As always Giliath demands your power stones!
*****
Around the same time...
Liberl Kingdom.
Rolent.
The Bright House.
Both Estelle and Joshua could be seen gathered around their dining room table. In but a year's time, they would initiate their bracer exam to make them fully-fledged bracers. Right now, they were just two people enjoying their lives. Presently, it was just them this time. Their father and the owner of this house, Cassius Bright, was nowhere to be seen. That wasn't without reason. Cassius had other matters to attend to prompting him to be in Leiston Fortress. Yes, Cassius is retired from the military, but he is personally overseeing Julia's and Kloe's training. Hence why he isn't with Estelle and Joshua currently.
It's not like the two of them were bothered by Cassius's actions. They were long used to him being away from the Bright House for extended periods of time. Estelle and Joshua were thankful enough to be able to spend new years together. They even spent it with Cassius's military buddies, as well as Renne's group, shortly after.
But now, with that out of the way, it was Joshua's turn in making breakfast. Estelle could presently be seen drinking some warm tea with a newspaper in her hand. Her eyes were darting around the entire thing, showing a keen interest in what was written in today's newspaper.
"Say Joshua, it looks like that prince guy is up to something again. It's another breaking news article.", Estelle said with raised eyebrows.
"You know Estelle, you really ought to address people by their proper title. It isn't just "some prince guy". That's our very own Crown Prince you're referring to. What's His Highness Naoto up to this time?", Joshua said, wondering what Estelle was reviewing in the paper. Joshua continued his cooking while Estelle answered him.
"It's showing him shaking hands with Erebonia's emperor.", Estelle suddenly stated.
"...What?", Joshua paused. His eyebrows raised, not expecting to hear that. He even paused his cooking, turning around to see Estelle's eyes still on the paper. He rushed over.
"Is something wrong, Joshua?", Estelle questioned. It was rare to see Joshua behave like this. He wasn't frantic by any means, but he definitely had a hurried look in his eyes.
"Can you toss me the paper?", Joshua requested.
"Go for it. Not sure what has you all worked up, though.", Estelle responded, tossing Joshua the paper. Once Joshua's hands grabbed onto it, he laid the paper out in front of him, and started reading the headline.
"We hereby bring you more news by the Imperial Chronicle. His Majesty the Emperor has given his blessing to the newly engaged party of our very own Erebonia's Treasure, the Crown Princess, and Liberl's own Crown Prince. While the date of the ceremony has yet to be announced, the Crown Prince has brought a shocking new development not only to us, but to the rest of Zemuria. A formalized engagement party will be held in one month's time, on the First of February. Our fellow countrymen and neighboring countries alike are all welcome to participate and celebrate this joyous occasion! Even the Crown Prince himself stated this will be a venue for the ages!", Joshua said as he reviewed the news headline.
"I'm...not sure what to make of this.", Joshua said, remaining quiet for a good moment. As he tried to recollect his thoughts after that, he saw a violet-haired boy printed on the center page. He was standing right next to a golden-blonde haired man dressed in regal attire whose hair was swept to the side. His regal attire was more militaristic compared to other countries, which included a double-breasted blazer with epaulettes. He even donned a cape behind his back. He presently had his hand reached out, shaking the violet-haired boy's hand.
If one looked closely, they were currently situated in none other than the Emperor's throne room. Empress Priscilla also sat off to the side, still seated on her own throne. It wasn't just them either. Those with Naoto were present, including Lif and Tio. But most importantly, there were the three Arnor siblings, Prince Olivert, Prince Cedric, and the fiancé in question, Princess Alfin. She, in particular, stood next to Naoto, sporting a smile on her lips as the photo was taken.
"What's wrong with wanting to host an engagement party? Sounds pretty neat if you ask me. I myself don't see myself getting married any time soon. Those nobles sure have it tough, huh?", Estelle said, giving her own remark on the scene at hand. Hearing that, Joshua sighed.
"You likely don't know what this is implying, Estelle. Sure, the engagement party can be fun and all, but that isn't the primary implication here. They're sending invites out to EVERYONE. Not just our country and our neighbor. But even our neighbor's neighbors. This is a disaster waiting to strike.", Joshua replied, sighing a second time. "This will probably get reported to Dad too.", Joshua continued to say.
"It won't be that bad, right? The guy seemed pretty swell if you ask me when we came across him in Grancel. That princess was really pretty too.", Estelle responded, tilting her head to the side. "You think Dad will receive an invitation to this party?", Estelle decided to ask.
"Oh no doubt Dad will attend. Major parties in the Bracer Guild will also likely be in attendance. There's also the whole thing about being recognized by the Septian Church to make it official and all that jazz. It's just an engagement party this time around, so the Septian Church might not be present. That isn't to say that the world won't be watching this event. Seems the Crown Prince wants to leave a mark behind. If there's a plus to this, it's out of our reach. Unless we personally are invited to it.", Joshua responded.
"We've met him before and hung out for a while, so I'm hopeful we will. Parties are fun to go to!", Estella happily said.
"This sure is going to be a party alright...", Joshua uttered, trailing off for a moment. At this time, a certain memory played out in Joshua's head, making him recall what Renne had said to Joshua just before Renne's group left for Naoto's private villa at Valeria Lakefront.
"Big Brother's going to be hosting a tea party of his own in one month's time in Erebonia. Renne will be there to help out, as will others. Brother Joshua and Estelle can focus on their studies to take the Bracer Exam. Big Brother will likely not reach out to you, so you can enjoy the show to come.", Renne's voice said, making Joshua silent while he thought that.
'Renne...wasn't referring to this, was she?', Joshua wondered.
"You alright there, Joshua? You've been spacing out for a good minute. You don't want our breakfast to get burnt now, do you?", Estelle said, reminding Joshua. That caused him to snap out of his thoughts. He folded the newspaper, and placed it back on the table.
"It's nothing. Whatever that's going to take place in a month's time, we'll know then. It may not just be an engagement party. It's not like it'll matter to us, though. And you are right, I should get back to cooking. Our eggs should just about be ready.", Joshua responded, and hurriedly approached the kitchen.
"Yeah. As much as I would like to go to another country, we need to focus on what's happening here. There's only so much until our bracer exam. My head can only take in so much...", Estelle replied with a groan. All she imagined was piles and piles of books. It was as if she was taking the hardest exam of her life. Well, it might not be the hardest one, but it is definitely the most important one. Passing this test would determine her fate to become a bracer.
As Naoto did not interfere much in Estelle's and Joshua's present conditions, it will still likely happen the way it did in the sky games. As long as these two keep at it, they'll become Junior Bracers in due time. Only this time around, the two might not be alone.
As Joshua nodded his head at Estelle to ease her worries of the upcoming year, a similar scene could be taking place on the outskirts of Valeria Lakefront.