BXBX NOVEL Chapter 57: Katherine's Past
Every day, she enjoyed her hometown, wandering around with her younger sister and the head maid.
As she grew older, she was forced to move from her hometown to the capital to enroll in the best school.
Excelling in her studies, she soon became the best mage of her entire grade level.
Just as she was given the chance to further her studies as a mage, her dad suddenly received an invitation.
It was a letter from the emperor to attend the Prince's coming-of-age banquet, with specific instructions to have both of his daughters come.
The father knew the invitation was more of a selection to find a suitable wife for the emperor's son.
However, he chose not to bring it up to his daughter, only telling them that it was just a normal birthday party for the Prince.
When the daughter's whole family went to the party, they were surprised to see many influential figures present.
More importantly, the emperor's Guardian, the empire's grand archmage, was present.
That was when the father realized it was a trap, a setup to force him to pick a side for the upcoming succession.
The emperor knew that if his youngest son picked her daughter, that son would become his next heir to the throne.
As the banquet began, elegant music traveled across the room, and the father stood nervously for her daughters.
He knew his daughter had always hated interacting with the upper class, who would rather study in their private time alone.
Fortunately, his daughter didn't embarrass him in front of the massive crowds of people.
They were much more pleasant than he ever expected of them, being able to make many friends within the banquet.
Unfortunately, it also soon made them stand out above all, especially the oldest daughters.
His worst worry came as the emperor's son invited her eldest daughter to a dance.
To his surprise, her daughter didn't refuse him like everyone else that she had refused so far.
That's because his elder daughter knew the tough position her father was in.
After the dance, the Prince headed over to her younger sister to have a dance with her as well.
When the father asked what both of the daughters thought of the Prince, the elder daughter told him she didn't like him.
She didn't like how he danced with several of the younger women afterward, yet he pervertly stared at the older women's chests.
Meanwhile, the younger daughter thought he was a fine gentleman, disagreeing with what her sister views.
The father was happy to see his younger daughter liking the Prince, offering his elder daughter reassurance, saying that it was just a dance.
Just as the banquet was about to end, the emperor's Guardian suddenly got up to the stage.
Everyone was in silence, watching him talk about how the new son was the ideal mage.
The speech didn't last long, as he revealed the partner he wanted for the emperor's son.
It was a mage that had a strong light affinity.
The elder daughter immediately let out relief as she was a well-known dark-affinity mage in the capital.
However, the younger daughter was a little disappointed, as she also had a dark affinity, not matching what the Guardian stated.
As people began to leave, the emperor himself suddenly stopped the Grand Duke's family.
The emperor asked the duke a private question, not showing anyone what they had discussed.
Not even to his wife, who had always helped him make decisions.
When they returned home, everything was back to normal until a month had passed.
The emperor had fallen critically ill, and all of his sons were being recalled from the various provinces.
His other four sons were all married, with his youngest being the only one who was still not married.
Much to his son's dismay, he made them all swear loyalty to the youngest son, as the Guardian himself had picked him as the successor.
The emperor's eldest son decided to question the choice, as he viewed the young brother as unqualified until he was at least married.
Soon, the entire court was on his side, as they viewed the young son as inexperienced and too young to be an emperor.
To quell the pressure, it culminated in a flash wedding, where another duke's daughter with lower status was picked due to her light affinity.
Everything was going in a good direction until the emperor's son himself refused the wedding.
He demanded the emperor to fulfill his wish, a wish that the Guardian had granted him.
People at the wedding were confused until he revealed the secret deal during the banquet.
The Grand Duke's daughter was to be married to the emperor's youngest son alongside the other duke's daughter.
Within seconds, the Grand Duke's daughter refused, not wanting to be forced into a marriage with someone she disliked.
Her father tried to explain to everyone that he was never going to fulfill that deal.
But it was far too late, as the emperor's Guardian himself suddenly appeared at the wedding.
The Guardian questioned the duke's elder daughter about why she refused.
Despite the overwhelming pressure, she told everyone out loud that she just didn't like the emperor's son as a person.
It shocked a lot of people, but the Guardian didn't seem to accept her answer.
He told the duke's family that within two days, there would be another wedding between the emperor's heir and the duke's daughter.
As they returned from the wedding, the elder daughter immediately told her father she would rather die than fulfill that deal.
She headed back to her hometown, where she knew the emperor's Guardian could not reach her.
At the same time, the younger daughter was disgusted by what the Prince was trying to do to her older sister and left for her hometown as well.
The two days quickly went by, and tension began to rise between the emperor and the duke.
Rumors began to spread rapidly that the duke was about to outright revolt against the emperor himself for his daughter.
It was reaching a boiling point on the third day as the emperor had four of his sons lead an army to blockade the entire city.
With mounting pressure from the citizens and the mayor, the Grand Duke himself decided to summon the Great Guardian.
Much to his disappointment, the Great Guardian refused to see him, only giving him a small little bag to give to her daughter.
Just as the father quickly gave the bag to the elder daughter, he found himself in the middle of a coup that was already in motion.
The entire castle was surrounded by his soldiers, all pleading for him just to accept the emperor's demand.
He knew it was over, so he headed back inside to find his daughter to turn her in.
To his surprise, both of her daughters were missing.
Only when he questioned his head maid did he learn that they had left through the back entrance.
With no other choice, the duke allowed the entire army and invited all four of the emperor's sons to search his house.
He told all of them that his daughters ran away with a knight and denounced both of them on the spot.
The wife of the Grand Duke, who was the emperor's sister, also eventually arrived at the emperor's palace.
Under pressure, the emperor forgave the Grand Duke's failure to fulfill the emperor's demand.
The emperor's son also eventually married another dark affinity mage, ending the whole crisis as a ceasefire was made.
However, the younger daughter of the Grand Duke suddenly returned home after the wedding was completed.
The moment the emperor learned of it, he immediately demanded for her to be turned over, as his daughter was never forgiven for the disrespect.
Just as another crisis was about to occur, fortunately, the Great Guardian finally decided to intervene.
The capital's defense was broken with a single spell, causing widespread panic as it woke the emperor's Guardian up from his sleep.
In the end, the two guardians seemly had struck some sort of deal, as the emperor himself announced that the daughters were both pardoned.
Meanwhile, the emperor's family was now allowed in the Great Guardian's trial once per lifetime.
Yet, this news would not be known to the elder daughter, as she had teleported back to her school with the bag in hand.
When she asked her teacher what she should do, the teacher gave her a disguise and told her to become an adventurer.
She soon went on a journey, but unfortunately, on her first day, her luggage, along with her bag, suddenly disappeared one night.
But with slim luck, a runaway knight who had recently become an adventurer found it and returned the lost luggage to her.
Even though she lost the bag, she was happy to find someone who was on the run just like her.
The two of them soon became friends and decided to leave the capital together, protecting a group of villagers somewhere far away.