<h4>Chapter 17: Awakening Ceremony Part:2</h4>


    The Awakening Ceremony was an ancient ceremony that urred whenever a member of the royal family and a member of the Duke family both awoke around the same time.


    Although I state "same time," this ceremony took ce when both parties awoke within a week of each other. And the same thing happened to me and the first princess, Angelina D. Merovingian.


    She was the first to awaken, followed by me.


    Because we both awakened our mana core in the same week, the ancient Awakening Ceremony was performed.


    When this event urred, it was thought that both the royal and duke families would seed, leading the kingdom to a brighter future.


    But, believe me, it''s all bullshit, and I''m well aware of it.The oue of this event will eventually lead to a war-torn future.


    It alles down to what happens tonight.


    "Small things can make a big difference," as the saying goes.


    But let''s return to the topic at hand.


    This incident is shown in shback scenes with the princess.


    After getting close to her, she would tell the hero or the character I portrayed in the game about it.


    Two things stick out in these shbacks. The first is the rejection of Eden Morton''s marriage proposal.followed by a heinous attempt at r*pe on the first princess.


    Well, it was a dark game, so there''s that.


    Both of these events were nned by separate monarchs.


    The first n was devised by our lovely king, who intended to use me as a pawn and a stepping stone for his daughter.


    He had already broken our engagement, but few people were aware of it.


    And now he wanted her to turn down my proposal in front of the entire nobility.


    To be honest, it was Eden''s fault for falling for such an obvious trap, but I can''t me him fully.


    The princess was indicating that she wouldply, even asking him for the first dance, which is only done with the ones you care about the most.


    Eden proposed to her in the heat of the moment in front of everyone and was brutally rejected.


    The following day, stories began to surface portraying me as the worst form of criminal possible.


    Rumors spread from the nobles to themon people that I was a murderer, r*pist, and drug user.


    While thest one was correct, the others were all part of a fabricated story.


    The people turned against me suddenly, and despite the fact that I waspletely innocent, I became their ultimate enemy.


    The king, on the other hand, did his part wlessly.He left no space for spection.


    He''d send people dressed as victims of my crimes to appeal for justice in front of our fortress.


    This was the final straw for me.People would shun me, point fingers, and treat me as the lowest of the low if I tried to venture out.


    And my dearest father, the ostensibly responsible patriarch, did nothing to dispel these rumors.


    He just paid off the people who were mimicking my victims in front of the castle.


    He was practically acknowledging that I was a criminal andpensating for my alleged wrongdoings.It''s simply one more reason I loathe him.


    This man would do anything for power, including sacrifice his own son. And those hypocrites pretend to be acting in the interests of the kingdom.


    That''s when I started putting on an arrogant front to hide my loneliness.


    No one was actually close to me except Sarah.


    Eden Morton''s life in the game was irrevocably changed at this moment.


    But that''s only a small detail in the shback.


    The main event was arranged by the Darkoina continent''s emperor—the same monarch with whom our loving king is attempting to establish contact.


    This happened after the princess rejected me.


    She was ufortable with what she did to me, but she went ahead with it anyway.But thates as no surprise; she is, after all, a snake.


    She walked to the garden for some fresh air that night and was ambushed by four assants.


    Because no energy could be used within the royal pce due to the runes from centuries ago, they were attacking her physically.


    However, it was enough to bring a child down. Fate, or whatever name you choose to give it, stepped in.


    Although she didn''t do anything, the heroine with a fairy lineage came to her aid.Nheless, she managed to buy the queen enough time to detect her daughter''s absence and save them both.


    She viciously murdered all four attackers in the most heinous way imaginable.


    Despite their ss disparities, this urrence pushed both heroines closer andter yed a crucial role in the hero''s connection with both of them.


    Consider this: if their scheme had seeded, the emperor would have had considerably more negotiating power.


    He could have asked for more than what had originally been agreed upon because the princess was no longer a virgin, which is a major deal in this primitive culture because no one in the Nobles wants to marry a non-virgin.


    They, however, underestimated the main heroine''s tenacity, and everything backfired on them.


    The assants were eventually proven to be from the Darkoina empire, which their arrogant and ignorant second prince confessed to the hero.As a result, our foolish and hypocritical hero killed the prince in a fit of wrath.


    This incident served as a catalyst for the subsequent war.


    Angelina became obsessed with strength as a result of all of this because she never wanted to feel helpless again.


    And, for some strange reason, I got obsessed with Angelina.


    I wanted her to be with me, no matter what.


    The carriageing to a halt jolted me out of my reverie. I opened my eyes and began to walk outside.