevitably unable to participate in the festival, and began the ceremony.
The heads of each clan raised their heads at the same time and looked up at the sky.
Pop—!
And at the same time, the sight of shapeshifting was magnificent.
Multi-colored smoke mixed in the air.
I opened my eyes wide and looked at the podium.
Arsene seemed to be quite focused, too.
‘Because it’s Arsene’s job now.’
Usually, he has to learn the rituals and methods of the festival while going to the festival with the head.
Arsene couldn’t participate in the festival when he was young due to personal circumstances, and when he grew up, he didn’t have a chance to watch the festival because it couldn’t be held.
It seemed like he wanted to see a lot now.
The smoke cleared, and a huge gray wolf appeared first.
It was Kendrick.
Then came a huge black lion, a black snake and a white fox, a red bear and a blue dog, and a golden sheep and a white horse.
Finally,
“….”
An ugly brown eagle appeared.
‘What’s wrong with his condition?’
I looked at Gale’s bird form.
Gale’s bird form was somehow strange.
First, it was unusually small.
It was about the same size as when I shapeshifted, so it looked so unattractive that it couldn’t be regarded as the head of a clan.
Besides,
‘His feather looks rough, and what’s wrong with his tail feathers?’
No matter how I look at it, he didn’t look like the head of a clan.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised by Gale’s appearance.
Arsene also narrowed his eyes, and a murmur erupted from the crowd.
However, the heads of the clans stood tall and looked down at the high priest standing in the middle, as if they didn’t care.
Then the ceremony began.
This time, the white horse put its hoof on the holy relic first.
Then, the vivid orange power spread from the holy relic of the horse clan and formed a thin barrier.
Next was the fox clan.
When the white fox lifted its front paw and brought it to the holy relic, bright pink power covered the orange barrier.
And,
‘It’s Gale’s turn.’
It was Raniero’s turn.
As the eagle gripped the holy relic with its claws, light green power spread out.
However,
‘…Why are the colors so dull?’
The color was distinctly different from the power I use.
It looks like a light green mixed with black. Besides, perhaps it was because Gale had not yet ascended to the position of the head of the clan, the overlaid yellow-green barrier looked as if it would break at any moment.
Usually, if you build a barrier three times, it’s natural if you can’t see the inside.
‘I can see a little inside.’
Gale’s ability was so weak that it could never be compared with the other heads of the clans, and the barrier was also transparent.
Other clans then built barriers over it one after another, so I couldn’t see them.
What Gale showed was truly shocking.
And it seemed the same to the bird clan except Raniero. I heard the whispers of the bird clan.
Then I glanced at the bird clan.
They were probably whispering while watching Gale, who showed an absurdly ugly appearance, and me, who appeared with a cursed red feather.
Arsene, noticing that I was glancing at the bird clan, pulled the curtain slightly to cover me slightly.
“Arsene.”
“I think the sunlight is too strong.”
Arsene made excuses and hid me from being seen by others.
I was grateful for Arsene’s consideration and watched the barrier flickering.
They were supposed to be checking each other’s holy relics from there now.
However,
“…Doesn’t that take too long?”
“I know.”
Arsene and I looked down at the podium with rather serious expressions.
They used to check in a short time, and it seems like something exploded,
However, it took a long time to check the holy relic.
Did something go wrong inside?
How long had I waited? I heard the other shapeshifters whispering.
And then,
The screen was slightly lifted, and Yeckhart’s knight bowed his head.
“Lady Leona from Fernando has come to see you.”
“Leona? Come in…”
Before I could finish, Leona opened the curtain and popped her face in.
The escort knight seemed quite perplexed.
“Linsy!”
“Eung? Leona, what’s going on?”
Leona was crying.
“Cain didn’t come after all. This can’t be happening. Didn’t Sir Creighton bring him?”
“Cain?”
Arsene and I met our eyes at the same time.
“He didn’t even come here? Even at the event?”
“Yeah, I’m just on my way back from the snake family seat. There are only escort knights, but no Cain inside.”
“No way… Aren’t you misunderstanding something?”
There was no way Cain wouldn’t have come to the event.
Because Cain Hezeth was the only heir to the Hezeth family. Furthermore…
‘The head of Hezeth family was present.’
The head of Hezeth and Cain’s father, Creighton, attended, but Cain was absent?
At that time,
Boom—!
The barrier broke out.
The carriage quickly arrived at the venue.
The shapeshifters continued to enter, but Arsene and I were guided to separate VIP seats, so there was no need to mix with other shapeshifters.
Escort knights, priests, and Kendrick’s lieutenant escorted us to our seats.
“You can sit down.”
The seat with the large emblem of Yeckhart was located high up, so the center was clearly visible.
“Linsy, sit here.”
Arsene said, holding my hand and leading me to my seat.
I nodded and sat down.
“Did father go to get ready?”
“I guess so.”
“Leona probably hasn’t come yet, and Cain…”
I was curious about why Cain was late.
Since Cain is the only heir to the Snake Clan, he couldn’t possibly not come to the festival.
“Is there any problem?”
“No way. It won’t be. Don’t worry too much.”
Arsene shook his head and answered quite dignifiedly.
I nodded and kept my eyes on the other clans.
‘Where is Raniero?’
I wanted to make sure that Schville really came to the festival.
In the distance, I saw a seat with the eagle that is the symbol of Raniero.
The problem was that the dark purple curtains were down.
Because of that, I couldn’t see who was inside at all.
Feeling regretful, I leaned over and whispered to Arsene.
“The shadow wolf won’t be able to remove the curtains, right?”
“I can lift it, but then I’ll get a problem. Father will scold me.”
Arsene glanced at Raniero once, then shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ll pull the curtains when it starts. Just a moment, Linsy.”
“Okay.”
I nodded obediently.
The huge event hall was quickly filled with shapeshifters. It seemed to be at least fifty thousand.
And not long after,
“It begins.”
Along with Arsene’s low voice, a loud trumpet sound rang out.
Sparkling light poured over everyone’s heads like starlight, and Arsene and I looked at the scene, seeing it for the second time in our lives, in awe.
Soon, cheers erupted, and Arsene and I also looked at the venue with our mouths slightly open.
‘Whoa…’
The first and last time I came to the festival was when I was only seven years old, so it was as amazing as seeing it for the first time.
A festival to show that the heads of each clan are still in good health.
The cheers died down, and after a few firecrackers exploded, the nine heads of clans came up on the podium in turn.
I opened my eyes wide and looked at the nine heads of clans.
Since the family of Hezeth was there, it seemed like Cain had come, even though he was late.
‘The snake family is not important.’
I quickly looked for my father, Arthur Raniero.
However,
‘It’s Gale.’
Perhaps it was true that Arthur gave Gale the post of head of the family, so Gale stood tall among the heads of each clan. Gale was already an adult, but he looked young because he was with the heads of clans who were quite old.
He seemed very nervous because it was his first time standing there.
“Linsy.”
Arsene frowned and called my name.
Seeing Gale on the podium, he seemed worried about me.
“Eung, it’s okay.”
I nodded my head to reassure Arsene, and then turned my head abruptly to Raniero’s seat.
The curtain had been lifted.
And in that place.
“…Schville.”
Before I knew it, Schville sat looking down at the podium with a modest appearance.
But it was a bit strange.
‘….’
Schville, who I remember, was a timid yet smiling kid.
However, Schville, who was sitting there, looked like an emotionless doll.
I held back my desire to approach Schville and turned my gaze toward the podium.
However,
“Arsene, the Pope is not here?”
“Right, his health has gotten worse, so he doesn’t show up at all.”
Instead of the Pope, the high priest was seated on the podium.
The high priest asked for their understanding briefly, saying that the Pope’s health was deteriorating and he was inevitably unable to participate in the festival, and began the ceremony.
The heads of each clan raised their heads at the same time and looked up at the sky.
Pop—!
And at the same time, the sight of shapeshifting was magnificent.
Multi-colored smoke mixed in the air.
I opened my eyes wide and looked at the podium.
Arsene seemed to be quite focused, too.
‘Because it’s Arsene’s job now.’
Usually, he has to learn the rituals and methods of the festival while going to the festival with the head.
Arsene couldn’t participate in the festival when he was young due to personal circumstances, and when he grew up, he didn’t have a chance to watch the festival because it couldn’t be held.
It seemed like he wanted to see a lot now.
The smoke cleared, and a huge gray wolf appeared first.
It was Kendrick.
Then came a huge black lion, a black snake and a white fox, a red bear and a blue dog, and a golden sheep and a white horse.
Finally,
“….”
An ugly brown eagle appeared.
‘What’s wrong with his condition?’
I looked at Gale’s bird form.
Gale’s bird form was somehow strange.
First, it was unusually small.
It was about the same size as when I shapeshifted, so it looked so unattractive that it couldn’t be regarded as the head of a clan.
Besides,
‘His feather looks rough, and what’s wrong with his tail feathers?’
No matter how I look at it, he didn’t look like the head of a clan.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised by Gale’s appearance.
Arsene also narrowed his eyes, and a murmur erupted from the crowd.
However, the heads of the clans stood tall and looked down at the high priest standing in the middle, as if they didn’t care.
Then the ceremony began.
This time, the white horse put its hoof on the holy relic first.
Then, the vivid orange power spread from the holy relic of the horse clan and formed a thin barrier.
Next was the fox clan.
When the white fox lifted its front paw and brought it to the holy relic, bright pink power covered the orange barrier.
And,
‘It’s Gale’s turn.’
It was Raniero’s turn.
As the eagle gripped the holy relic with its claws, light green power spread out.
However,
‘…Why are the colors so dull?’
The color was distinctly different from the power I use.
It looks like a light green mixed with black. Besides, perhaps it was because Gale had not yet ascended to the position of the head of the clan, the overlaid yellow-green barrier looked as if it would break at any moment.
Usually, if you build a barrier three times, it’s natural if you can’t see the inside.
‘I can see a little inside.’
Gale’s ability was so weak that it could never be compared with the other heads of the clans, and the barrier was also transparent.
Other clans then built barriers over it one after another, so I couldn’t see them.
What Gale showed was truly shocking.
And it seemed the same to the bird clan except Raniero. I heard the whispers of the bird clan.
Then I glanced at the bird clan.
They were probably whispering while watching Gale, who showed an absurdly ugly appearance, and me, who appeared with a cursed red feather.
Arsene, noticing that I was glancing at the bird clan, pulled the curtain slightly to cover me slightly.
“Arsene.”
“I think the sunlight is too strong.”
Arsene made excuses and hid me from being seen by others.
I was grateful for Arsene’s consideration and watched the barrier flickering.
They were supposed to be checking each other’s holy relics from there now.
However,
“…Doesn’t that take too long?”
“I know.”
Arsene and I looked down at the podium with rather serious expressions.
They used to check in a short time, and it seems like something exploded,
However, it took a long time to check the holy relic.
Did something go wrong inside?
How long had I waited? I heard the other shapeshifters whispering.
And then,
The screen was slightly lifted, and Yeckhart’s knight bowed his head.
“Lady Leona from Fernando has come to see you.”
“Leona? Come in…”
Before I could finish, Leona opened the curtain and popped her face in.
The escort knight seemed quite perplexed.
“Linsy!”
“Eung? Leona, what’s going on?”
Leona was crying.
“Cain didn’t come after all. This can’t be happening. Didn’t Sir Creighton bring him?”
“Cain?”
Arsene and I met our eyes at the same time.
“He didn’t even come here? Even at the event?”
“Yeah, I’m just on my way back from the snake family seat. There are only escort knights, but no Cain inside.”
“No way… Aren’t you misunderstanding something?”
There was no way Cain wouldn’t have come to the event.
Because Cain Hezeth was the only heir to the Hezeth family. Furthermore…
‘The head of Hezeth family was present.’
The head of Hezeth and Cain’s father, Creighton, attended, but Cain was absent?
At that time,
Boom—!
The barrier broke out.
