Chapter 56: I just thought the bottle was pretty

“To let the Saint Vessel Highness experience the mundane world.”

“To awaken her longing for the world of light.”

Uther VII stood in the hall of the side residence.

He waved his hands in the air.

A fanatic flame burned in his eyes.

“I have specially arranged a grand Tour of Morning City!”

Sylvia heard the two deadly words: “tour” and “crowds.”

She instantly turned to stone.

She shrank back onto the bed.

Her silver hair fell messily, covering half her face.

“Um… I’m not feeling very well today…”

Her voice was weak.

“My head feels a little dizzy.”

“Maybe I caught a chill from the wind last night…”

She didn’t care about her dignity anymore if it meant feigning illness.

As long as she could escape this disaster, so be it!

Avira looked at her little sister’s desperate attempt to burrow three feet underground.

The doting look in her eyes was almost tangible.

She walked to the bedside.

Gently lifted Sylvia out from under the covers.

“Be good, little sister, pretending to be sick isn’t right.”

She pressed a soft kiss to Sylvia’s forehead.

Sylvia was held in her sister’s arms.

Smelling that familiar light fragrance.

She instantly gave up all resistance.

“I really don’t want to go out…”

She muttered, wronged and aggrieved.

“So many people staring at me, I’ll die from fright…”

Ophelia walked over.

Her slender fingers gently smoothed her daughter’s messy silver hair.

“Sylvia, this is a necessary diplomatic event.”

The Queen’s voice was calm as a deep lake.

“Besides, with Avira and me here, who would dare touch a single hair on your head?”

Sylvia looked at her mother’s deep blood-red eyes.

She knew her salted-fish plan was completely ruined.

“…Fine…”

Her little face drooped.

Her voice was filled with utter despair.

“But can we finish quickly?”

“I just want to come back and sleep…”

***

One hour later, outside the side residence.

Sylvia stared at the impossibly ornate Saint Carriage before her.

She was completely numb.

Twelve unicorns lined up in a majestic formation.

Each one was pure white.

The horns on their foreheads glittered in the sunlight.

The Saint Carriage itself was beyond luxurious.

The pure white carriage was inlaid with countless gems.

Under the sunlight, it sparkled with a rainbow of colors.

The wheels were forged of Mithril.

With every turn, they left a faint mark of Saint Light on the ground.

“This… isn’t this a bit much?”

Sylvia muttered softly.

“Can I just walk?”

Uther VII heard this.

“No! How could the Saint Vessel Highness walk?”

His voice trembled with excitement.

“This is a Saint Carriage provided exclusively by the Church.”

“Only the most honored existence may ride it!”

Avira carried Sylvia towards the Saint Carriage.

She whispered a comforting word in her ear.

“Just bear with it for now, little sister.”

“When we get back I’ll slice you some apples, and there will be strawberries too.”

Sylvia’s eyes lit up at once.

“Really?”

“Of course. When have I ever lied to you?”

Avira gently set her down onto the seat of the Saint Carriage.

The seat was incredibly soft.

So comfortable that one wanted to just lie down and loaf around.

But Sylvia had no mind to enjoy it at this moment.

Through the carriage window.

She could already see the dense crowds lining both sides of the street.

A sea of bobbing heads.

Every pair of eyes shone with fanatic light.

“It’s over…”

She wailed inwardly.

The Saint Carriage started moving slowly.

Twelve unicorns marched forward in perfect unison.

A thunderous cheer erupted from both sides of the street.

“Saint Vessel!”

“Saint Vessel Highness!”

“Thank you for your arrival!”

The citizens waved flowers in their hands.

Struggling to catch a glimpse of the figures inside the Saint Carriage.

Some even stood on tiptoe.

Craning their necks as far as they could.

Sylvia shrank into her seat.

Her silver hair covered most of her face.

The feverish shouts made every hair on her body stand on end.

At that moment.

A cloud of pollen drifted into the Saint Carriage.

“Achoo!”

Sylvia was choked by the pollen and sneezed loudly.

She hurriedly covered her nose with her hand.

Her cheeks instantly flushed bright red.

“Sorry…”

She apologized softly.

Feeling that sneezing on such a solemn occasion was absolute social death.

But Uther VII heard the sneeze.

His eyes bulged round.

He trembled all over with excitement.

His voice even changed pitch.

“A miracle! This is a miracle!”

The Pope’s voice echoed down the street.

“The Saint Vessel is purifying the filthy air!”

“She is driving evil out of this city!”

When the people heard this.

The cheers grew even more frenzied.

“Long live the Saint Vessel!”

“Thank you for your grace!”

“We are bathed in the Saint Light!”

Sylvia listened to these words.

She was completely dumbfounded.

She turned to look at Avira.

“Sis, are they crazy?”

“All I did was sneeze…”

Avira looked at her little sister’s utterly innocent expression and said,

“Do you want me to clear the crowd, little sister?”

Her hand was already on the hilt of her sword.

Killing intent began to spread.

“These fools are too noisy.”

Sylvia felt the terrifying killing intent emanating from her sister.

Frightened, she immediately grabbed Avira’s hand.

“No! Sis, I beg you!”

Her voice was flustered.

“Just let them shout.”

“We just need to finish the tour quickly!”

Avira sensed her little sister’s tension.

The killing intent vanished at once.

“Alright, we’ll do as you wish.”

She gently stroked Sylvia’s silver hair.

“But if anyone dares disrespect you.”

“I’ll show them what regret really means.”

The Saint Carriage continued forward.

Before long, they arrived at a grand building — Morning Academy.

The Academy’s gates were made of pure white marble.

Carved with intricate magical arrays.

Every pattern emitted a soft glow.

Displaying the extraordinary nature of the Academy.

An elderly man with graying hair.

The headmaster of Morning Academy.

Stood respectfully at the gate, waiting.

Behind him stood a dozen professors in Mage Robes.

Every face was filled with devotion.

“Saint Vessel Highness, welcome.”

The headmaster bowed deeply.

His voice trembled.

“It is our greatest honor to have you visit our Academy.”

Avira carried Sylvia down from the Saint Carriage.

Looking at the academic atmosphere of the building before her.

“This place looks pretty nice…”

She muttered quietly.

At least it was much quieter than the frenzied crowds on the street.

The headmaster led them into the Academy.

Introducing the different areas along the way.

Library, cultivation rooms, laboratories…

Everywhere they went.

Students and professors knelt and bowed.

Sylvia relaxed a little.

Although these people were also quite fanatical.

At least they weren’t shouting loudly.

Soon.

They arrived at the Alchemist’s wing.

Strange smells filled the air here.

Multicolored magical light flickered in the air.

Countless workbenches were filled with bottles and jars of all shapes.

Some were billowing white smoke.

Some glimmered brightly.

Some slowly shifted colors.

Sylvia looked around curiously.

She didn’t know a thing about alchemy.

But these colorful potions certainly looked nice.

At that moment.

She noticed an especially beautiful bottle in a corner.

It contained a light blue liquid.

Gleaming under the light.

“That bottle has a really pretty color…”

Sylvia couldn’t help looking at it a few more times.

Just as she stared at that bottle.

A strange event occurred.

The liquid inside began to boil violently.

The bottle started to tremble.

Letting out a “crack crack” sound.

The magical elements in the air turned wild and chaotic.

The Alchemist in charge of the experiment went pale as paper.

“No! The Rampage Potion is going out of control!”

His voice turned sharp with fear.

“Everyone get back!”

“This thing could flatten half the wing!”

The other Alchemists retreated in haste.

Terror written all over their faces.

At this critical moment.

A thread of Sylvia’s power unconsciously leaked out.

That pure, extreme energy instantly surrounded the rampaging potion.

The boiling liquid gradually calmed.

Returning to its beautiful light blue color.

Even clearer and more transparent than before.

The Alchemists watched, eyes wide.

Their jaws nearly hit the floor.

“How… how is this possible?”

The Alchemist in charge trembled as he spoke.

“That’s a Seventh-Rank Rampage Potion!”

“Even a Grand Mage wouldn’t dare touch it so lightly!”

Another Alchemist fell to his knees.

His eyes filled with reverence.

“Saint Vessel Highness saw through the very essence of alchemy with a single glance!”

“She stabilized the rampaging elemental laws!”

“This is beyond human comprehension!”

The other Alchemists all knelt.

“A miracle! This is a true miracle!”

“The Saint Vessel Highness’ wisdom surpasses our understanding!”

“What we could never achieve in a lifetime—”

“She accomplished with a mere gesture!”

Sylvia looked at the Alchemists kneeling all over the floor.

Countless question marks popped up over her head.

She hugged her head.

Her voice was filled with despair.

“I just thought the bottle was a nice color…”

“How did it become a miracle again?”

She turned to look at Avira.

Her eyes pleading for help.

“Sis, is my salted-fish life completely hopeless now?”

Avira looked at her little sister’s teary, helpless face.

She couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Little sister, just accept your fate.”

She gently stroked Sylvia’s silver hair.

“No matter what you do—”

“They’ll always imagine it’s a miracle.”

Hearing this, Sylvia collapsed in Avira’s arms.

“I just want to be a quiet salted fish…”

“Why do even my glances get misunderstood?”

***

Meanwhile.

Uther VII was already on the verge of ascending from excitement.

Fanatic fire blazed in his eyes.

His voice trembled.

“The wisdom of the Saint Vessel is truly unfathomable!”

“Even the secrets of alchemy cannot escape her gaze!”

“This Tour of Morning City—”

“Truly the right decision!”

“We have witnessed a genuine miracle!”

Listening to the Pope’s monologue.

Sylvia howled inwardly.

What wisdom? What secrets?

She didn’t understand a thing, okay!