Sixth. The Foreboding of Evil

The ambiance is that of a bustling community full of lively people, nobles and wealthy merchants alike go about and interact, making connections as they see fit. These scenes are what nobility is usually about, each with their own agenda and each going to a war of words with others knowing full well that if they fail to look favorable, they will slowly but surely die in the social hierarchy.

For nobility, there is nothing more dreadful than social death, for connections are significant in different aspects; from building wealth, establishing favors, travel convenience, and of course most of all, increased prestige.

That is why this kind of events are valued highly and are sought of, since a multitude of opportunities are presented for increasing one's own network, as well as increasing the chance of stepping up the ladder of nobility. This one, hosted by none other than the Royal Family, is of particular importance because not only there is a greater number of attendees from different parts of the continent, it is also a chance to get closer to the Royal Family.

The Royal Family of the Charming Kingdom is one of the few royal families in the continent that has only three members: The King, the Queen, and the Crown Prince. It is one problem of the Kingdom that the kings of present and past has minimal potency in producing heirs. And thus, all crown princes in the past are regarded as precious treasures by the Kingdom and its people, even the current prince rarely shows himself due to security reasons.

The Crown Prince making his appearance in this event is considered to be a blessing for those who are subjects of the Charming Kingdom, and an opportunity for foreigners to see the single child of the royal family who is said to elude almost all invitations and happenings in the continent.

And then the lights dimmed.

Everyone immediately postponed their conversations and stood still, all eyes focused on one part of the grand hall. At the farthest end was a staircase, moderately sized and simple in design, at the end of the stairs are two long and large curtains acting as covers to the important people behind, the Royal Family.

It was hard to tell if magic was used to hinder the reflection coming from the diamond-covered ceiling or was magic cast originally inside the diamonds to control its luminous properties. Nonetheless, it signified the most awaited part of the event, everyone held their breaths as the band paced their tune with a mellow yet quick tempo, giving a sense of thrill and suspense throughout the hall.

The curtains slowly moved away from each other, leisurely revealing the people behind. And then there was the announcement,

"Ladies and Gentlemen, people from all over the Nerefeti Continent, I present to you the King and Queen of the Charming Kingdom, King Richard Adelentis Triadna des Charming and Queen Ruth Adelentis Fernos des Charming!"

Cinderella joined the applause and made sure to maximize her hyper hearing capabilities. Inside her head right now is an enormous plethora of murmurs and whispers mainly on the topic of the King and Queen. This did not faze her even one bit since she accustomed herself already to the setbacks of this ability

She then focused her ears on the particular location of the Royal Family, this is also one of the fruits of her training, [Focused Senses]. As the name implies, it lets her focus on all sounds on only a particular space or location, removing all noises that is not part of it.

What she first heard were not out of her expectations.

"Dear me, are we going to greet all of these people? I guess I should prepare my back," complained the King.

"I have the same worries my dear, we are not so young anymore for this kind of troubles," replied the Queen.

"Haaaa. This is probably for the best, since our only son is not cooperating with us in finding her betrothed, we can only resort to this."

However, what Cinderella heard next sent a million shivers down her spine.

"I have seen the woman for me, Father."

Cinderella saw the pair of eyes, full of unknowable malice, directed at her.